Hi, had my vrs mk2 for a couple of months and know about the oil usage being high, its a 60 plate car and only done 37000 miles, is it ok to use the car normally and top up the oil as and when i need to, or will it require any work doing to it? Car drives fine, very powerful, smooth, many thanks. 

2 hours ago, Prh said:

Hi, had my vrs mk2 for a couple of months and know about the oil usage being high, its a 60 plate car and only done 37000 miles, is it ok to use the car normally and top up the oil as and when i need to, or will it require any work doing to it? Car drives fine, very powerful, smooth, many thanks. 

Hi there and welcome to the forum. As you’re a VRS owner you should look in on the Fabia VRS register thread with details of your car and perhaps a photo. Don’t start thinking too soon about having to have work done to combat oil consumption, not all VRS’s are oil burners. Your best bet is to monitor the usage over time/distance, I’m currently doing this with my VRS which I’ve had for just over 3 weeks. I initially though mine was using quite a bit but I wasn’t very meticulous in checking the original level, a few days after I got it I added 400mls of oil which brought the level to half way up the plain top section of the dipstick above the central hatched area to give me an accurate starting reference point, since then I’ve done around 250-300 miles and so far it’s very difficult to tell if the level has dropped at all which seems quite promising. I always check the level after it’s been parked up overnight. Realising there was a possibility of high oil consumption I bought in 6 litres of C3 oil, looks like that will last me a very long time for topping up duty. Btw my car is a 2011 with 56000 miles on the clock.

Edited 23 February, 20197 yr by Fitzwilliam

Seems like we are in the same boat! I don't mind having to top it up regularly, my only worry was that there was a long term problem that could occur, hopefully it will be OK. 

12 minutes ago, Prh said:

Seems like we are in the same boat! I don't mind having to top it up regularly, my only worry was that there was a long term problem that could occur, hopefully it will be OK. 

 

I wouldn’t worry unduly, just monitor over say 1000 miles, according to the handbook 0.5 litres use in 1000km (625 miles) is classed as acceptable usage, if you’re under that you’re laughing. When all’s said and done it’s a pretty highly strung motor so it’s to be expected. It’s early doors for me yet to really get a handle on how much mine is using, once I’ve done enough miles to get an accurate figure I’ll post it on the forum.

 

I think it's using around that amount of oil at the moment, thanks for your comments. 

Owners Handbooks do not say that 0.5 litres in 1,000 km (621 Miles) is acceptable.

Just that they may use. (in some circumstances)  that should not mean normal driving.  

Every Owners handbook says that for 3,4,5,6,8,12 Cylinder Petrol, Diesel or Hybrid VW Group Engines.  So not a 'Within Tolerances thing.'

VW have accepted 0.3 litres use in 1,000 km as un-acceptable with 1.4 TSI / TFSI 132-136kw Engines and taken remedial actions, Rebuilds, Breather Mods, Software Updates, 

Oil Spray Jet Upgrades and even engine replacements.

 

Monitor your oil usages and if excessive best do something about it.

Plenty threads in this section about Excessive oil use and ways of helping reduce that if not an issue which needs more involved actions, like new pistons, rings, scrappers etc.

to be honest.......If it is does use a bit, then atleast it gets re-freshed on regular occassions

Perfect.  Just a little re-fresh. Except it is not a Land Rover or a British Motorcycle.

 

Just as long as there is no borewash with one cylinder, valves coking up and 1 spark plug getting fouled and overheating. 

46 minutes ago, UrbanPanzer said:

to be honest.......If it is does use a bit, then atleast it gets re-freshed on regular occassions

Very true dat !!

But by just topping up, will that damage the engine long term? 

33 minutes ago, Prh said:

But by just topping up, will that damage the engine long term? 

Not topping up is when you’ll have trouble.

See how much oil it actually uses.

Be sure to have in 3.6 litres.  Oil in Area A on the Dip Stick.  At least at the top of the Cross Hatch with a Cold Dip.

Check as per Owners Manual when at Operating Temp and see just how much oil is used over a couple of tank fulls of fuel.  Super Unleaded Fuel.

 

Good plugs fitted, 5w 40 FS oil to VW502 oo.  Rather than 5w 30 FS LL VW504.

Fancy trying that, Fitzwilliam? 

10 hours ago, Skoffski said:

See how much oil it actually uses.

Be sure to have in 3.6 litres.  Oil in Area A on the Dip Stick.  At least at the top of the Cross Hatch with a Cold Dip.

Check as per Owners Manual when at Operating Temp and see just how much oil is used over a couple of tank fulls of fuel.  Super Unleaded Fuel.

 

Good plugs fitted, 5w 40 FS oil to VW502 oo.  Rather than 5w 30 FS LL VW504.

Sounds like good advice to me! Out of interest how does 5w-40 help with the oil consumption? Is it due to it being slightly thicker at normal operating temp?

 

Thanks,

 

Chunk

@higher temps the viscosity is better.

But basically the basic oil for Fixed Servicing with less additives is fine when using Super Unleaded with Additive Packages / Detergents.

Short cold start runs can be an issue with Twinchargers regardless of oil used though.

Getting the oil up to temp, getting the spark plugs hot and clean before parking up can help lots in reducing oil use and issues with a plug fouling.

 

Long life oils can mean short life TSI's, be that, 1.0, 1.2. 1.4. 1.8 or 2.0l.  Castrol Full Synthetic Long Life OIl is crap oil anyway IMO.

 

So 5w 40 FS from any supplier / producer to VW502 00 spec can help reduce oil use IMO.   Just VW Group will never admit that. 

Like they will never say that NGK plugs can be crap. 

 

They recommend consumables, like oil, filters, and source brands of tyres regardless of if they are good for the cars / owners over the long term. 

 

Check past Warranty & Service Campaign Histories.  What was done, might have been done, and might not have been.

Cars might not even have the engine they left the factory with, or the replacement that was fitted by 2019.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/429231-mk2-fabia-vrs-buying-guide-in-evo-issue-235

http://skoda-auto.com/services/recall-actions

 

 

Edited 24 February, 20197 yr by Skoffski

For the couple of relatively new owners on this thread, following the advice given by Offski and other experienced owners may prolong your ownership experience of these cars, he's been giving advice on these wee engine for many years now including to myself on and off the forum.

 

One of the problems now is that many of these wee cars are now coming into the hands of the 4th or 5th owner down the line, and you have to hope that the other owners took care of the car. Buying one without an impeccable service history is where the risk lies.

 

The advice and figures from the owners handbook is generic to the range, not vRS specific. Main dealers also lie about the oil use, and what amount should be deemed acceptable. For example, ours was using a litre of oil every 700 miles and we got a replacement engine under warranty, the new engine hasn't used a drop between services in nigh on 50,000 miles since.

 

If you have bought the cars with warranty, get into an early checking routine, check maybe once a week, when cold, on a flat surface. Carefully monitor the mileage and any amount of oil you have had to top up by, you may need to have this information to hand for pushing on a warranty claim. Once you have established whether or not it is using oil, even after following Offski's advice on Denso spark plugs, mahle oil filter and 5w40 fs oil, then you need to decide if you can live with the oil use or if you want to pursue a warranty claim to have the oil use addressed.

 

The risk? well, if it's constantly using a litre of oil every 700 miles you have to ask where is it going and what is it doing in the process? Experience of other owners on here will tell you that long term oil consumption problem leads to problems with piston rings and loss of compression, leading to a busted engine that will either need rebuilt or replaced. Replacing one can cost around £4500 for the engine brand new, forge rebuild can be upwards of £3000.

 

So it's worth taking time to work out whether or not you have an oil user, and certainly before any steps taken to modify.

 

Have a look around your service schedule booklets, have a look specifically for any notations added in that booklet denoting any remedial or replacement work done on the engine, and when any such work may have been done. As offski correctly points out, many of these certainly don't have the engine they left the factory with, or even it's replacement.

 

 

11 hours ago, Prh said:

Fancy trying that, Fitzwilliam? 

Yes, that’s my intention, I’ve just got a few more miles to reach exactly 56k on the odometer which I’m going to use as my starting point, I’m going to top up to some point in area A on the dipstick and take a photo with my phone so I know exactly where my start point is, then check it again after 500 miles and see how much I need to put in to get the level back to the start point. I’m not going the 5w/40 route as I’ve already bought 6 litres of 5w/30 C3 oil, once all that has gone I’ll give 5w/40 a go, might be quite a while as I only do about 5-6k a year.

I’d be interested to know what the exact difference in oil volume is from the top of area A on the dipstick to the bottom of area A, likewise the top to bottom difference of area B.

Has anyone who’s had the oil jets changed had the job done by a dealer other than a Skoda main dealer ?

Its also been mentioned that the mod needs a software update, what does the update do ? Does is alter the oil pressure ?

 

Approx 0.75 litre.

The same dipsticks used in various engines / sumps and 3.2, 3.6, 3.9 & 4.2 litres.   So no accuracy and not the 1 litre a Owners Manual or people might say.

 

Easiest way to find out is top up to top of Area A then allow the level to drop if it does to the bottom over time, then see what it takes to top up again.

 

Quick way is top up, and then pump out oil via the dipstick tube until the level is down to where you want it and see how much that oil was you removed.

 

Oil can be 1.5-2 litres low in an engine VW says takes 3.6 Litres and yet no Low Oil Warning (yellow oil can) light might show or a message, 

and maybe a Red Oil Can Light / message for Low Oil Pressure will.

 

 

Edited 28 February, 20197 yr by Skoffski

Did an oil and filter change a couple of weeks ago and went to 5w40 grade oil which has been recommended by quite a few VRS owners, initially put in 3.6 litres but this only gave a level midway in the hatched area on the dipstick, had to add a further 350mls+ to get it close to the top of the plain area of the dipstick, from this I would surmise top to bottom of the top plain area of the dipstick is about 200mls or so.  I’ve now covered 200 miles since the oil change and the oil level is still above the hatched area so less than 200mls used in 200 miles so that could indicate less than 1 litre per 1000 miles. From these observations it would appear the 5w40 is getting used less than stock C3 5w30, so a positive result. But as they say you don’t get anything for free, the downside seems to be an increase in fuel consumption I estimate of about 2-3mpg, mind you it could be down to the colder than normal temperatures we’ve been getting in June which were preceded by a warmer spell, also an absence of any decent length runs,  I’ll reserve judgement until we get some better weather (hopefully)

@Fitzwilliam

How many miles can you get from the likes of 45 litres of Super Unleaded?

 

Best low fuel consumption i ever get are cold weather below 12*oC if doing longer runs, down to freezing.

or damp weather, as Twin Charger love that, just like Water Injection.

Wet rainy weather really affects fuel consumption badly, and that is due to the the tyre width i suspect, and not the most efficient body shape.

A Mk2 Fabia Twincharger is the car i have found most affected by weather than any other i have ever driven.

 

I never found 5w 40 FS would use more fuel. 

I found the indicated oil temp with 5w 40 FS to be a few degrees cooler than if 5w 30 FS LL is used.

 

It does take a few more miles til the 5w 40 FS gets to 90 *oC than with 5w 30 FS IME.

 

Then when the oil is hotter and getting higher in the 90's Cooling the engine oil takes energy and if the normal temp in cooler and then when it goes higher when used hard with spirited driving or hot weather it cools quicker that is good.

I find that 5w 40 FS does bring the oil temp down quicker.

 

End of March the Petrol changed from Winter Formulation to Summer, and i prefer Winter Super Unleaded which might be a bit better than the 99 minimum.

Then if the same tyres are on summer as were on winter the grip should be better on warmer roads, so that means more friction than you got in cold weather.

 

But what ever theory you want not using oil as much must be a good thing.

Edited 15 June, 20196 yr by Skoffski

5 minutes ago, Skoffski said:

@Fitzwilliam

How many miles can you get from the likes of 45 litres of Super Unleaded?.

Tbh I never brim the tank, being a pensioner I rarely have enough surplus cash to do it, plus it’s carrying round extra weight needlessly, I just stick £15 or £20s worth in when I get paid, another reason I don’t do brim to brim to calculate the MPG anymore, the trip computer on my previous 3 skodas before this only had a 2-3% overread which is close enough for me, this ones probably closer to being accurate with it running 215 tyres, it’s just useful to see if anything’s changing.

Do you reset the Average at a start of a trip?

I usually find by 10 miles that it shows over 40 mpg, and by 20 miles over 50 mpg if sticking to the NSL'.

No choice really as Average speed cameras in any direction for 30 miles or more.

 

I use a Santander 123 account Credit Card to get 3 pence back per £1 spent on fuel, and then that is at Tesco for my Tesco Reward Points.

But then i am tight.

Edited 15 June, 20196 yr by Skoffski

Just now, Skoffski said:

Do you rest the Average at a start of a trip?

I usually find by 10 miles that it shows over 40 mpg, and by 20 miles over 50 mpg if stilling to the NSL'.

The first trip of the day restarts trip 1 automatically, I leave trip 2 alone to run to give me the average over time although I did reset it after the oil change, tbh I rarely cover more than 10 miles in a single journey, I go to Doncaster about once every 3 weeks which is a round trip of about 25 miles, maximum speed normal roads 50mph, it was this trip that showed up the difference in fuel consumption, got 46.8mpg last week, same journey before the oil change gave 49.9mpg but the earlier journey was with the temperature about 5-6 degrees warmer which could have had an effect.

Having done a reasonable number of miles since the oil change to 5w40 I’ve come to the conclusion that if there is any difference to the oil consumption relative to 5w30 C3 oil it appears to all intents and purposes to be negligible, I even did all the topping up with a graduated measuring cylinder to make sure I knew exactly how much oil I was adding, by my calculation my car is using approximately 1 litre of oil per 900 miles, a little disappointing but not unexpected. When the 5w40 is all used up I’ll make use of the remaining C3 stock that have left, be interesting to see if the MPG goes back to what it was previously.