Polo GTI High Oil Usage - Discussion Thread

[Trepid4tion]

Well, I can't categorically say because I did wipe the ecu so it's running without any remembered values

How do we do that on the 6R's, is it the same as others with the neg off the battery for a period of time? Been curious about that for a little bit but havent investigated much into it.

[Diesel_vert]

So, to all of you worried about your oil consumption, just be wary in thinking that it's burning through more oil than it is because that dipstick only reads the equivalent of 1 litre of oil.

Just as an FYI to everybody reading this - this is nearly the case for all vehicles. The dipstick isn't meant to measure the entire sump volume.

If it really only had a litre of oil remaining, the engine would've already seized by then.

[gavs]

How do we do that on the 6R's, is it the same as others with the neg off the battery for a period of time? Been curious about that for a little bit but havent investigated much into it.

That's the easiest way, yeah

Dieselvert, I just find it daft that VW are making people panic due the level dropping on their dipstick, so when it drops by half the dipstick level over, say, 2000kms, then people panic and think "oh crap, my car has a capacity of 4 litres and half of it is gone in 2000kms!". The sump has a mighty big sensor on it which lets you know when the oil level realistically gets low, so why not have a true-er reading on the dipstick, it just seems logical to me and if indeed it is that critical to re-fill after losing 1L of oil, then it seems like VW engine engineers are putting owners at quite a level of risk.....

Just my opinion of course

[Corey_R]

If you lose 1L of oil, then you DO need to top it up. So the dipstick and sensor are doing their job etc. I'm not sure how the dipstick being at the bottom and people having to add in 1L was then interpreted as the car being empty and having used 4L....

[VW Convert]

That's the easiest way, yeah

Dieselvert, I just find it daft that VW are making people panic due the level dropping on their dipstick, so when it drops by half the dipstick level over, say, 2000kms, then people panic and think "oh crap, my car has a capacity of 4 litres and half of it is gone in 2000kms!". The sump has a mighty big sensor on it which lets you know when the oil level realistically gets low, so why not have a true-er reading on the dipstick, it just seems logical to me and if indeed it is that critical to re-fill after losing 1L of oil, then it seems like VW engine engineers are putting owners at quite a level of risk.....

Just my opinion of course

I've never owned a car where the dipstick showed the total oil level rather than than just the top litre and a bit that indicates top up is necessary and on every car I've owned the Min to Max level has been approx 1 litre so it's not only VW that does this. As for putting owners at a level of risk, I would have thought that a dipstick that indicates top up is necessary well before the engine ran out of oil would be much less risk than one that led the owner to beleive they were safe because the engine has "some" oil in it.

Cheers

George

[brad]

If you lose 1L of oil, then you DO need to top it up. So the dipstick and sensor are doing their job etc. I'm not sure how the dipstick being at the bottom and people having to add in 1L was then interpreted as the car being empty and having used 4L....

+1......23456

[Diesel_vert]

Dieselvert, I just find it daft that VW are making people panic due the level dropping on their dipstick, so when it drops by half the dipstick level over, say, 2000kms, then people panic and think "oh crap, my car has a capacity of 4 litres and half of it is gone in 2000kms!". The sump has a mighty big sensor on it which lets you know when the oil level realistically gets low, so why not have a true-er reading on the dipstick, it just seems logical to me and if indeed it is that critical to re-fill after losing 1L of oil, then it seems like VW engine engineers are putting owners at quite a level of risk.....

Just my opinion of course

Due to various technical reasons related to the way they function, it's critical that the engine actually has enough volume of lubricant for it to be of any use.

The MIN level on the dipstick refers to the minimum amount of lubricant the engine can function properly on. Going below this level means you risk serious engine damage.

There is no point of the dipstick to represent absolute volumes (i.e. max. = 5 L, min = 0 L), as the engine would almost certainty be permanently damaged just at the halfway mark. If you continued on and let it drop even further, it won't be long before the engine will seize up. Thus, it would serve no useful function (apart from generating business for engine rebuilders).

[kaanage]

The MIN level on the dipstick refers to the minimum amount of lubricant the engine can function properly on. Going below this level means you risk serious engine damage.

Exactly. Most of the oil drains back to the sump when the engine stops so the oil level you measure is far higher than the level when the engine is running. And to allow for surge when cornering, accelerating or braking, the amount of oil must be greater than the amount needed to fill the oil galleries else oil pressure will drop in these circumstances with the obvious outcome to the most heavily loaded surfaces.

If the oil level fell below the mininum on the dipstick, I'd be worried that the engine may have suffered some damage already.

[saabby]

After 3,500km, I decided I better check the level. To my surprise, only 0.5 litres. Maybe I'm lucky or the high revs when new has something to do with it.

[RoknRob]

I would like to add that the drop in oil does NOT seem to be a linear process... at least in my car.

I've been lulled into a false sense of security for the first 1500kms after a top up, where the dipstick level stays at or near full. Then, the level seems to drop quite rapidly in the next 500km.

I think I've posted here twice about how my oil consumption issues seem to have resolved, only to correct myself soon after.

My 2 cents.

[RoknRob]

After 3,500km, I decided I better check the level. To my surprise, only 0.5 litres. Maybe I'm lucky or the high revs when new has something to do with it.

I did the high rev thing when I first received my car, and still have been losing about 1L/2000km, so it is no guarantee.

[Gambit]

Agree with gavs, when I did my first oil change at 5k kms myself the oil was disgusting! So glad I changed it.

[Awetan]

I agrees with the non-linear oil sipping habit of our GTi.
From 0-7500km the oil light only comes up around 7400km mark. After the service the oil problem got worse, down to 1L per 1000km, some times even less. I have been going back to the dealership for top up almost 7 times now up to 15k km.

Did the oil consumption test and VW agrees to change the piston rings. I hope this would fix the big appetite of the GTi.

[BENN0]

Oil light came on last night at 3100kms. Dipstick was dry. It took 1L of oil to get it back to nominal.
What a joke! LS1's copped a hammering for going through waaay less oil than this back in the late 90's.
If the consumption continues like this, it will be interesting to see VW's response.

[gavs]

Oil light came on last night at 3100kms. Dipstick was dry. It took 1L of oil to get it back to nominal.
What a joke! LS1's copped a hammering for going through waaay less oil than this back in the late 90's.
If the consumption continues like this, it will be interesting to see VW's response.

They already have responded by saying there is no issue, this is what it is like dealing with VW and even with contacting media outlets, nothing has happened. Welcome to VW ownership, they would rather screw their current customers than issue a recall notice that might affect the gain of potential new customers and the associated bad PR.