Picked a brand new Fabia 2 - 1.2L 70bhp on Wednesday - 9 miles on the clock. During handover, usual questions - "Have fluids been checked?" - Yes sir, definitely. So accept the car - drive home 40 miles - stick to own running in rules (under 55mph - 3000 rpm max) - everthing fine.

Sat morning, now 150 miles on the clock, on a whim decide to check the engine oil level (cold before first start) .

WHAT? ENGINE OIL BELOW MINIMUM MARK! - actually on the bottom bend situated about 5mm below the hatched area (the area the oil should be in) Several careful rechecks later, i.e. level ground, engine cold then warm, stood few a minutes etc. - the same result.

Phonecall to dealer - cant help until Monday as service dept closed but said the PDI should have checked it and cant understand whats happened. In the end I added about 0.7 litres just to get it to the halfway mark.

No evidence of leaks or oil being burned - engine is running sweet etc

Has anyone ever experienced an underfilled engine straight from the factory? I doubt that over 1 litre in less than 150 miles could be burnt off without seeing something.

And should I be worried about gearbox levels etc.?

Hi Skodakid,

Interesting situation, and unusual to find it has been underfilled. It can happen of course but should have been picked up by your garage. Assuming the oil level was correct before you drove it then, like you, my thoughts are there may be a leak. It won't have been burned though. As you rightly say, it would have been evident by blue smoke showing at the exhaust almost for sure. Try checking under the vehicle to make sure the sump plug is tight and check to see any traces of oil leakage from the filter area for example. Once in a while seals break during fitting and oil will only leak when the engine is being driven as the oil pressure builds. Turbo seals and oil pipe unions can leak, but again usually only under driving conditions. You won't see any oil leak when the vehicle is standing, but you may see some left over results of a leak on the underbody of the vehicle or in the engine bay.

The good news is your engine will not have been harmed...I'm sure. I've seen many an engine run with nothing showing on the dipstick at all.

Let us all know how you get on.

Bests

Had the same problem with the Wifes 09 plate Fabia Blueline, No chuffin oil and the Suspention Transport blocks hadn't be removed. "You haven't removed the transport blocks " I remarked, "Bluelines don't have them " was the sarcastic reply....." This F00ker does " I sarcasticly replied............ "F00k me.......So it does......." I even spotted another 09 blueline in Morrisons car park, had a shiffy look underneath and guess what..........left a note on the windscreen, Same dealer..........

There's no way you would burn off that much oil in 150 miles without noticing a cloud of blue smoke behind you and I'm sure you would see some oil traces on the undertray etc if there was a leak. If the car was PDI'd correctly the low oil would have been picked up. I would get the dealer to check the car over again to see if anything else has been missed and then closely monitor the oil level. The good point is the the low level light hasn't been on so the engine should be OK. One other point double check that the dip stick is seating correctly and not 'sitting up' giving a false reading.

There's no way you would burn off that much oil in 150 miles without noticing a cloud of blue smoke behind you and I'm sure you would see some oil traces on the undertray etc if there was a leak.

Agreed. You'd have not been able to see out of the back...

Thanks for the replies

What do I look for to check if "suspension transport blocks" have been removed? Where are these blocks fitted?

Is "oil level warning" a standard feature? (the operators manual has an * against it?)

I would have thought that the factory would fill with a machine measured amount, so the next question - is there anyway the dipstick could be that inaccurate - I'm thinking the plastic collar on the end of the tube seems quite long....

Main concern for the 1.2 engine is even a momentary loss of oil pressure can lead to camchain tensioner releasing chain. (Used to be a common failure)

If it helps,I only check my oil after the car has stood overnight in the same place ,every month.That way I get a consistent reading.

Edited 27 June, 200917 yr by AndyPandy

Further update - no reply from dealer regarding PDI despite 3 phone calls.

I've noticed that the engine seems to be tilted quite sharply accross the engine bay - about 10 to 15 degrees. As the dipstick is at one end, this obviously makes a big differeffence in reading.

Is this tilt normal?- the offside engine mount looks extremely large and tall.

transport blocks fitted to both front coil springs, they should have been removed at pdi!!!! all fabia bluelines have these fitted. ( speeking as a skoda technition ) also oil level should also be at least on min mark. oil level from factory a grey area as dealerships cant claim it back from skoda!. hope this helps. forgot to mention all brand new cars come from skoda with longlife oil (5w30)

I've noticed that the engine seems to be tilted quite sharply across the engine bay - about 10 to 15 degrees. As the dipstick is at one end, this obviously makes a big difference in reading.

Is this tilt normal?- the offside engine mount looks extremely large and tall.

There was a thread in the Mk1 section about this tilt, and I think the conclusion is its perfectly normal, although failed engine mounts was mentioned. If you noticed the radiator is at a strange angle, this again is normal.

Hello,

Get that car back to the dealers pretty smartish and ask for power-steering/gearbox levels to be checked.

Your car should have had a pre-delivery check before they ever released it to you.

No good having low levels a few weeks down the road with a seized gear-box or have your steering lock-up.

You would be calmly told you should check levels regularly before each trip !!

Ian. 24/06/2009 :rotz::(