Does the oil level on the dipstick change when the engine is warm?

I check mine when the engine is cold, then warmed up and dont get a different reading. Thats with 10w/40 Semi Synth.

On my cousins Fabia 1.4 16v he says he has put in a fair bit in about the 4k miles he has put on it?

I know some engines have an apetite for oil. He can't smell any abnormal burning or anything though.

Yes the level will vary as certain amounts are in the head/engine and not the sump and the higher temperature will cause expansion.

Measure on cold and on level ground if you wish the dipstick marks to be valid (assuming this is what they are calibrated for)

Measure on cold, or at least after leaving the car standing for half an hour or so.

On the other point, I've read a lot of stuff about some VAG engines consuming significant oil: Apparently anything up to 1l / 1_000miles is officially considered "normal consumption". I've never owned a car that used anything like that much when in good order.

I've never noticed any great change in the level between cold and when warm after being stood for 30 minutes or so.

As for oil consumption, I'm with Ken O'Neill on that one.

Warm oil is thinner and looks to go further...

My vRS used about a litre in it's first 800 - 1000 miles and nothing after that

Edit: We have an A3 at work that used about 3 litres upto 2000 and now uses nothing too... Moral of the story CHECK YOUR OIL, ESPECIALLY WHEN NEW!!

Another question I've wanted to know is, what level on the dipstick MIN to MAX level is better ?

Mine is bang in the middle, is this correct or doesn't it matter as long as its in between and not on MIN.

Steve, you're confusing viscosity with thermal expansion I think. They're separate properties, and, apart from mercury (which is actually a metal remember) very few liquids change volume by more than 1 or 2% when heated by 100C degrees.

Mine used to use about 1l every 10000 miles, which was pretty high by all accounts, but this seems to have been much better since the last service (done at Awesome rather than dealer / local indie)

The 1.4 16v is, of course notorious for bad piston ring wear, so that could well be where the oil's been going...

Another question I've wanted to know is, what level on the dipstick MIN to MAX level is better ?

Mine is bang in the middle, is this correct or doesn't it matter as long as its in between and not on MIN.

Even being on Min is ok, as long as your car doesn't burn significant oil. If you're on variable you might get further between services running closer to Max though.

Those marks are "safe levels" for preventing oil starvation under hard cornering at the Min mark, and avoiding crank whipping of the oil (issues with power loss and aeriation) at the Max mark.

My Octiva 1.8TSI has runned just 10000km.95% on city road, other on the high way. Approx. every 3000km, the oil level drops from Max to Min. No leakage was found.

Does anyone meet this kind problem? Any suggestion?

PS. Oil is te VW 5W30

Tks!

Oili is VW5W40

Edited 9 December, 200817 yr by corydon

See post #3 above.

My Octiva 1.8TSI has runned just 10000km.95% on city road, other on the high way. Approx. every 3000km, the oil level drops from Max to Min. No leakage was found.

Does anyone meet this kind problem? Any suggestion?

PS. Oil is te VW 5W30

Tks!

Try another brand of oil which meets the correct VW specification.

Mine burnt about 3l in the first 30k, now it's on 75k and rarely needs any topping up between services, last was about 200ml at about 65k.

Seriously guys 1L over 10k isn't that bad.

Most cars before you didn't notice because the oil was changed every 5-6k miles so it wouldn't have hit the minimum mark before service time.

Hence most people wouldn't need to ever top the oil up.

Measure on cold, or at least after leaving the car standing for half an hour or so.

On the other point, I've read a lot of stuff about some VAG engines consuming significant oil: Apparently anything up to 1l / 1_000miles is officially considered "normal consumption". I've never owned a car that used anything like that much when in good order.

I fully agree with you!

1/1000km is the max value which may happan while enigine working in very serious condition. For normal usage, it should far below.

In China, Skoda 1.8T maintainace period is first 15000km, replacing oil and filter every 7500km. 15000km beyond every 10000km renweing oil , filter and air filter.

In normal, considering of engine still working when waiting, for example traffic jam etc, I think 7500km should be the reasonable span for maintance. If after driving 7500, the oil level of dipstick drops form Max to Min, it is acceptable. If below the Mn, engine must be something wrong.

1l every 7000 miles for me. Which is ok.

But I've never had to top up a car between services before.

Even my Clio could do 18000 without needing a drop.

Mine seems to need quite regular topping up. No black smoke or MOT emissions failure yet though.