I have thought by now that all cars should have a oil gauge fitted to tell you the amount of oil in the engine. I'm sure in the Peugeot 307hdi I had there was one fitted, as soon as you turned the ignition key on the level came up then went off again as soon as you started it. I know it's not as reliable as a manual check but surely it's better than having to check the oil at a preset temperature.

My 306 GTI-6 did this and it worked really well. Unlike most of the electrics on the car it still worked after 10 years

Is this the same oil loss and cylinder bore problem that occurs with the MK 1 Fabia and its Polo forbears ? :-

http://www.honestjoh...00/?section=bad

If that's the case, its more than a simple oil level reading problem as suggested by the OP . A bit of a red herring (Though, as damage limitation and the avoidance of warranty claims go, Skoda UK can't be but pleased.)

I usually frequent the MK 1 Fabia forum and was interested to see that's its business as usual with the Mk 2. For what its worth, i thought I'd give everyone the benefit of my 9 years of ownership from new.

I am aware that oil loss problems have been reported with the new 1.2 TSI in the Yeti:-

http://www.honestjoh...09/?section=bad

As well as the same engine in the MK 2 Fabia:-

http://www.honestjoh...07/?section=bad

Honest John says that the problem on the MK1 occurs at mileages over 40,000. Oh contraire ! My Mk 1 started using oil from 30,000 miles onwards and has now reached the magic 1 litre per 600 miles @ 54,000 miles completed - see your vehicle handbooks.

Consensus on the MK 1 forum is that this is caused by a cylinder bore and piston ring wear occasioned over rich mixture caused by one or a combination of the following factors:-

1). Faulty fuel injectors which leak raw petrol into the cylinder bores when the engine is switched off.

2). Faulty Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve.

3) Blocked crankcase breather, giving rise to increased crankcase gas pressure and oil being forced by the oil control rings and burnt in the cylinders.

Given that this is probably a design and/or manufacture problem, I can hear you asking why hasn't Skoda made alterations to avoid this effect in the MK 2 Fabia ? Answer, why should VAG change the habits of a lifetime and re-tool (At a cost that would put a sizeable dent in the lifetime profit for this model) mid-production run.

Given that this problem is envitable (In the MK 1 it occured mainly with 1.4 petrol engines with the AUB engine code) and that VAG will, as usual, do nothing about it (Recall the faulty cylinder head gasket on Golfs which persisted from the MK 1 to at least the MK 3), then, I would suggest any action lies with the user/owner. You might be well advised to adopt some or all of the following measures to at least defer the onset of this problem:-

1). Don't use the car for journies les than 10 miles - the engine doesn't get properly warm. Condensates will remain in the oil increasing wear.

2). Change the engine oil and oil filter more frequently than recommended i.e. @ 3,000-5,000 miles. Change the air filter @ 10,000.

3). Use fully synth oil (Better flow characteristics and viscosity temperature range) and a "Nano fibre" filter (Must be mandatory in the MK 2 ?)

4). Make sure that the oil used matches or betters the VAG spec.

5). Wait for 10 minutes after the engine has been switched-off before taking a dipstick measurement, on level ground - the effect of the coefficient of expansion of oil (Insignificant) or any drain back to the sump (significant) will be consistent on successive readings as long as the oil temperature and oil fill is approximately the same.

Interesting to note that Honest John reports that an oil temperature guage has been omitted from the equipment of the cheaper MK 2s.

One general report on car engines I have read specifically singled out the the increased engine wear caused by soot particles under 5 microns across . and , of course, as far as both Mks of Fab are concerned you get more soot with an over rich mixture.

Postrcript

It might be worth those with a vested interest on this forum, knocking out a poll to see whose got this problem and when and where it occurs i.e. type fuel, auto or manual, type of journey mainly undertaken (< 10 mile, >10 mile), frequency of oil change, colour staining in exhaust pipe -Black (Unhealthy), Grey (Good).

Nick

Edited 25 February, 201214 yr by Clunkclick

500 miles after the piston rings replaced,check dipstick but no sign of oil , topup 0.75L but still only 1/2 fully.

I have changed my piston rings aswell. Consumption was 1 litre / 1200km (~750miles) and rising. Car was only 15k miles driven when the rings were changed.

my cars done 1400miles since the scrapers have been replaced and i haven't put a drop of oil in

2.25 litre / 700 miles after piston rings replaced.