babycham

I have a 2.0 petrol octavia estate 2001 Y. It has done 58k miles.

In the last 10k miles it has used [Burnt!] 4 litres of oil. The oil is the shell VX longlife at £16.99/litre.

It has been to a dealer for a check and it is not leaking oil as confirmed by the dealer and my clean drive.

Does anybody have any ideas why and what can be wrong and what is the likely cost of putting it right?

All views/comments will be appreciated.

Cheers

cheezemonkhai

The oil might be to thin, are you sure that is the right grade?
I would think that the 5w-30 might burn a little less than a 0w-30

If you are, then tbh i think VAG quote something like 1L per 600miles is deemed acceptable.

It might be worth topping the engine oil up and then taking the car out, warming it up and giving it a good ragging. I have heard that the long life oils can glaze on the bores which allows it to leak past, and a very occasional ragging can help remove some of this.

Sorry I can't be more use and welcome

__________________
Cars make CO2 and trees absorb CO2. By driving your car you're feeding a tree and helping the environment.

DGW

Welcome from me too. The Octavia Owner's Manual says: Depending on the style of driving the (oil) consumption can be as much as 1 litre/1000 km. 4 litres in 10,000 miles is only around 25% of that figure so is way within manufacturer's limits. Have you owned the car from new and, if so, what was the oil consumption during the previous 48,000 miles?

PS: I have moved your thread to a more appropriate forum.

__________________
Denis

2002 Octavia 1.8T 4X4 turbo Estate - rebreathed on by Jabba ... 31.93mpg
2007 Fabia vRS - CC, ESP and full leather trim by Seat Surgeons ...48.57 mpg...

Lummox

However there are known issues with piston rings on the 2.0 litre petrol engine.

__________________
Unit 18 Automotive Services
www.unit18.co.uk

Remapping Service now available, PM for details.

dickeyboy

Hi lummox, I have a similar problem and VAG-COM also reports intermittent misfire on Cylinder 4. I take it there is no easy fix to this and its expensive!?

KenONeill

I've seen plenty of reports of what the owners regard as "heavy oil consumption" on VAG engines from other fora. It's frequently associated with one or both of a "gentle" driving style and running variable servicing schedules.

KenONeill

Check the plug, lead or coil pack as applicable, and if no fix there, have a compression test done.

babycham

Thanks to everyone for their answers.
I bought the car when it had 43k on the clock in Nov 2006 and it had an annual service doen as part of the deal. I then had a long life service done and since then ie Feb 2007 it has used 3 litres. I have done 15k since I bought it. All my driving is motorway. I do 600 miles a week.
Using 1 litre of oil every 1000km or 600 miles would actually make it more expensive than a merc to service.
Should I do an annual service rather than a linglife? WHat is the best oil to top up with? I have used teh same oil as the dealer used in the last servie Shell VX [16.99/litre]

Thanks again to ALL

babycham

Thanks to everyone for their contribution.

I do 600 miles per week.
If the car uses 1 litre every 1000km or 600miles and assuming the long life service lasts 15k miles I would use 25 litres of oil which would cost 25ltrs x 16.99=424.75 plus the cost of the service at £200. It would be cheaper to service a merc?!?!

The car was bought when it has 43k miles in Nov 06. The car had a annual service as part of the deal. I serviced it in Feb 07 [longlife service]. Its only since servicing it that it has lost the oil. I have done 15k miles since I bought it. I do 600miles per week all motorway at 70mph.

1] Should I sell the car?
2] Should I get the piston rings sorted [some advise is that it could be this]
3] Do annual servicing which would only cover 10k miles and keep topping the oil as this oil will be cheaper?

OR WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Note I get a good car allowance and I get a fuel card for both business & private use hence the high miles and the car being petrol & not diesel.

Thanks

KenONeill

1) That's entirely up to you. I don't think there's an expensive problem with the engine though, if that would be your main reason for selling.
2) A compression test should only cost a tenner or so, and will confirm, or more likely, deny the piston rings theory.
3) I'm running fixed on my diesel, and it's not using measurable oil. I often say that checking the level every week would remove more oil than it burns. Cost of last inspection service was £180 including a brake fluid change and a coolant change (but dealer is in Glasgow).

Lummox

I'd pop the air pipe off the throttle body and see what it looks like. If there is an ammount of oil in there it would sugest its burning its own oil.

It doesnt burn it directly due to the piston rings so a compression test doesnt allways show up an issue. Basically the compression gasses leak past the rings and into the crankcase, this over pressurises the breather system and forces the oil through the breather circuit and into the intake. New rings means an engine strip down and rebuild.

__________________
Unit 18 Automotive Services
www.unit18.co.uk

Remapping Service now available, PM for details.

cheezemonkhai

Millers sell 5L of VW 504/507 for £38 which is much cheaper than £16.99 a litre

I would go run the thing on fixed interval services myself and see if the problems go away.

Don't forget that the fixed interval service would be very regular but then some of those services will be just an oil change.

I would think that it might just be worth taking it and giving it a good high revs drive to see if this helps as I suggested, however Ross knows a lot about the VAG engines and as he mentioned piston ring issues I would probably have a chat with the dealer and see what they come back with.

HTH

__________________
Cars make CO2 and trees absorb CO2. By driving your car you're feeding a tree and helping the environment.

semm

I have a 2.0 which uses about 2L every 8K (year). I change the oil every year with valvoline durablend at £18/5L. I think this engine is better suited to fixed interval servicing (its quite an old design), especially if you are paying £16.99/L for long life oil. What viscosity is the long life stuff?

Steve