Approved engine oils for pumpe duse VW TDI engines (2004-2006 VW TDI)
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First, why should you go to the trouble of making sure the diesel engine gets the proper oil?  First, if you do not use the VW engine oil for the pumpe duse engine, you could void the warranty on the engine so save your receipts!  Second, turbo engines require clean oil to lubricate their many moving parts under high temperature.  Diesel engine oil has to sustain more soot than gasoline engines.  Since your car has both, it is especially important to use the proper grade oils.

Pumpe duse approved engine oils will also work on pre pumpe duse engines but not the other way around.  Not sure if you have a pumpe duse?  North American VW TDI, model year 2004-2005 for the passat and 2004-2006 for Jetta/Golf/New Beetle the were all pumpe duse and require pumpe duse specification oil.  If in doubt, use a higher spec. because higher spec. oils are compatible with engines calling for a lower spec., but lower spec is not compatible with engines that require higher spec. oil.  If you need help identifying your car, take a look at 1000 answered questions: mk4 cosmetic differences to see cosmetic differences that pumpe duse cars had with earlier cars.  Also see 1000 answered questions: direct injection vs pumpe duse to see  more mechanical differences that pumpe duse cars had.

Also note that it is normal for the oil to be black, even when new.  This is normal for a VW TDI and perfectly fine.  There is a little bit of oil remaining in the engine when you do an oil change and it's enough to turn all of the oil black. That carbon black is why a diesel engine oil is needed instead of an oil formulated for gasoline engines - it's soot that is suspended in the oil.  

With 2003 and earlier engines, you have a greater choice of oils.  Pumpe duse oils are backwards compatible with older, direct injection VW engines.   VW 505.00, API CI-4, API CH-4, or API CG-4 all can be used in the pre 2004 engines without pumpe duse in addition to pumpe duse approved oils.  Some of the below oils are synthetic, some are not.  Whenever possible, I recommend synthetic to take advantage of the full change interval.  Depending on the oil, you may even extend the service interval for up to 15,000 or 20,000 miles, refer to the oil spec sheet for more details.  Although synthetic is more expensive, the longer change interval cuts the number of oil changes in half, realizing a cost savings.  

Pumpe duse engine oil must meet VW oil standards: 505.01, 506.01, or 507.00. This oil is generally more expensive but it is the only oil that will keep your engine warranty intact.  Ultimately you can use whatever you want, but it is suggested to use these oils in the pumpe duse engine.  This oil helps cushion high contact pressures between the camshaft and lifters from the use of narrow cam lobes (due to limited head space).  The VW spec the oil meets is noted below.  Also take into account service life/condition and operating temperatures when choosing an oil.

Here are the links to the oil manufacturers' product information sheets, so make sure that you check the specs for yourself!  1000q: engine oil reference list

Some approved oils are:

(full list in this .pdf file, right click save as. approved oil tsb)

ELF SOLARIS LSX 5W30 OEM approval for VW 507 (and VW 504)

ELF EVOLUTION CRV synthetic 0W-30 OEM approval VW 506.01 (and VW 506.00 VW 503.00)

ELF EXCELLIUM DID synthetic  5W-40 synthetic OEM approval VW 505.01 (and VW 505.00 VW 500.00)

Motul Specific 5w-40 OEM approval VW 505.01 505.00 500.00 and FORD WSS M2C 917A

Motul 6100 OEM approval  VW 505.01

Anything else that is certified by VW as 505.01, 506.01, or 507.00. 

Other places where you can buy engine oil that meets the VW TDI pumpe duse engine spec: (click links to compare current prices)

KermaTDI         TDIparts

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