A few days ago I traded my Octavia 1.8 TSi for a Fabia Estate 1.9 TDi (wanted more economical car) at a Skoda dealer. Beginning to regret that because today, the low oil pressure light came on whilst exiting a motorway and a couple of minutes after stopping there was a large oil slick under the car.

Skoda rescue trailered it back to the dealer and they will look at it tomorrow. Now I'm not worried about the cost as the car is under warranty, but I'd like to know whether this is likely to have damaged the engine.

I switched the engine off as soon as the warning light came on but later restarted and drove approx 50m to a safer place. After getting home I found a small amount of oil on the drive, so it seems likely that it had been losing oil gradually through the day until the leak became catastrophic.

Any thoughts on whether the repaired car is likely to be OK, or whether I should be asking to swap for a different car?

Edited 4 June, 201214 yr by goosander

I'd imagine that you will be ok if you stopped so soon,

the fact you had oil coming out of the car when you stopped means there was still oil to come out!

Hopefully if you stopped quick enough and the engine did not roast it's self due to there not being total loss of oil, the engine will be fine

(ie It did not dump every drop of oil out of the engine)

What was the cause of the 'catastrophic failure',

or was it just the loss of oil out of the sump plug,

or maybe the oil filter letting go as it has been cross threaded?

Was it something like someone has Cross threaded the Sump Plug, failed to replace the 'Crush Washer', or failed to tighten the the sump plug correctly,

or was it something more major like a seal or gasket that has gone?

When was the last 'Oil and filter change', was it before you bought it,

& when was the last top up & oil level check? Had someone over filled with engine oil?

I would question the Dealer more about the car.

If a Pre-owned car that they took in a trade in, had it had a previous problem or repairs done before they sold you it,

was it in the workshop for a service and oil change before you took delivery?.

If a new car,

then who does the PDI and 'how do they check the Oil Level?' & should they go to Spec Savers!

(if in doubt about the cars history or any previous Warranty Work done then have that confirmed by Skoda UK)

george

Edited 5 June, 201214 yr by sk4gw

I wouldn't be to concerned at this point, there obviously was oil still in the engine which is a good thing. We have seen quiet a few people in the past with lowered cars take out their entire sump with their lowered suspension and these have all been fine.

Thanks for all replies, sounds like it should be OK.

I don't know what went wrong (should hear from dealer later today).

The car was serviced just before I collected it, and the oil level was correct because I checked the day after I got it.

Goosander, diesels are intrinsically less likely to suffer damage than a petrol engine if there's an oil/pressure problem. Pistons and bores will continue to be lubed by the diesel fuel itself and they will not have been damaged. Main concern if it's been a slow leak will be if there is any damage to turbo charger bearings, and the small end and crankshaft bearings. I've stripped diesel engines in the workshop that have run for half mile or so with the oil light on and they have still been fine. Yet a petrol engine run for just a couple of hundred yards has been completely ko'd (they run 30-35% hotter than a diesel and at higher revs with no fuel lubricity acting on the pistons).

I wouldn't be too worried at this point. Let you dealer check it over and ask them to report back in detail. Then quickly come on here and report there findings. It sounds as if the oil filter seal has broken during fitting which often leads to slow oil loss such as you have experienced. Someone may have forgotten to lube it before installing which often leads to breakage. Could be other things of course.

Question: did you buy it from a Skod dealer? One thing I would insist on after repair (if that's the way you decide to go) is to ask for an extended warranty of at least 6 months and preferably a year just to make sure everything is ok.

Good luck and report back asap if you can.

Edited 5 June, 201214 yr by Estate Man

OK, I've got the car back now.

Dealer said that the sump plug washer was faulty and not sitting flush. Not sure I buy that though, maybe they forgot to tighten it.

It has a years warranty, so hopefully enough time for any engine damage to become apparant (though I am reassured by comments here, that damage is unlikely).

Dealer said that the sump plug washer was faulty and not sitting flush.

Amateurs.... That must be what you learn on the first day at dealer school - the limp excuse

Spinna, you are probably right but having thought a bit more about it, maybe the dealer was telling the truth...

If the sump plug and washer come as one pre-assembled part (IIRC, they were like that on my 1.8 TSi Octavia), its possible that the washer may have been malformed (e.g. piece of swarf on the sealing surface) and if so it could easily be missed. If this was the case the sump plug probably wouldn't seal properly, or would initially seal then loosen.

Does anyone know if the sump plug and sealing washer come as a unit on the 1.9 TDi?

Edited 5 June, 201214 yr by goosander

Does anyone know if the sump plug and sealing washer come as a unit on the 1.9 TDi?

They do, and I am sure the catastrohpic final leak was not the sump plug washer, it was the entire plug falling out the sump....

They do, and I am sure the catastrohpic final leak was not the sump plug washer, it was the entire plug falling out the sump....

+1 on this. It's unlikely a properly tightened plug, even with a malformed crush washer that might weep, would dump the oil like yours did unless it wasn't tightened correctly in the first instance which allowed it to drop out.