Polo GTI High Oil Usage - Discussion Thread

[Sydneykid]

It may well be that the previous owner hadn't checked the oil level for some time, so I wouldn't stress too much until you have accurately ascertained the oil usage. Fill it up to the mark and then monitor the usage over a couple of weeks, 2,000 k's or so should give you some indication.

Cheers
Gary

[JonW]

Once fixed they are great, mine doesnt use a drop now. I echo what the others said, fill it up and set the trip counter, see how many kms til it comes back on. If its using oil badly go to a dealer and get it assessed, these engines are known for it and it should be fixed under warranty.

[gavs]

Hi boys, I'm a new member, I've just recently (1week ago) bought a used my 2011 polo Gti (35,000km) and the engine oil just popped out this morning when I ignite the engine. And of course I've been reading this forum, before deciding to join the talk.
Previously I owned a 118 golf TSi, and I far as I'm aware, both cars use the same engine, supercharged 1.4. However the my golf 118 TSi has no issue with over consumption of engine oil.
Do you think it's because of the more power output that caused the extra oil consumption?

They're not the same engine. It' their most basic form you could argue that they are in that they're both 1.4 litres of displacement, have a supercharger and a turbocharger and both use common components but fundamentally you cannot put a 118TSi engine into a polo GTI and just expect it to work, the Polo GTI engine is different.

As much as I hate to say it, thinking that the 118tsi doesn't have the same problems is just folly, we as the polo community just publicised it more in the hope something would be done about it. There are so many contributing factors as to my they burn more oil but after speaking to people globally and a few ex factory employees from across the globe it basically comes down to quality control, you could have been luck and got my car which in 90,000kms has burned about 5-6 litres of oil between services. Or you could have gotten one that like some users has gone through 3 engines to try and fix the oil consumption.

I think people are finally understand that just because VW is from Germany, it doesn't mean they're reliable

What to do to fix it? Well, first off i'd stop driving in D because it puts too much pressure into the combustion chambers and keeps the revs too low, plus with dodgy oil dribblers and not squirters, this isn't going to help either. Second option is get a DSG tune, this can do wonders for the oil consumption but not fix it and 3rd is to look at an ECu tune which changes the way the engine thinks, I've said it dozens of times, the software in these cars from the factory is just plain dumb....

[Looppty]

Thanks guys for ur advices. I went to my nearest Vw dealer yesterday to top up the oil. It was free of charge. I checked the dip stick and the oil is at its max. I've also reset the counter, so I'll be tracking the oil consumption now.
PS The Polo Gti is so much fun to drive!

[gavs]

Thanks guys for ur advices. I went to my nearest Vw dealer yesterday to top up the oil. It was free of charge. I checked the dip stick and the oil is at its max. I've also reset the counter, so I'll be tracking the oil consumption now.
PS The Polo Gti is so much fun to drive!

You reckon yours is fun.....

[RoknRob]

Damn, this is so upsetting. I knew I should've bought a Golf Gti despite the $10- $12k price gap for the same KM.
My 118 Golf gave me the impression of reliability, that's why I went for the polo Gti, didn't expect this problem ��

Or, you could think of it this way. Assume $75 per 5 litres of VW approved oil, or $15 per litre. Assume you top up with 1 litre every 2000km. If my calculations are correct, you will need to drive 1300000 km in your Polo to break even with the extra $10000 you would have spent on your Golf GTI.
Are you planning on keeping your Polo for over 1 million km? If not, you'll be finishing ahead, despite the extra oil usage. . Feel better now?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[RoknRob]

What to do to fix it? Well, first off i'd stop driving in D because it puts too much pressure into the combustion chambers and keeps the revs too low, plus with dodgy oil dribblers and not squirters, this isn't going to help either. Second option is get a DSG tune, this can do wonders for the oil consumption but not fix it and 3rd is to look at an ECu tune which changes the way the engine thinks, I've said it dozens of times, the software in these cars from the factory is just plain dumb....

The intent of the factory software, I believe, is to maximise fuel efficiency. I think it's important to mention that the trade off for each of these solutions is reduced fuel efficiency. So you may spend less in oil replacement, but more in fuel. There may be other benefits to the engine long term in reducing the oil consumption however.

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[Xeon5]

Mine is in for the "do 621 miles and come back" test now. Seeing as I sometimes only do 50 miles in a week its going to be a while! lol.

When I spoke to the guy at the dealer he said that they had only ever replaced 1 engine and that another was down to the injectors leaking?

Any thoughts?

[alloyvee]

I have a Fabia vrs 12 plate, early CTH engine that would use up to 700ml per 1000kms. Most of my driving is 11km drive to and from work with other thrown in. Mostly driven in D. It would use just as much oil whether in D or flappy paddled along. A 600km blast up the highway would show much less oil consumption. I had the oil jets and software updates done under warranty and I have since done 4000kms and just the other day, put 150ml oil in just because I am pedantic. Most of that driving again was done in D only. Awesome result I think!!

[Rubbadub]

If you're doing the test, drive it as normal*. Don't go and do a long drive to get the test over with, because they tend to use less oil on long runs. I've had a similar experience to Alloyvee - from 200-500ml per 1000km to about 200-300ml per 5000km.

* Or you could idle it for a long time if you want to fail the test.

[Looppty]

Or, you could think of it this way. Assume $75 per 5 litres of VW approved oil, or $15 per litre. Assume you top up with 1 litre every 2000km. If my calculations are correct, you will need to drive 1300000 km in your Polo to break even with the extra $10000 you would have spent on your Golf GTI.
Are you planning on keeping your Polo for over 1 million km? If not, you'll be finishing ahead, despite the extra oil usage. . Feel better now?

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Never thought of it that way, haha
That's kinda comforting.
And I always think that Golfs are ways overpriced because of its popularity.

[mrkris]

i thought id gotten away with it and got one of the good engines as id make it to the service without needing to put really any oil in. until about 4 months ago that is. now ive hit the 38k kms mark and im starting to use 1L of oil every 2k kms.

did these end up getting 5 year on the drive train in the end because of all the dsg woes?

[gavs]

Only on the DSG, not the motor and only if it was delivered within the marketing department's allocated time frame.

[JonW]

i thought id gotten away with it and got one of the good engines as id make it to the service without needing to put really any oil in. until about 4 months ago that is. now ive hit the 38k kms mark and im starting to use 1L of oil every 2k kms.

did these end up getting 5 year on the drive train in the end because of all the dsg woes?

Im wondering if you have something else going wrong if youve had a good drinker until now, it would be strange for the original fault (rings/clearance) to show itself after those miles, some other wear is possible to those components of course, but it could be a blocked breather or some other problem causing it, worth asking a mechanic to check it out for you tho.

[Splashalot]

FWIW at ~50,000kms my Mk5 Golf GTI went from being a sipper of oil (~half a litre per 10,000) to 1 litre per 300kms within a couple of weeks. Clearly something failed, whether it be rings, cylinder lining I don't know. Nor it seems, did the dealer. Since the warranty repair with a new ring design the engine has gone back to sipping oil at its original low level. Hopefully it stays that way.