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VW Rabbit Basic Maintenance Questions

45 messages,  Last post on Nov 17, 2009 at 10:22 PM

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#33 of 45
Re: 40,000 mile maintenance [shipo] by micweb
Jul 13, 2009 (8:48 am)
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Replying to: shipo (Jul 13, 2009 8:39 am)

Shipo,
 
[begin thread hijack!]
 
What do you think about using Syntec 0W-30 in a Nissan 1.8 engine - I have the Cube as well, it almost "lugs" the engine when driven lightly with the CVT, I am concerned about bearing protection and worried the new SM grade oils don't have adequate levels of anti-wear additives - I understand both the Syntec 0W-30 and Royal Purple 5-30 are SL, not SM graded with extra anti wear additives.
 
Do you think the SM antiwear additives are sufficient now in light of the Mobil 1 5W-30 "wear issue" Valvoline is claiming?
 
I have a jug of Valvoline 5W-30 for my first Cube oil change. But I just read a thread on another forum about Nissan 1.8 engine problems related to oil failure. So I am a little worried about what I use in the Cube and how often I change it. The SL oil would probably void my catalytic converrter warranty but not the engine warranty, to make matters further complicated....
 
[end of thread hijack - I don't mean to start a discussion, but I know Shipo is quite the oil-head and I'm too lazy to shift to the oil forum]
#34 of 45
Re: 40,000 mile maintenance [micweb] by shipo
Jul 13, 2009 (9:43 am)
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Replying to: micweb (Jul 13, 2009 8:48 am)

Hmmm, interesting issue. While I'm going to have to remain a bit ambiguous on this one, I do have a few comments and questions to offer.
 
 - I have yet to see any concrete evidence that the new SM oils (at least the ones that are considered "Synthetic") have any wear related issues.
 
 - Per the Castrol web site, yes, Syntec 0W-30 is only SL rated, and as such, it's probably an older formula (i.e. pre-SM) that includes a fair amount of ZDDP (the stuff that poisons catalytic converts).
 
 - IMHO, the "Mobil 1 wear issue" as claimed by Valvoline is a red herring and is more marketing bilge than anything else. I say that because of you take a look at the Mobil 1 5W-30 (why anybody would use 5W-30 when 0W-30 is available for the same price is beyond me) UOAs on the BITOG web site, I have yet to see any evidence of accelerated wear in any engine.
 
 - Regarding premature failures of the Nissan 1.8 liter mills, I'm curious to know if they track to any particular oil type (i.e. grade or group type), transmission type, geographic region, driving environment or have anything else on common. I'm also curious if Nissan has released any TSBs on the issue.
 
Best regards,
Shipo
#35 of 45
Re: 40,000 mile maintenance [shipo] by micweb
Jul 13, 2009 (9:47 am)
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Replying to: shipo (Jul 13, 2009 9:43 am)

Someone on a Cube forum works in a Nissan service department and was cautioning people to be sure to get oil changes at 3,750 miles because engines were coming in with problems and Nissan wouldn't warrant them without factory oil change intervals. Not much other information and Nissan permits up to 7,500 mile oil changes for mostly freeway drivers in temperate climates. I'll keep researching and see if I can find more on the engine problem. Most likely its a design or manufacturing flaw unrelated to oil. It wasn't reported as a sludge issue...
#36 of 45
Re: 40,000 mile maintenance [micweb] by shipo
Jul 13, 2009 (9:59 am)
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Replying to: micweb (Jul 13, 2009 9:47 am)

Yeah, sludge is fairly unlikely with a new(ish) engine as that stuff usually takes quite a while to form. From my perspective at least, I'm wondering about that CVT and its ability to lug the engine to a point where the lower end of the engine is being harmed. An interesting indictment of the CVT programming would be if identical cars with manual transmissions (is the Cube available with a stick?) developed a much lower incidence of problems.
 
Keep us posted.
 
Best regards,
Shipo
#37 of 45
Re: 40,000 mile maintenance [micweb] by jeffyscott
Jul 13, 2009 (7:48 pm)
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Replying to: micweb (Jul 13, 2009 8:17 am)

Yes, since we do not put a lot of miles on, all our maintenance tends to be time interval based... so oil changes are about every 7500 miles, just because that is about the mileage we put on in a year.
#38 of 45
Re: 40,000 mile maintenance [jeffyscott] by shipo
Jul 14, 2009 (2:09 am)
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Replying to: jeffyscott (Jul 13, 2009 7:48 pm)

Wow, 7,500 miles per year, amazing. I bought a new car mid November last year, and in spite of the fact that I got laid off in March and spent the last several months job hunting primarily from home, that new car has almost 18,000 miles on it. Yikes!
 
Best regards,
Shipo
#39 of 45
Re: 40,000 mile maintenance [shipo] by micweb
Jul 14, 2009 (6:13 am)
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Replying to: shipo (Jul 13, 2009 9:59 am)

Yes, I am concerned about two Cube issues based on the CVT programming:
 
1. With light driving, a lot of near-lugging, driving on city streets 1200 rpm.
 
2. With heavy acceleration, the CVT holds high RPM much longer than you would typically hold with a manual or conventional auto tranny.
 
That is why high film strength oil like Royal Purple with high antiwear additives (like Royal Purple of German Castro) might be worth considering.
 
It's ironic that the traditionally quirky VW is less "fussy" to me than the "Japanese" Cube. That's because VW spec's their own fluids designed to exactly match their engine design and transmission philosophy. The Cube has to rely on 99 cent close out motor oil from Kragen....
 
So people who complain about 502 oil and difficulty locating it and expense don't know how good they actually have it....
#40 of 45
Re: 40,000 mile maintenance [micweb] by shipo
Jul 14, 2009 (6:17 am)
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Replying to: micweb (Jul 14, 2009 6:13 am)

"With light driving, a lot of near-lugging, driving on city streets 1200 rpm."
 
Yikes, twelve hundred RPMs, yeah, that's a bit low. Sounds like Nissan is working for the fuel economy thing and not the engine longevity thing. Go figure.
#41 of 45
Re: 40,000 mile maintenance [shipo] by micweb
Jul 14, 2009 (8:32 am)
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Replying to: shipo (Jul 14, 2009 6:17 am)

It can float at the "near-lug" point for maximum fuel economy because the CVT doesn't have to throw a conventional "quantum leap" downshift to get you back into the power band - it can almost imperceptibly change the ratio on the fly, to scoot up to a whopping 1400 rpm when needed or even to 2000-2500 if I need some "real" acceleration....but yeah, I do wonder about the pressure placed on the engine bearings compared to a conventional automatic or even a stick shift (I drive the Rabbit at very low rpm but I can't "hover" over the lug point like the CVT does, or I go nuts throwing upshifts and downshifts to adjust to road grade and traffic). However I think the engine failures I mentioned earlier were not related to bearing wear....I can't find the forum that mentioned the engine failures that the mechanic was seeing at his dealership on Versa 1.8's.
#42 of 45
Re: 40,000 mile maintenance [shipo] by jeffyscott
Jul 17, 2009 (9:41 am)
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Replying to: shipo (Jul 14, 2009 2:09 am)

We have two cars and it is about the same for each. Mine has just about 20,000 in 2.5 years. A relatively short commute helps, about 1/2 of my 7500-8000 per year is accounted for by commuting to work.
 
OTOH, during a trip last week in CA + OR we put 1400 miles on a rental car (I don't think Hertz made a profit at the resulting ~13 cents per mile). During last year's week in WY, ID, MT we did about 1000 on a rental.

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