# Oil consumption



## sp4c3m4nsp1ff17 (Feb 6, 2008)

My tiguan has 12600 miles on the clock. I last changed the oil in November at 7,500 miles. Today the "check engine oil level" light came on. Lo and behold the oil level was right at the bottom of the dipstick. Has anyone else had to add oil in-between changes? Not a good sign to be consuming oil at this mileage...


----------



## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

What was the level at 7500 miles? What process did you use to check the level? Don't you check the level regularly? Do you know of a make with ICE that don't use some oil over time/mileage?


----------



## alucinari (Mar 4, 2013)

sp4c3m4nsp1ff17 said:


> My tiguan has 12600 miles on the clock. I last changed the oil in November at 7,500 miles. Today the "check engine oil level" light came on. Lo and behold the oil level was right at the bottom of the dipstick. Has anyone else had to add oil in-between changes? Not a good sign to be consuming oil at this mileage...


Unless you somehow underfilled it then you shouldn’t be having oil level issues. Take it to the dealer and take advantage of that warranty!


----------



## OZ.IN.USA (Jan 29, 2011)

Under filled or incorrect oil weight?

If 508 00 or 0W-20 was used there shouldn't be that much oil consumption. But VWs have that warranty, so use it.


----------



## sp4c3m4nsp1ff17 (Feb 6, 2008)

OZ.IN.USA said:


> Under filled or incorrect oil weight?
> 
> If 508 00 or 0W-20 was used there shouldn't be that much oil consumption. But VWs have that warranty, so use it.


I changed the oil last, using OEM Castrol Edge 0W20 longlifeIV https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-volkswagen-audi-parts/engoil/ge525771ldsp/

I used approximately 5.75 quarts, when the dipstick read in the middle of the zone. 

I'm hesitant to take it to the dealer as we have a pretty poor relationship with our local VW dealer (they were upset about having to buy back our Alltrack under lemon law conditions) - they would likely go to the VW standard of "any oil consumption less than 1 qt/1000 miles is considered normal" and send me on my way. I was really just curious if any other owners are experiencing the same issue with consumption. I don't know if this could be the result of new engine break in, the use of such a lightweight oil, longer oil change intervals, etc.


----------



## OEMplusCC (Jan 27, 2013)

I opened the hood for fun last weekend and I checked oil level while I was there. The car had oil level close to min but not quite there yet. Since I like to keep my oil level 1/2 - 3/4 to max I added a bit of oil (VW Castrol 0w20 spec508). The car has 2k miles and this is the first time I checked its oil level. I'm not sure if the level was like that since delivery or if something happened. I'll keep eye on it from now on.
I also remember reading something about accepted oil level consumption in user manual. Check it out


----------



## JSWTDI09 (Feb 22, 2009)

sp4c3m4nsp1ff17 said:


> I was really just curious if any other owners are experiencing the same issue with consumption. I don't know if this could be the result of new engine break in, the use of such a lightweight oil, longer oil change intervals, etc.


I have a 2018 SE with about 14,000 miles on it. Every time I check the oil level, it is full. At my 10k oil change I removed 6 qts and put in 6 qts. At the rate you seem to be losing oil, I would look carefully for leaks. Engines can consume oil, but they can also leak it. I would try to verify if it is a consumption issue or a leak somewhere.

Have Fun!

Don


----------



## sp4c3m4nsp1ff17 (Feb 6, 2008)

JSWTDI09 said:


> At the rate you seem to be losing oil, I would look carefully for leaks.
> Don


That was my first thought, especially with that plastic drain plug, but no, zero leaks. The bottom of the engine is bone dry and there is no oil around the fill tube, oil filter, anywhere where else on the top of the engine. 

At any rate, I guess I'm glad that the car has an oil level monitoring system. The car actually monitors exactly how much oil is in the motor (you can check the values with obdeleven/VCDS, etc) and will warn you when it gets to the bottom of the "safe" zone. This is a little different than regular oil pressure warning lights, which typically don't come on until oil is critically low and damage has likely already occurred. I probably would not have noticed the oil loss since there are no drips and I wouldn't think to check the oil periodically in a brand new car.


----------



## Smokeybeetleman (Aug 13, 2018)

If it really consuming a lot of oil it at least to me would point to the pistons never sealing properly during break in.
My 2018 Passat did burn some oil during break in, but not after. My Tiguan didnt lose any oil and I'm at 11k.


----------



## OZ.IN.USA (Jan 29, 2011)

sp4c3m4nsp1ff17 said:


> I changed the oil last, using OEM Castrol Edge 0W20 longlifeIV https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-volkswagen-audi-parts/engoil/ge525771ldsp/
> 
> I used approximately 5.75 quarts, when the dipstick read in the middle of the zone.
> 
> I'm hesitant to take it to the dealer as we have a pretty poor relationship with our local VW dealer (they were upset about having to buy back our Alltrack under lemon law conditions) - they would likely go to the VW standard of "any oil consumption less than 1 qt/1000 miles is considered normal" and send me on my way. I was really just curious if any other owners are experiencing the same issue with consumption. I don't know if this could be the result of new engine break in, the use of such a lightweight oil, longer oil change intervals, etc.


Looks like you used the correct oil so maybe some other owners can give you some real world input.

As to having a poor relationship with your local dealer and they are upset? The dealer did not buy-back your Alltrack, Volkswagen of America did. Don't know why the relationship would be bad because of that.


----------



## LennyNero (Aug 25, 2018)

Hey, just adding in a link to the dealer guide for the PDI on VWs. The VW factory fills the oil by whatever metering system they use. It will be within the crosshatch on the dipstick, but may not be at the upper mark and the dealer is not supposed to "top off" oil as long as it is within the crosshatch.

Also, if you have VCDS, I'm including the TSB on oil consumption. 

GOOGLE DRIVE LINK TO PDFs.


Good luck, and I hope you're not actually losing oil.


----------



## sp4c3m4nsp1ff17 (Feb 6, 2008)

LennyNero said:


> Hey, just adding in a link to the dealer guide for the PDI on VWs. The VW factory fills the oil by whatever metering system they use. It will be within the crosshatch on the dipstick, but may not be at the upper mark and the dealer is not supposed to "top off" oil as long as it is within the crosshatch.
> 
> Also, if you have VCDS, I'm including the TSB on oil consumption.
> 
> ...


Thanks for sharing those documents. I will try out this consumption test and see what it does. All in all I'm looking at about .5 quart consumed over 5000 miles, well within VWs "standard" but I suppose it will be good to know exactly how much is being burned at what rate.

Sent from my LG-H872 using Tapatalk


----------



## PZ (May 9, 2002)

I have not even opened the hood yet. I'll check the oil level when I install the coilovers this weekend. 5K trip next month will give me a good idea about any oil usage.


----------



## abn505 (Mar 9, 2005)

I have only 650 miles on my SEL R-Line and haven't checked yet, but my 2007 Passat 2.0T burned a lot of oil, it would be just barely touching the dip stick at each oil change. I was told by VW it is due to being a turbo


----------



## barbados11 (Apr 21, 2014)

What's that? Half a quart after 5,100 miles. What's the problem? Where are you located and what type of driving do you do?

NOTE=sp4c3m4nsp1ff17;113287219]My tiguan has 12600 miles on the clock. I last changed the oil in November at 7,500 miles. Today the "check engine oil level" light came on. Lo and behold the oil level was right at the bottom of the dipstick. Has anyone else had to add oil in-between changes? Not a good sign to be consuming oil at this mileage...[/QUOTE]


----------



## CraigH (Jul 22, 2018)

barbados11 said:


> What's that? Half a quart after 5,100 miles. What's the problem? Where are you located and what type of driving do you do?
> 
> I aggree, the owner manual states that all engines use some oil depending on a variety of conditions. The manual specifically states "A maximum of 1 quart per 1200 miles ... would be considered normal". That is from a 2017 Beetle manual, but all the EA888 Gen 3 TSI engines are quite similar. I did not know 0W-20 is approved - the manual specifes 5W-40 and 5W-30 weight synthetic oils.


----------



## JSWTDI09 (Feb 22, 2009)

CraigH said:


> barbados11 said:
> 
> 
> > I did not know 0W-20 is approved - the manual specifes 5W-40 and 5W-30 weight synthetic oils.
> ...


----------



## Smokebomb1! (Mar 12, 2019)

I have a 2019 Tiguan,I was Pro active with mine,from the time it was new I checked under the hood weekly.At 650 miles I added a 1/2 quart.From the dealership get Castrol Edge professional in the gold jug.It meets Vw spec 50800/50900.SAe 0w-20.You have also created a paper trail incase of warranty concerns.You can't find this oil at the part houses.The gold jug from the dealer has the VW specs on it.The Castrol Edge in the black jug at the parts houses is also 0w-20,but doesn't say it meets the 50800/50900 specs.I would rather not mess with my warrenty.apparently VW changed their requirements to that number spec,so head to the dealer.And my Tiguan has over 3000 miles,and after that first 1/2 quart,hasn't used a drop.Study your manual,get your oil at dealer,study this blog.Good luck!New cars have to be watched some what careful. My thoughts any way.


----------



## CraigH (Jul 22, 2018)

*The 3B TSI Engine*

Understood - 3B TSI uses 0W-20 oil.

Locally, for the "Pre-B" engine, I could never fine the specific "A3/B4" Castol. Jugs stated "US". Now there are more approved oils available for the "Pre-B" enginre. It sounds like now, a few years later, the new spec oil is not in many stores, just like in 2017 trying to locate the then specified oil.


----------



## KurtCav (May 8, 2010)

I just had the same thing happen to our 2018 SE AWD. We are at 8500 miles and the low oil light came on. I got the proper Castrol Edge Professional 0w-20 VW 508.00 oil from the dealership. I needed to put in about 0.75 quarts. I keep a log with this info and will continue to keep an eye on the oil level.


----------



## PZ (May 9, 2002)

Mine dropped about half of the hash marks after a 6K drive, probably 6oz.


----------



## noka648 (Sep 3, 2001)

sp4c3m4nsp1ff17 said:


> I changed the oil last, using OEM Castrol Edge 0W20 longlifeIV https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-volkswagen-audi-parts/engoil/ge525771ldsp/


That looks like the same oil I just picked up at the dealer except I got it for about $2 cheaper. Like it or not (and who likes it?) some cars use oil and some don't. I have had some VW's that used oil and some that never did. Unless you abused the car and totally violated any reasonable break-in procedure, and unless the usage is high by factory specs (which I agree is a rather high bar to meet at 1 liter/1000 mi) there is nothing wrong and nothing to fix under warranty. Just pick up a few liters and check it once in a while. My M5 used almost 1 liter/2000 mi and that was about the worst - buy hey - it was a fun ride!


----------



## sp4c3m4nsp1ff17 (Feb 6, 2008)

Update here - I'm at 25k miles and oil consumption has increased to 1.5 qt every 5k miles.


I did take it to the dealer and they did a compression test on all cylinders which came back normal.

I also observed a small leak from the upper timing cover. The leak was not enough to drip down the side of the motor, but it was wet with oil around the edge. Clearly not enough to account for the oil I've been adding. Dealer replaced gasket and didnt offer anything else as far as why its losing oil. 

Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk


----------



## christophe15 (Nov 12, 2018)

sp4c3m4nsp1ff17 said:


> Update here - I'm at 25k miles and oil consumption has increased to 1.5 qt every 5k miles.
> 
> 
> I did take it to the dealer and they did a compression test on all cylinders which came back normal.
> ...


20K+ on mine, no issues so far, will keep an eye on things now seeing this thread though.


----------



## jdavidv (Jul 4, 2017)

*Oil change intervals*

In late 2016 I bought a used 1.8L 5 spd base model Golf with 15k miles on it. Love the way the car drives, After I finally found a set of 17" OEM wheels and tossed the original 15" wheels/tires. I was tired of using my Nissan XTerra as a daily driver.

Regarding oil: I decided to buy a $1500 extended warranty since I got the car so cheap ($16k). The sales guy seemed pretty upfront, and warned me to read the extended warranty requirements that night (I could have canceled the warranty purchase within 3 days).

Only one thing stood out: [Oil changes required every 5000 miles] That's fine with me, considering that it's got a turbo; I would probably have done this interval anyway. Top speed on that turbocharger impeller is around 125,000 rpm; they use high-precision bearings, and turbochargers do not tolerate dirty oil.

10k mile oil changes will get you through warranty, but I would start getting nervous way before 100k miles. Synthetic oil is great, but it doesn't work miracles and that turbocharger shaft this it lubricates is really hot. I've seen oil temps reach 230F; if it ever touches 270F it's time for an immediate oil change. 

Some people will balk at 5000 mile oil changes, but it's cheap insurance. I pay the VW dealer the (very high) $90 oil change price, but it leaves a paper trail. Good luck getting warranty service on a major engine oil issue if you can't prove your at-home oil changes, especially with VW. 

As for oil usage, the car has never been down more than 1/4 quart at 5000 miles. I just passed 61,000 miles; only a couple of minor warranty items have occurred; I'm really happy with the car so far. For a base model it is really fun to drive (with the caveat of upsizing wheels/tires). I've never owned a smoother revving engine, and and the 1.8L in combo with the 5 spd has returned 37.1 mpg over the last 3500 miles. Yes, I do a lot of freeway driving; that's a fact of life in San Diego.


----------



## brianbgw (Mar 29, 2011)

My 2018 Tiguan developed a leak from the upper timing cover and the oil pan at about 30,000 mi. Both were replaced by the dealership under warranty.

On the consumption front, I've checked my oil level about every other time I get fuel, up until now it hasn't consumed a drop...even when it had a leak I didn't detect it on the dipstick. I now have about 38k miles and in the 4500 mi since my last oil change I have started consuming, I checked and it was about half way down on the dipstick. Just added about 0.5L of 508/509 0W20 from the dealer, will continue to monitor. I'm curious if anyone else has noticed consumption starting after the break in period?


----------



## snooks452 (Jan 22, 2021)

sp4c3m4nsp1ff17 said:


> My tiguan has 12600 miles on the clock. I last changed the oil in November at 7,500 miles. Today the "check engine oil level" light came on. Lo and behold the oil level was right at the bottom of the dipstick. Has anyone else had to add oil in-between changes? Not a good sign to be consuming oil at this mileage...


My 2018 Rline has been fine for 75000 km, then all of a sudden, my low oil light has come on twice since October 30, and my husband just had to add another litre of oil tonight. I've had it back to the dealership once already. My husband is going to call them tomorrow... it may not be pretty


----------



## snooks452 (Jan 22, 2021)

brianbgw said:


> My 2018 Tiguan developed a leak from the upper timing cover and the oil pan at about 30,000 mi. Both were replaced by the dealership under warranty.
> 
> On the consumption front, I've checked my oil level about every other time I get fuel, up until now it hasn't consumed a drop...even when it had a leak I didn't detect it on the dipstick. I now have about 38k miles and in the 4500 mi since my last oil change I have started consuming, I checked and it was about half way down on the dipstick. Just added about 0.5L of 508/509 0W20 from the dealer, will continue to monitor. I'm curious if anyone else has noticed consumption starting after the break in period?


My 2018 started losing oil at 75000KM (aprox. 46000 miles)


----------



## Haris S (Mar 8, 2021)

sp4c3m4nsp1ff17 said:


> Thanks for sharing those documents. I will try out this consumption test and see what it does. All in all I'm looking at about .5 quart consumed over 5000 miles, well within VWs "standard" but I suppose it will be good to know exactly how much is being burned at what rate.
> 
> Sent from my LG-H872 using Tapatalk





sp4c3m4nsp1ff17 said:


> Update here - I'm at 25k miles and oil consumption has increased to 1.5 qt every 5k miles.
> 
> 
> I did take it to the dealer and they did a compression test on all cylinders which came back normal.
> ...


Hello. Im new to this and I wold like to know if you figured anything. 
We own 2018 Tiguan and this is now 3rd time oil light is coming ON.
First time I added thinking it was just something but I took a picture just in case. They second time came on and that is when I called a dealer. 
I stated to my service advisor and showed him a picture that we had this happened ones before. He told he will noted all and let service tech know. They put us on consumption test for about 680 miles but there was no showing of oil loss. Now technically it came on 3rd time and my service advisor was acting funny so I asked for all service paperwork. Sure enough he did not noted anything when I was there for first time other then “customer stating that is burning oli”
This happens about 4k miles before oil change which is every 10k. We are now at 35k miles and started right after first oil change. 
Luckily we are leasing this one.


----------



## sp4c3m4nsp1ff17 (Feb 6, 2008)

Haris S said:


> Hello. Im new to this and I wold like to know if you figured anything.
> We own 2018 Tiguan and this is now 3rd time oil light is coming ON.
> First time I added thinking it was just something but I took a picture just in case. They second time came on and that is when I called a dealer.
> I stated to my service advisor and showed him a picture that we had this happened ones before. He told he will noted all and let service tech know. They put us on consumption test for about 680 miles but there was no showing of oil loss. Now technically it came on 3rd time and my service advisor was acting funny so I asked for all service paperwork. Sure enough he did not noted anything when I was there for first time other then “customer stating that is burning oli”
> ...


Nothing to add here. My tiguan continues to consume oil but at a rate far below what VW would consider "unacceptable". There's no point in dickering over a quart or 2 of oil each year. I suspect the consumption has a lot to do with the lighter weight of the oil and my driving habits which are mostly city driving

Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk


----------



## Haris S (Mar 8, 2021)

sp4c3m4nsp1ff17 said:


> Nothing to add here. My tiguan continues to consume oil but at a rate far below what VW would consider "unacceptable". There's no point in dickering over a quart or 2 of oil each year. I suspect the consumption has a lot to do with the lighter weight of the oil and my driving habits which are mostly city driving
> 
> Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk


Thank you for your reply 
So I got some information from my coworkers friend and he is specialist in VW. Use to work at VW Dealer and now he owns his shop. 
Basically per his reply it is not normal for car to lose a 1quart of oil on 6k miles but VW will not admit that they have issues a specially on 1.8t and 2.0t engines as they can’t figure out for last 12 years how to fix it. Mainly its a issue with cylinders. As car gets gets more miles and on higher rpm it will losing more oil and that will cause shorter engine life. 
Not every engine does it but when it come to it VW dealer will state that this is normal oil consumption.


----------



## vw_fan_123 (Aug 13, 2018)

We have a 2018 Tiguan with 25,000 miles. From 0-10,000 miles the low oil light never came. We had the oil changed at 10,000 at the dealer. From 10,000-20,000 the oil light never came on and we had the oil changed at the dealer at 20,000. The other day at just under 25,000 the low oil light came on. I checked the dipstick and it was at the very bottom of the safe zone. It seems odd for the motor to suddenly burn that much oil. Based on this thread it sounds like something isn't right. I'll probably take it in.

I'm pondering if because I'm trying to decide whether to buy the car and keep it another two years or to get something new (The car is a lease.)


----------



## brianbgw (Mar 29, 2011)

vw_fan_123 said:


> We have a 2018 Tiguan with 25,000 miles. From 0-10,000 miles the low oil light never came. We had the oil changed at 10,000 at the dealer. From 10,000-20,000 the oil light never came on and we had the oil changed at the dealer at 20,000. The other day at just under 25,000 the low oil light came on. I checked the dipstick and it was at the very bottom of the safe zone. It seems odd for the motor to suddenly burn that much oil. Based on this thread it sounds like something isn't right. I'll probably take it in.
> 
> I'm pondering if because I'm trying to decide whether to buy the car and keep it another two years or to get something new (The car is a lease.)


Did you check the oil level right after the 20k oil change? It’s very possible the technician didn’t fill it all the way up. I’ve had quite a few oil changes where the level is at the middle of the range on the dipstick when the dealer changes it. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## vw_fan_123 (Aug 13, 2018)

brianbgw said:


> Did you check the oil level right after the 20k oil change? It’s very possible the technician didn’t fill it all the way up. I’ve had quite a few oil changes where the level is at the middle of the range on the dipstick when the dealer changes it.


I did not check it, and I did think about this. The low oil stood out to me because there were no issues in the previous changes. But it may be that it wasn't filled properly. But even if half way it seems the Tiguans don't typically use much oil at this mileage.


----------



## jonese (Jun 21, 2020)

I've been logging my oil level every fuel fill or so. Looking at early trends (2 oil changes, 18,000 KM thus far), from the two oil level drops (200 & 300 ml) I've noticed, it's spirited higher RPM (~4,500) that seems to cause increased consumption (on mine). It can be pretty easy to bump into that range.

Again, way way early data to draw any reliable correlation yet.


----------

