Opel: DTI 2.0

Hello,

I hope nobody will take my head off if I ask a question about the Opel DTI 2.0. I read on dooyoo and ciao that many people are struggling with high oil consumption. However, Opel says that an oil consumption of 0.6-1.0 liters (I think those were the approximate values) is 'normal.' But that would mean that you have to spend 10 euros on oil with every refueling. Has anyone here had similar or different (no oil consumption) experiences? What is the oil consumption like in VW's TDI engines? Unfortunately, a used Golf costs 1000-1500 Euros more than an Astra DTI 2.0. There is no affordable alternative to the Golf Kombi within the VW group.
Does anyone happen to know what the oil consumption is like for Ford diesel engines (TDDI and TDCI)?

Best regards.

Adrian.

PS: The Astra DTI 2.0's performance is decent, right? If I can achieve a performance level roughly equivalent to a VW PD with 100 horsepower, I will be more than happy.

Hello Adrian,

If the consumption is between 0.6 and 1.0 liters per 1000 kilometers, a defect should be suspected.
This oil consumption is difficult to manage, even with 0W-30 oil and frequent highway driving with the engine running at high RPMs.
With my 110 horsepower TDI, the oil consumption is approximately 0.1 liters per 1000 kilometers.
"I wouldn't tolerate 0.5 liters per 1000 km, especially when driving aggressively with high RPMs, and I would investigate the cause."

Best regards, Rainer.

Hello Rainer,

But what do you do if you end up with a car that's a real oil burner, and the workshop – whether it's a VW, Opel, or any other brand – just refers you to the owner's manual, which states that this level of consumption is 'normal'? There was an article in Autobild recently that mentioned a consumption of about 0.2 liters per 1000 km. Should I sell the car again?

Oh, by the way, I just remembered: Where did you actually get these 'extremely accurate' torque curves? I always use the data from http://www.pbox-motortuning.de/, but I'm not sure if it's accurate.

Best regards.

Adrian.

Hi, it depends on how expensive the "oil burner" was.
First, you should check where the oil is being consumed.
- past the piston rings?
- bypassing valve stem seals?
- Is the turbocharger shaft seal faulty?
- Leak at the engine/oil pan.

If there's excessive blow-by due to worn piston rings, the amount of gas escaping past the rings will increase. Therefore, you should try opening the oil filler cap while the engine is running.
Leave the lid loosely on the filling opening; it should be able to move around a bit, but not blow away.
It would be best to compare how much air is blowing out of the oil filler opening on your engine versus one where you know the oil consumption is normal.
If your engine is blowing oil significantly out of the oil filler opening, it's time to get rid of it.
It's more difficult to determine whether the oil is leaking from the valve stem seals or through the turbocharger, and I don't have a solution for that at the moment.
It is difficult to detect an oil leak at the turbine shaft because the crankcase ventilation system already discharges into the intake manifold before the turbocharger, meaning there is always some oil present in the intake manifold.

Does anyone have any ideas?

How many kilometers has your car been driven?

Best regards, Rainer.

Hello Rainer,

Thank you for your tips. I don't have an Astra yet, but I would like to buy one - used, with approximately 40,000 to 50,000 kilometers on it. The question is, of course, how do I know if I'm buying an oil-burning heater or not.
Before buying, I will definitely take it for a test drive and hope that the last oil change was recent. Then I'll drive around the block and secretly check the oil level. If he's at or below MIN, that would give me a rough idea.
The next thing is about the lid. Great!!

The visual inspection will not be part of the DTI process. So far, I haven't read anywhere that there is any oil leakage. The oil is being consumed 'for no apparent reason' in these problem engines.

Best regards.

Adrian.

You could also ask someone else to fully accelerate in 3rd or 4th gear and let the engine rev high, while you follow behind in another vehicle and observe the exhaust.
An oil consumption of 1 liter per 1000 km is definitely noticeable, while 0.5 liters per 1000 km may not necessarily be.
If, when accelerating fully, the exhaust emits a light gray color instead of black (ideally, no color at all), or if you can see bluish-gray puffs of smoke, I would advise against buying that vehicle.

Best regards, Rainer.

Hi.

Quote:

Oh, by the way, I just remembered: Where did you actually get these "extremely accurate" torque curves?

If you're referring to the fuel consumption calculator, the original document essentially contains the values of the AFN engine, which I obtained as a diagram from Volkswagen.

I then mathematically described the curvature of the curve, so that when other torque and power values are entered, a curve is calculated that passes through those points and exhibits the same curvature as the AFN curve.
. . . based on the assumption that the curvature pattern between the different TDIs does not differ fundamentally.

Hello Adrian...

I have an Opel Vectra 2.0 DTI 16V, the one with 100 horsepower, and I've driven it for several thousand kilometers (it was a company car for a friend).

Fuel consumption in the area was 0.5 liters per 1000 km, while fuel consumption (gasoline) was nearly 7 liters under non-optimized driving conditions.

The engine has extremely poor acceleration from a standstill. A VW with a 90hp TDI engine feels like it performs much better, but the Vectra reached a top speed of approximately 205 km/h (registered as 195 km/h) on the highway, which is about the same speed as my Ibiza in its non-modified state.

Overall, the engine is not very enjoyable to use. It feels like driving with the handbrake on.
How about an Octavia? It also offers virtually endless space as a limousine.


Best regards, Georg.

Hello Adrian,

Regarding oil consumption: I have a Passat with the AFN engine and 140,000 km, and a Golf with the AHF engine and 80,000 km. Oil consumption between oil changes (for the past year - Passat: 22,000 km / Golf: 28,000 km): not detectable.
'I previously owned a Golf 2 with a gasoline engine, which my daughter now drives – it has over 220,000 km – and it doesn't consume any oil. I also had a Passat station wagon from 1989 with a gasoline engine that consumed about 0.5 to 0.8 liters of oil per 100 km after approximately 230,000 km. After replacing the valve stem seals – a procedure that didn't require removing the cylinder head – the oil consumption dropped to zero until a Corsa driver totaled the car at 290,000 km.'
Furthermore, leaks that cause excessive oil consumption are a real mess in the engine compartment. Pour out about 100cc of motor oil – it'll cause a huge mess!

Regards,

Jürgen.

Hi,

I can briefly summarize what is being reported about this engine based on information from various Opel forums.
The 2.0 DTI is a very robust engine and, despite its high oil consumption, achieves a high overall lifespan (provided regular checks of the oil level are performed). The high oil consumption has recently been eliminated through different manufacturing processes. The driving performance, especially on the highway, is perfectly adequate.

Hello,

Here we go again: Georg's Vectra DTI is consuming 0.5 liters of oil per 1000 km.


@ Jürgen

Did a Corsa dismantle your old Passat? Hopefully, that didn't happen in Cologne. That might have been my mother...
Otherwise: I drive an old Polo, manufactured in 1994, with over 100,000 kilometers on the odometer, and until recently, I didn't even know that cars could burn oil.


@ Steffen

I read the exact same thing... but I couldn't find anything official about it (regarding a changed manufacturing process) anywhere. To benefit from it, I would have to buy a new car.


@ Georg

The Octavia is hardly any cheaper than the Golf. I didn't want to spend that much. In comparison, you get a much better deal with the Astra. Although... if we assume an oil consumption of 0.5 liters per 1000 km, that amounts to 50 liters for 100,000 km, resulting in additional costs of...


Best regards.

Adrian.

PS: Thank you very much for the numerous responses.

Hi Adrian,

Take a look at the re-import prices for Seat or Skoda on common websites; sometimes, they can be *very* advantageous.

For me, the difference in price between a three-year-old Golf 3 with 80,000 km and a brand new Ibiza re-import would have been only 4,000 DM! That was the deciding factor, especially since the more powerful TDI models are extremely cheap when imported back into the country compared to the new cars here (in my case, almost 10,000 DM).

Best regards,

Jan.

Hi,

Jan6K is absolutely right; EU imports are a real alternative. Try using a search engine (Juetten&Koolen, EU-Auto-Kück, IMS-Makler, Interex, Stippler, etc. - these are all importers), you might find something suitable there!
One option might be the 2.2 DTI (125 hp) engine. This engine doesn't have a known issue with increased oil consumption. Unfortunately, this engine was not installed in the Astra, but only in the Vectra. There are probably some good deals to be found there, especially on the recently discontinued Vectra B.

Hello Adrian,

It wasn't in Cologne, but in Frankfurt!

Forget about re-import cars: www.euro-car-market.de

Here are almost all the re-importers, along with various search functions.

Good luck.

Jürgen.

P.S.: I used to drive Opels for many years - but...
They can't build those! (Referring to diesel engines, presumably)

Hello,

Thank you very much. I'll take a look around.

Best regards.

Adrian.

Hello!

My friend wants to buy a 2010 Opel Vectra station wagon with a 2.2 DTI engine and 125 horsepower.
(The full range of features is appealing to him, and besides, he needs a station wagon right now...)

Has anyone heard anything about disadvantages or things to be particularly aware of when making a purchase?

I couldn't find anything about DTI in the forum or on Google.

Thank you very much, and have a lovely Sunday!
Daniel.