Felt like an eternity until the site came back up...it's been my tried & trusted source of help so welcome back ! (I have frequented other sites while it was down, but they are just not the same !)

Right, my Vrs is going in for it's MOT, a brake fluid change & the dreaded cambelt & water pump replacement tomorrow. All that is expensive enough.

So yesterday, I made time to give it a good wash & check all the 'basics'. The last item on my list was to check the oil level & it was down a little, so I thought I'll top it up. Imagine my horror when I remove the oil cap & find the dreaded 'mayo' covering the cap & quite a bit inside the cover. My initial thought was oh no, not head gasket, I can't afford any more repairs this month.

However after a quick surf, I am somewhat reassured by the fact it may (hopefully) just be 1) the weather/temps and/or 2) my short journeys to work - car sits at the weekend when we use the family MPV.

Does anyone know if this is a common issue with the Octavia/Vrs?

Should I mention it when I drop it off tomorrow? Is there any check they can do to confirm all is well? BTW I should say, I've no loss of performance/coolant or high temps? So fingers crossed.

The short journeys may be the cause, take it out on a good long run and get it all nice and hot. Then check it again.

If you aren't losing coolant I wouldn't be too concerned at this stage.

If there is no mayo on the dipstick, coolant has not dropped I would have thought it was due to the cold weather and short trips.

The short journeys may be the cause, take it out on a good long run and get it all nice and hot. Then check it again.

If you aren't losing coolant I wouldn't be too concerned at this stage.

Yep - my first car (a Nissan Micra) did loads of short journeys and had a bit of mayo in the oil cap. At 23k the dealer ruled out a HGF, and said it was short journeys causing condensation in the cam cover.

Yep - my first car (a Nissan Micra) did loads of short journeys and had a bit of mayo in the oil cap. At 23k the dealer ruled out a HGF, and said it was short journeys causing condensation in the cam cover.

Italian tune up = sorted

+1 mine gets it in cold weather. Just condensation.

As said Italian tune up on a dry road does the trick.

If there is no mayo on the dipstick, coolant has not dropped I would have thought it was due to the cold weather and short trips.

what does mayo on the dipstick mean?

Basicly the engine oil and water has mixed to form an emulsion that resembles mayonaise.

Can be caused by:

A blown head gasket allowing coolant to mix with oil.

Cracked block due to lack of antifreeze causing coolant water to freeze and crack the block so water mixes with oil.

Condensation buildup in the oil system; from my experience this is usually caused by a breather pipe becoming blocked so the system isn't vented properly. The most common that I have come across if no coolant is being lost.

To me it is always a sign that something isn't quite right as the mayonaise is thicker than oil and could make its way into the lubrication system and cause blockages and engine damage.

Italian tune up seemed to do the trick...just need to keep an eye on it !

wife's bmw has this occasionally - more common in the cold weather - its just condensation though, nothing to worry about. as has been said, a long trip will sort it out.

+1

Brothers Ibiza gets this, first time I saw it I went like you into worry mode. After checking dip stick and coolant level I soon realised its nout to really worry about.

Like said clean the cap off go for a nice long run and check again