Diesel burning a lot of oil, normal?

[JonB]

Now firstly, I understand that diesels to get through some engine oil, however I think my car is getting through a rather lot.

Car in question is a Golf Mk5 1.9 TDi, it's 3 years old on a 57 plate. Got 87k on the clocks.

Now I got the car with 72k on the clocks in July and everything was fine, went in for a full service on 76k where it had cambelt changed and longlife oil put in the engine. Now thses cars only need servicing every 20k so thought it to be minimal maintenance, but as I do about 4000 miles a month I obviously check tyre pressures and oil levels weekly. Now at about 84k the engine oil was at the lowest point on the dipstick, I read the owners manual and it said in the summer a lot of motorway driving can cause the engine to burn above average amounts of oil. So went to Halfrauds and bought some really expensive castrol stuff the manual recommended that is specially designed for Audi and VW diesel engines (nice when you aren't paying for it!!!). Put the whole litre in and it was filled to just below the top dipstick line.

Just checked the oil and it has already gone down to 3/4?! So have done 3,000 miles and already got through a good amount of oil, is this normal or is there a leak? Or something not going on right in the engine?

I'm not used to maintaining a car whilst doing so many miles, all my old cars were petrol and would barely ever get through any oil at all over 10,000 miles.

To be honest i'm not particularly bothered as it is just a company car, but don't wanna have to go to Volkswagen which is the other side of Bristol if there is nothing wrong. Will wait until the next service anyway. I don't drive erratically (much) but do do a lot of motorway miles with cruise control set at about 70 (ish).

Cheers.
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[tatfan]

I'm no mechanic, but that doesn't sound right to me. I do a similar milage to you, and my Renault tragic uses virtually no oil between services, about 18500 miles apart.

[N cee thirty]

not leaking out is it ?

sure you'd notice if it was smoking
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[WildGoose]

Just over a litre in 3000 miles sounds acceptable, especially if you aren't paying for it. Just keep it topped up.



I would like to know where diesels get the reputation for using more oil than petrol. I'm convinced its some old wives tale, yes they are higher compression and combust in a different way, but the engines are essentially the same, so why should the oil go anywhere?

They are certainly harder on their oil though, which is why i'm surprised the service interval is 20k. I would be changing it at 6k maximum, especially if you are pounding the miles on there.
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[tatfan]

Very old diesel engines used to drink asmuch oil as fuel. That's where that comes from. But with modern oil and engines, they can get away with being treated pretty much the same as petrol engines. My dad used to have an old mk1 transit as an ice cream van years ago, and that had an oil change almost everymonth!

[robs321]

[DrDonnyBrago]

My 130k diesel 97 corolla burns practically no oil at all, have never had to fill between intervals, old oil doesn't stink of diesel either.

Seems like a lot to be burning on such a new motor to me mate.

[jimspeed]

VW say that 1 ltr in 2000 miles is ok for oil useage. I work for an indy vw specialist and I personally would get the service interval put onto 10K and use the non longlife oil.. if you do not drive it hard try thrashing it for a week (it wont hurt it) and see if it helps as they do suffer more when driven gently.
if under warrenty take it back and mention it , they should check level and tell you to come back in 1K to check useage.

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[Stelmer]

When is it's first MOT?

I'm pretty sure they still floor it 3-5 times for a few seconds to check the emissions on Diesel engines. Amongst other things, the rev test can indicate a bad turbo too. I cannot remember if blue smoke is emitted at full revs or on decelleration if the turbo is worn though.

Just to note, I had a Peugeot 406 with a bad turbo and the revs carried past the redline from it's own oil when it was floored. Threw out clouds of white smoke.

[hmmmnz]

thats nothing!! what are you complaining about,
you should be doing oil changes every 3-4000 miles anyway, (i do an oil change every 4000km in my diesel)
oil in diesel engines gets dirty quick, so leaving it for 20000miles would just be stupid, it'd be like tar by then,


if you leave your or any engine to do 20000miles with out an oil change, you'll get what you deserve.
sharpen up


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[Stelmer]

Yeah, them new 20k intervals are stupid.


We're all getting new company cars - Vauxhall Astra Ecoflex 1.7CDTi's. They're not due their first service till they get to 20k!!!!! No 1k oil change or inspection at all. It's wrong, new vehicles should have an inspection and oil change at least for safety reasons.

We do around 3k/month on average so at least it's not going a year till it sees a garage.

When I had my own 406, I was advised to have the oil changed every 6k by my local garage as the then 12k (20k on Peugeots too now) intervals are too long.

We are told to only top the oil up with fully synthetic grade on company vehicles.

[panrider_uk]

I have 100k on my 53plate diesel (Kia) and I've never had to top the oil up.

Mark
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[dodgydog]

[iCraig]

Its a VW, they drink oil like an alcoholic priest.

[hmmmnz]

buy cheaper oil and do it more often,
you don't have to do the filer every oil change,
it only takes 10mins to dump the old oil and chuck in new stuff
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the humans are dead
I kick arse for the lord
Wiring Diagrams BIDNIP it bitches

[Walloper]

Diesel engines have oil changes more frequently than petrol due to the fuel used.
Diesel fuel can contain more sulphur which turns to sulphuric acid in the oil and eats engine parts.
This causes more wear.
Diesel engine oils contain additives to neutralize the acid and prevent erosion.
TBN Total Base Number denotes the amount of additive in the oil and when the engine has burned enough fuel the TBN will be reduced therefore acid protection will be reduced.
This is why diesel engines need more frequent oil services.

Modern diesel fuel is more refined than older fuels and more sulphur is removed plus oil additives are improved so oil can last longer.

Park your car over a sheet of cardboard or wall paper.
Check for oil leaks in the morning.
There should be no leaks.

Most heavy consumption is due to oil leaks.

Poor maintenance is the cause of excessive oil and fuel consumption. Not due to the design of diesel engines. Oils can cope with the extra physical loads easily.
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[dodgydog]

Thinking back, I had an Audi with the same 1.9 Tdi engine. The only time that used oil was after a cam belt change, when they left an oil pipe loose. Like Walloper says, some cardboard underneath (take out the plastic undertray thing) will let you know by morning.


Dog
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