Burning Oil

[rdfcpete]

Oil light came on this evening guys as I got into the vehicle to drive a short distance.

I immediately topped up with some Castrol 5w30 LongLife, the stuff I've used since I've had the vehicle.
Now the only reason this is unusual is a month ago, it was at at least 60% on the dip stick which means a considerable amount of oil has been burnt since.

I've not noticed any oil leaks anywhere where the vehicle is left, but on unscrewing the oil cap on the header tank, there was a very small amount of the dreaded white sludge. I couldn't be sure if it was coolant though. The majority was on the header tank plastic seal as opposed to the seal of the cap. We're talking about a 6th of the diameter was sludge, rest just oil residue.

Had a look around the engine compartment (in the dark with a decent torch as this was in the last hour) and couldn't see any residue of oil anywhere else in the engine, i.e. no split hoses/pipes evident.
The car's performance is fine and it's as sharp as it's ever been, pickup isn't affected and other than the friend & foe of the petrol light, I've had no other dash lights recently

• My daily commute is 12.5 miles one way, mixed A/B roads so the car gets a reasonable drive.
• I always try and let the car warm up fully (halfway needle) before accelerating above 3k revs.
• A lot of the journeys in the vehicle are admittedly under 15 or so miles, but i on the whole drive steadily and if I've used the turbo excessively, I always ensure I let the engine run on for 2 minutes to allow the Turbo to call down, as advised by a few of you.

Cambelt's been done and there's no history of gasket or engine component problems that I've been able to find out on the SH.
The only neglect on the previous owner and my own behalf () is it hasn't had new spark plugs or a change of air filter in 62k (which it's now on), but I have both purchased waiting to be fitted.

I'll monitor it daily for the next fortnight until I can action it if anything else is found. Went out and gave it bit of a blast through the gears once I'd topped up and everything was as you are

Is this a common find on K03's that don't stretch their legs far and often?

Cheers.

[rdfcpete]

Further info is it's a 2006 plate GTI.

As far as I can remember it's had oil changes at 25k, 48k and I did one as soon as I got it at more or less at 59k. I'll now ensure they're done every 8k miles, give or take a few hundred.

I'm fairly sure it's nothing to worry about but it's a bonus to know if it's common/uncommon on K03's and whether there's anything else i can check for symptoms?

When I change the plugs I'll do a compression test anyway.

[SteveP]

The 2.0TFSI engine seams to vary on the usage of oil. Both my old 05 plate GTI upto 45k and my current ED30 upto about 50k miles hardly used much, but over the last 10k on the ED30 mine had developed a bit of a thirst for oil, which the BSH catch can has recently added to as well.

So between 50-60k I used about 3 litres of oil for regular top-ups 

[oldtomo]

I thought a little white sludge could be the result of condensation? Do you do lots of short journeys? Or maybe it's the cold starts?

 

[rdfcpete]

The 2.0TFSI engine seams to vary on the usage of oil. Both my old 05 plate GTI upto 45k and my current ED30 upto about 50k miles hardly used much, but over the last 10k on the ED30 mine had developed a bit of a thirst for oil, which the BSH catch can has recently added to as well.

So between 50-60k I used about 3 litres of oil for regular top-ups 

Reassuring as ever Steve I thought as much. It's only my third car so I'm still learning all these characteristics. My previous two cars never needed topping up in 18 months and 3 years respectively.

Thanks 

I thought a little white sludge could be the result of condensation? Do you do lots of short journeys? Or maybe it's the cold starts?

Could be Tom. As said, I never really do more than 15 miles in one go regularly, but I guess that's not a short journey as such. The car gets warm anyway and gets up the revs and speedometer. Commute is 20 minutes and 12.5 miles of A + B Roads.

Could just be the cold. I've not had it before though and wanted to make sure I wasn't overlooking a serious problem, despite the fact there aren't any other signs.

Has yours had it?
Cheers.

[oldtomo]

Yeah I had it a while back. A tiny amount by the cap. The car had been stood still for a while and I only do 20(ish) miles a day to work. As it was so little and I had no discolouration (is that even a word?) in the coolant and no signs of oil leaking from anywhere I wiped it away and intend to keep a close eye on it!
 
 

[oldtomo]

Also VWR did a service on my car plus an oil change and never mentioned a thing about it. If it was bad or of a concern I am sure they would have said something! 

[Teutonic_Tamer]

rdfcpete - from your original post, it would seem you are on LongLife servicing, yet your 'useage' doesn't fit - so get it changed to T&D.

[rdfcpete]

^ Sean, it was indeed on the longlife when I bought it, but in 50k miles the owner had only changed the oil twice at VW.

I now change the oil and oil filter (+ sump washer) myself every 8k miles (since 54k miles when I bought it) as I know this is good practice and it's a habit I'm into with all my vehicles.

What do you mean by T+D sorry?
 

[Richn83]

time and date service pete rather than variable long life. Hows the oil usage now by the way pete?

[rdfcpete]

^ Cheers Rich  

I hope I made it clear in my first post that I have switched to that now though? I've worked it out that every 10 months is about right, considering that's when I hit 8k miles P/A anyway.

It's still been using some, slowly, but steadily. Nothing extreme.
I had a bit of the white fudge around the header tank cap the other day too, but I understand a little bit is no harm (as per several threads on here  ).

Does yours use any, if much?

[Richn83]

Doesnt seem too bad, done about 4-5k since ive had it, mainly long journeys as I dont drive it mid week. and have only topped up with about quarter of a litre.  some slight white residue but not much, mines an 05 with 31k on the clock. 

[stealthwolf]

My ED30 drank a couple of litres for the first 10k or so but for the next 10k barely drank half a litre.