Polo GTI High Oil Usage - Discussion Thread

[GraveDilute]

Have booked the car in for a consumption test.
According to the service guy, "VW allows for 1L of oil per 1000 kms".

Hmm...at 25k/yr and $15/litre that makes my oil consumption cost at $375/yr.
Seems excessive...

Re: Oil type

Castrol Edge 5W-30

[brad]

to be nit-picky, edge 5w-30 is ~$50 for 5L but that's a minor point.

I assume you pointed out that having to put 500ml in the engine every time you bought fuel was simply ridiculous? Worse than a rotary.

While VW allows 1L/1000km, I doubt the Office of Fair Trading would consider that consumption to be within normal limits.

So when it's under test, do they do anything to the sump plug, oil cap & dipstick? (eg: any anti-tamper devices?)

[Hooti3]

Have booked the car in for a consumption test.
According to the service guy, "VW allows for 1L of oil per 1000 kms".

Hmm...at 25k/yr and $15/litre that makes my oil consumption cost at $375/yr.
Seems excessive...

Re: Oil type

Castrol Edge 5W-30

If that the case then they can send you a $375 credit a year to buy Oil.

I got told "0.5L of oil per 1000Kms" by my service guy.

Mine goes in for a consumption test on Friday.

[stickshift3000]

I'm pretty sure the manual will state that it's not abnormal for the engine to use as much as 1L/100 kms.

That doesn't help the issue though.

[kaanage]

to be nit-picky, edge 5w-30 is ~$50 for 5L but that's a minor point.

Where do you get it at that price

I'm pretty sure the manual will state that it's not abnormal for the engine to use as much as 1L/100 kms.

Did you mean 1L/1000 kms?
If you average 10L/100km in fuel, then the car woud be running at 10:1 fuel/oil which is worse than any 2-stroke engine.
Even 1L/1000 km of oil would be 100:1 which is no better than some 2-strokes!

[brad]

Where do you get it at that price

Am I out of touch with reality again?

last time I bought it in 2009 it was $29/5L and I'm sure I'd seen it recently for around $50. I bought 12l off a mate earlier this year for $50, which we agreed was about half-price.

Oh well, bad guess on my part.

If anyone wants Mobil1 for $65/6L then have a look at this guy in Eastwood

Top Grade Oil at Lowest Price
or eBay store:
GL Lubricants

[GraveDilute]

I guess the point is, why should I need to be topping up to that degree on a brand new car?
If this is a deliberate part of the design then we should be made aware of this prior to purchase.

Thank Christ it's my car. If it was my wife she'd probably casually drop it into a conversation something along these lines, "by the way, there's been this weird orange light showing on the car for the last month, does it mean anything?"

[RoknRob]

I'm pretty sure the manual says up to 1L/2000km is acceptable. (Or 05.L/1000km, as Hooti's mechanic said)

As I mentioned before, I received a flyer with my paperwork upon receiving the car "reassuring" me that oil usage was normal for cars.

This is the first car I've had to do top up with oil. Ever.

It is pretty sad, actually.

[gavs]

Rob is right, 1L of oil per 2000kms. Aside from the fact that you cannot buy castrol EDGE in australia, I will shoot you a PM before going into more detail....

[brad]

Rob is right, 1L of oil per 2000kms. Aside from the fact that you cannot buy castrol EDGE in australia, I will shoot you a PM before going into more detail....

Gavs - you can buy Castrol Edge in Australia but it's only 502.00, not the 504.00 they have in Europe. 502.00 is fine for top-ups.

[Gambit]

Gavs - you can buy Castrol Edge in Australia but it's only 502.00, not the 504.00 they have in Europe. 502.00 is fine for top-ups.

This is what I used for my 5k self oil change.

[gavs]

Gavs - you can buy Castrol Edge in Australia but it's only 502.00, not the 504.00 they have in Europe. 502.00 is fine for top-ups.

Not for the GTI, the manual says top-ups only of 504 and 507. Edge Sport which is sold in Australia is different to Castrol EDGE 5W-30 which is a specific formulation by Castrol for VW and Audi which cannot be bought through any australian regular retailers, you might be lucky to find a specific importer here and there, but I'm still yet to find one and I've been looking at all the small motorsport related places local to me.

This, is what you get locally:


And it DOES NOT conform to required oil specs for the GTI, an issue if the dealership starts looking deeper into oil consumption warranty claims.....

This, is the proper Castrol EDGE 5W-30 made specific for VW and Audi 504.00 and 507.00 specs:


If anyone is going in for a warranty claim regarding oil especially, and has a sump full of oil that doesn't meet the required specs want's to risk it...... Well, they're braver than me.....

[Transporter]

Just a word of caution. I have noticed that there are oils on shelves that claim they meet VW502.00 specs and are semi synthetic at the best.
That's not a good news for the engine, if you keep your car long enough, using 502.00 and other oil rather than VW504.00/507.00 oils for frequent top ups or even as a complete fill, your engine could get sick when it gets older. But of course it only matters if you would be able to link the symptoms to the improper oil that was used. But hey, you can always blame something else when it comes to it.

The VW approved oils are available at all good parts stores now and the most you pay for 5L is $85 inc. GST, that is less than what would you pay for top of the range Castrol or Mobil1 oils. There is also Penrite in 1L bottle that I found in our local hardware store.

Anyhow, if anybody in Adelaide wants oil for top up, I have 100L of ELF Solaris LLX VW504.00/507.00 (Made in France) and other brands available, and it is $14/L, the same price that I charge on the service invoice.

[brad]

Not for the GTI, the manual says top-ups only of 504 and 507. This, is what you get locally:


And it DOES NOT conform to required oil specs for the GTI, an issue if the dealership starts looking deeper into oil consumption warranty claims.....

This, is the proper Castrol EDGE 5W-30 made specific for VW and Audi 504.00 and 507.00 specs:
If anyone is going in for a warranty claim regarding oil especially, and has a sump full of oil that doesn't meet the required specs want's to risk it...... Well, they're braver than me.....

Gavs
Would be interested to see a scan of the relevant page of the manual to see how the oil recomendations are evolving.

In my EA888 block 1.8TSI 502.00 is good to go. They even give the green light to lower spec oils with some caveats but as transporter says, long term & for the small premium you may as well use 504.00

Personally, I let the workshop use 504.00 & dump it after 10,000km & refill with 502.00 for the remaining 5,000km. No technical reason except I have a few bottles of Edge Sport on the shelf that I want to use up.

[RoknRob]

I'm pretty sure my manual, like Gavs', calls for 504/507 too.

If anybody is worried about whether they are getting the right oil or not, your VW dealer will sell you the right stuff - at a premium, of course, but at least with less hassle. 1L of VW Long Life III was $28, I think, and I was quoted $80 for 5 L. As I mentioned before, at my local dealer, the service woman behind the counter told the parts guy to sell me only 1L, as she would refill it for me (at their cost? At my cost? At no cost? Not sure yet...)