TDI Official Oil Consumption Limits

[Gabbo]

My new Superb TDI (200Ps DSG7) needed ~750mL of oil at 6k km. (Reading a touch above low on dipstick & a check oil level warning).

I went to the dealer to get it checked & they "found no problems" and topped up the oil and coolant.

 

Another 6k km later I have again the check oil level warning and this time it's reading low on the dipstick so has used ~1L..

Coolant looks fine.

 

I'm back at the dealer on Wednesday to understand where it's going. 

There's no obvious signs of a leak I can see, 

So I assume it's burning oil but 1L every 6k km seems excessive to me..

 

When the dealer tells me it's "within official limits" does anyone know where the actual acceptable consumption is written in the VaG Manuals?

Edited 23 June by Gabbo

[Ootohere]

@Gabbo   Simply ask whoever to show you in writing what the 'Official Limits' are.   it is not 0.5 litres in 1,000 km / 621 miles.

 

Actually 0.3 litres in 1,000 km / 621 miles is not 'Within official limits'     But they must have the 'Official limits' to hand before just spouting the usual nonsense. 

 

The plonker that did this 'Official Oil Consumption test' on a 1.4 TSI Twincharger did not even know the weight of a litre of engine oil.

This one below.    *The 2nd one they tried to say the customer with the issue topped up oil to spoil the test.*

Edited 23 June by Ootohere

[Dieselgate]

That does definitely seem excessive, I can't help on what the VAG official limits are but I have the exact same engine and I think the low oil light came on at 13k miles. I topped up a litre and nothing since. It had a full service at around 18k miles and is now on just over 33k miles with no oil added.

I'm wondering if the car was originally supplied to me without being properly filled with oil.

[Gabbo]

That's what I was hoping originally that the PDI wasn't done properly as they flipped the car to me less than 2 days after it arrived at the garage.

 

My Octavia consumes 750mL of oil every 25k km which is ok for me. 

5L in the same distance is too much. 

 

I hope it's something simple like a misfitted hose rather than a dodgy turbo or piston rings that need major intervention. 

 

 

Gabbo

[Danoid]

Sounds odd and intimate, but put your finger in your exhaust move it round, is your finger clean?

 

If it’s all sooty then something is going on as it should be clean

 

like I said it sounds odd 😂

 

Could be a small leak but with plastic under trays and sound absorbent (oil absorbent) materials underneath it may never show as a leak on your drive.

 

If you weren’t going to send it back I’d say remove the under tray for a couple of weeks and observe

[Gabbo]

There's no oily deposits around the exhaust, I checked this already.

However with a DPF most of the oil will probably clog up the DPF id imagine (causing expensive problems later).

 

There's no spots of oil in there parking place & I've parked since Thursday with a cardboard sheet underneath again no spotting but you may be right with material absorbing the oil.

 

I don't have any proper jacks or ramps to be able to safely remove the undertray but I might try and remove the screws on one side to take a look before sending it on Wednesday....

 

 

Gabbo

[Ootohere]

Sooty TSI exhausts are because running rich.  I prefer to running lean.

(Oil is a whole different kettle of fish in sunflower oil.)

 

If oil gets to the exhaust tail pipe of a TDI then there really is something very far wrong. 

[fr1nklyn]

I'm with the same engine and I had to top up half liter in the first 1000km. Then till 10k, checked yesterday, I haven't topped up anymore. The dipstick is somewhere between min and max, a bit more to the max.

 

My local dealer told me to expect some oil consumption between 0,5 and 1,5l for 10k kms when I bought the car.

 

My manual says "up to 0,5 l/1000 km" which is 2,5l per 5k and 5L per 10k.. I know it's crazy hopefully you don't reach that level.

 

Would your dealer allow an oil change with oil you brought to them if it meets the required standard for this engine(504/507.00)? If yes why don't you try a different oil with lower evaporation loss(aka NOACK) like Ravenol VSW? Here is one test which ATO24 de done back in time https://ato24.de/en/blog/comparison-0w-30-engine-oils/#:~:text=NOACK at 250-,degrees,-Evaporation according to

 

 

BTW is it like that from the beginning with the factory oil or it started to happen after few services?

Edited 24 June by fr1nklyn

[Gabbo]

This was what I was afraid of....

0.5L/1000km means 10 to 15L in a year with my average usage (25-30k km), this is just crazy..!!!

No engine should use this much...

 

That's more oil than adBlue... (🤣)

 

My car is new from Dec 2023, so this consumption seems constant if not getting slightly worse (750ml after the first 6k) and another 1L at 13k...

 

I drive 95% on the highway cruising at 125kph, 140km round trip per day..

Nothing aggressive, limited short journeys and the temperatures were not cold this winter. 

 

I'm a bit nervous for what they will find on Wednesday, especially if they say there's "no problems"...

 

 

 

[Danoid]

21 minutes ago, Gabbo said:

This was what I was afraid of....

0.5L/1000km means 10 to 15L in a year with my average usage (25-30k km), this is just crazy..!!!

No engine should use this much...

 

That's more oil than adBlue... (🤣)

 

My car is new from Dec 2023, so this consumption seems constant if not getting slightly worse (750ml after the first 6k) and another 1L at 13k...

 

I drive 95% on the highway cruising at 125kph, 140km round trip per day..

Nothing aggressive, limited short journeys and the temperatures were not cold this winter. 

 

I'm a bit nervous for what they will find on Wednesday, especially if they say there's "no problems"...

 

 

 

Oh didn’t realise you’re still under warranty, they’ll most likely say that, if you were paying for it all they’d find  something, feed them some small lies like you can smell oil

Edited 24 June by Danoid

[fr1nklyn]

1 hour ago, Gabbo said:

This was what I was afraid of....

0.5L/1000km means 10 to 15L in a year with my average usage (25-30k km), this is just crazy..!!!

No engine should use this much...

 

That's more oil than adBlue... (🤣)

 

My car is new from Dec 2023, so this consumption seems constant if not getting slightly worse (750ml after the first 6k) and another 1L at 13k...

 

I drive 95% on the highway cruising at 125kph, 140km round trip per day..

Nothing aggressive, limited short journeys and the temperatures were not cold this winter. 

 

I'm a bit nervous for what they will find on Wednesday, especially if they say there's "no problems"...

 

 

 

125kph is less than 2k rpm on 7th gear, that’s not aggressive at all 😕 And your journeys should be perfect for a diesel, with mostly passive regens, no oil dilusion, etc.

 

Hopefully the shop will find something like a defect turbo seal or whatever.

 

I guess that you haven’t changed your oil yet, let see how the things will go after you oil service. I do assume that VW add one grade thinner oil in the factory to complete the break in process(like 0w20 instead of 0w30), but this is just a theory.

[Gabbo]

At this rate I'll have almost brand new oil before the first service 🤣

 

Maybe cheaper than a complete oil change every year as the top up will be at my price rather than the dealer markup...

 

 

[Ootohere]

0.5 litres / 1,000 km is not the 'Within tolerances'   just the figure used for 2 decades or more for 3,4,5.6.8.10 & 12 Cylinder petrols or diesels from 44 kW upwards.

 

There have been engines replaced under warranty for using 0.3 litres in 1,000 km. 

The Audi oil drinkers being a case covered over a period of time, and well documented. 

 

It is about, May use as much,  and under certain conditions.    Normal conditions which are not extremes are a different matter. 

 

Simply get the document from VW Group that states the Tolerances for oil use for which ever engine.

 

What they get away with in the EU / Europe - UK is not what is acceptable in other World Regions. 

 

They messed about thousands of Mk2 vRS 1.4 TSI Twincharger owners with VW,s, Skodas, SEATS & Audi,s with cars in warranty, and they sometimes got away with it, but not always.

As to out of warranty, they were caught out by people with After Market Warranties because the Warranty Companies knew there were a Fundamental Design, Manufacturing or material faults, and VW Group did deals with Warranty companies. ie made sure they never took the financial hit. 

 

 

Edited 24 June by Ootohere

[Gabbo]

Thanks @Ootohere..!

I'm a bit more reassured by that info. 

 

Although I'd prefer not to have a need engine but as the car is intended to be a keeper, it's perhaps better to start from a good one to minimise problems later.

 

🤞 For Wednesday

[Gabbo]

So feedback from the dealer on Wednesday was, there's are no signs of oil in the air intake, or after the turbo or in the exhaust.

There are no signs of oil leaking from the engine/sump.

 

The oil must be being consumed by the engine but they could not immediately do more because the official consumption figures from VW are 0.5L/1000km...

5L per 10k 😬

Essentially there's nothing"wrongly installed or broken"...

 

I have 3 years manufacturers warranty so they suggested to monitor it for another 6 months to understand if it is getting worse.

They have recorded my last 2 visits, mileage and oil added to keep an official record. 

 

If I need subsequent top ups they will do this for me to maintain an official record. 

 

I think I will write to Skoda to raise my complaint anyway and it's another way to document that any problems along the line were not diagnosed/investigated.

 

As the car is in warranty, they won't allow to change to a different type of oil.

 

I posed them the question if I would need to change the oil at the regular service intervals as over the 30k variable inspection distance, I would have periodically have changed >5.5L & they will check with Skoda engineering.

 

If the consumption stayed constant, I could accept another 150€ a year in oil if it reduced my servicing costs by the same amount. 

 

If I wanted them to do some more detailed investigation, I have to hope that the consumption get worse within the next 2.5 years...🤔

[fr1nklyn]

Ahh I'm sorry to read this @Gabbo..

 

I would definitely write to Skoda and keep the email communication in case things get worse.

 

Let's hope that when the factory oil gets changed the things will improve.

[Gabbo]

I've told the garage I will accept to monitor it until the next service.

 

However, I think at the next service I will ask them to do a compression test to see if it is just general consumption or a problem on one specific cylinder. 

There's no issues with idle or engine stability but probably cylinder balancing software would be able to balance out minor differences...

 

If I invested in a license for OBD11 or Carista would there be some cylinder balancing information I could read myself?

 

 

Gabbo