I have 03 A4 1.8T manual. When I took my car for a first scheduled
service in May I asked to put a synthetic oil in. Yesterday, I picked my
car after a second scheduled service and then I realized that I forgot
to tell my dealer to put synthetic oil in, of course they used 'normal' oil.
I heard that once synthetic oil is used, one has to stick to it. Can this
cause any problems? Should I go back to my dealer and ask them to
do another oil change and this time used a synthetic one?
Any advice / comments?

Thanks a lot,
jr

 

jr wrote:
> I have 03 A4 1.8T manual. When I took my car for a first scheduled
> service in May I asked to put a synthetic oil in. Yesterday, I picked my
> car after a second scheduled service and then I realized that I forgot
> to tell my dealer to put synthetic oil in, of course they used 'normal' oil.
> I heard that once synthetic oil is used, one has to stick to it. Can this
> cause any problems? Should I go back to my dealer and ask them to
> do another oil change and this time used a synthetic one?
> Any advice / comments?
>
> Thanks a lot,
> jr
>
>

Yes, you should ask them to do it again as synthetic oil is a much
better choice for your turbocharged engine. However, the advice about
not mixing dino and synthetic oil hasn't been accurate for 20+ years.
"Back in the day" there were compatibility problems, but that hasn't
been the case in a very long time.

Cheers,

C

 

"jr" <najyer@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:521xb.25$p8C.14@news01.bloor.is.net.cable.rog ers.com...
> I have 03 A4 1.8T manual. When I took my car for a first scheduled
> service in May I asked to put a synthetic oil in.

Did you have to pay extra for synthetic? If not, chances are, they didn't
put synthetic in at all. At most dealership, the free maintence only covers
mineral oil, and if you want synthetic, you either have to bring your own or
pay for it at the dealer out of your own pocket.

> Yesterday, I picked my
> car after a second scheduled service and then I realized that I forgot
> to tell my dealer to put synthetic oil in, of course they used 'normal'
oil.
> I heard that once synthetic oil is used, one has to stick to it.

That's the preferred way, but I don't think your engine will suffer any
catastrophical consequences if you switch from one to another once in a
while. I'd be more concerned about the proper viscosity grade,
certification, and the change interval (longer runs are OK with synth, but
not necessarily with mineral).

> Can this
> cause any problems? Should I go back to my dealer and ask them to
> do another oil change and this time used a synthetic one?
> Any advice / comments?

Personally, I would replace it with synthetic ASAP. That's because turbo is
very hard on oil and IMO, mineral oil is not up to the task. Mineral is
more likely to coke if you don't observe proper turbo cooling procedures.
Also, if you do 10K mile oil change intervals (I'm assuming you do, since
you're still under warranty and it's free), mineral oil will be shot by
then. For the well-being of your engine in the long run (after the warranty
runs out), I'd use synthetic oil exclusively.

Cheers,

Pete

 

I called my dealer and they confirmed, mineral oil was
put in my car. I aready booked for next week to replace
back to synthetic.

Thanks Pete,

John

 

jr wrote:
> I have 03 A4 1.8T manual. When I took my car for a first scheduled
> service in May I asked to put a synthetic oil in. Yesterday, I picked my
> car after a second scheduled service and then I realized that I forgot
> to tell my dealer to put synthetic oil in, of course they used 'normal' oil.
> I heard that once synthetic oil is used, one has to stick to it. Can this
> cause any problems? Should I go back to my dealer and ask them to
> do another oil change and this time used a synthetic one?
> Any advice / comments?
>
> Thanks a lot,
> jr
Back in the day, as another poster put it, you could not put synthetic
oil in cars that did not have proper gaskets. I had an '84 Lincoln Mk7
that I bought as second owner in '96. After a week or so I put synthetic
in it, and let me tell you, that stuff ate the crap out the oil pan and
valve cover gaskets within weeks. Leaked like a sieve.