The VAG Pumpe Duse or PD engine requires a very specific grade of oil which must meet or exceed the specifications detailed by VAG. .
N.B. - Ignore these specifications at your peril. There is no other equivalent specification as the oils are designed and specified for use in PD diesel engines specific to VAG (they developed these engines to avoid having to pay direct-injection royalty fees to Fiat who own the patents for DI diesel technology).
In the PD engines, the injector is also a high-pressure pump and the oil is specially formulated to lubricate this VAG-designed part. Use of the incorrect oil can result in early expensive failure of the injectors, turbo failure, blocked crank-case vent pipes or failed exhaust gas recirculation valves as the the non-PD oil breaks down earlier, turning into a thick sludge.
To find the correct oil for your car, look for these marks on the side of the container :
- "VW 505 01" (the old specification number)
- "VW 507 01" (the new specification number)
Ignore all other specification, grading or approval marks as they are irrelevant.
I believe you can ignore VW 506 01 "for models with flexible service intervals" as this specification was generally for lease cars / fleet cars / police cars in the UK market.
Below is a list of oils which are suitable and / or approved for use in the PD diesel engine, such as the 1.9 TDI PD fitted to the 2005 Octavia. They will all have the VW spec marks on the container.
- BP Special Visco V 5W-40 (Fully Synthetic)
- Castrol EDGE Turbo Diesel 5W-40
- Fuchs Titan Supersyn SL PD SAE 5W-40 (Fully Synthetic)
- Millers XFE-PD SAE 5W-40 (Semi Synthetic)
- Valvoline DuraBlend Diesel SAE 5W-40 (Semi Synthetic)
Check the continers carefully and also check the capacity; your will need approx 4.5 litres of oil but some such as the Castrol EDGE Turbo Diesel 5W-40 are only sold in 4 litre and 1 litre containers; the Valvoline DuraBlend Diesel SAE 5W-40 (Semi Synthetic) is sold in 5 litre containers.