# Please check engine oil level



## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

Did an out to PA and back to VA today in this heat wave, on the way back with maybe 20 miles left in 400+ trip and going through a downpour out of the blue get a notification to Please check engine oil level. After a couple of miles pulled over to a flat and safe area. Turned off the car, checked the oil level and it looked good. Got back in and drove the remaining miles, light never came back on, and no performance impact. Anyone ever had something similar happen?


Sent while on the run


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Reihenmotor5 said:


> .....checked the oil level and it looked good....


What does "looked good" mean? BTW, you can't accurately check oil level without a bet of waiting and cool off.


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

So oil was low, dip stick shows good now but the Health Report still shows low so that’s annoying. Tried clearing codes to see if that would fix it but nothing. Granted health report showed everything was fine last night and this morning. No signs of a leak that I can see after sitting all on a concrete driveway or at work. Dropping it off at 10 am tomorrow to have a look over. Sometimes I yearn for the days of simplicity. MIB no longer reports it as an issue, no yellow warning light on dash, but stupid car-net health report still shows the issue. Maybe VW has to clear it since it’s recommending service. Leary of oil issues since long ago my oil pan in a 91 Civic got cracked hitting something on the highway at 3 am and when Jiffy Lube didn’t tighten the cartridge properly on my 2006 Jetta and the engine was bone dry pulling into Breezewood, PA. Super lucky no engine damage on that one. 

Any ideas why Health Report still shows an issue?


Sent while on the run


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

Happy to report no leaks, service tested for leaks and none found. Chalking it up to under fill by service. Naturally keeping an eye on it. 


Sent while on the run


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## noka648 (Sep 3, 2001)

1st post says, "checked the oil level and it looked good".
2nd post says, "So oil was low".
-> Which was it? Oil good or low? 

About this: "Jiffy Lube didn’t tighten".
-> 'nuff said. Stay away.


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

It was low, enough of an angle towards the dipstick got a false reading while at the dealer. It showed enough between C on the diagram below. 










When on truly flat this is what it showed. 










Dealer is attributing it to them under filling. 




Sent while on the run


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## gerardrjj (Sep 4, 2014)

Reihenmotor5 said:


> It was low, enough of an angle towards the dipstick got a false reading while at the dealer. It showed enough between C on the diagram below.
> 
> Dealer is attributing it to them under filling.
> 
> ...



You're showing a dipstick that is right at the "you should add some" level. In a turn, hard acceleration, breaking or driving along a slope the level could drop below the "full enough" level at the sensor.
The level is expected to be in the hashed area and your level isn't there, so it looks like the system was correct to me.


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## noka648 (Sep 3, 2001)

If the 2nd pic shows the level within say 1000 miles after the dealer oil change, then I would agree that they probably underfilled it, since the level is barely in the hatched area. If my dipstick showed that, I would add a half quart and check it again.


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

noka648 said:


> If the 2nd pic shows the level within say 1000 miles after the dealer oil change, then I would agree that they probably underfilled it, since the level is barely in the hatched area. If my dipstick showed that, I would add a half quart and check it again.


Oil change was done easily within 1000 miles. Added 3/4, was better, but needed a full quart 


Sent while on the run


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## Smokebomb1! (Mar 12, 2019)

*Oil level*

Its important after an oil change to check oil.Do not trust the tech.Overfilling or underfilling is both careless and harmful.


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## vfxcxn0309 (Mar 17, 2013)

sir, your engine burns oil! this is not normal, even the manual says normal.


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## Superchud (Jul 3, 2018)

*This is a real thing...*

*Welcome to my world!*

I just went through this on my 2018 Passat SE with massive oil consumption. Get the dealer to do a oil consumption test. Mine failed on the 2nd test and had the rings and pistons replaced. Then it happened again less than 1000 miles afterwards (used 1.8qt in about 700 miles) and I just got my car back today after the long block was replaced (Basically they replaced the engine). The service tech noted that they had done this about 8 times this year with other customers so it's a known issue (the 2018 Passat and the 2018-2020 Tig's share the same engine) so hopefully they can get you fixed up.

I was out of my Passat a total of 3 weeks between both issues (engines were backordered so it took a while to get it replaced). VW is doing a collateral swap with a 2020 Tiguan so I'm hoping they have found and addressed this issue with the new Tiguan I'm getting...


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

Superchud said:


> *Welcome to my world!*
> 
> I just went through this on my 2018 Passat SE with massive oil consumption. Get the dealer to do a oil consumption test. Mine failed on the 2nd test and had the rings and pistons replaced. Then it happened again less than 1000 miles afterwards (used 1.8qt in about 700 miles) and I just got my car back today after the long block was replaced (Basically they replaced the engine). The service tech noted that they had done this about 8 times this year with other customers so it's a known issue (the 2018 Passat and the 2018-2020 Tig's share the same engine) so hopefully they can get you fixed up.
> 
> I was out of my Passat a total of 3 weeks between both issues (engines were backordered so it took a while to get it replaced). VW is doing a collateral swap with a 2020 Tiguan so I'm hoping they have found and addressed this issue with the new Tiguan I'm getting...


Man sorry to hear, definitely going to keep a closer eye on mine. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## haunted reality (Apr 18, 2001)

Checked mine this weekend, I'm at 2700 miles. It looked good, right in the middle of the good range. I've had enough VW turbo cars in the past to know they love to drink oil. I always make it a habit of checking the oil every 1-2k miles.


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## JSWTDI09 (Feb 22, 2009)

haunted reality said:


> Checked mine this weekend, I'm at 2700 miles. It looked good, right in the middle of the good range. I've had enough VW turbo cars in the past to know they love to drink oil. I always make it a habit of checking the oil every 1-2k miles.


Interesting, I've had several VWs and have never had a serious oil consumption problem. I guess I've been lucky. When I changed my oil at 10k miles, it still was full. I drained 6 qts and refilled 6qts. I'm now at 16k miles and the dipstick still shows full. I do check it regularly but I have never had to add more that half a qt. (or L.) between oil changes in any (water cooled) VW.

Have Fun!

Don


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## Superchud (Jul 3, 2018)

JSWTDI09 said:


> Interesting, I've had several VWs and have never had a serious oil consumption problem. I guess I've been lucky. When I changed my oil at 10k miles, it still was full. I drained 6 qts and refilled 6qts. I'm now at 16k miles and the dipstick still shows full. I do check it regularly but I have never had to add more that half a qt. (or L.) between oil changes in any (water cooled) VW.
> 
> Have Fun!
> 
> Don


Per the VW oil consumption specs (at least for the 18' Passat) it's 1qt used ever 1300 miles.


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## TheGermanExperience (Dec 11, 2002)

I recently checked my oil level at 6k and it looked fine, and again at 8k miles it was right at the bottom of the hashed section on perfectly level ground, so when i went to add oil the best parking lot i could find was ever so slightly not level (the front of the car being very very slightly higher than the back) i checked again and it was almost at the halfway point in the "Good" zone. would the car being very slightly uphill produce this result? I was reluctant to add any oil until finding a perfectly flat spot. It was the kind of slight uphill you see at parking lots to drain water away so almost flat.


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## VWmechatronic (Dec 17, 2019)

*Got the same warning... a common event apparently ... Not much to worry about here*



TheGermanExperience said:


> I recently checked my oil level ..................... would the car being very slightly uphill produce this result? I was reluctant to add any oil until finding a perfectly flat spot. It was the kind of slight uphill you see at parking lots to drain water away so almost flat.


Yes, there is some variation based on the how level the ground really is. I've seen this myself. A slight grade tilts the level, as expected, since we're talking about only a fraction of an inch on the dipstick.

I also got the "Check Oil Level" message recently on my '19 Tiguan too. Sure enough, the sensor noticed the level was about at the lower line on the dipstick. 

That is nice the thing will warn us!
Since there was never a loss of oil pressure, then no problem, really, getting the "oil level" yellow warning.

If the oil level gets even lower, there is a separate "Low Oil Level" warning you'd see, as another layer of warning when it gets a little worse than our situation in this thread. Still, as long as the oil pressure red light does NOT come on, your engine is NOT getting damaged. Worst case with the 2 levels of yellow warning is that the oil gets a little too hot at times, but that probably isn't a big deal if using the VW 508 specification synthetic oil.

In my case, I changed my own oil and put in about 5 quarts in (really takes 6 quarts max!) since I had a 5-quart jug to use, knowing I'd top it off in a few days when I had a chance to buy the extra quart later. Since the oil pickup tube reaches low into the sump, 5 quarts is plenty. Not long term though. Try to get the level somewhere in the cross-hatched region of the dipstick, preferable toward the middle, and never too full of course.


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## haunted reality (Apr 18, 2001)

VWmechatronic said:


> Yes, there is some variation based on the how level the ground really is. I've seen this myself. A slight grade tilts the level, as expected, since we're talking about only a fraction of an inch on the dipstick.
> 
> I also got the "Check Oil Level" message recently on my '19 Tiguan too. Sure enough, the sensor noticed the level was about at the lower line on the dipstick.
> 
> ...


 That is cool that it has the Check Oil Level message, I have not seen that yet. I'm getting real close now to the first service, but I have been checking the oil level and it has been good so far.


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