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Sun 20 Oct 2013 21:51

skoda cars - oil consumption - archie46

Hi. Both my wifes car(1.2tsi Fabia), 35000miles, just under 3yrs old, and mine(1.8tsi Octavia, 8000miles,2yrs old, have both started using a fair bit of oil. I bought my car having been impressed with the smooth good performing engine of the 105bhp Fabia, so am rather concerned at the oil consumption, especially as iv'e only had mine for 3months. Both appear to use at least 1ltr between inspections, roughly 2 months. Is this normal for a tubo petrol engine?, have any other Skoda owners of these tsi engined cars experienced similar issues?.

Many thanks

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Mon 21 Oct 2013 09:36

skoda cars - oil consumption - Cyd

Reading between the lines (as you're not specific) you seem to be suggesting about 1 litre of oil per 2000 miles on average??? Yes or no?

Are you looking after your turbo's properly? Plenty of info here on that. The stresses on petrol turbos are much higher than on diesel turbos. All turbos will use some oil, the amount largely determined by the style of driving.

My Saab 9-3 Aero uses about 1/2 litre or so between 4k oil changes when driven moderately. Push on and this increases to about a litre per 2k.

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Mon 21 Oct 2013 09:48

skoda cars - oil consumption - RT

Most manufacturers use a figure of 1 litre per 1,000 miles as the limit for acceptable oil consumption.

Many owners would regard 1 litre per 10,000 miles as good.

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Mon 21 Oct 2013 12:17

skoda cars - oil consumption - cws

Excessive oil use (compared to your average engine) seems to be common for many VAG TSI engines. Only a few pages back there is a thread on here about an Audi A5 TSI and excessive oil use. Have a search through/google the issue - there's lots to read.....

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Mon 21 Oct 2013 12:21

skoda cars - oil consumption - archie46

Thanks for reply. Yes you are correct, i'm using about 1ltr / 2k. I drive it sensibly, occasional use on motorway-70/80mph, dont thrash it. As the car had only done 6k when i bought over a 2yr period, would this have been detrimental to the engine?

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Mon 21 Oct 2013 12:32

skoda cars - oil consumption - craig-pd130

Thanks for reply. Yes you are correct, i'm using about 1ltr / 2k. I drive it sensibly, occasional use on motorway-70/80mph, dont thrash it. As the car had only done 6k when i bought over a 2yr period, would this have been detrimental to the engine?

It's hard to say. Certain engines simply like a drink of oil, while others don't.

In the 80s / 90s, the 2-litre 16 valve petrol engine used in Golf GTIs, Corrados and various Audis used to be notorious for it.

Benz 6-cylinder petrols likewise. I remember Car Magazine had a long-term test on a 260E that drank a litre every 600 (yes, six hundred) miles, and Benz stated this was in the normal range and perfectly acceptable.

A girl in our office has a TT with the TFSI engine that drinks oil too.

For what it's worth, I'd just keep it topped up. On the brightside, a regular dose of fresh oil between services isn't a bad thing for the engine, and the cost of a 4-litre pack amortised over a year isn't too expensive.

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Mon 21 Oct 2013 21:59

skoda cars - oil consumption - Andrew-T

Benz 6-cylinder petrols likewise. I remember Car Magazine had a long-term test on a 260E that drank a litre every 600 (yes, six hundred) miles, and Benz stated this was in the normal range and perfectly acceptable.

That's not much better than a good old-fashioned two-stroke?

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Mon 21 Oct 2013 23:03

skoda cars - oil consumption - craig-pd130

That's not much better than a good old-fashioned two-stroke?

It's a bit better, my 1976 Suzi GT380 does 500 miles per litre :-)

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Tue 22 Oct 2013 00:02

skoda cars - oil consumption - bathtub tom

That's not much better than a good old-fashioned two-stroke?

Let's see? My old ones had around a 20:1 ratio. that's 2.5 gallons of petrol to a pint of oil (let's call it 5gallons/litre). Assuming 30MPG that's 150miles per litre of oil....................?

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Tue 22 Oct 2013 05:23

skoda cars - oil consumption - privateinvestor

are you sure you are using the correct grade of oil? very important imho...

http://castroledge.com/oil-range/oil-selector

Also if your car is turbocharged, remember to idle it after a short run, say 30 seconds, and on longer runs 1-2 minutes (perhaps longer) to reduce heatsoak and the risk of turbo failure. The turbo runs very hot and at high rpm so when suddenly switched of could burn oil. On a switched of engine the turbo is not being cooled (engine switched of and no oil circulation through turbo), yet turbo soaks up heat from itself and ancilary engine components (underbody temperatures can be high).

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Tue 22 Oct 2013 11:06

skoda cars - oil consumption - archie46

Yes, i assume i am using correct oil, purchased from skoda garage. Thanks for info re-turbo cooling, didn't know about letting it cool after long run or when very hot. It appears from all the answers rec'd that the vag tsi engines do use oil, so will have to live with it unless it becomes really excessive.

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Wed 23 Oct 2013 00:11

skoda cars - oil consumption - Cyd

Yes, i assume i am using correct oil, purchased from skoda garage. Thanks for info re-turbo cooling, didn't know about letting it cool after long run or when very hot. It appears from all the answers rec'd that the vag tsi engines do use oil, so will have to live with it unless it becomes really excessive.

never assume. Check the label against the spec listed in your handbook!!

Letting your turbo cool after a run is possibly the most important action you can take (after regular oil changes) to ensure turbo reliability and longevity. Most turbo car handbooks have a paragraph about this.
Now that more cars are turbo charged, pass on the learning to friends.

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Thu 24 Oct 2013 13:40

skoda cars - oil consumption - Peter D

If you are doing short runs, say 10-15 minutes, then your oil consuption will rise. Longer runs with a fully warmed up turbo will use less oil per mile.
When the turbo is cold the bearing clearance is at it's highest and there will be some oil seapage. When hot the clearance is at it minimum and less oil is used.
My Audo 1.8T uses around 1/4 L per 1000 miles, running locally, but at least half that on long runs. I have just been down south round trip 840 miles and it was not worth topping it up, but a couple on tanks of fuel running locally and it will need a 1/4 L Regards Peter

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Thu 24 Oct 2013 21:54

skoda cars - oil consumption - DrippingSump

Are we really having this discussion in the 21st century.

In my early driving days I had a Ford Anglia that used a little oil and a Rover V8 with a rotten crankshaft seal that positively gushed it, but apart from them I never owned a car that used oil. And certainly never one that was "meant" to consume oil.

I just don't hold with cars "liking" oil or it being "normal" to consume oil as part of the running process and 21st century tolerance manufacturing techniques should not be allowing this today. Cars that use oil have something wrong with them. They must be broken in the engine somewhere.

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Fri 25 Oct 2013 16:44

Oil consumption - Andrew-T

... but apart from them I never owned a car that used oil. And certainly never one that was "meant" to consume oil.

I just don't hold with cars "liking" oil or it being "normal" to consume oil as part of the running process and 21st century tolerance manufacturing techniques should not be allowing this today. Cars that use oil have something wrong with them.

I agree. Of the 30+ cars I have owned (none of them new), the only ones I can remember which needed more than very rare topping up between changes, either needed seals replacing or left visible drips on the floor. The worst was a Morris 1100 from 1962 which needed oil as often as petrol - that was seals. Of my other cars, only a 1983 Cavalier emitted any blue smoke.

IMHO any manufacturer suggesting that it is 'normal' to lose a litre or more of oil every 1000 miles does it to evade responsibility. Until quite recently owners of new cars were advised how to 'run a car in'. Now we are told that is no longer necessary, maybe because many new cars go to fleets or rental and immediately get heavy use. What should the others do?

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Sun 27 Oct 2013 10:11

skoda cars - oil consumption - archie46

Thanks Peter and other replies. I do a mixture of runs, usually 8miles, so engine has normally warmed up by then.

I agree, that the manufacturers are covering their backs by saying it's not unusual to consume 1ltr/1k miles, have not owned a car that uses this ammount of oil before, perhaps it's all to do with being turbo assisted. Will keep an eye on it and as its still under warranty, have it checked by Skoda.

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Sun 27 Oct 2013 13:25

skoda cars - oil consumption - coopshere

Not since the days when 20/50 motor oil was common have I had a car that used more than a half a pint between services. My current car, a Toyota, does not use any oil between services and neither did my previous car, a Honda. I can only assume that cars that use vast amounts of oil (most complaints seem to be from VAG cars) is down to poor engineering tolerance levels which allows the oil to burn or escape.

As a matter of interest does anyone have a non-turbo engine that is using lots of oil?

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Mon 28 Oct 2013 20:28

skoda cars - oil consumption - Big John

My father used to have a 2001 Octavia 2.0 8v that used no oil between services. He had it from new to about 10 years old.

My Octavia 2001 Octavia 1.4 16v (non turbo) has only recentley required topping between services although it is over 12 year old. It did have an brief oil burning spell a few years ago that was simply a blocked oil breather tube contained within the air filter. I now clear this every year.

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Mon 28 Oct 2013 20:48

skoda cars - oil consumption - cws

The oil usage issue seems to only effect VAG TSI engines. There are some interesting replies as to why it may be happening, if you scroll back on this page and find the thread relating to an Audi A5 TSI using horrendous amounts of oil.

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Mon 28 Oct 2013 20:49

skoda cars - oil consumption - cws

Here we are:

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=102118

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Tue 29 Oct 2013 09:40

skoda cars - oil consumption - V4 Heaven

My 180,000 mile Toyota Carina E, 1.8 petrol, uses 1/2 litre every 10,000 miles!

Edited by V4 Heaven on 29/10/2013 at 09:41

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Wed 30 Oct 2013 20:33

skoda cars - oil consumption - DrippingSump

There is another angle to this oil consumption thing, which I would love to float past any service manager that was giivng me the spin-doctor waffle about engines consuming huge quantities of oil being a normal way of life.

My reply is, what about the catalytic converter? If oil is being consumed internally in an engine that oil is going into the exhaust, and catalytic converters don't like being contaminated and it will definitely shorten a converters life. And the quantities being mentioned are most definitely in the contamination category.

I guess the dealership answer would be that catalysts are a fair wear and tear service item too. Yeh right! Looked after with a clean emission system a converter should last the life of a car i.e over 200,000 miles. Check the price of a replacement for your car and that would be a very expensive throwaway service item.

Manufacturers seem to have cured the oil drip on our driveways but have shifted it to blowing it out the tailpipe for us all to enjoy. Nice.

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