Golf GTI using OIL

[nassdeutsch]

Hi Guys,
Quick one. The dealer said when I picked up my car that the car uses oil and should be topped up every 3k or so. Is this normal? They told me this wasvery very normal.

[h100vw]

Is it brand new? It is normal for new engines to use oil until they are run in. This may take several thousand Ks before the oil consumption stabilises.

Gavin

[nassdeutsch]

they mentioned this is for the life of the motor? maybe its more precautionary. they offer to drop in here every couple of months to have it topped up by them!!

[brackie]

No normal

No way should it be for the life of the motor. As Gav says, it's normal for engines to use oil until the rings bed in (having said that my TDI didn't ) but then consumption should gradually settle down to almost nil.

[drb999]

Hi Guys,
Quick one. The dealer said when I picked up my car that the car uses oil and should be topped up every 3k or so. Is this normal? They told me this wasvery very normal.

I've read somewhere, either on this or on the other forums that this is because of the Turbo and it is likely to be for the life of the engine. Have a bit of a search around and if I find what I'm talking about I'll post a link too.

[Subie25L]

I've read somewhere, either on this or on the other forums that this is because of the Turbo and it is likely to be for the life of the engine. Have a bit of a search around and if I find what I'm talking about I'll post a link too.

Mine used 400ml in the first 6000km and not much at all since. Up to 10000km now. Service manager said to drop by and they will top it up when need.

I ended up buying some to keep in the garage so i don't have to drop by the dealer if it ever needs a top up.

[DaveMack]

My Polo GTI has used ... none.

Dave

[Dooby]

At about 5000km i noticed my oil was low and it took about 800ml to get it back to the right level. I'd be very surprised if it needed oil top ups for the life of the engine.

[gregozedobe]

Hi Guys,
Quick one. The dealer said when I picked up my car that the car uses oil and should be topped up every 3k or so. Is this normal? They told me this was very very normal.

Some (not all) VWs use a small amount of oil when new (particularly if driven too gently during the breaking-in period). It is certainly a good idea to check your oil level frequently for a new engine. My 5cyl 2.5 TDI has used zero oil in the first 5,500Km and this seems quite common. Most new VW motors I've heard of use very little from 10-15,00km onwards. I would ask your dealer to quantify the expected consumption in writing (ie quantity of oil over what distance), and if it seems excessive contact VWoA and ask them their opinion.

Dealers (of all brands of vehicles) often tell customers to expect their vehicle to expect some oil consumption to cover themselves for the rare engine that does use more oil than it should (ie pretend it isn't a warranty problem like with Holden V6's where using a litre of oil every 3,000 Km or so is supposed to be "normal").

More worrying for me would be a sudden unexplained increase in oil consumption in a run-in motor. Sometimes a motor may seem to use a lot of oil if it has been doing lots of stop-start, short trip driving and then goes on a long highway drive. What can happen is that water and other stuff condenses in the oil during the slow (cold) short trips, thus keeping the apparent oil level high, then when you drive along the highway for a few hours the condensates are burnt off by the higher highway temperatures, so lowering the oil level.

This is why it is a good idea to check your oil level if you are on a trip after lots of round-town driving. Also if you do exclusively do short-trip driving where the engine doesn't get a chance to warm up properly you should consider changing your engine oil more frequently than if you do mainly highway driving.

[blur32]

Zero consumption in 6500k's on the R32

[aprr32]

Zero for my R32 and with 60,000km up on it now.

[EUS GTIMK5]

My GTI has used about 500ml in about 8k.