Oil Light came on, checked and NO oil

[Bel]

Oil light came on towards the end of my drive to work this morning, checked the dip stick later in the day and there was no oil, nada... Shocked to say the least.
No oil drop in my garage where I park every night, no oil drop on the ground where at work where I park (same spot) every day. Last service was 5000kms ago - 22500km service - and they also did the clutch pack.
Solution was to have VW assist (RAC) tow it to the nearest dealer. They have no time to look at it until (possibily) tomorrow.

What are the possible causes? .... I don't think I have hit anything and def not on my way to work this morning (fwy)... is it possible to have used that much oil or possible that they didn't actually put oil in my car at the last service (at a dealership)??

Frustrated to be without a car and not know what's happening.

[nat225]

was the idle rough?

no oil at all on the dip stick?

worse case scenario would be a new engine replacement for that 118tsi. warranty should cover it.

[SilvrFoxX]

very bizarre, mind you I found when cold and on a flat surface the oil registers very low.. I read the manual and it said to only measure oil when it was at operating temp. I am guessing there is some oil burn but it is in there just at the very bottom of the sump.

Still need to figure out what is happening.. hope she is ok

[Bel]

Wasn't driving any differently to normal, no rough idle. when the oil light first came on I checked the oil temp, was at 84 degrees, which is normal... Then after a minute or two the oil light stayed on and I couldn't change the display.
Seriously no oil on the dip stick - the engine was pretty cold by then. I actually checked 3 times because I couldn't believe that even the little orange ball thing on the end of the dip stick had no oil on it (vw assist/RAC guy checked too and couldn't believe it).
I'm worried about damage to the engine not to mention that yes, I would seriously like to know what happened!

What ever it is hopefully covered by warranty.

Might be time to trade her in :/ was going to wait for the mk7 but that is too far away...

[GolfAtom]

Your situation is almost like mine except my car is 2009 model and I've only done 17k on it. The oil consumption rate is normal according to the manual ( < 1 litre oil per 1000km) but as others have suggested, check the oil level again in the next 1000km after it has come back from the dealer. If you see no leaks it is most likely the oil is consumed by the engine.

[Diesel_vert]

The MIN mark on the dipstick means you are down 0.5 - 1.0 L on oil. I think the capacity is 3.6 litres.

If the engine really had no oil while you were driving, the car would have ground to a noisy halt with bits of engine shooting out the exhaust. But having said that, if the low oil warning message shows, you should always top up as soon as possible.

[Bel]

There wasn't even oil on the little orange ball on the end.... I checked because if it had on been on the low side, I would have driven it to the dealership where it has always been serviced... It simply showed (on the dip stick) that there was no oil... I get that the engine would have ceased if it was empty when I was driving it.
If the engine has to be at running temp (as SF said) then i'm guessing there was enough oil to not completely f**k the engine for the 5 minute drive the oil light was on.

[Lucas_R]

^ Bel, what Diesel Vert is trying to explain is that their would still be some oil in the engine, just not enough to register on the dipstick. As he said, if there was no oil (or very little oil) in the engine it would have died a noisy rattly death. But there would almost certainly still be a couple of litres of oil still in the engine. Just because you cant see it on the dipstick, it doesnt necessarily mean that there is no oil in the engine.

These new age VW engines tend to burn oil, and requires the owner to check the oil level every 1,000km or so to keep an eye on it. To put it into perspective, i check my oil every week even though most weeks i only drive 50-100km. This is mearly a habit as im anal - i did it on my previous Nissans and i also check my gf's 6month old Mazda each week. Overkill perhaps, but its better to be safe than sorry.

My friends 2008 GTI chews oil like its going out of fashion. I serviced his car about a month ago and put the required 4.7L (or thereabouts) in the engine. The dipstick registered full. Took it for a short drive and checked again - full. Only a few weeks later (mabye 1,000km worth of driving) i checked the oil and it was only about 1/3 of the way up the dipstick!! Amazing how much oil it chewed in such a short time frame. No leaks whatsoever.

[Brendan_A]

How often do you check your oil level? Has it been using oil prior to this incident?

[Bel]

Last time I checked the oil would have been two weeks ago when I washed the car... Level was fine then and i haven't had any issue with the oil level before today ( I check it when I wash the car which is on average every two weeks ).

Thanks to both diesel vert and Lucas R... I wasn't disputing what was being said, guess I am a little rattled and upset after a horrible day so sorry if it came across that way.

[Lucas_R]

No worries - i understand that you would be upset/dissapointed etc. might be a good idea to keep a 1Litre bottle of oil in your boot incase this ever happens again. Sometimes you can get the oil from the VW dealership, otherwise go to Repco / Supercheap etc and look for an oil that is VW 504/507 approved.

[Bel]

Thanks I had just checked out the different oils that were approved... Def getting some and keeping it in the car from now on (iwhen I get the car back!)

---------- Post added 25-05-2012 at 11:30 AM ---------- Previous post was 24-05-2012 at 09:06 PM ----------

Update: Dealership called, simply no oil, no reason, no leaks etc. Solution, filled it with oil and I can pick it up today.
I have to take it back every 1000kms for them to do an oil consumption test.

I am booked in to have it serviced with Euro Elite (golfwagon) next Friday. 30k service and first time I have been to an independant for any service. Nervous now to be having anyone other than VW service it because of the warranty - but I know that having it done at Euro Elite wont void the warranty...but it will be nice to have an independant opinion of the car and if any damage has been caused.

[darkfriend]

Hi Bel,

Had my 30000km service at Euro Elite (Golfwagen) on Wednesday. Second time I've had them service my car. They are fantastic- you have nothing to worry about. They also fixed my aircon as I managed to get a hole in my condenser while travelling in the country. Both jobs were cheaper than having them done by a dealer.

Also nice to learn that the condenser for the aircon (sitting in front of the radiator) protects the radiator from damage- there is very little protecting the condenser unfortunately! A more subsatntial front grille would help...

[Bel]

Thanks for the feedback, good to know they have another happy customer, I have heard really good stuff about them. The guys I have spoken to there def seem to know what they are talking about and yes MUCH cheaper than the dealership - $650 (without discounts, though I usually get around 15% off) vs $380 at Euro Elite - hence the want to have them service the car.