Skoda Octavia VRS 2.0TDI (CUPA EA288) high oil consumption

[BogdanB]

Regeneration of dpf might be bacuse of the oil ash buildup. The estimation of oil ash quantity you see in VCDS ( or VAG Dpf or any other similar app) , is based on a normal oil consumption. But since these cars seem to use more oil than normal, the DPF atually gets clogged faster. I also had this problem of dpf ALWAYS regening, and I took the car to a local service shop where they took down the DPF and manually cleaned it, and the issue seems to be solved so far ( Only driven 160km , but no regen yet ). So, regarding the DPF regen, this might be your problem too.

My DPF showed a value of 66% ash load ( about 58 grams ) even though it was actually clogged. 

 

Also, what kind of oil are you using? I've heard that Castrol is quite bad ( at least in Eastern Europe ) 

[ab1702]

I’m another one with this problem.

I can’t contribute much to this thread as my partner drives the car most of the time but I’m going to keep an eye on here to see what happens.

 

With us we have a 2015 tdi VRS with 92000 miles which we have owned about 7 month. The check oil message came on not long after we got it so I topped it up and then we had the car  serviced probably a month later so the oil and filter was then changed.

2 days ago which is probably only 2 - 3000 miles after the service the check oil level message has come on again. 

There are no signs of a leak but I can’t really say anything about dpf regens as I don’t drive the car often.

It’s strange to me as we’ve always had VAG diesels and never known any of them to use much oil but this one is just guzzling it.

[BogdanB]

To be honest, after reading countless topics on oil consumption issues in newer VAG vehicles, I'm starting to think that 1L every 2000-3000 miles is "normal" in these cars. If you read the user manual it states that 0.5L / 1000km is considered normal, even more when the car is new. 

Also, I think this is even more applicable to engines with higher power output. 

Edited 21 March, 2021 by BogdanB

[dieselV6]

The amount of oil consumption depends on whether the engine has cracked rings, chipped pistons and/or scored cylinder bores.

Unfortunately, lately more and more engines do across the entire VW Group range, quality control and VW are no longer compatible it seems. Skoda being a major engine maker also has a part in it, it's not just the parent.

 

Having said that, I used to have Mk1 Octavia 1.9TDI and despite drinking about 0.5l / 1000miles from the start and heavy car use, it lived for 9 years and over 120k miles until got written off in an accident and worked just fine, with good fuel consumption.

 

Also, remember it could be worse, rather than engine drinking oil, it could be adding fuel into oil during regens. This is what I have on Roomster, problem continues despite early warranty engine block change. I have just changed oil after 273 days and just over 2000miles (yes, two thousand, not twenty), and took out 4.8l oil/fuel mix but only 4l oil went in. On long trips Roomster is just fine, no oil increase, at high speeds fuel actually boils off after a few hours (autobahn), but due to lockdown the car only did short trips in the last 9 months. 

 

I would just keep adding oil and not worry too much, but it is worth double checking if oil does not go to the intake on account of a failing turbocharger seal. That particular failure will eventually hydrolock the engine and kill it.

[ab1702]

It’s only my opinion but I don’t believe that at all, there has to be a fault somewhere(could be the pistons as the guy above mentions and as the guy on the previous page showed).

The Skoda is what my mrs uses, I have an A3 diesel albeit it’s a 2009, that’s remapped to roughly 210bhp and uses virtually no oil in between services so I find it hard to believe that the vrs should have the light come on for low oil and need filling up every few thousand miles. 
I’m quite active on the Audi sport forum so I might post on there and see what oil consumption issues they have with the 184 diesels.

 

Are there people on here with a mk3 diesel vrs that can confirm they have no issues with losing/burning oil?

[maximusvrs]

I’ve been surprised at having to top up my 2015 vrs, it’s used approx 1 litre over the 7000 miles I owned it, not excessive but I had a 2010 Leon fr with the 170cr, over 2 years I did 55000 hard miles (it was already on 65000 when I bought it) and I topped the oil up once the whole time, otherwise I never had to touch it between services. 

[BogdanB]

26 minutes ago, ab1702 said:

It’s only my opinion but I don’t believe that at all, there has to be a fault somewhere(could be the pistons as the guy above mentions and as the guy on the previous page showed).

The Skoda is what my mrs uses, I have an A3 diesel albeit it’s a 2009, that’s remapped to roughly 210bhp and uses virtually no oil in between services so I find it hard to believe that the vrs should have the light come on for low oil and need filling up every few thousand miles. 
I’m quite active on the Audi sport forum so I might post on there and see what oil consumption issues they have with the 184 diesels.

 

Are there people on here with a mk3 diesel vrs that can confirm they have no issues with losing/burning oil?

This screenshots from the manual. I'm guessing that they wont even try to service your car if the consumption falls into that range. 

[fr1nklyn]

I do have Scout TDI184 CUNA engine with no noticeable oil consumption. Not sure what’s the difference between CUPA and CUNA engines, but I don’t think there is much difference.

Mine is driven like stolen, and it does some light offroad from time to time.
 

It was even on extended service intervals for the first 65k... Not by me, but by the previous owner.

 

I do drive the bulletproof 1.9 PD TDI the same way and it consumes 1l every 2k miles. It’s my old A4 which has always been on fixed service intervals.

 

Some say it matters how you drive the car and how often do you service it, but in my case that’s not really true.

[Ecomatt]

When you convert it the engine will use 0.8 of a pint to every 621 miles. Plus that will increase doing short runs because of the extra regens. 

I know always carry spare oil in the boot just in case.

[CristianCCI]

Cupa is euro 5 and Cuna euro 6. 

[Srkigtd]

On 21/03/2021 at 11:20, ab1702 said:

It’s only my opinion but I don’t believe that at all, there has to be a fault somewhere(could be the pistons as the guy above mentions and as the guy on the previous page showed).

The Skoda is what my mrs uses, I have an A3 diesel albeit it’s a 2009, that’s remapped to roughly 210bhp and uses virtually no oil in between services so I find it hard to believe that the vrs should have the light come on for low oil and need filling up every few thousand miles. 
I’m quite active on the Audi sport forum so I might post on there and see what oil consumption issues they have with the 184 diesels.

 

Are there people on here with a mk3 diesel vrs that can confirm they have no issues with losing/burning oil?

 

On 10/03/2021 at 18:36, BogdanB said:

Regeneration of dpf might be bacuse of the oil ash buildup. The estimation of oil ash quantity you see in VCDS ( or VAG Dpf or any other similar app) , is based on a normal oil consumption. But since these cars seem to use more oil than normal, the DPF atually gets clogged faster. I also had this problem of dpf ALWAYS regening, and I took the car to a local service shop where they took down the DPF and manually cleaned it, and the issue seems to be solved so far ( Only driven 160km , but no regen yet ). So, regarding the DPF regen, this might be your problem too.

My DPF showed a value of 66% ash load ( about 58 grams ) even though it was actually clogged. 

 

Also, what kind of oil are you using? I've heard that Castrol is quite bad ( at least in Eastern Europe ) 

Hello.i drive golf gtd 2016 and i seem to have the same problem.  the car has crossed 100 k I drive it the last 30 000 k.  from the very beginning it very often turns on dpf regeneration, in the city every 20-30 km and that was strange to me.  I drive the car mainly on the highway, and the oil consumption is about 1 L per 6000-7000 km, mostly the highway at speeds of 140-170km / h.  Dpf is clean but shows that it has about 60% oil residue, so we came to the conclusion that it should be removed and depended on manually.  did you manage to solve the problem with cleaning the dp filter and how is the oil consumption?  
to mention that the previous owner changed the oil only once during the 60,000 km (probably added another 5 L😂), but I'm a little worried that he didn't destroy the engine and dirty the dpf.

[BogdanB]

The DPF should definetely be cleaned. That 60% oil residue is just an estimation. Mine works fine now. As for the oil, I have only about 600km on the clock after I've changed the Castrol Edge for Ravenol VMP but so far it's still topped up.

The Castrol Edge would get burnt at a rate of, 150ML / 100km !!!!! ( it was probably over-degraded due to the active dpf regens staying on all the time prior to cleaning).

A consumption of just 1L per 6/7k km is perfectly fine I'm guessing considering the fact that VAG states that 0.5L / 1000km is 'normal' .

[Srkigtd]

26 minutes ago, BogdanB said:

The DPF should definetely be cleaned. That 60% oil residue is just an estimation. Mine works fine now. As for the oil, I have only about 600km on the clock after I've changed the Castrol Edge for Ravenol VMP but so far it's still topped up.

The Castrol Edge would get burnt at a rate of, 150ML / 100km !!!!! ( it was probably over-degraded due to the active dpf regens staying on all the time prior to cleaning).

A consumption of just 1L per 6/7k km is perfectly fine I'm guessing considering the fact that VAG states that 0.5L / 1000km is 'normal' .

Thanks for such a quick response.

 I usually drive so 6-7k and then top up liter of oil and after 1-2k I change the oil.
 The service where I maintain the car insists on "Aral super tronic long life III" and the stated consumption is with that oil.  
2 k ago I changed the oil but this time "Eneos"specification for vw 507 ... just to check how it will be with this oil.  Next week I should clear the dpf and hopefully there will be no more frequent regenerations.  I definitely share experiences

[alextz]

Mine at 160k km did not consume more than 500 ml /10.000km. I did not even bother with the oil.

Later I found out that 2 injectors were bad and I am now thinking that I had a lot of diesel in the oil substituting the oil.

 

I sold the car after I fixed it and I do not know more about that.

[Virusul]

On 23/02/2021 at 12:39, BogdanB said:

Any news on the oil consumption?  Mine's also slurping about 1L / 2000km (mostly highway drive) with Castrol.

I'm thinking of using RAVENOL VMP USVO SAE 5W-30 next.

Hello sau Salut

I have put ULEI MOTOR RAVENOL 1111122 VMP USVO 5W30 5L last year  and until today i have a little over 7000 Km made with no oil lost at all, filed at maximum all 5 liters not 4.7 and is the same since then, the engine is very smooth and warms up quickly.

Engine is 2.0 CRMB 110 kw /150 HP with 214 000 km 2015 euro 6,  No Addblue :) 

[Dillaz_k]

@Virusul Hi, what was your oil consumption before using ulei motor ravenol 5w30? Also which oil was you using before ulei?

[Virusul]

2 minutes ago, Dillaz_k said:

@Virusul Hi, what was your oil consumption before using ulei motor ravenol 5w30? Also which oil was you using before ulei?

I have used Motul VW 504.00-507.00, 5W30 the year before and also never top up in one year of use, i have the car for two years, the car was used in Austria for almost 200.000 km and i have the history and was serviced every 30.000 km or  4 months long term at Skoda but don`t know what brand was used at the dealer there.

[fr1nklyn]

BTW I also use Ravenol VMP 5w30 for mine and IMO it’s one of the best 504/507 oils out there. This and Ravenol VSW 0w30 for a bit colder climates or city driving with start/stop system enabled.

 

As I wrote earlier, I also have no noticeable oil consumption with it.

 

I’m about to try Amsoil AEL 5w30 for my next oil change, which is also very stable oil. I will post update with it as well.

[andreiu211989]

Hello to all you guys! 
Just found the topic while browsing all night about 2.0 TDI CUNA/CUPA engines. 

I've bought a '16 Skoda Octavia 3, CUNA with 4x4 and DSG. It had 108.000 KMs on the clock. The mileage has not been rolled back and it is backed up by the service history. Of course, the oil had been changed every 2yr/30.000 KMs... 

The day i bought the car i've replaced all fluids and filters(engine, dsg, haldex, brakes) and in terms of engine oil i've used Liqui Moly 5w30. After 7000 KMs the oil checklight came on. Had to top it up, put in about 450-500 ml of fresh oil. I've been keeping an eye on it since that moment and for the next 3000 Kms till i changed the oil again i put in the other 500Ml that were left in the bottle. The car ran mostly on highway and exterior roads, city driving took up at most 25% of the total ok 10.000Kms. 

Now i'm using VW oil, 0w30. Topped it up right then. 4.8-4.9 Litres. Just for test.
2500-3000 KMs since then. About 1500-2000km done on highway. After an Easter trip of 800 Kms, the level on the stick was slightly above middle. Put in 250-300 ml this morning. It is topped up again. We'll see how it evolves. 

Mentions: 
- the car is remapped(engine+dsg), don't really know the hp but i'm guessing around 210. I haven't asked for maximum gain but for.. hmm.. "optimisation" ! :) 
- it is driven quite sporty

I'm no stranger to oil consumption. Before the Skoda i used to own a Passat B6 2.0 BKP, Stage 3. That one, even when stock, using castro, 5w30, it would pop the light after 3000-5000 kms on highway and sporty driving. But after using 5w40 Liqui, it didn't burn any oil between services of ~7000 kms. And it had around 270bhp on dyno. And it was also 4x4, but manual. 

So an oil consumption of 1L/10.000 Kms does not worry me that much. It's a pretty meaty engine and i drive it quite fast. So it's not the end of the world. 
I just hope it won't start going down south.. slurping more and more oil. Saw that picture with the piston head, Dayum. That kina got me worried. 

I still believe that the worst thing that can happen to these cars when new and in their first years of existence is that warranty period and the service intervals of 30.000km/2yr that it implies. Such garbage... When these cars take up - according to the manual - up to 0.5l/1000km! 

P.s. Sorry for my rusty English! 

[eacaee]

Hi! My 2014 Skoda Octavia VRS 2.0 TDI CUPA engine also suffers from high oil consumption way above 0.5L/1000KM.

 

Already had compression tested so it's not ring seals, I also suspect leaking turbo as there's some light blue smoke when revs are high during acceleration.

 

But I've also noticed some oil at the bottom part of the plastic cover on right side of the engine (crankshaft cover)? Is it possible that the oil is leaking through there? Is there any seal that maybe needs to be replaced?

 

I am attaching some pictures which part I am talking about.

 

Regarding the turbo, should I just take off the air intake from the turbo and look from oil residue there?

 

Thanks in advance for help.

[BogdanB]

Bad valve seals can also cause high oil consumption. Keep us updated with what you're finding. 

[BogdanB]

Here's a video describing the issue. Even though it's in Romanian, I'm guessing that watching the procedure sheds some light. Cum scapam de CONSUMUL DE ULEI? 🤮🤮🤮 #108 - YouTube

(the relevant parts starts at around 15:00 mark)

Edited 13 May, 2021 by BogdanB

[eacaee]

On 13/05/2021 at 12:08, BogdanB said:

Here's a video describing the issue. Even though it's in Romanian, I'm guessing that watching the procedure sheds some light. Cum scapam de CONSUMUL DE ULEI? 🤮🤮🤮 #108 - YouTube

(the relevant parts starts at around 15:00 mark)

Checked the cover on side and it's not that. Turbo intake clean, crankshaft ventilation hose has a little bit of oil vapour.

 

There's smoke coming out from oil cap and much more from oil dipstick. I suppose that valve seals could be the reason? Is there a way to diagnose it other than disassembly?

 

Merci Bogdan for your response, helped a lot.

[BogdanB]

Quote

 

Is there a way to diagnose it other than disassembly?

 

I'm guessing that you can look for the signs written everywhere on the internet (e.g. Blue Smoke on a Cold Start etc. ). But, the only way to really address the issue is to disassemble the engine. 

The strangest thing is that I don't see any blue smoke coming out of my exhaust, but it's still using up quite a lot of oil. (about 0.50 - 0.65 l /1000km)

[eacaee]

5 minutes ago, BogdanB said:

I'm guessing that you can look for the signs written everywhere on the internet (e.g. Blue Smoke on a Cold Start etc. ). But, the only way to really address the issue is to disassemble the engine. 

The strangest thing is that I don't see any blue smoke coming out of my exhaust, but it's still using up quite a lot of oil. (about 0.50 - 0.65 l /1000km)

My uses that amount in 100-150 miles. ..