Polo GTI High Oil Usage - Discussion Thread

[RoknRob]

The shift points are higher in the rev range so theoretically you will automatically think you will use more fuel, however you're not loading up the engine as much to push up the revs, to do that the engine pumps in more fuel. So while your revs are higher, you need less throttle input to have/generate the same momentum in manual mode.

Example:
You're driving along at 60kph in 7th and want to accelerate up to 100. Think about how much throttle you have to apply and for how long to get there in D because the engine won't kick down unless you really mash the throttle. Now the same thing in 4th gear, the car does it easily with far less throttle. So while the engine is pumping in fuel more often with the increased revs, the actual volume of fuel going in is far less because everything is less, boost is less, strain is less.... Look at when top gear tested the Prius against the m3 I think it was, similar theory....

Makes sense. But you'd think the engineers would have noticed that and worked out a way to mimic that, rather than simply moving the shift points. There must be a good reason why they programmed the DSG the way they did...

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[gavs]

And why they tried to cheat all the global NOx emissions as well.... Because it's cheaper to do it the easiest, shortest way. I've dealt with these OEMs for years and trust me, it all comes down to doing things as quickly and cheaply as possible, they don't give a rats about the consumer

[ScotRok]

I've just joined the forum, like most do when their car develops a fault.

my wife's 2013 build GTI is using excessive amounts of oil, it's got the CTH series engine which I have read is better than the old versions. The symptoms are smoke under full throttle and there is a film of oil on the tailgate.
Looking for a few pointers for when it goes into the dealer, I don't want to have to go through the 1000k test. The dealer I want to use is in Campbeltown and we are in Swansea. Unfortunately we didn't buy the Polo from them but did buy my Amarok and father in laws Golf new last year from them. The dealer we bought the polo from tried to sell us an extended warranty even though it had the factory one in place, doesn't bode well!

[JonW]

It shouldnt matter if you didnt buy your car from them, its all VW and warranty is valid at all dealers. You should still be under your original warranty as well id have thought, or close enough that the ACCC would find in your favour as this is a known problem, hit up VWA for it and dont pay a cent. you will need the oil test tho, they wont do anything until theyve seen the results of the test. Make sure they dont mess up the Km readings tho, my dealer wrote 1400km instead of 1040km and VWA suggested my car was borderline and not a drinker... mental. The next test it did 600 of the 1000km before the oil fill light came on, that time they took notice.

All dealers will try and sell you an extended warranty, no matter who or what it is. When i bought my Subaru it came with a 5yr extended warranty as part of the current deal, the finance guy offered to upgrade the 3yr warranty to 5 for just 2k... er, it comes with that already... car dealers, sigh...

[ScotRok]

I'm on good terms with the Campbelltown dealer, they were recommended on another forum, and I actually ordered my Rok when I was still in Scotland via email. Collected it once we arrived a month later. Then we bought a golf for my father in law two months later.
Went to look at a Jetta and ended up with the Polo. Love the cars performance but wonder if this is why it was for sale.previous owner traded it in?
Golf has got the same engine and not used any oil in 6000k's. It's still running in too.

[slark]

Hi Dude

I have the same issue, even worse. My 2012 Polo GTI bought from private seller on Feb this year. using excessive amounts of oil. Badly, this vehicle is out of warranty. I did a oil consumption test in the Denlo VW Parramatta, they told me the result shows positive which cant convince me. Do you want to go with me to find some better solution. Anyway, someone knows will VW fix it even the car is out of warranty. Much appreciated. Lee

[ScotRok]

Picked the wife's car up from the service centre today, we are now doing the consumption test, even though I told them the car is putting out blue exhaust under hard acceleration and when doing low speed manoeuvring. VW procedure apparently. Ignore the blue gases and concentrate on the oil usage.
i followed the car home and watched it smoke everytime it slowed at lights or junctions, even after it had had time to warm up.
Its a 2013 model with the modified cth engine.

[alloyvee]

I have a late 2012 Fabia vrs wagon with CTHE engine. Due to excessive oil consumption of around 700ml per 1000km, It had the smaller oil jets and software updates done. With new oil it would use around 100ml per 1000km which increased some with the oil getting older. I recently checked the oil level and it needed about 700ml to bring it up to its normal level. It had suddenly just chewed it up. Ihad been running around some hilly areas in auto mode with a bit of a load on. I figured that with the extra load, in auto running too high a gear at low revs is what caused this. So after topping up and writing down the mileage, I drove the car in manual mode all the time, using more revs and giving it a good old squirt pretty much every time I drove it. It uses no more fuel than before, is much more fun and it has used NO OIL in 1500kms.

[DETROITCANDY]

+1 for driving in manual to reduce oil consumption and no extra fuel consumption. Trick is to NOT let it lug around under 2K RPM, especially if you decide to give it sudden heavy load (eg. don't mash the pedal @ 1600rpm in 7th at 80km/h in either manual or auto). Drop back a gear or two before giving it aggressive accelerator input. If I let my wife drive around in auto for a few long drives I could guarantee black soot or the rear hatch and oil level dropping down the dipstick. It would go between 4-5K between top ups when I drove in manual. An independent VW technician once suggested to me that these engines run notoriously lean (hot) under these low RPM/high load situations and that once they are tuned and dump a bit more fuel in (keeps the charge cooler/richer), that the oil consumption also goes away. This may explain detonation and combustion charge blowing past the rings, possibly creating positive crank pressure that in turn blows oil though the PCV into the intake that in turn reduces the knock resistance further perpetuating the knock? (Not sure if that's an accurate explanation of what is actually possible).
Also DSG tune that keeps the revs up a bit more may also help the cause and turn 'S' for 'Stupid' into 'S' for 'Sport'.

[Lucas_R]

^ this is exactly why the DSG version of the twin charge engine generally have more issues (or run into issues earlier) than manual versions - the DSG is always in too high of a gear which causes the engine to labour at low revs and this is where it runs really lean and hot (and therefore detonates/pings) which over time burns holes in pistons.

Cars driven with more aggression and/or manual cars tend to be much better off.

[SilvrFoxX]

I am looking at the 2106 GTI, is there any examples of excessive oil consumption with this model?

[ScotRok]

2016 is an 1.8 engine, and different.
I've noticed that the oil smells very strongly of petrol when I pull the dipstick to check the level.

[edmondvincent]

^ this is exactly why the DSG version of the twin charge engine generally have more issues (or run into issues earlier) than manual versions - the DSG is always in too high of a gear which causes the engine to labour at low revs and this is where it runs really lean and hot (and therefore detonates/pings) which over time burns holes in pistons.

Cars driven with more aggression and/or manual cars tend to be much better off.

@Lucas_R so would you recommend driving the car a little harder than normal say for example at takeoff? Because I find myself driving the car like a granny most times!


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[Xeon5]

An independent VW technician once suggested to me that these engines run notoriously lean (hot) under these low RPM/high load situations and that once they are tuned and dump a bit more fuel in (keeps the charge cooler/richer), that the oil consumption also goes away.

Has there been a case where this is proven? I wouldn't mind getting my GTI remapped if it would help, mainly to help with the fuel mixture.

I have had the oil jets and breather pipes installed and it isn't using that much oil like it did before but still around 1200 miles it started to move. That was since January when I had my service and in July I had an iterim oil change with Shell Ultra Helix 5w40 which so far hasn't moved on the dipstick.

[Lucas_R]

@Lucas_R so would you recommend driving the car a little harder than normal say for example at takeoff? Because I find myself driving the car like a granny most times!

Definitely. Put the DSG into manual mode so that you have control of the gears and let it rev more (higher).

Has there been a case where this is proven? I wouldn't mind getting my GTI remapped if it would help, mainly to help with the fuel mixture.

I have had the oil jets and breather pipes installed and it isn't using that much oil like it did before but still around 1200 miles it started to move. That was since January when I had my service and in July I had an iterim oil change with Shell Ultra Helix 5w40 which so far hasn't moved on the dipstick.

Proven many times around the world with this twincharge engine - ill try to find one specific local example by a well regarded VW custom tuner in Sydney who couldn't believe his eyes when he saw how poor the standard tune was on these cars. It was running so lean (not enough fuel which equals excessive heat and high chance of detonation/pinging).

Getting it remapped will do wonders for the longevity of the engine....and be much more fun to drive.