Centipede

I have had a very similar experience, with a 2013 Yeti 1.8 TSI. Used about 2 litres of oil per 1,000 miles, and fresh oil became black very quickly. Took my car into the dealer and after about a year and a half, with things getting worse, they eventually replaced the pistons, rings, con rods, and timing parts. Early on I complained directly to Skoda main office, and they seemed to keep reviewing the case and making sure the dealer got on with things (eventually). Cost about the same as ZZR600, and Skoda paid 70% - again as a good will gesture. I had to pay a chunk of money, but also got my clutch done while the engine was out (I paid for this). Who knows what damage that amount of oil has done going through the engine ? - the cat converter for instance, as well as the impact of the contaminated oil on all of the systems. The engine still uses a significant amount of oil, but now within Skoda's 'normal' limits. Nobody ever admitted what the fault was, and they also carried out a lot of time investigating the barrel wear. They also kept me almost completely in the dark as much as possible about their findings. I really became quite sick of the whole process and was glad to see the back of it all. The fault is completely consistent with the poor design of the oil scraper rings, which are so thin that the drainage holes are too small and are easily blocked. Under English law, you only have redress from the place you bought it from - Skoda will quote this to you. English law also does not have a class action. However, seems to me that Skoda have knowingly been selling faulty goods (their own internal systems acknowledged the problems), the goods they sold were not suitable for the purpose intended (cars have an expected, reasonable life of many years), and there is something called group litigation. I reckon that if anyone is annoyed enough, it may be worth seeking advice from a specialist lawyer. I would personally never buy Skoda again. Apart from the engine problems, their main desire seemed to be to avoid any responsibility. They are extremely corporate and are following a set internal procedure. I am sure they are just keeping it all damped down, and doing the minimum, until the problem goes away.

Yes. Definitely - Either directly or with some financial support (for legal expanses). I have been in contact with someone in the trade and they say they are seeing a large number of cars with these problems (excessive oil consumption). Skoda are very definitely aware of the situation.

Hi, About the £1,000 for engine removal/replacement. I was told it would take 2 dys work minimum - daily rate for dealers is £100+ an hour, so I was being somewhat conservative ..... Now, of course, it SHOULDN'T cost £100 an hour (wonder what the actual mechanics get?), and also I agree absolutely about the fact that this looks like a fundamental design fault which Skoda should have a responsibility for.

Hi mstrbkr I have the same car, same year, same problem. I seem to be getting nowhere with Skoda (the local garage plus main office). It looks like a huge price for a new engine - they seemed to be talking many thousands, so I reckon I will do the same as you. The price you have been quoted seems reasonable to me, bearing in mind the parts costs and the labour involved. I think for this price they must be working underneath the car and just dropping the crankshaft and pistons with the engine still in the car. I was told that taking an engine out and putting it back in again would be about two days work - about £1000+ by itself. I have sent off a message to your garage (Midlands VW) about doing the same job for me; they seem to get a lot of positive reviews. Am waiting for a reply (probably in the new year now). Seems like they are on the ball, suggesting the new pistons. However best to check as you say. The original fault appears to be down to using an oil ring which is quite narrow, and which has small drainage holes. This link to a Russian site gives details (though the translation is hard to follow) https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fvwts.ru%2Fforum%2Findex.php%3Fshowtopic%3D192986&edit-text=&act=url If this link doesn't work, I got it from a post by briskycat further down on this page: It seems the original oil ring was only 1.5mm, with widely spaced small circular drainage holes. I think they were trying to reduce friction/weight and not weaken the ring. The replacement ring is apparently 2mm, with large slits (similar to gaps I have seen on other engines I have worked on). It would seem to be a good idea to check that the new oil rings being put in have significantly better drainage than the old ones, and that it is not just more of the same. One other thing I did myself was to do a compression test. It is relatively easy, though it involves removing the sparkplugs and a special tool. You turn the engine over, and the compression figures indicate whether there are difficulties with the rings/barrel. It should not cost much for the garage to do it, and will rule out other problems such as a valve or turbo bearing. Thanks for the original query and information.

I have a very similar problem, but left it too late (took a while to realise it was bad, and getting worse) I am now in protracted negotiations with Skoda, who set a very high level for 'normal' oil consumption. They now appear to be recommending a phase of extended investigations which may cost me/you dear, with no guarantee of a resolution. There is a very well known problem with the oil rings which are very easily blocked. Unfortunately, the 'cure' is replacing the pistons+rings and con rods. I would STRONGLY recommend getting rid of this car asap. It is simply not fit for purpose. PS my own spark plugs appear normal, even with a similar level of oil use to you. Also, all that oil must be getting burnt and going through the engine, and is almost certainly damaging the catalytic converter. My own oil is also getting a lot of pieces of carbon (visible on changing oil), and you just don't know what further damage this load is doing.

Hi all, I changed the oil + filter a couple of days ago. The previous oil change was by Skoda, 4,000 miles before. The oil was really black (like old used diesel oil), and there were small pieces of carbon in it. I have changed to 5w40, and the oil consumption seems exactly the same – going down quite fast. The colour of the new oil seems to be changing quite quickly - already getting dark. The oil temperature is also getting quite high – up to 121 degrees after about 10 miles of driving (tho this had developed before the oil change). As before – power seems good, and you’d think there was absolutely nothing wrong until you noticed the oil. I just think there is something seriously wrong – who knows what ! Turbo problems, blocked oilways, shot bearings somewhere, etc.. Probably a few things interacting. Anyway, I just want a car that works, and for £4,000 I’ll have an engine which will hopefully have all the problems sorted and do a lot of miles.

As you say, Awayoffski, I bet the reputation of Skoda/VW has been tarnished in various ways. What were they thinking ? I see it's possible to get Castrol Edge 5w40, so I am definitely going to try that out. Thanks again for the info. VAGCF, sounds like I have a similar driving profile to you, and the power of the 1.8 is just right for me. The Karoq 1.5 has almost identical power/acceleration specs (including 4 wheel drive), and is also a lot more economical !

A lot of interesting points. Firstly, I really like the 1.8 4x4 for various reasons - it gets a 'best' rating by honest john. It really does feel great to drive and is useful for me (I tow a boat, sometimes in slippy situations) http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/road-tests/skoda/skoda-yeti-18tsi-160-2009-road-test// I always used to drive diesels, but recently had loads of problems with reliability - dpf, egr, etc. Apparently particulate filters are now one of the main reasons for breakdown callouts. The yeti may be different of course, but I just got a bit fed up with the whole added complication. I find the whole oil useage thing soooo dodgy. I am personally well out of warranty, but it just looks as though they made a mistake in using thin oil rings with tiny holes, which are easily blocked. I remember in the old days, the holes in the bottom rings were always huge slots. The engine has good power, and I tested the compression with an engineering friend of mine. The engine was warmed up, but I didn't put the throttle down - would this make a difference in the gap between wet and dry? I was also thinking that the wet/dry difference ruled out all other things such as a possible turbo leak. I'll ask the garage if they can test for this (can't immediately see how) - suppose I'm going by the general feeling that the rings are usually the problem. The oil I am using is 5w30 Castrol Edge. I was really tempted to try a more viscous oil, but some people warn about this - something to do with the valves 'pumping up', as well as the turbo flow. Ultimately, I'm assuming that Skoda got most of the other aspects right, and that they specify this oil for a reason. I will definitely talk with the Skoda garage about using 5w40 - if that is one of the recommended ones. I've just filled up with some BP advanced, and will have a blast down the motorway tomorrow. Then I'll do an oil change with some 5w40, then see what happens. Thanks for all the ideas and advice.

It's a dilemma ! BUT, if I shell out £4000, I should at least have a car that will be reliable engine-wise, and good for a fair few miles. I could trade it in and use the money to get a newer (second hand) yeti, but first I would feel very guilty, and second, the 'new' one would still have a few miles on it, with the risk of the same thing happening again. I hate driving a car which I know has something wrong with it - it's interesting to do the sums on the cost of the oil; I hadn't realised that it was 'relatively' insignificant. However, that oil is going somewhere, and it's not supposed to be happening. There may be other things going on which I am not aware of .... I used to have an old diesel which would only run properly on BP ultimate (made a huge difference). I reckon it cleaned the injectors. I am thinking of putting some of the petrol version through my yeti, though I can't see how it would penetrate to the oil ring. Worth a try though perhaps. BTW, from now on, whenever I look at my car, I will think of a deep fat fryer !

Just to finish this thread off, I was quoted about £2.5 k by a couple of companies, for a rebuild, but I didn't get any sense that they had much idea of the specific problems with the yeti. One company just didn't reply to me.... Anyway, I bit the bullet and talked with the local Skoda garage - they can do a replacement (reconditioned) engine for £4,000. Seems a lot, but I can (hopefully) trust them to know what they are doing, and I will then have a car which will then be capable of a lot more miles. So, this is what I am going for.

Thanks spottydog - that seems like what I was thinking. You just hear so many scare stories about people advertising rebuild jobs but just bodging in a second hand motor, or worse. Caveat emptor and all that.

Many thanks for the various information and advice! I've just checked under the car and there is absolutely no oil coming out anywhere underneath. It's got to be going through the engine in some way. Unfortunately, I cannot do a leak-down test. It would certainly be a good idea, but I have to involve a garage and I think I need one who would be capable of doing the whole job. As far as I can see, the good wet pressure cylinder compression readings (all 185) indicate that the top of the engine (i.e. valves and cylinder head gasket) are ok. The much lower dry compression readings (about 155), indicate a 20% difference. There must be some loss of pressure past the rings - I have read elsewhere that a difference of 10% is 'normal'. The absolute figures seem close to what other people have found, and the 185 figure also seems good in comparison with what others have mentioned. However, I don't really know what the figures 'should' be. I have seen elsewhere on Briskoda (from a link to a detailed Russian post) that the problem lies with the bottom oil scraper ring. Apparently the holes in which allow the oil to go down (once 'scraped off') are too small and are easily blocked with carbon. The fix is apparently to use wider rings with bigger holes/slots, although this can involve fitting different pistons, which involves different con rods as well. SO, I love the Yeti, so will just spend some money on getting it fixed. I am loath to pass it over to Skoda, and just want a decent independent garage somewhere in the East/South East. I have been quoted £1,500 for an engine strip down and rebuild, including cylinder re-honing, new rings, con-rod and crankshaft checking, new main and big end bearings, cylinder head strip down and valves reconditioned (new guides and seats done), plus complete timing chain set. I'm assuming this is with engine out of the car, but still this just seems a bit too cheap, and I am just sooo suspicious of people these days. Has anyone else gone down this route, or have a favourite garage ?

Thanks, good idea. I've posted on there.

My Yeti 2011 1.8 is using 1 liter of oil per 1,000 miles, and is out of any sort of warranty. Just done a compression test, and the dry measurement is about 155 on all cylinders, whereas the wet figure (with 5cc oil added) is 185 !!!! Looks like the rings are f****d. I've read a lot of this thread, which has been really useful. Does anyone know someone who can do a rebuild, who is A ) capable of doing a proper job, and B ) not going to rip me off I am happy to travel a fair distance (I'm in Kings Lynn), and will pay the going rate. I've seen Dal Jones Automotive (kent), and germancartech (southend). Anyone used them and know if they are trustworthy? Thanks for any info, Martyn

Thanks Awayoffski - I have started to work my way through that huge topic. However, I'm pretty sure it is the rings, and it's well out of warranty. I can pay to get it mended, but what I'm looking for is someone who A ) knows what they are doing B ) won't rip me off..