Mobil1 - 301 Oil filter change (need advice)

at the vw dealer i work we recomend a 10k mile oil change interval on all cars with a vw oil filter, and 5w40 oil for petrol models.

the m1-301 oil filter is a great filter! it's got a great bypass valve, a good lot of filter element built into it. it's my GO-TO filter on my toys. (mobil filters in general)

10K on a 1.8T? No. That's what caused a lawsuit I believe, if not just a recall and a change of recommendations, from 10K miles to 5K miles for oil changes, because the 1.8T's were sludging up. That also changed the size of the filter, to a larger one. I was pissed when I did an oil change on my step dad's '03 and found the Titus-Will that had changed his oil the time before used an original size filter.

The reason for the bigger filters was half of the solutions to the sludge problem. Shorter intervals for oil quality and bigger filter for more oil capacity because the oil pan is smaller than average since VW basically cut a notch out of the pan to fit it over the subframe.

As for the OP's question, personally I'd do oil AND filter every 5k miles at most.
I use Castrol EDGE European formula 0W-40 and the Mobil M1-301 filter, personally. Mobil 1's european 0w-40 is a good choice as well but costs a bit more.

I agree with Kittera on this one, assuming that you're using full synthetic oil, a good oil filter, and NEVER driving your car like a madman you might be able to squeeze out 10k and be worry free - on the other hand there was a MASSIVE lawsuit for this exact reason. Spending an extra $12 every oil change is a lot cheaper than replacing your turbo or other components that can get gummed up.

Update: the filter is $9.99 on Amazon Prime right now

Yes, in theory the filter can be changed every other oil change, but you'll miss on changing the oil in the filter, and filters are inexpensive enough that it just doesn't make a lot of sense to economize in this fashion.

My go-to filter is the Purolator L30257, mostly because it's a filter commonly sold as part of oil change specials. But I've also used M1, Mann, and K&N's. The OEM filters (Mann or Mahle) can be had for cheap if you mail-order, though they are a bit pricey at the dealer.

I would definitely recommend changing the filter every time you change the oil, especially on a 1.8t. Like others have said, filters are cheap enough that you may as well change that along with the oil. I use a Mann W940/25 filter and Mobil1 0w40 full synthetic oil--you can buy a filter and a 5qt jug of the oil on Amazon for a grand total of around $30.

Definitely change the oil every 5k on your 1.8t. Again, it's been pretty well covered by the previous posters but there was a lawsuit pertaining to oil sludge and the fix was bigger oil filters, full synthetic oil, and 5k oil change intervals.

TheRustySuper said:

I would definitely recommend changing the filter every time you change the oil, especially on a 1.8t. Like others have said, filters are cheap enough that you may as well change that along with the oil. I use a Mann W940/25 filter and Mobil1 0w40 full synthetic oil--you can buy a filter and a 5qt jug of the oil on Amazon for a grand total of around $30.

Definitely change the oil every 5k on your 1.8t. Again, it's been pretty well covered by the previous posters but there was a lawsuit pertaining to oil sludge and the fix was bigger oil filters, full synthetic oil, and 5k oil change intervals.

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I concur. I can generally get the oversize Purolator L40316 (Mann 940/25) at PepBoys for less than $8, and I can get a 5-qt. jug of Mobil1 0W-40 for less than $25 at the local WalMart. I change oil and filter annually on a 1.8T that gets driven about 2500 mi/yr. Since the L40316 takes a full quart of oil on pre-fill, out of a total enhanced capacity of about 4.25 qt., I would not feel good about replacing only about 75% of my oil on the alternate changes. The filter is cheap, and once one gets the hang of pulling the throttle body's air inlet hose and the screws securing the coolant recovery tank, changing even the oversize filter is no big deal.

Note to those obsessing about preventing oil coking ("sludging") -- keeping your PCV system healthy is at least as important as frequently changing your oil.