Lubricants
Like their related Volkswagen Group Turbocharged Direct Injection diesel engines, Volkswagen AG requires that motor oil lubricants for SDI engines must only meet VW505.00, 505.01, 506.00, 506.01, or 507.00 officially approved standards. 'Generic' oil standards such as the American Petroleum Institute 'API', or European Automobile Manufacturers Association 'ACEA' are not recognised, nor approved by VW - so oils bearing these generic approvals must not be used, except when the oil has also been granted one of the specific VW approvals.
Many formulations of motor oils from most brands are now "VW Approved" to the above standards. However, there does exist a few unapproved 'off brands' that print the VW number on the label, effectively 'claiming' to meet the said standard, but hide in small type the word "recommended". Volkswagen AG only carries out in-house testing on motor oils to grant the necessary approvals; if Volkswagen AG, therefore, has not carried out such tests (or if a submitted oil has failed their tests), Volkswagen AG will not grant approval. Volkswagen Germany (and Volkswagen of America) freely publish up-to-date lists of currently approved oils on their respective websites, along with the technical resource, erWin. Volkswagen AG does not permit any independent testing facility to grant their own VW standards.
All SDI-engined models with "LongLife Servicing", "Extended Service Intervals", "ESI", or "WIV", must be run on official 'LongLife' lubricants, namely VW506.00 (for non-PD), VW506.01 (for PD), or the very latest VW507.00. Again, other 'generic' longlife lubricants (or those longlife standards granted by other manufacturers such as General Motors, BMW or Mercedes-Benz) should not be used, unless they also have the official relevant VW LongLife approval.
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