Ownership

Servicing, fluids and capacities

Service intervals, fluid specifications and capacities, and the part numbers for routine servicing on the Golf MK7 and MK7.5. Most capacities and intervals come from Volkswagen of America documents for the Golf R; the UK official schedule was not found, so UK figures are marked Unverified. Brake fluid, bleeding, tyre and oil-grade notes include data from the MQB Track Cars owners' club, credited and linked.

Service regimes

UK

UK cars are serviced on either a fixed or a flexible (LongLife) regime. Figures reported by a secondary source:¹ Unverified

Fixed: Every 12 months or about 9,300 miles.¹
Flexible: Up to 2 years or 18,600 miles.¹

US

The US schedule is a fixed one: oil and filter every 10,000 miles or 1 year.²

Service intervals

Where a UK figure comes only from forums it is marked Unverified.

Item	UK	US (VWoA)	Source
Engine oil and filter	12 months / ~9,300 mi fixed; up to 2 years / 18,600 mi flexible Unverified	10,000 mi / 1 year	[1] [2]
DQ250 6-speed DSG oil and filter	Unverified	40,000 mi (2018 schedule)	[3]
DQ381 7-speed DSG oil and filter	Specialists advise 40,000 mi Unverified	80,000 mi	[4] [5]
Haldex coupling oil	3 years / 30,000 mi (forum) Unverified	3 years	[4] [5]
Spark plugs	60,000 mi / 6 years (forum) Sources differ	40,000 mi / 4 years	[4] [5]
Air filter	Unverified	60,000 mi / 6 years	[5]
Pollen filter	Unverified	40,000 mi / 2 years	[5]
Brake fluid	Unverified	At 3 years, then every 2 years	[5]
Coolant	Unverified	No interval	[5]
Timing chain (EA888)	No interval	No interval	[5]
Cam belt (EA211 petrol)	Unverified	Unverified	[6]
Panoramic roof drains	Unverified	Clean every 20,000 mi / 2 years	[7]

The EA211 petrol engines (1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.5 TSI) have a toothed cam belt that also drives the coolant pump off the exhaust camshaft.⁶ The EA888 2.0 TSI in the GTI and R has a chain.⁵

Fluids and capacities

Capacities are from the VWoA Golf R chart unless noted. The US 2017 chart wrongly labels the car "FWD", and a row in the 2015 chart says "GTI" but is the Golf R. US Golf R engine codes are CYFB (2015-18), DJJA (2018) and DLRA (2019).⁸ Other models may differ; check by VIN.

System	Specification	Capacity	VW part number	Source
Engine oil	US MY2015-18: VW 502 00, 5W-40 or 5W-30. US MY2019 (DLRA): VW 504 00, 0W-30. UK LongLife VW 504 00 as the fill spec Unverified	~5.7 L with filter		[8] [9]
Coolant	G13 (TL-VW 774 J). G12evo is backward-compatible and can be mixed	10.0 L	G 013 A8J	[8] [10]
DQ250 DSG (0D9)	DSG oil	New 6.9-7.2 L; change 5.2 L	G 052 182 A2	[8]
DQ381 DSG (0GC)	DSG oil; level set at temperature with a scan tool	Change ~4.5 L; total ~6-7 L	G 052 529 A2 (retailers) or G 055 529 A2 (forum) Sources differ	[8] [11]
DQ400E hybrid DSG (0DD, GTE)		First fill 8.1 L		[12]
Manual gearbox (0FB)		2.3 L	G 052 512 A2	[8]
Haldex coupling		655 ml	G 060 175 A2	[8]
Bevel box (angle drive)		0.9 L	G 052 145 S2	[8]
Rear final drive		0.9 L	G 052 145 A1	[8]
Brake fluid	VW 501 14 / DOT 4 VW official. The club also gives DOT 4 as the factory fill. More in Brake fluid	~1.2 L	B 000 750	[8] [13]
A/C refrigerant	US MY2015-17: R134a. US 2018 on: R1234yf. UK Unverified	R134a: 500 ±15 g		[8] [14]
A/C compressor oil	PAG	110 cc or 75 cc	G 052 300 A2 (110 cc) or G 052 154 A2 (75 cc)	[8]
Washer fluid		3-5 L		[8]

Engine oil approvals and grades

What matters for the engine is the VW approval on the bottle, not only the viscosity grade; the approvals and capacity are in the table above.⁸⁹

Left out: the MQB Track Cars page on oil gives a list of outside air temperatures for each grade. It is left out because the grade numbers are not air temperature ratings.¹⁵ Oils the club lists for track use are on the Track and performance page.

Brake fluid

For buying, the club suggests about 1.5 litres for an MQB flush: three bottles for a normal flush and four for a fully drained system. Do not reuse fluid drained from the calipers.¹³ Unverified The 1.5 litres is a shopping quantity, not the system capacity.

The US VW interval is in the intervals table. For a modified road car the club suggests changing the fluid once a year or every 8,000 miles, and under 5,000 miles for a car used on track.¹³ Unverified

DOT class minimums

The wet boiling point is measured with about 3.7% water in the fluid, the level at which the fluid has taken up enough moisture to be at its worst.¹³ The club argues that the wet boiling minimum barely moves between DOT classes, so choose a fluid on its own dry and wet figures rather than on its DOT class.¹³ Unverified

Class	Min wet boiling point (°C)	Max viscosity at -40 °C (mm²/s)	Min viscosity at 100 °C (mm²/s)	Notes	Source
DOT 3	140	1,500	1.5	Unverified	[13]
DOT 4	155	1,800	1.5	Unverified	[13]
"DOT 4+" (low viscosity)	155	750	1.5	Not a class in the US DOT standard. The 750 figure matches ISO 4925 Class 6, the low-viscosity class VW fills Unverified	[13]
DOT 5	180	900	1.5	Unverified	[13]
DOT 5.1	180	900	1.5	Unverified	[13]

Fluids for track use, with their boiling points, are on the Track and performance page.

Service parts

Part	VW part number	Notes	Source
Oil filter	06L 115 562 (2015-18); 06L 115 562 B (2019)		[16]
Sump drain plug	06L 103 801	Fit a new plug	[16]
Air filter	5Q0 129 620 B		[17]
Pollen filter	5Q0 819 644 A / 5Q0 819 669		[17]
Spark plugs	06K 905 601 B	Same as NGK PLFER7A8EG. Gap 0.7-0.8 mm Unverified	[17]
Front wiper blades	5GM 998 002 (earlier 5G1 998 002)		[17]
Rear wiper blade	5G6 955 427 A / C		[17]
12 V battery	000, 5K0, 5GM, 6R0, 5TA or 1S0 915 105	Depends on the VIN. The GTE's 12 V battery is under a bolted cover in the boot floor	[17] [12]
DQ250 DSG filter	02E 305 051 C / D		[17]
DQ381 DSG filter	0GC 325 183 D with seal N 910 845 01, or 0GC325183A with o-ring N91084501 Sources differ	Filter suffix differs between sources	[17] [18]
DQ381 drain plug	N90215404 with seal N0438092	Unverified	[18]
DQ381 mechatronic plug	N90965401 with seal N0138132	Unverified	[18]
DQ381 fill pipe	0GC321363	Unverified	[18]
Haldex fill plug	N 902 818 02		[17]
Haldex drain plug	N 910 827 01	Fit a new seal	[17] [19]
Haldex Gen 5 service kit	0CQ598305	Seal kit	[20]
Haldex pump	0CQ598549 or 0CQ525549 Sources differ	Only if the pump has failed	[21] [22]

Drain and fill plug torques

Confirm every torque against the official workshop manual for your VIN before relying on it. Bolts given as a torque plus an angle ("+ angle") are stretch bolts and must be replaced.

Plug	Torque	Notes	Source
Engine sump plug 06L 103 801	30 Nm	New plug. VW official	[16] [23] [24]
Haldex drain plug	30 Nm or 25 Nm	New seal. Sources differ	[19]
Haldex fill plug	15 Nm		[19]
DQ250 drain plug	45 Nm		[25] [26]
DQ381 drain plug	45 Nm	Unverified	[27]

DSG and Haldex service notes

DSG

On MQB the DSG codes changed: the 7-speed dry DQ200 is 0CW and the 6-speed wet DQ250 is 0D9.⁶
DQ381: the oil level is set at temperature, using a scan tool.⁸
The DQ381 oil part number differs between retailers and forums; confirm it with a VW parts desk by VIN.¹¹

Haldex (4MOTION)

MK7 4MOTION cars use a fifth-generation Haldex coupling with electric pump V181.⁶
VW's procedure is an oil change only, but the strainer in front of the pump clogs, which leads to wheelspin, tramp and an all-wheel-drive warning. Specialists clean it at the oil change.²⁸¹⁹
Run the pump learn after any work on the coupling.²⁸

Bleeding the brakes

The club gives two bleed orders without saying which applies when.²⁹¹³ Unverified

Order	1	2	3	4	Source
VW order	Front left	Front right	Rear left	Rear right	[29] [13]
Alternative order the club gives for UK cars (ABS unit on the passenger side)	Rear right	Rear left	Front right	Front left	[29] [13]

Bleeding the ABS unit

If the pedal is still soft after bleeding, there may be air in the ABS unit. With a coding tool:²⁹ Unverified

Go to Control units, 03 Brakes, Output test, Hydraulic pump.
If you cannot hear the pump run, use 03 Brakes, Basic settings, Bleed brakes instead.
The pump runs for about 30 seconds to a minute. Open one bleed nipple per run.

Bleed nipple part numbers and torques are on the Parts and torque page.

Electric parking brake service mode

The rear calipers are electric parking brake (EPB) units. The EPB must be put into service mode to change the rear pads.³⁰

Rear brake squeal is covered on the faults page.

Tyres

Factory wheel and tyre sizes are on the model pages, for example the Golf R and GTI. Track tyres, widths and camber are on the Track and performance page.

Legal minimum tread (UK): 1.6 mm. The club says the fine is up to £2,500 per tyre, that illegal tyres can invalidate insurance and that they fail the MOT.³¹ Unverified
Tyre life on the road: About 3,000–10,000 miles, depending on driving, alignment and setup.³¹ Unverified
Pressures: Set them cold, since pressure rises as the tyre warms. The placard is on a front door pillar, driver's or passenger's side. The club says performance cars rarely run below 32 psi.²⁹ Unverified

GTE notes

The GTE has a high-voltage system (battery nominally 345 V). VW says only qualified staff may work on it: de-energise, secure against reconnection, then verify with tester VAS 6558A. The car's own "de-energised" check never replaces that manual check.¹²

The 12 V battery is under a bolted cover in the boot floor, and the high-voltage power electronics charge it.¹² The 0DD hybrid DSG takes 8.1 L on first fill.¹²

Sources

UK fixed and flexible service figures from a secondary source (VW UK official schedule not found; source not recorded)
VWoA maintenance document, 2019 (NHTSA copy)
VWoA 2018 maintenance document, DSG service (NHTSA copy)
UK owner and specialist forum reports (threads not recorded)
VWoA US maintenance schedule items as recorded in the research notes (document URL not recorded)
VW Self-Study Programme 513: The Golf 2013
VWoA TSB 60-18-03, panoramic roof drains (NHTSA copy)
VWoA Golf R fluid capacities chart (NHTSA copy)
VWoA MY2019 Golf R (DLRA) oil specification (NHTSA copy)
VWoA TSB 19-17-01, coolant G12evo compatibility (NHTSA copy)
DQ381 oil part number, retailer listings and forum posts (not recorded)
VW Self-Study Programme 537: The Golf GTE
MQB Track Cars: Brake fluid
VWoA TSB 87-18-08, refrigerant R1234yf from 2018 (NHTSA copy)
MQB Track Cars: Choosing oil
VWoA 2017 Golf, GTI and Golf R quick reference specification (NHTSA copy)
Service part numbers from parts catalogue lookups in the research notes (listing URLs not recorded)
SEAT Cupra forum: 7-speed DQ381 service
AutoInstruct: MK7 Golf MQB Haldex oil change and filter clean
VAG Parts: Gen 5 Haldex service kit, MQB
VAG Parts: Haldex pump 0CQ598549
Part number check in the torque and parts research (listing verified, URL not recorded)
VWoA Service Xpress, sump plug torque (NHTSA copy)
VWoA Service Xpress, sump plug torque (NHTSA copy)
ECS Tuning: Volkswagen DSG transmission fluid service
MyGolfMK7: torque specs
DQ381 drain plug torque as quoted in the torque research (no source recorded)
VWROC forum: Haldex failure
MQB Track Cars: Common problems
ServiceReset: VW Golf MK7 EPB service mode
MQB Track Cars: Tyres