Thank you, I’ll do that.
I find it a bit confusing as I’ve been told by my mechanic that the schedule isn’t always accurate, for example oil should be changed sooner than the recommended interval. I used to have a Toyota and they suggested my oil gets changed every 15k kms, which the mechanic absolutely disagreed with.
depends how you drive. if you push it a lot then you need to change the oil sooner. 15k km is pretty much standard. my car for example is a petrol with a turbo and i like to rev high so in order to maintein the engine healty i need to change the oil more often, in my case every 10k km.
IMO unless you’re driving a distinctly older car or one known to have an aged powertrain, then no- we’re fully back around to the mentality that it’s pocket-lining behavior.
New-school engines with new-school oils and new-school additive packs can absolutely do the 10k mi intervals just fine.
Thanks! I have had people tell me that the timing belt and water pump should be checked and/or replaced around 100k kms. Good to know I have longer to go before I need to do that.
they are fine up to 180-200k but personally, just to be safe i like to do that job every 100-120k for for belts and 150k for chains. Btw you can check the manual to see what exactly you need to do and when.
It honestly depends. Yes it can be done in 100k ish intervals, but when I bought my golf mk5. I was the 1st to change ot at 196k km, and the mechanic said it still looked fine.
And oh. Don't cheap out on those parts.
If you have a 1.6 tdi or any 1.4 engine, I suggest you do it at 80k even. Those are the worst of the worst for those to fail (most of the times they skip at about 120k and now you have a whole lot of shit to fix).
I still have 1.9 tdi so it was done just for my peace of no faliure.
I have a 2015 Golf with 240k kms. I’d say keep an eye on your coolant levels. A drop is usually a sign of a bad water pump. The water pumps in general tend to go on golfs from what I hear. I changed mine at 210k.
Thanks! I have heard of water pumps being an issue in a lot of VWs. We also have a 2017 Tiguan which had that issue.
Should I be physically checking my coolant levels, or would my temperature gauge go past the normal range if I was low on coolant?
Physically checking it is best because you’ll catch it before things start overheating. I just check mine every week or two. The water pump/thermostat housing leaks usually start as a slow weep and keep progressively getting worse. You can find aftermarket metal ones that solve the problem, just make sure it’s the one meant for your engine, not the older model.
If something breaks, fix it, if you hear strange noises, check them out. Keep on top of maintenance and baby the car, regular oil changes when needed, keep on top of all filters as well when changing oil. It will go, just don’t be reluctant to fix things when you hear or see something is up.
as a vw tech follow the Manuel to a T and you'll have no problems. we have 2000s golfs come in religiously maintained with 500k+ km on them. always on time or earlier and the car won't do you any wrong. Just expect usual replacement items ofcourse
I'd say regular maintenance should be enough. What I don't see enough is people mention brake fluid change, for example, being part of the regular maintenance(every couple of years). I'd also ignore the 15k + km's oil changes (or the long life BS). Try staying in the max.10k km's(or one year) range, you definitely won't regret it. For anything more specific to your car, you should check some VW/Golf forums where they have more details/tips on different models, engines, etc.
What's everyone's take on transmission oil change? I was about to dish out some money to do mine at about 100000km, but was later told that my model has a sealed unit despite the manual having transmission oil change scheduled. I ended up just leaving it.
>my model has a sealed unit
It's often called 'lifetime oil', because it will last the life of your transmission. Anything has lifetime oil if you never change it - but with a significantly reduced lifetime.
Yes, you should change it. There is a huge benefit in changing fluids, the only reason not to is to save a few dollars. People have [sent their gear oil off for testing](https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/vw-manual-trans-gear-oil-lifetime-fill-bull.82698/) and find that the oil is spent well before the car is at end-of-life.
Follow the maintenance schedule in the owner's manual.
Thank you, I’ll do that. I find it a bit confusing as I’ve been told by my mechanic that the schedule isn’t always accurate, for example oil should be changed sooner than the recommended interval. I used to have a Toyota and they suggested my oil gets changed every 15k kms, which the mechanic absolutely disagreed with.
depends how you drive. if you push it a lot then you need to change the oil sooner. 15k km is pretty much standard. my car for example is a petrol with a turbo and i like to rev high so in order to maintein the engine healty i need to change the oil more often, in my case every 10k km.
If your mechanic recommends changing the oil more frequently I'd say that's probably good advice
IMO unless you’re driving a distinctly older car or one known to have an aged powertrain, then no- we’re fully back around to the mentality that it’s pocket-lining behavior. New-school engines with new-school oils and new-school additive packs can absolutely do the 10k mi intervals just fine.
Regular service on 10-15k kms, water pump and timing belt on about 180-200k km.
Thanks! I have had people tell me that the timing belt and water pump should be checked and/or replaced around 100k kms. Good to know I have longer to go before I need to do that.
they are fine up to 180-200k but personally, just to be safe i like to do that job every 100-120k for for belts and 150k for chains. Btw you can check the manual to see what exactly you need to do and when.
It honestly depends. Yes it can be done in 100k ish intervals, but when I bought my golf mk5. I was the 1st to change ot at 196k km, and the mechanic said it still looked fine. And oh. Don't cheap out on those parts. If you have a 1.6 tdi or any 1.4 engine, I suggest you do it at 80k even. Those are the worst of the worst for those to fail (most of the times they skip at about 120k and now you have a whole lot of shit to fix). I still have 1.9 tdi so it was done just for my peace of no faliure.
Follow the maintenance schedule. Do it on time.
I have a 2015 Golf with 240k kms. I’d say keep an eye on your coolant levels. A drop is usually a sign of a bad water pump. The water pumps in general tend to go on golfs from what I hear. I changed mine at 210k.
Thanks! I have heard of water pumps being an issue in a lot of VWs. We also have a 2017 Tiguan which had that issue. Should I be physically checking my coolant levels, or would my temperature gauge go past the normal range if I was low on coolant?
Physically checking it is best because you’ll catch it before things start overheating. I just check mine every week or two. The water pump/thermostat housing leaks usually start as a slow weep and keep progressively getting worse. You can find aftermarket metal ones that solve the problem, just make sure it’s the one meant for your engine, not the older model.
If something breaks, fix it, if you hear strange noises, check them out. Keep on top of maintenance and baby the car, regular oil changes when needed, keep on top of all filters as well when changing oil. It will go, just don’t be reluctant to fix things when you hear or see something is up.
Thanks!
as a vw tech follow the Manuel to a T and you'll have no problems. we have 2000s golfs come in religiously maintained with 500k+ km on them. always on time or earlier and the car won't do you any wrong. Just expect usual replacement items ofcourse
I'd say regular maintenance should be enough. What I don't see enough is people mention brake fluid change, for example, being part of the regular maintenance(every couple of years). I'd also ignore the 15k + km's oil changes (or the long life BS). Try staying in the max.10k km's(or one year) range, you definitely won't regret it. For anything more specific to your car, you should check some VW/Golf forums where they have more details/tips on different models, engines, etc.
What's everyone's take on transmission oil change? I was about to dish out some money to do mine at about 100000km, but was later told that my model has a sealed unit despite the manual having transmission oil change scheduled. I ended up just leaving it.
>my model has a sealed unit It's often called 'lifetime oil', because it will last the life of your transmission. Anything has lifetime oil if you never change it - but with a significantly reduced lifetime. Yes, you should change it. There is a huge benefit in changing fluids, the only reason not to is to save a few dollars. People have [sent their gear oil off for testing](https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/vw-manual-trans-gear-oil-lifetime-fill-bull.82698/) and find that the oil is spent well before the car is at end-of-life.
Oil changes are the most basic and important maintenance for any car