How do you know which polo GTIs are affected from high oil usage?

[hng049]

Hi everyone. I just bought a 2011 Polo GTI second hand from a private seller. Everything was ok with it and he mentioned that he had the DSG updated from that recall issue they had. I just read about oil issues though and am not too sure whether my car is affected. How do you know which models are the ones with high oil consumption? Thanks!

[Eaglehawk]

Is your rear bumper bar black after a few days?

[hng049]

Hmmmm haven't noticed anything. Is that how you tell? I thought it was by year or engine batch number?

[Lito]

Hmmmm haven't noticed anything. Is that how you tell? I thought it was by year or engine batch number?

From my limited knowledge i think it is year/engine code. I believe it was sometime in 2012 the swaapped engine codes from CAVE to CTHE. I believe the CAVE engines were prone to oil consumption issues, so looks like yours may be suspect. I'd be checking the dip stick level every 500km and taking note of the oil level. Does the service record suggest anything alarming? I would expect only a few percentage of these engines actually had issues, the internet can tend to exaggerate things.

[hng049]

Great thanks for the reply. Will keep an eye on the oil. Will double check the service history in more depth. Had a look before but nothing stood out.

[Veeduby]

Pretty sure it's not by year or engine code. Plenty of people have reported oil consumption problems from the first GTI's up to the 2014 ones.

Probably no way to tell up front, you'll find out over time I guess. :/

[mmmRacer]

To begin with. Its not just the Polo GTI that use oil. I've meet Golf R owners who have had worse consumption. I dare say you could find a post under almost every current or near current VW model and you would find someone who has had high consumption. A lot can depend on you drive style too. Best advise I can give you is to drive in manual mode or D but manual shift down when climbing to keep the revs up a bit and of course check the oil level every 500km or so. As long as you keep topping it up it well use less.

[RoknRob]

Pretty sure it's not by year or engine code. Plenty of people have reported oil consumption problems from the first GTI's up to the 2014 ones.

Probably no way to tell up front, you'll find out over time I guess. :/

This is correct, unless service records make it obvious.

Also, it seems to depend on how much driving in D you do.

Gavs recently posted how his car used way more oil when he did a stint in D. Up until then, he thought his car was immune, which it is, as long as he drives in Manual mode.

It appears the stock DSG tune might have something to do with it.

So, if you really want to know, drive in D (if the car is still under warranty, may be better to find out sooner rather than later.)

If you would rather not know, drive in manual.

Either way, check your oil at the petrol station at every fill. (It only takes a few seconds - wait until after you've filled and paid to let the oil settle). Keep a 1l bottle of APPROVED oil in the car (the passenger door cup holder comes in handy for this.) for top ups (keep your empty 1l bottle, and refill it from a bulk 5l bottle, if necessary).

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[hng049]

My car is out of warranty now. So if it does have the oil consumption issue, what can I do about it? I just bought it... :/

[staz88]

Keep filling it up with oil.. consider it a continuous oil change.

[brad]

Hmmmm haven't noticed anything. Is that how you tell? I thought it was by year or engine batch number?

I would think you could tell if you were affected by oil consumption issues by checking the oil every couple of fuel fills - you'll soon get a feel for if it's an oil burner or a tight one

[brad]

My car is out of warranty now. So if it does have the oil consumption issue, what can I do about it? I just bought it... :/

Statutory Warranty. There's plenty of threads about oil consumption & your consumer rights.

You don't even know if you have a problem yet. Cart before horse.

[gavs]

Statutory Warranty. There's plenty of threads about oil consumption & your consumer rights.

You don't even know if you have a problem yet. Cart before horse.

This is exactly right. I know a guy that just had his engine changed out in his mk5 Jetta 1.4tsi because of excessive oil consumption due to low compression in cylinder 1. All done as a 'goodwill' gesture. Crap. Vag did it so they didn't have another sh*tstorm on their hands just after winning wheels car of the year

As RoknRob said, it's down to 2 main factors. 1) vw can't build a well toleranced engine and 2) the pressures created by the engine which cause big vacuums and a lot of blowby in the factory D program for the dsg just suck oil into the combustion chambers and burn it out the back. Or deposit it in your intercooler

Spend the money on a dsg tune, less oil consumption and increased clutch life

[zoomda]

Hi everyone. I just bought a 2011 Polo GTI second hand from a private seller. Everything was ok with it and he mentioned that he had the DSG updated from that recall issue they had. I just read about oil issues though and am not too sure whether my car is affected. How do you know which models are the ones with high oil consumption? Thanks!

You poor soul.

How do you tell which ones? Look for the GTI badge on the back of it. Get rid of it before it costs you an arm and a leg. That's what we'll be doing with ours as soon as the lease is up.

[Lucas_R]

You poor soul.

How do you tell which ones? Look for the GTI badge on the back of it. Get rid of it before it costs you an arm and a leg.

+1. I would just assume/accept that it does use oil, with the faint glimmer of hope that it may possibly not.