Frequent oil top-ups beneficial?

venusinfurs

Member
Bored and always wondered this… since the A2 (1.4 petrol) likes to drink oil are the frequent oil top-up beneficial to the engine? Unlike a car that never needs topping up over a year, the engine is frequently getting fresh oil.

So a car with no top-ups after a year has 1 year old oil, the car with frequent top-ups will have pretty fresh oil for the whole year.

Any thoughts? Probably marginal of no difference, just a bored question really, always wondered since i top up so often :D
 
Yes
The frequent top ups do mean fresher oil in the engine after a year, but you shouldn't need to top up so frequently.

It sounds like you have a small leak perhaps?

Steve B
 
No it's ok, i think i just got obsessed with checking it too often… it's usage is in line with what it says in the manual it should use.

Been two weeks since my last top up :eek:
 
So that sounds like you are just checking slightly too frequently.

No harm in doing that but it is not necessary unless you believe there is a leak.

In fact checking too frequently increases your chance of getting a false reading (e.g. when the dipstick is not quite fully in when you check) and that could cause you to overfill the engine which is to be avoided since that can cause expensive problems.

So check as frequently as the manual indicates and only check more often if you suspect a leak (either by spotting drops of oil under the car, or by seeing the level dropping more than it should).

Never overfill either, an engine that is around the minimum is far better than an engine that has a level above the maximum. (although in between is best of course)

Steve B
 
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