Hi all its been a while since I have posted. I gave the Fabia VRS to the wife. who has had it for a 18months.

she was going down south working today so I checked the oil and it was below the min. We had it serviced 6 months ago and she has done about 6k in it. I don't know how long she has been driving with it below the min is there any test I can hove done to see if the engine is knackered? We wanted to keep the car for a few more years...:(

Thanks for any hekp

It's unlikely she will have knackered anything.

So long as there was actually some oil in the engine and no oil pressure lights have appeared or overheating issues occurred you should be ok.

You should however top the oil up, actually if it were me I'd be changing it rather than topping it up given that it's done 6,000 miles and probably been working harder than usual because of the lower amount in the sump, and then keep a close eye on the level at regular intervals from now on.

I checked mine the other day and it was about 3mm below the dimpled area on the dipstick. I think the only time it could be a little dodgy is if there's no oil on the dipstick at all, but I should think the oil light / buzzer would come on before any damage was done. Don't worry.

I was thinking the oil light should have come on...... The oil was below the bottom bend on the dip stick..... I'm not sure why its used the oil, does anyone else with the TDI notice oil usage? It might have been the long motorway trips I did for work when we first got it, and it not running in properly?? Lucky we had no oil pressure lights. I have topped it up for going to work today, I think I will try and get a filter and some oil and change it at the weekend. Thanks for the replies guys. I must admit my heart was in my mouth last night, we want to keep the car for few years yet

My TDi, uses oil, I think they all do to a degree. I always carry a litre oil topup in the car and check the oil weekly. I have put about 1/2 litre in so far since the last service 6K miles ago.

should the oil be between the 2 notches on the dip stick then?

I really wouldn't worry about the oil, however if your wife is using the car on a regular basis you'll probably need to replace the clutch very soon.:eek:

Mine uses abit and mine does all motorway miles really.

Just keep an eye on it

I checked mine the other day and it was about 3mm below the dimpled area on the dipstick. I think the only time it could be a little dodgy is if there's no oil on the dipstick at all, but I should think the oil light / buzzer would come on before any damage was done. Don't worry.

I'm afraid by the time the oil pressure warning light has come on it's probably too late and your enigine will be fecked. Always check it weekly!

should the oil be between the 2 notches on the dip stick then?

The book said it should be kept in the hatched area

I really wouldn't worry about the oil, however if your wife is using the car on a regular basis you'll probably need to replace the clutch very soon.:eek:

I'm afraid by the time the oil pressure warning light has come on it's probably too late and your enigine will be fecked. Always check it weekly!

Thats my worry...... I'm thinking it might be long term and we wanted to keep it long term... I'm having the oil changed tomorrow, then will keep an eye on it every couple of days over the next two weeks then weekly....

I had the oil changed last week. We have checked it tonight and it seems very black, how long does it take to go black??? it seems very quick to me and I'm concerned that the garage hasn't changed it??

just used the search button and found the answer sorry

just used the search button and found the answer sorry

It's black before it's even reached the sump I reckon.

It's black before it's even reached the sump I reckon.

Thanks... last time I was on here your car was nowhere near 220bhp.... :eek:

It gets black very very quickly.

And with high quality modern oils & modern engines dodgy garages can easily get away with claiming they have changed the oil & oil filter. Prove they didnt....

I'm afraid by the time the oil pressure warning light has come on it's probably too late and your enigine will be fecked. Always check it weekly!

I'm sure (on the VRS at least) that there is a warning light that comes on when the oil level is low? I'm pretty sure I read it in the manual. I agree that it's worth checking frequently, however as long as you put more in if the light comes on then surely that's ok?

I'm afraid by the time the oil pressure warning light has come on it's probably too late and your enigine will be fecked. Always check it weekly!

Nah, it'll be fine. We have both a PD130 (Superb) and a 2.0 140 (A3) at work that I've seen the amber oil lights on many times when I've picked them up. Quick top up, light off and everyone's happy. I first saw the Superb light at 3.5k and it had been on for over a week (women eh!) in regular use. I topped it up and it's been fine ever since. It's now on 60k (all EXTREMELY hard miles including some competition ) and it's never missed a beat.

The A3 light came on at under 2k - and was topped up well over 500 miles later. It's now on about 20k and still no issues.

Amber is low - top up soon. Red is danger, you're hurting the engine. As long as it wasn't red you'll be fine.