Quote:You made me curious, so I went back to my service invoices to check.  Apart from the 30K service, the only parts listed at the 10K intervals were a filter element, the engine oil, and on one occasion, a screw.  

 

The 30K service was different, in addition to the above, they listed a cabin pollen filter, the engine air filter and a part-B numbered filter element (not sure what this is, maybe it's what you are referring to, but the service interval on those puppies must be around every 30,000 miles).  Going to have my 60K service shortly so I'll check to see if they change it again.

 

The service guide tells you to change it every 10k miles on the TDI I'm just telling you from experience I've seen it a dozen times at about 8k those cartridge filters start falling apart. Heck just last year I had a Volvo (they also do 10k service intervals) with less than 90k miles on it come through with a blown engine. He had been doing the services at 10k like recommended but after his last service his filter completely fell apart and he drove about 500 miles without an oil filter that was it for the engine. He had the records where the service had been completed they changed the filter and everything. Volvo told him that because he didn't change his oil at a Volvo dealership, it was a Tuffy or something like that, he was out of luck.

 

I've personally gone to change cartridge filters at about 7k miles and they literally fall apart in my hands. Those rubber seals that go around the cartridge filter also get brittle and start to leak out of your housing assembly.

 

It cost roughly 30 bucks to change the cartridge filter out, maybe less you could honestly do it yourself. but that extra step makes SO much difference in the longevity of a car.

 

Remember the dealership service guide is just a guide, it doesn't factor in recalls after that guides printed, known problems that always come up, extreme temperatures or road conditions and so on. It's not a bible it's just a guide. Honestly those things are written by engineers that want your car to last just long enough to get out of warranty. It's a minimum guide at best.

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