Servicing - being told different things by dealers

[Monsoon]

I thought I finally understood the service regime on my Leon (see http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=406409 from a few months ago), but now I'm more confused than ever! Ant, you were very helpful last time - if you (or anyone else in the know) could clarify / advise me now I'd be really grateful.

My car is now 15 months old, with 8100 miles on the clock. It is on the Longlife (variable) setup. The service display has just started to show up, saying that there are only 11 days / 4500 miles left until the 'Oil change service'. The display also shows that the'Inspection service' is due in 10,500 miles / 256 days (i.e. 8 and a half months times).

I have called three Seat dealerships and they have all quoted the same price of £169 for a 'first service'. When I explain to them that I am on the longlife regime and it is an oil change only service NOT an inspection service (as described in the service booklet and the above thread) they tell me it doesn't work like this, and the cost is standard which includes oil change and various checks.

This has left me lost to know what to do. In short, the dealers are telling me something completely different to the instructions in the service book.

 

[Ant]

The more I look in to this, the more I confuse myself too...

My car was on Longlife at delivery, but I took it for the first service at 8 months/10k miles and had it changed on to fixed intervals to better suit the usage it was getting. This first (oil change) service cost me £169, which would tally with what you're being quoted now and seems appropriate given the car's age and mileage. The 2yr/20k service would normally be £199, going by the Seat website.

Not having done a Longlife service before though, I can only really go by the theory, but it sounds about right and if you've got 3 different dealers saying the same thing, I'd just go with it. It's them and Seat that you need to keep happy when it comes to any warranty work.

Sorry for not being more helpful on this... someone who has actually done the Longlife services can probably shed more light on this than me, as to what work was carried out and when.

 

[terryt]

I got a letter from my dealer saying mine was due for its 12 month service. Took it in last week and 45 minutes after dropping the car off got a call to say it's not due for another 12 months! Have done 1,800 miles in 13 months and apparently it's set for long life.

 

[Monsoon]

Ok, thanks for your help.

Really don't know what to do now. This variable servicing is more trouble than it's worth.

 

[Benjiman]

If you use genuine Seat parts, then warranty will remain in place. I'm on long life, but plan to change the oil & filter every twelve months irrespective of what the service computer tells me to do.

Cost of oil & filter is much less than that of a new engine (when out of warranty obviously)..

 

[MattW35]

Got to say i'm a bit confused about servicing times as well.

I bought my car with 2800 miles on it (ex Seat demo). Looking in the service page, I think it says oil change is due at something like 15000 and inspection at something like 18000. Seems kind of odd that they would be so close.

 

[JamMonkey]

I've been on Long Life Servicing for the past 3 car iterations. Excluding my first Mark 2 Leon which didn't have the sump sensor.

Long life servicing does look at the quality of the oil verse the service interval. and they are now measured separately on the Mark 3 verse the Mark 2 Face Lift.

So if its long life and you drive the car hard it will require a service sooner than the service internal returns thus the second indicator.

On my Golf pre Mark 2 Leon, you went by the indicator as you did with the Mark 2 Leon Facelift which was a standard Mileage Indicator set at 18,000 miles, both of these cars needed me to manually top up oil at around 12,000

If you get the car serviced because the oil service indicator comes on then they will reset both clocks at the same time.

The service internal time relates to a internal clock/mileage and the oil change counter to a sump sensor monitoring the oil quality.

This is what I'm let to believe. I guess the computers in the newer cars are that much better at monitoring the oil quality and this justifies the second counter in theory they don't need service level indicator but i guess its there because its there on short (1 year) service cars.

Indeed SEAT only offer £169 (1year 10,000miles/8,000Km) £199 (1year 20,000miles/16,000Km)and £249 services (Long Life). - Well they did in March 2014 when i had my MK 2 2011 serviced for the second time at 36,000 miles

Hope this helps
Matt

 

[Seastormer]

I've been on Long Life Servicing for the past 3 car iterations. Excluding my first Mark 2 Leon which didn't have the sump sensor.

Long life servicing does look at the quality of the oil verse the service interval. and they are now measured separately on the Mark 3 verse the Mark 2 Face Lift.

So if its long life and you drive the car hard it will require a service sooner than the service internal returns thus the second indicator.

On my Golf pre Mark 2 Leon, you went by the indicator as you did with the Mark 2 Leon Facelift which was a standard Mileage Indicator set at 18,000 miles, both of these cars needed me to manually top up oil at around 12,000

If you get the car serviced because the oil service indicator comes on then they will reset both clocks at the same time.

The service internal time relates to a internal clock/mileage and the oil change counter to a sump sensor monitoring the oil quality.

This is what I'm let to believe. I guess the computers in the newer cars are that much better at monitoring the oil quality and this justifies the second counter in theory they don't need service level indicator but i guess its there because its there on short (1 year) service cars.

Indeed SEAT only offer £169 (1year 10,000miles/8,000Km) £199 (1year 20,000miles/16,000Km)and £249 services (Long Life). - Well they did in March 2014 when i had my MK 2 2011 serviced for the second time at 36,000 miles

Hope this helps
Matt

Also if you do lots of short journeys, it will flag up that the oil needs changed early too.

 

[mick_n3]

Mine was set to long life when I picked it up, had it changed to fixed, call me old fashioned but i just don't think it's right doing 20k between oil changes, I accept oil technology has advanced but I still don't buy into it.
I would rather have a service every year

 

[Seastormer]

Mine was set to long life when I picked it up, had it changed to fixed, call me old fashioned but i just don't think it's right doing 20k between oil changes, I accept oil technology has advanced but I still don't buy into it.
I would rather have a service every year

Me too. and my last two Biza's could also run the long life regime, but they were set to mileage from the off, just like the 280.

 

[mick_n3]

Me too. and my last two Biza's could also run the long life regime, but they were set to mileage from the off, just like the 280.

Chances are it will have an oil change in between as well, it's on a pcp so should I decide to keep it at the end i know it's been done the old fashioned way

 

[Seastormer]

Chances are it will have an oil change in between as well, it's on a pcp so should I decide to keep it at the end i know it's been done the old fashioned way

Mine is not on pcp, and will be kept passed the 3 years, so I too want it done at least once a year.

 

[Monsoon]

I've written to Seat Customer Services about this, but have pretty much resigned myself to the fact that for those vehicles on the longlife regime, the "Inspection Service" shown on the car's service display is meaningless and the 'Oil Change Only Service' (which will always occur before the inspection service date, assuming both indicators are reset at the same time) is what dictates when the car is serviced.

 

[Seastormer]

I've written to Seat Customer Services about this, but have pretty much resigned myself to the fact that for those vehicles on the longlife regime, the "Inspection Service" shown on the car's service display is meaningless and the 'Oil Change Only Service' (which will always occur before the inspection service date, assuming both indicators are reset at the same time) is what dictates when the car is serviced.

My SEAT dealer explained to me a long time back, the long life oil set up is only for the oil change. The car still needs an inspection service at 10,000m/12 months whatever comes first, to check/adjust other stuff, but no oil change till it needs it. The problem can be that the oil service warning can come up at any time up to 20,000m, so may happen a couple of days after you have had it in for the inspection service, so back it has to go. It may go to the max time if you drive a lot of long motorway journeys, or be a lot sooner if lots of short trips are done. I chose the 12 month/10,000 mile service set up so I only ever need one service a year, which I was told most people prefer. Some lesser dealers don't seem to know this it seems

 

[marty_34]

i tend to agree with the earlier remark about oil advancing but not leaving it for 20k miles

mines set on the variable as i understand the majority are when they come fro the factory but think I'm going to go down the 1 year / 10k miles fixed route

 

[Snah]

My SEAT dealer explained to me a long time back, the long life oil set up is only for the oil change. The car still needs an inspection service at 10,000m/12 months whatever cones first, to check/adjust other stuff but, no oil change till it needs it. The problem can be that the oil service warning can come up at any time up to 20,000m, so may happen a couple of days after you have had it in for the inspection service, so back it has to go. It may go to the max time if you drive a lot of long motorway journeys, or be a lot sooner if lots of short trips are done. I chose the 12 month/10,000 mile service set up so I only ever need one service a year, which I was told most people prefer. Some lesser dealers don't seem to know this it seems

Totally rubbish what your dealer told you and against inspection advice of Seat themselves.
But at least an oil change every year is advisable.

 

[Seastormer]

Totally rubbish what your dealer told you and against inspection advice of Seat themselves.
But at least an oil change every year is advisable.

Sorry bud, but my dealers service manager is a good friend of mine and this is the true story here in the UK. Netherlands may be a diff story.

 

[KenTT]

My dealer put my Leon on a long life service at the start, but I have previous experience and know that with my relatively short commute, the oil change will get flagged much sooner than 20K.

I thought our dealer said there is a discount for booking on line, but I could be mistaken.

 

[Seastormer]

My dealer put my Leon on a long life service at the start, but I have previous experience and know that with my relatively short commute, the oil change will get flagged much sooner than 20K.

I thought our dealer said there is a discount for booking on line, but I could be mistaken.

There are freebies thrown in like oil etc if you book online, I believe.

 

[JamMonkey]

When I first started on Long Life on a 05 plated Golf GTD i was told the oil sensor could work out the need of a change by the VW salesman who is a old friend.
When i moved to SEAT they didn't have the sump sensor until the face lift Mark 2 which i pumped for straight away and the first Leon was after 3 years on its fifth service and costing me a mint in services (because the service was actually 8,000Km not 12,000miles which was standard this was annoying).
But i was told the following buying my first LEON FR MK2 without sump sensor, VW sell so many cars they have to put cars on Long Life because they can't fit them all in for services after 12 months.
I queried this with my friend at VW and he said it was true to some extent but the sump sensors are very good and therefore even for lite use, low mileage cars there wasn't a need to see the car at 12 months if the oil was ok.
We are all now using synthetic oils so they don't deteriorate in the same manner as older oils.

But its a personnel choice at the end of the day, i'm high mileage long runs so variable suits verse 10,000 miles servicing, especially when oil costs so much.