Oil consumption in 2.0 TSI engines: A break-in issue? (Solution)

Hello,

My CDLJ, which currently has 2400 km on the odometer, gave me a bit of a scare yesterday: after a brisk 240 km ride, mostly at 120-150 km/h (with a few times exceeding 200 km/h), the oil level is about 3 mm below the mark on the dipstick.
I always check the oil level in the garage, after the car has been stationary for at least one night.

The engine block is completely dry (no oil leaks), and there are the usual few drops of oil in the turbocharger pipes.

I think the faces in the photos also look normal, see the attachment.


Background:
I bought the car as a demo model with approximately 500 kilometers on the odometer. According to the dealer, it had not been driven hard or mistreated up to that point.
"For the first ~1000 km, I often drove it at a significantly higher RPM (1-2 gears lower, with light load) than I normally would."
Since then, I've mostly used it for my daily commute: two trips of 20 km each day, mostly through villages and country roads.
Occasionally, there are short bursts of full acceleration, even up to the rev limiter, but these probably account for only about 2% of the total operating time.

What else I noticed:
With the factory-filled oil, it barely consumed any oil; the level was always in the maximum range. However, I could only observe this for about 500 km, after which the car's computer system notified me that it needed an oil service at approximately 1000 km.
After the oil change at the VW workshop, it started consuming a relatively large amount of oil.
Can thirst also be caused by cheap/low-quality oil?

And most importantly: How many liters of oil are in the 2.0 TSI oil pan when the fill level is 3 mm in the middle range of the dipstick?

ulf wrote:

I bought the car as a demonstration model with approximately 500 km on the odometer. According to the dealer, it had not been driven hard or mistreated in any way up to that point.

Dem würde ich NIEMALS glauben! Ich selbst gebe gerne bei Mietwagen oder Vorführkarren gerne richtig VOLLGAS. Auch kenne ich genügend Kisten die von der Abholung, nagelneu versteht sich, gleich getreten wurden allemeistens TDIs - diese halten oft mehr als 300.000km unaufällig durch - die ganz neueren mit DPF nicht mehr so lange-geplante Obsoleszenz sei dank.

Many gasoline-powered cars, whether old or new, and regardless of whether they've been gently broken in or immediately pushed to their limits, unfortunately often consume oil.

VW hat im Normalfall ganz gutes Öl welches wie zum Goldpreis verkauft wird.

The candles in the photo look fine.

Thank you for the information .

What I forgot:
The shiny threads on the candles come from a type of wax I melted and stretched.

The KGE (Knock Gas Engine) hose leading to the intake manifold is almost dry inside, which means that, at least during the intake stroke, very little oil seems to be leaking through the KGE.
I haven't opened the short connection line to the compressor inlet yet (which is the KGE path when there's intake pressure).

I don't know... maybe you could think about it after 10,000 km of mileage. Right now, I actually think it's still too early to judge the oil consumption. Nevertheless, I would mention that at the ... just in case the consumption remains like this.

Is it certain that the oil level was previously filled to the maximum mark?

You can determine how much 3mm corresponds to on the dipstick by filling the container in 100ml increments until you reach the "Max" level.

Autoservice wrote:

I don't know... maybe you could think about it after 10,000 km of mileage. Right now, I actually think it's still too early to judge the oil consumption. Nevertheless, I would mention that just in case the consumption stays like that.

OK, I will do that soon.

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Is it certain that the oil level was previously filled to the maximum mark?

No, both readings are within the middle, ribbed section of the dipstick, see attachment.

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To determine how much 3mm corresponds to on the dipstick, you fill it up in 100ml increments until you reach the "Max" level.

The experiment is currently underway. I added 0.2 liters earlier, and I'll check the dipstick again this evening. The Polo will not be moved today.

Hello Ulf,

Is that really necessary to bring it in for service after only 1,000 km?
Is that a WRC-specific feature?

Based on my experience, the initial oil consumption typically starts with the first higher and longer load. My car's oil level warning light came on after the first 1,400 km, indicating that it had consumed a whole liter of oil. After that, the oil consumption was significantly lower.

Ulf's time was up; there were few drivers who had owned it before .

I also appreciate that you can only infer a certain level by adding small amounts. I assume the behavior won't be linear. 3mm might also be within the range of measurement accuracy. As far as I understand, you don't even need to wait a whole night with today's oil viscosities; especially with a warm engine, it should reach the bottom relatively quickly.
You might want to start preparing yourself, considering what some people experience with oil consumption in TSI engines.

matthiasTDI96 wrote:

Ulf's time was up; there were few drivers who were previous owners

. Apparently, the long periods of inactivity had whispered to the WIV (likely a company or system) that after the minimum time (= 12 months), the first change should occur - even though the car had only run 977 km at that point.

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3mm might also be within the range of measurement accuracy.

I will see how many mm the added 0.2 liters make.

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According to my understanding, you don't even need to wait a whole night with today's oil viscosities, especially when the engine is warm, it should drain down quickly.

I don't have a fundamental disagreement. But if there's enough time for everything to really drain back into the oil pan, I can wait for that.

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You might want to prepare yourself, considering what some people experience with oil consumption in TSI engines.

A stark contrast to that: the 1.4L CAXA engine in my partner's Rapid. After currently 2700 km, the factory oil is still at the maximum mark on the dipstick.
We broke in the engine ourselves, and mostly did so gently, rather than with a heavy foot on the accelerator.


@Roger:
Then I hope that the thirst of my CDL will develop similarly to your ASZ.

Okay, now I'm completely confused.
I have tried to explain the reason in the attachment.
The numbers 1 through 4 indicate the order of my check-ups.

After the initial 3 liters, I added another 0.1 liters of oil (for a total of 0.3 liters) because 0.2 liters, after waiting for about 8 hours, only raised the oil level on the dipstick by approximately 1 mm.
After that, I wanted to perform a rough compression test: I wanted to manually push the car, with the engine off and in 6th gear, through at least four compression strokes and pay attention to the varying amount of force required. However, it didn't yield any conclusive results.

Approximately 2 hours later, I checked the oil level again, and I couldn't believe my eyes: there was about 4mm more oil on the dipstick than there was during the previous check!
To be sure, I completely dried the dipstick and checked it again -> same result.
How does this work???

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Nach 3. habe ich weitere 0,1 Liter Öl nachgefüllt (also insgesamt 0,3 Liter), weil 0,2 Liter nach gut 8 Stunden Warten nur ca. 1mm am Peilstab brachten.

Vielleicht weil du mit dem eingefüllten Öl einer der zahlreichen Taschen im ZK, wo nun mal Öl stehen bleibt, erst mal gefüllt hast.

With such small amounts, you should drive a certain distance to ensure you have the same conditions. Otherwise, two shot glasses full can easily accumulate somewhere before reaching the oil pan.

Why is it always so incredibly precise and complicated? For the first 10,000 km, check the oil level every other time you refuel. Then, see how many kilometers you drive before the oil level drops from the MAX mark to exactly the MIN mark. VW won't care at all if someone complains that this much or this little oil was consumed in *less than* 10,000 km.
Only if more than 1/1000 km is consumed after more than 10,000 km can VW potentially consider it a warranty case. Otherwise, it will be classified as "state of the art."
I wouldn't worry about driving the first 10,000 km; instead, I would fill it with oil to the exact maximum level and drive 1000 km – then see how much oil it has consumed.

"What's wrong with the Rapid...? From what I've read, the oil consumption seems to be around 50,000 kilometers."

"There you go, that's what you get from all this measuring. As a process engineer, I can only keep repeating: 'He who measures a lot, measures a lot of nonsense...'"

Okay, just drive the car. Honestly, what's the point of a "compression test" on a brand new car? You're just being a tiny bit of a hypochondriac when it comes to car technology. That was obvious. But I wouldn't go running to the dealership with those results.

Autoservice wrote:

Maybe because you first filled one of the numerous pockets in the ZK (which are designed to hold oil) with the oil that was already in it.

I understand what you mean. But the pockets can only accept freshly added oil if they weren't already completely full. The question here is: How is oil removed from the pockets during operation?
Do the valve stems of open valves create such large pockets that more than ~0.1 liters can accumulate there after the engine is turned off, instead of draining back into the oil pan? I would have emptied those pockets with just a few engine rotations, and the oil from them would then have drained back into the pan.

matthiasTDI96 wrote:

What kind of mileage did the Rapid have...?

From what I've read, the oil consumption seems to start around 50,000 km.

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Approximately 2,700 km, as I already mentioned.

Da siehst du was du vom ganzen Messen hast. Ich, als Verfahrenstechniker, kann immer nur wieder anfügen: Wer viel misst misst viel Mist...

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Den Spruch kenne ich auch. Aber bisher erschien mir der Ölstand eines bereits gelaufenen Motors ähnlich einfach wie ein Eimer, dem man nach dem Motorlauf nur etwas Zeit geben muß, damit alles Öl außerhalb der besagten Taschen wieder in den Sumpf zurücklaufen kann. DieseThe model seems to be a bit too simplistic... ?

But with the current results, I wouldn't go to the dealership....}Okay. Then I will drive the "holiday car" more often in the future (have to), so that I can make justified complaints about excessive oil consumption before the end of the warranty (I luckily bought a 1-year extension).

With the engine running, the oil that was previously in these pockets should be expelled. The oil flows into these pockets either from other surfaces in the head or when you top it up.

ulf wrote:

In starkem Gegensatz dazu: der 1.4l CAXA Motor im Rapid von meiner Partnerin. Nach aktuell 2700 km steht das Werksöl immer noch an der Max.-Markierung des Ölmessstabes. Den Motor haben wir allerdings komplett selbst eingefahren - größtenteils eher sachte als mit schwerem Gasfuß.

I don't think the Polo is comparable to the Rapid in terms of oil consumption.

1. Does the Polo have almost double the engine displacement?
2. Whether the Polo was treated differently from the very beginning, regardless of what the dealer tried to convey during the sales process, it seems to me that it was already significantly further along in its break-in period compared to the Rapid.

Don't worry about it; the oil consumption will likely settle at an unremarkable level.

Roger wrote:

Don't worry, the oil consumption will likely settle at an inconspicuous level.

Well, if we interpret all the oil level checks in the most optimistic way, the high oil consumption over the last quick 240 km might possibly include some condensate from the previous short trips since the oil change.
Overall, I have added 0.3 liters of oil over the last ~1500 km to reach the initial oil level again... that would be acceptable for the break-in period.