2.0 TFSI Drinking Oil

[Bitzer]

My 2.0T in my Golf uses a litre every 3-4k. The same 2.0T in our A4 hasn't used a drop in 3 years between services.

Any VAG diesel I've had has used a litre between services.

[AndyandChrisGTR]

Gio G said:

Reading this post, I was compelled to check the oil. Open the bonnet no dipstick!!!

Then go to check into the MMI, under car settings - oil levels. It says check in 2 mins, engine needs to be off. So I turn the engine off, go ino settings for oil level - says engine needs to be switched on to configure.... WTF!!!

Even tried again after going for drive, lifted the hood.. Doesn't work!!

Any ideas anyone????

Hello

You need to turn on the car and let it run for 2 mins on a flat surface then turn it off but leave the key in the ignition so the mmi is working then try checking. Should work then, if it doesn't then pass!!

Chris

[huwp]

I posted earlier in this thread that my Polo had required a new engine at 5,000 miles. Popped into the local dealer yesterday as I now have a turbo issue. Anyway, the same mechanic who had worked on replacing the engine came out with me to diagnose the knackered turbo: he confirmed that VW have now acknowledged a problem with the piston rings in the 1.4 TSI.

[Gio G]

AndyandChrisGTR said:

Gio G said:

Reading this post, I was compelled to check the oil. Open the bonnet no dipstick!!!

Then go to check into the MMI, under car settings - oil levels. It says check in 2 mins, engine needs to be off. So I turn the engine off, go ino settings for oil level - says engine needs to be switched on to configure.... WTF!!!

Even tried again after going for drive, lifted the hood.. Doesn't work!!

Any ideas anyone????

Hello

You need to turn on the car and let it run for 2 mins on a flat surface then turn it off but leave the key in the ignition so the mmi is working then try checking. Should work then, if it doesn't then pass!!

Chris

Thanks Chris,

Yes tried that, doesn't work..

[AndyandChrisGTR]

Gio G said:

AndyandChrisGTR said:

Gio G said:

Reading this post, I was compelled to check the oil. Open the bonnet no dipstick!!!

Then go to check into the MMI, under car settings - oil levels. It says check in 2 mins, engine needs to be off. So I turn the engine off, go ino settings for oil level - says engine needs to be switched on to configure.... WTF!!!

Even tried again after going for drive, lifted the hood.. Doesn't work!!

Any ideas anyone????

Hello

You need to turn on the car and let it run for 2 mins on a flat surface then turn it off but leave the key in the ignition so the mmi is working then try checking. Should work then, if it doesn't then pass!!

Chris

Thanks Chris,

Yes tried that, doesn't work..

Pass then,although have you tried it whist your driving? Mine usually gives a reading whilst I am.

Otherwise maybe Dr G or Tame Technician can help????

Chris

[SuperchargedVR6]

liner33 said:

I'm an advocate of the hard break in method
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

I've tried that on a couple of engines. Broke a piston ring on one and the second engine loved it :-)

The rings and honing have a small window of oppurtunity to bed in properly. It's usually within the first 50 miles.

It's all the people who like to get up in the morning and run the engine whilst making a cup of tea, not realising the damage long term cold idling causes.

Honestly, previous owners are the bain of the motoring enthusiast's life and NEVER, EVER buy a single owner "to the shops and back" kind of car. The engine in that will be more knackered than one that's done 50K a year as a rep mobile.

[anonymous-user]

SuperchargedVR6 said:

These engines are either not being built properly at the factory, or their new owners are babying them from new. Given the gridlocked state of the country and everyone doing 60mph to save fuel (well get in the feckin inside lane and save fuel then, grrrr), high load and high rpm oppurtunities are rare, ergo the bores get glazed and oil consumption increases.

Having said that, german engines do like a drink. Every VW, BMW and Audi I've every owned drank oil. My Mum's old 1994 Corolla used nothing at all between it's 16,000 mile oil changes.

Interesting to see your views on 'breaking in' and then see that every VW, BMW and Audi you've ever owned 'drank oil'.

I've always been an advocate of properly running in engines when new and every VW, BMW, Audi etc etc I've ever had, including the ones I have presently, uses little or no oil between services.

In fact the only car I can remember owning that did use appreciable oil was a 2.6 190E I had back in the nineties, bought as a 6000 mile ex demo.

What am I doing wrong?

[AndyandChrisGTR]

huwp said:

I posted earlier in this thread that my Polo had required a new engine at 5,000 miles. Popped into the local dealer yesterday as I now have a turbo issue. Anyway, the same mechanic who had worked on replacing the engine came out with me to diagnose the knackered turbo: he confirmed that VW have now acknowledged a problem with the piston rings in the 1.4 TSI.

Not having much luck with that car. I hope they get it sorted for you!!

Chris

[AndyandChrisGTR]

REALIST123 said:

SuperchargedVR6 said:

These engines are either not being built properly at the factory, or their new owners are babying them from new. Given the gridlocked state of the country and everyone doing 60mph to save fuel (well get in the feckin inside lane and save fuel then, grrrr), high load and high rpm oppurtunities are rare, ergo the bores get glazed and oil consumption increases.

Having said that, german engines do like a drink. Every VW, BMW and Audi I've every owned drank oil. My Mum's old 1994 Corolla used nothing at all between it's 16,000 mile oil changes.

Interesting to see your views on 'breaking in' and then see that every VW, BMW and Audi you've ever owned 'drank oil'.

I've always been an advocate of properly running in engines when new and every VW, BMW, Audi etc etc I've ever had, including the ones I have presently, uses little or no oil between services.

In fact the only car I can remember owning that did use appreciable oil was a 2.6 190E I had back in the nineties, bought as a 6000 mile ex demo.

What am I doing wrong?

Sounds like your not doing anything wrong. To be honest I think I'm just going to do what ever Audi tell me to do. At least that way they're more likely to help me out in the future with it.

To be honest I don't have much experience of the "breaking in" stage, the only car I've ever had from new was a 1.6tdci Ford Focus and that was utter st!! It deserved to be thrashed!!

I don't think in general though my car get treated badly. The car in question having the rebuild gets driven about 25k per year, a lot of that is obviously motorway but it also gets some country lane action (about 3-4 miles every morning and evening when I go to and from work. I tend to drive it as was intended for that section.

Chris

[liner33]

REALIST123 said:

Interesting to see your views on 'breaking in' and then see that every VW, BMW and Audi you've ever owned 'drank oil'.

I've always been an advocate of properly running in engines when new and every VW, BMW, Audi etc etc I've ever had, including the ones I have presently, uses little or no oil between services.

In fact the only car I can remember owning that did use appreciable oil was a 2.6 190E I had back in the nineties, bought as a 6000 mile ex demo.

What am I doing wrong?

You arent doing anything wrong but i break my engines in hard and they dont use any oil either , there is no doubt that if a engine is broken in too gently then that can cause issues later on

[Deva Link]

SuperchargedVR6 said:

Honestly, previous owners are the bain of the motoring enthusiast's life and NEVER, EVER buy a single owner "to the shops and back" kind of car. The engine in that will be more knackered than one that's done 50K a year as a rep mobile.

We have a couple of cars in our family that are used like that and neither use a drop of oil between services. They are both Japanese though!

Having said that, I haven't had (or looked after in the family) a car that needed oil between services since a Cavalier in the mid 80's, and they had a problem with oil passing the valve guides. I run a Merc diesel as my main car and as long as I keep it marginally below max (on the computer - there's no dip stick) it'll stay at the same level.

VAG wise, we have a Mk6 Golf at the moment, but it does have the old basic 1.4 non FSI/TSI engine which they used in a low cost special edition (Twist) and that doesn't use oil.

[SuperchargedVR6]

REALIST123 said:

Interesting to see your views on 'breaking in' and then see that every VW, BMW and Audi you've ever owned 'drank oil'.

I've always been an advocate of properly running in engines when new and every VW, BMW, Audi etc etc I've ever had, including the ones I have presently, uses little or no oil between services.

In fact the only car I can remember owning that did use appreciable oil was a 2.6 190E I had back in the nineties, bought as a 6000 mile ex demo.

What am I doing wrong?

The engines I broke in were one off high performance engines and aren't part of that general history. I tell a lie though. I did have one VW which used no oil between services and that was a MK2 Golf 1.6 CL. It was a high mileage ex-rep car, so maybe the regular motorway runs did the engine some good, who knows.

You aren't doing anything wrong. Mass produced engines these days don't really need "running in" anymore, but they do still like a heavy right foot from the moment the customer gets it. What happens between the factory and showroom is anyone's guess, which is why there cannot be a definitive answer as to why some engines use oil and some don't. The only constant is the manufacturing process, but again, proving there is an issue there is ny on impossible as it's just bits of metal rubbing together.

The oil level light is triggered to come on when 0.7 litres has been lost. Now, in my friend's MK5 GTI, this can take only 2 weeks. My work colleague's MK5 GTI does this over a month, and yet another person I know with a GTI doesn't illuminate the dash light for at least 6 months. What's the difference between these 3 engines? Nothing that I know of. So it can only be down to how it's been treated from new, or a manufacturing defect, or both.

Edited by SuperchargedVR6 on Tuesday 31st July 12:32

[huwp]

AndyandChrisGTR said:

huwp said:

I posted earlier in this thread that my Polo had required a new engine at 5,000 miles. Popped into the local dealer yesterday as I now have a turbo issue. Anyway, the same mechanic who had worked on replacing the engine came out with me to diagnose the knackered turbo: he confirmed that VW have now acknowledged a problem with the piston rings in the 1.4 TSI.

Not having much luck with that car. I hope they get it sorted for you!!

Chris

No fault with turbo found. But needs new clutch pack and oil breather kit!! Won't be keeping this car beyond the warranty period!

[AndyandChrisGTR]

huwp said:

No fault with turbo found. But needs new clutch pack and oil breather kit!! Won't be keeping this car beyond the warranty period!

My thoughts too, warranty runs out in about 14 months so unless I can pursued Audi customer care to extend it (pigs flying springs to mind) then I'll be getting something else. A6 bi turbo currently springs to mind!!

Chris

[AndyandChrisGTR]

Another update.

Picked the car up today, it was in the garage for over two weeks!! They did give me quite a nice A6 though in the mean time.

Hopefully all will be ok now. Just need to keep a close eye on the oil consumption.

Chris

[huwp]

Fingers crossed for you. New clutch pack and oil breather kit still awaited from factory for mine.

[thegasman]

Hi
I have had my A5 2.0T from new on a 59 plate and have covered 59,000 miles mostly motorways, it is drinking 1litre of oil for every 700 miles and its getting worse. Audi say this is within tolerance . Lucky for me it's a company car as its costing a fortune buying all this synthetic oil where is it all going. This car is going back to the lease company in November I pity the poor sod that buys this car at auction. This is def my last Audi .

Cheers

[Deva Link]

thegasman said:

Audi say this is within tolerance .

What do Audi say the tolerance is? I've seen it stated as 0.5L per 1000KM so yours is twice that.

[AndyandChrisGTR]

thegasman said:

Hi
I have had my A5 2.0T from new on a 59 plate and have covered 59,000 miles mostly motorways, it is drinking 1litre of oil for every 700 miles and its getting worse. Audi say this is within tolerance . Lucky for me it's a company car as its costing a fortune buying all this synthetic oil where is it all going. This car is going back to the lease company in November I pity the poor sod that buys this car at auction. This is def my last Audi .

Cheers

That's not within tolerance I don't think but check your manual. It took quite a bit of persuasion from me to get them to do something. They did it eventually though and even gave me a cheque for £500 to cover the cost of all the oil I bought!

Chris

[Deva Link]

AndyandChrisGTR said:

That's not within tolerance I don't think but check your manual. It took quite a bit of persuasion from me to get them to do something. They did it eventually though and even gave me a cheque for £500 to cover the cost of all the oil I bought!

Chris

My experience (over 20 years) with leased company cars is nobody is interested in doing anything at the best of times, and not at all as the car nears the end of its lease. I struggled with one car for a year after it developed engine management faults at 18mths.
In the end I took it to the dealer, took their courtesy car and told them not to call me until it was definitely fixed. Couple of days later the lease company called and said they were taking the car back early.

Like thegasman says, I felt quite bad that someone could buy the car not realising what was wrong with it. I often wonder if the car is still doing circuits of auction rings.