I have had occasion to read the dipstick, and thinking that the car was a bit under-nourished, would obviously add a bit more oil. It has dropped over about 6 months, but hasn't fallen like a stone. This weekend however, I noticed quite a drop. There was no oil leak either. I left it this time and dipped it the next day, only to find that the missing oil has returned(!) The reason I waited this time before topping up is because this happened last year, and I topped up the car. The 'missing' oil returned, meaning there was too much oil in the car. Anyone know what's happening here? The car is an Octavia 1.9 TDI 90, and is in very good order. The oil is changed regularly and there are no wierd additives in it. Can oil get trapped in parts of the system?

Happened to me the other day.i checked after 1 hour of switching off it was below the MIN on dipstick and was shocked.So i checked next day and it was spot on level so not really a concern (mine is 38000 miles) just maybe they are slow going back to the sump.

Just make sure you checked it when the engine was stone cold!

:iagree: - it takes time for the oil to get back down to the sump from the head. I'm slightly surprised that it seems to take hours rather than minutes, but I'd council always checking oil level on a cold engine and level ground, unless you have a known consumption problem.

Thank you. Could it be stuck in the turbo?

More likely in the head and/or return galleries.