When getting my '97 1.8T serviced recently, I asked a service manager at McDonald VW-Audi in Denver why the oil change interval had been changed from every 7500 miles in the '97 1.8Ts to once every 5000 miles in the '98s. He said the oil system had been changed. I'm skeptical. Does anyone have any ideas about this?<p><br>

Sounds like a hokey answer to me. Maybe it has to do with getting the engine metal particles out of the oil early, right after break in. I dunno. Mine is due for another service again soon too.<p>Steve S.<br>97 2.8QM

Boy, has this been discussed. Look to the archives and FAQ for lots of information. It appears most of the reason is emotional rather than technical. Base Stock Oil itself doesn't go bad, but the additives age. We Americans tend to be very conservative and change oil often keeping the additives in peak condition; we can afford it. The Europeans tend to run the oil longer and appear to do it with no problems. The discussions here and on other forums tend to lean toward the change in published interval being a concession to our American view of how often the change needs to be done. <p>

I was told when I bought my 1997 that the oil change interval was 5000 mi. And I have been bringing it in at those intervals since the car was new.

Does your trip mileage indicator notify you of the need for service at 5000 mile intervals? Mine notifies me at 7500 mile intervals by flashing "oil" a few hundred miles before the required service. If so, it appears that Audi changed the service interval some time during the 1997 model year. Whether they also changed the "oil system" is uncertain. I'm not that concerned about the service interval, just a little perturbed that someone would try to feed me a line about the 1.8T engine's "oil system" having been changed, when that may not actually be true.