Topping up oil every 3-4 weeks

sseddon

Member
I'm doing 530 miles/week and my oil indicator light has started to come on every 3-4 weeks. Obviously, I top it up right away.
is this normal, or should I get it into a garage asap?

It's due a service actually, so maybe I should book it in.


SE 1.4 Petrol 2001
 
I presume you're checking the dipstick to see if the oil level has actually dropped?
Either way it doesn't sound right and I'd get it checked if I were you. It could be any number of things - the sensor might be faulty, could be a split oil breather hose (that happened to me last year), or other more serious things...
 
Yeah, I've checked the level and it is going down. I top up and the light goes off – only for it to reappear a few weeks later.
 
You should never let it get that low, so that the warning goes off
Either your rings/turbo are gone or you have an external leak

Do you always park the car in the same place?
Oil underneath?

Take off one of the intercooler hoses and look to see if large amounts of oil come out

J
 
If you’ve got a 1.4 petrol, get a compression test carried out to see if you’ve got any compression leakage via the piston rings. If the compression rings are worn I’d expect the oil-control rings to also be worn. I assume your not noticing lost of smoke from the exhaust when driving?
Also, drive at a constant 60mph on a dual carriageway for a couple minutes, take your foot off the gas until your speed drops to 40mph (but don’t use the brake to slow the car down), and then floor it (all in top gear – so don’t change down). Look in the rear view mirror, if you notice smoke when you floor it, you probably have worn valve stems, guides or valve stem oil seals.

If the above shows no noticeable signs of oil burning, it must be leaking, so when it’s not raining, pull the undertray off and check the underside of the car carefully to see where the leak is. I would top up with oil immediately after removing the undertray (if it needs it), so you’ll also be able to see if it’s leaking from the filler pipework.

Cheers

Jeff
 
I was about to say, it seems unlikely that it's burning oil if there's no smoke... I'd guess on breather hose somewhere at the moment.

Is the petrol's crankcase ventilation system plumbed in with the intake on the A2? If it is, check the throttle body/inlet tract for large amounts of oil.
 
well for what its worth i have had 3 audi a2 petrol 1.4's and they all use oil!
Its def a vw audi problem on petrol models as i have had both makes. i suspect bore glaze is the real issue with them as i have looked into it in depth....

half a ltr every 1000 miles is not a problem and is seen as normal to audi.
the tdi are a lot better....
 
I agree with cjscos (same initials as me) That is the sort of mileage I was getting. Email opie oilman, he recommended Castrol Edge I think 5-40 but check with him as it was a while back, it certainly improved my mileage, I was using VW longlife previously (10k service routine) Best of luck. When I had a New Tdi, (which trashed its turbo at 300 mls causing the engine to run on its engine oil until I managed to stall it to stop.) It never did better than 1000ml per litre. Audi said it was normal. I dont think so. My current Yaris tsport has done 6500 since I changed the oil (Castrol edge) and hasnt moved on the dipstick. Yippee that should be a lesson to VW. Ps might be worth flushing the engine before the oil is changed, but definitely do an oil change. Cheers Colin
 
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My Wife's 1.4 Petrol (2003) also uses around half a ltr every 1000 miles , she mainly uses it in town with the odd motorway journey. I have also noticed some smoke while at iddle, the car has FASH ( 52k miles) and last time car was in for oil change they said car was OK....
Should i have a compression test to clear any doubts?
Ta
 
Page 164 of the drivers manual for a petrol engine, says it is normal to use 1/2 litre of oil every 1000 Kms.

My dipstick has a flat bit then it thickens. Half way along the thick bit is a notch, then plastic, space then a plastic ball. This looks nothing like my owners manual, so what is it meant to look like?
 
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