My old Yeller was at the workshop early December last year, getting oil filter service and 4L fresh oil. Yesterday the oil lamp lighted, and I was like WTF. It had been using oil earlier, but not 4 litres at 1 300 kilometers as now.

I suspected oil level sensor failure, but I did gauge the oil stick 10 minutes after engine stop, and only the ball below MIN mark was wet. I noticed a hint of oil smell around the car after parking it in the garage.

Today I inspected a bit around the engine with a Bosch inspection camera. I stuck camera under engine, and there is some tray structure with quadratic "knobs" sticking up. There was maybe some oil at the bottom there, but not 4 litres. Garage floor is dry. I can not see any oil leaks.

I have to call the workshop boss on Monday, but should I even dare to drive it? I have to drive 10 kilometres to buy new oil. It has passed 230k kilometres now.

Edited 14 February14 Feb by Noda

Has it used 4 litres? Did you dip the oil at operating temperature after the Service. It was not you that put in the oil was it at the service?. You got a warning, you have still oil in the sump, it is not empty.

The recipe from the workshop says more than 4 litres refill of Mobil1 ESP 5w-30. I did not gauge oil level after service, though I probably should have.

Edited 14 February14 Feb by Noda

The Invoice means nothing. Just what they charged you. Just if you dip the oil between that service and now? So you do not know 4 litres was put in.

Edited 14 February14 Feb by Evolution13

No, but I realize that I should have done that.

The handbook for your car says you need 4.3 litres if the oil filter and oil are both changed. A hot oil smell can be caused by oil spilt and not cleaned away.

Loss of oil soon after an oil change is often caused by the mechanic using the old drain plug and gasket. VW state that a new drain plug and copper gasket should always be used.

8 hours ago, pikpilot said:

VW state that a new drain plug and copper gasket should always be used.

Interesting, is that an "official" rule I can claim against my workshop?

16 hours ago, Noda said:

but should I even dare to drive it? I have to drive 10 kilometres to buy new oil.

If there is a bit on the stick it will be fine.

It was only the oil level light and not the oil pressure light hey??

Oil level light is no biggie

When the bonnet was opened for more than 30 seconds even if no oil was added the Warning Message or Yellow Oil Can light should have then gone off for the next 100 km / 62 miles or so.

Thanks for the responses guys, really appreciate them! I do trust the workshop, been around for ages, but mistakes could happen. It is not unthinkable that they by mistake filled less oil than charged. If the oil drain plug have leaked, where would those 4.3 litres of oil go? I have not seen any sign of leaks, neither on car or garage floor.

If theres no leaks or signs of missing oil it may be as said not been filled properly. I would top it up an monitor it regularly for a while and see if it drops. Mention it to garage who did service as well as if it doesnt drop once topped up they owe you some oil. As theres still oil on stick the amount will be less than 4.3l Check how much it takes to top it up. If it was burning oil would cause a lot of smoke. Only other place it may be if its leaking is intercooler although reckon you would still have smoke etc.

Alasdair

1 hour ago, Noda said:

Thanks for the responses guys, really appreciate them! I do trust the workshop, been around for ages, but mistakes could happen. It is not unthinkable that they by mistake filled less oil than charged. If the oil drain plug have leaked, where would those 4.3 litres of oil go? I have not seen any sign of leaks, neither on car or garage floor.

If there's still oil showing on the bottom part of the dipstick, you have not lost all of the sump contents - probably more like a litre, some of which loss might be explained by the engine not being topped up completely during the service.

Add about 1/2 litre of the correct grade oil and recheck the level, continue to add small quantities if level is still below maximum, then monitor for correct level frequently to check if oil is being used.

Bad idea to rely on idiot lights - there is no substitute for correct engine fluid level checks.

Workshop says the motor likely has used 1 litre on 1,300 km, that there should be approx 3.3 litres left, and that they use an automatic volume gauge/ counter on the pump when they refill.

I should have checked the oil level immediately after service. Using 1 litre on 1,300 km, meaning I will use 10 liters a year. It does not make sense to me.

Once you have the Oil at the correct level, up in area A of the Dipstick at Normal Operating Temperature which is an indicated 90*oC and stopped for a few minutes, 4 or 5 not 10. See how many miles before it drops when checked the same way. Compare that level to a STONE COLD CHECK, then you will know you have enough oil before trips.

1 hour ago, Noda said:

Workshop says the motor likely has used 1 litre on 1,300 km, that there should be approx 3.3 litres left, and that they use an automatic volume gauge/ counter on the pump when they refill.

I should have checked the oil level immediately after service. Using 1 litre on 1,300 km, meaning I will use 10 liters a year. It does not make sense to me.

Unless your engine is leaking like the Torrey Canyon, or smoking like an old Russian tank, I'd bet money that your engine was not filled correctly at the last oil service, meaning it has not lost the amount you think it has.

1 minute ago, Warrior193 said:

Unless your engine is leaking like the Torrey Canyon, or smoking like an old Russian tank, I'd bet money that your engine was not filled correctly at the last oil service, meaning it has not lost the amount you think it has.

I agree, I see no leaks, and really have not seen the kind of bluey exhaust smoke you can see in traffic from time to time.

is there such a thing as an oil volume to dipstick level mapping for the 1.6 TDi?

The manual will probably give an approximate figure, but depending on engine size, generally it is safe to assume there is about 1/2 litre between min and max line on the stick.

I guess there is a logic to there being 3.8 litres left in the sump when oil level is at MIN?

15 hours ago, Noda said:

Using 1 litre on 1,300 km, meaning I will use 10 liters a year. It does not make sense to me.

Like others have said, you need to verify this, otherwise of course it won't make sense.

Fill to correct level, drive 1000km and recheck.

Id suggest the garage didn't fill enough. Don't bother speculating on oil usage until you verify the actual usage, by filling and checking yourself.

A nice thing about the 1.6 cr engine with dpf is the low emissions, which results in just a thin grey covering at the tail pipe. If yours was burning oil it would have a thick black coating. What does yours have?

Difficult to say exact color of the coating in the blue flashlight, but scraping it with a knife tip, I think it was a thin coating, not flaky thick residue.

Just an update: it took 2 litres of subsequent filling and checking, before level was approx 2 mm above Max. I have reset the counter, and will check again after 1k km

After 500 km, the oil level is at the B mark, top of the hatch pattern on the stick.

According to my measurements, approximately 0.5 litres from Min to Max, and 1.4 litres from level when oil lamp came on, up to Min.

The A mark is the "do not exceed" mark.

The top of the B mark is the normal maximum when topping up.

The difference between the A and B marks is quite small so if you have done 500km and only lost this small amount then that is quite good.

The real test is to see how many kms you need to do to drop the level from B over the hatched area to C.