Hello All,

I have an Audi A4 2.8 Quattro 2001 model. The oil min indicator recently came up, I looked into the owners manual and figured out that I have to use 5w30 if I don't find 0w30. I bought the mobil 1 5w30 synthetic oil and filled about one quart irrespective of knowing what was in there before whether it is synthetic or not. When I mentioned this to a dealer he said I have to drain out all the oil and use regular instead of synthetic. I am still in warranty but he said he will charge me 50$ for oil change as I did a mistake in putting the synthetic.

Do you guys have any comments on this? Do I really need to drain out the oil? Which oil is good either synthetic or regular oil? Why is that dealer recommending the regular oil? How will the oil level will go down without any leakage?

thanks,
rcil

 

As the dealer said, I would probably drain the oil out at and either use synthetic or dyno oil. I HIGHLY doubt anything would happen, but it's peace of mind. I can't imagine any dealer suggesting using dyno oil rather than synthetic. I prefer to run synthetic oil as you can increase the change interval. As far as oil loss, keep monitoring your car's consumption in the next month. Check for leaks under the car, or on the engine.

 

Thanks for the quick reply. Sorry I didn't get it exactly the statement you made "I HIGHLY doubt anything would happen" . Does it mean "Nothing will happen to mix the oils but it will be peace of mind to drain out and use one" or "Something would have happend already".

I spoke to the dealer after looking at your reply, he asked me to get my own oil if I want to switch to synthetic. I need some suggestions from you, which place do I get a good deal on the oil and which Synthetic oil do you prefer (Mobil 1 or Castrol or anything else) which is good 0w40 or 5w-30?

Is it good to change the oil filter whenever you change the oil? The dealers says no but I asked him to change and he is charging me 25$ more.

thanks,
rcil

 

Wow, your dealer is a pain in the butt!

I just go buy my sythetic oil at Wal-mart or Autozone. Most people are fond of Mobile 1 oil. The only M1 oil that is approved by Audi is 0W-40, so that's what I use. I can't believe your dealer said that you don't have to change the filter at each oil change. Is your car still under warranty? You might want to consider finding an independant place to do your oil changes or do them yourself. It's really simple.

 

Jestnomen,

Thanks very much for all the information. Yes, my car is still under warranty. Actually I bought 3 months back as a pre-owned certified car with 100000 miles warranty. The dealer said he is not going to cover this under the warranty because it was my mistake to mix up the oils.

As this is my first car I didn't know what to do when the oil min indicator came up. I read the manual and figured that I can go for 5w30 and I have put one quart. I went to pepboys and asked him for the good one in 5w30 and he suggested mobil sythetic 5w30 then I bought and used. One of my friend told me that I am not suppose to use the oil without knowing what was in there, then I called the dealer.

thanks,
rcil

 

Contact Mobil. Ask them if Mobil 1 is compatible with mineral oil. Get this in writing, e-mail or letter. Show it to your ball busting dealer.

www.mobil.com

 

Do a search on what are the oil recommended by VW/Audi. Buy the recommended oil and bring it to the dealer for them to put it in. It should be free of charge because they didn't tell which oil to use, besides I wouldn't go and follow their recommended interval which is too long in my opinion.
The dealer may have recommended not to change the filter because they are to supply it free of charge as per the warranty agreement. If he doesn't want to change the filter, have him drain the oil out of the filter and re-use the filter. I would change the filter if I were you even if it cost me $25 extra.
I am currently using Bardahl 5W40 XTC for my car and I am very pleased with it. The brand is not in the list that Audi made, but I have a copy of the approval letter from Audi.
To answer your original question. You didn't hurt your engine for putting in synthetic if you have a dyno oil in the crankcase. Just don't make a habit of doing it.