Jetta's Burning Oil

[bigred15]

Just wondering if anyone out there has trouble with their VW burning an excessive amount of oil? I've had my car about a year and a half, the car itself has 82,000 miles on it, but the engine only has about 30,000. Dealer bought it back and replaced the engine before I owned it. My car burns about 1 quart of oil every 1,500 miles. I asked the guys at the dealer about it a few times; they've told me "that's just how VW's are, they always burn that much oil" I'm starting to think they're feeding a me a line of BS since I'm just some girl walking in there.
Does anyone else have this problem?

[brakedust]

are you sure you'r JUST burning oil, or you might have a leak somewhere......its a little unusual to be burnin' a quart every 1500.....

I've had 3 VW's.....golf, 2.0, jetta 2.0 and jetta 2.8 and all of them were fine......

btw my 1st car.....2.0 Turbo AWD Eagle Talon did gulp some oil after extensive beating on it......

[pork]

They shouldnt be, but for the certain early model mk4's with the issue its normal. The 99's like mine and i think maybe the 2,000's had a problem where the piston rings where installed wrong, maybe upside down or somthing along the line causing the oil to burn at around 1 quart every thousand miles or so. If your still under warranty the dealer should rebuild it as their is a TSB out for it, but its up to the dealer. Mine refused to and my warranty ran out so i was pretty much scumbagged. Just keep throwing that quart in there every thousand or so miles.


Modified by pork at 10:28 PM 12-6-2004

[pork]

Quote, originally posted by brakedust »

are you sure you'r JUST burning oil, or you might have a leak somewhere......its a little unusual to be burnin' a quart every 1500..... I've had 3 VW's.....golf, 2.0, jetta 2.0 and jetta 2.8 and all of them were fine...... btw my 1st car.....2.0 Turbo AWD Eagle Talon did gulp some oil after extensive beating on it......

It is normal for the early model MK4's due to what i described above, use the search and read about it before you give others false information.

[ss18]

im sent

[bigred15]

I'm afraid that's gonna be the same situation for me, my warrenty is out so I'm sure they'll tell me to take a hike or to cough up a crap load of money. I know mine isn't leaking, so I bet it could be something similar to what you mentioned. I'll have to ask them about that when I go in this week.
Thanks!

[pork]

Quote, originally posted by bigred15 »

I'm afraid that's gonna be the same situation for me, my warrenty is out so I'm sure they'll tell me to take a hike or to cough up a crap load of money. I know mine isn't leaking, so I bet it could be something similar to what you mentioned. I'll have to ask them about that when I go in this week. Thanks!

Like I said, they wont do anything since your warranty is dead. Its 100% what i mentioned, this is a well known problem and VW has issues a TSB on it like i said. Not worth shelling out the money unless you have it, since it involves taking apart the engine and whatnot. Best bet is to just keep throwing in that quart of oil every 1000/1500 miles. Its only $2 or so a quart.

[vasillalov]

Alright, alright,

Let me chime in with some information that is readily available on the vortex.

1. bigred15 you have a 1999 GLS which automatically means you have a 2.0 engine with the AEG engine code. Just like me...

2. It has been determined that certain, not all early 2.0 engines have an oil consumtion problem. The engines that are mainly affected are exactly the AEG engines. Not all of them but some of them.

3. The root of the problem: When making the piston rings, a whole batch of piston rings had their labels "stamped" upside down. As a result of that, the piston rings were installed upside down when the engines were assembled. This results in premature wear around 30K but this depends on how the car is driven and maintained. Further investigaion revelas that it is only cilynder number 2 that has the rings installed upside down. There are actually vortex users that kept the work order from a VW dealership explaining the problem and the work done.

4. Not all AEG engines are affected. For an example, mine has no oil consumption problems after 63K miles on the clock.

5. VWof America, knows about the problem and knows which engines are affected. This can be verified by VIN number of the vehicle. However, VWOA will not issue a recall because it is expensive as a complete engine rebuild is required.

5. VWOfAmerica deals with this problem on a case by case basis. If you still have powertrain warranty remaining (50K) then there is a good chance they will fix it for free.

Side Notes:
* Dealerships will start an oil consumption test trying to determine if there is indeed an oil consumption problem.
* Some dealers will recommend that you use thicker grade oil to minimise the oil consumtion. While this may seem to work for a while, it is definitely not solving the problem. It is only delaying the inevitable.
* Some dealerships will gladly start the oil consumption test, BUT they will intentionally put thicker oil to skew the results.
* Some dealerships will plain and simple lie to you telling you that it is normal for your engine to burn oil.

My advice to you is to call VWOfAmerica with your VIN and ask them if your engine is affected by the oil consumption problem. Ask them to be honest with you (not that makes any diff ).

If your engine is affected by this problem and you still have remaining powertrain warranty (50K) then take it for an oil consumption test.

If your engine is affected by this problem BUT you don't have warranty then sell the car and get another one,

If your engine is NOT affected by this problem, you must investigate if you are leaking oil.

One thing is for sure: IT IS NOT NORMAL FOR ANY ENGINE TO BURN THAT MUCH OIL!
Mine and many other AEG engines do not burn a single drop of oil.

Good luck!


Modified by vasillalov at 11:41 PM 12-6-2004

[Booster]

When I had my 2.0 2000 Jetta, I would burn a quart every 1,000 miles. When they did the piston ring recall, they found that some of my rod bearings came oversized and some didnt. So... they gave me a short block out of it.

[cjoseph82]

Angela,

Since your car has 82,000 miles, we know that you are out of the powertrain coverage. VW will not fix it for you, but there are some things you can do to keep the burning under control.

First of all, check for leaks under your car. If you have to, put a piece of old carpet, cloth, or tshirts under the oil pan. See what's there the next morning.

1) VW engines are geared differently, and spin mad fast even in higher gears. I've noticed that my car starts burning when I go 75mph+ (3500 rpm+) for a long period of time. Keep it around 60-65 most of the time unless you need to pass.

2) Put a good quality, heavy synthetic oil in when you change. My car would burn almost as bad as yours on Mobil 1 5W-30. I switched to Mobil 1 0W-40 and it's doing much better. Some guys have gone as far as 15W-50 to keep it under wraps. You could also look into additives to stop it from burning. I know that VW doesn't recommend it, but there are some good products out there that work wonders.

Feel free to PM me on here or IM over AIM.

late,

-CJ

[ryccki jetta]

I'm not sure synthetic oil is a good advice. It's molecular properties allow oil to leak through high mileage gaskets that mineral oil could not. That means it will leak more through piston rings as well. I'd too suggest trying heavier oil. Don't use additives, with few exceptions they're a myth. Nothing left to do but check oil every couple weeks.


Modified by ryccki jetta at 7:35 AM 12-7-2004

[brakedust]

well what was the FALSE information. mr PORK ......mr. i know all......i just tried to help

[ryccki jetta]

easy there, your post makes no sense, try reading it to yourself.
and then explain, why does she need to change her oil every 1k? she needs to check it's level and add if necessary.
it's not normal for cars to burn so much oil. just because it is a known problem doesn't make it normal, it's just there is nothing she can do about it without spending big amount money...
and it's very possible there is a leak somewhere (oil pan gasket for example, rear crank seal, etc.), which would be a first thing to check since it would be possible correct the problem for cheap.

[brakedust]

thx ryccki! Hence the suggestion.

Check if there are any oil spots, where you park your car normally and go from there. If you don't want to spend the money for a repair, might as well invest it towards a new car!!

[PJStyles]

Question.... is there a way to tell from the VIN# whether a 2000 Jetta I'm considering purchasing has the defective piston rings (upside down installation) ?

PJStyles

[bliznack]

Looks like I'm going in to get my oil consumption checked. Mine isn't that bad, 1500-2000 miles for a quart.

[Steveo989]

If break-in procedures aren't followed, they have been know to eat oil as well as what the others have posted about rings etc. I have 0w-40 Mobil 1 and I don't burn oil.

[unL33T]

My 2001 GLS 2.0 burns oil as well and has since I got it 6 months ago. If I have the oil treatment added when I get an oil change then it doesn't burn oil. I should start going to a cheaper place though since Mr Lube costs me approx $50 with the treatment

[tchristemac]

Could it be the valve stem seals??? just a thought...

[rsfnatik]

My 2001 GLS burnt a little oil when I first bought it used (~800ml/5000km), but have since switched to Elf semi-synthetic. Since then, oil consumption has decreased noticably. You're burning about that much in half the distance tho, which would kinda bother me... you could have either the dealer or, my preference, a private VW specialist look at. But the cost of truly resolving the issue is usually prohibitive...

[dneknw]

If the bad boy was made in mexico and its a 2000, chances are them rings are defective....mind you that could be a good discount angle for you. My rings are so called "defective" car runs great. It messes with your oil consumption, but that can be fixed with treatment when doing oil change. Cheers.

[dneknw]

***************************************
My 2001 GLS 2.0 burns oil as well and has since I got it 6 months ago. If I have the oil treatment added when I get an oil change then it doesn't burn oil. I should start going to a cheaper place though since Mr Lube costs me approx $50 with the treatment
****************************************

My 2000 jetta used to burn oil, but you are right, with treatment (its called Lucas)...NO PROBLEMS AT ALL. AT ALL. I do mine for $40, so find somewhere cheaper. Cheers.

[blue34]

You're not alone. I have a 2006 Jetta--a little over 14K miles. It was 400 miles before the next oil change was due, and I discovered it was down 3 quarts of oil. The dealer checked it out and found no leaks or engine damage (not sure I buy that). They are currently measuring the mileage for consumption of 1 quart of oil. I think I'm getting a run around too. Either my car is burning oil excessively or at the last service, they didn't change the oil or didn't add the correct amount of oil.

['Bahn Burner]

My 2001 2.0L Golf has this issue as well. I bought the car with almost 30,000 miles on the odometer in Oct. 2003 and now have 75,000 on the odo. in March 2007. I have had to add a total of 1-2 quarts of oil between 6 month oil changes since then (about 5,000 miles every 6 months).

I was given the same information from my dealer, regarding the oil consumption as being normal. Obviously there is a reason it is burning oil, but that reason has not warranted a major recall. The 2.0L engine will have a long life regardless of burning oil or not. So, I can live with it if it means adding $5 worth of oil every 6 months.

Just like "cjoseph82" said, if you do a lot of highway driving and go above 65 mph a lot you will burn more oil, so check it regularly. I have found that a couple of 250 mile trips at 75-80 mph will require immediate topping off of oil with about half a quart, yet those same 250 miles at below 65 mph requires almost no topping off.

You can actually hear when the engine needs oil, it will make a high pitched whirring sound when you rev. the engine up. It will also get less fuel mileage, so if you are getting less than 400 miles per tank fill-up check the oil level.

[vw712]

I heard the same thing

[ermias]

It looks like GLIs burn oil ... my question is, how can this be normal? I've taked to several shops and VW dealers and they all say the same thing. I have 30K on my 2006 Jetta GLI and it burns oil - need to add 1qt of oil every 3K or so.
Still fun to drive!

[zedtechus]

I have too a Jetta 2002 2.0L engine.
I bought it at 55.000km in 2006 and now since I've reached 80.000km my car start to burn oil 1L/2.500KM...
Now that I know that this is a well know problem I'll try to get it fixed by the dealer.. I still have 6 months of warranty, I bought it as certified VW car with 2 years extension warranty.

Adrian



Modified by zedtechus at 5:35 PM 1-20-2008

[123 Ian 123]

i have an '01 and have this same problem...

[Stud.McSavage]

wow...this is old.

[Eg2Driver]

mine is a 99.5 manufactured on february 8th of 99 and it burns only a quart every 5000, which i deem to be reasonable for any car. I don't drive it hard and use 5w40 Castrol Syntec.

[mebraine]

"mine is a 99.5 manufactured on february 8th of 99 and it burns only a quart every 5000, which i deem to be reasonable for any car. I don't drive it hard and use 5w40 Castrol Syntec." << right on

My 2000 2.0 used to go through A LOT of oil too when I was using cheap oil. Now I use castrol syntec 5w40 and it consumes almost none. Use 5w40 and use FULL SYNTHETIC. My 2.0 is up to 140k of HARD driving and still runs great using this oil.

[Gru]

Hello all,

I just found these forums, and I hope that someone can help me

I have Golf 2000, 2.0L made in March of 2000 (i think). It has around 60,000 miles on it right now.

Since I bought the car 3 years ago I've been having problems with engine burning oil (it was only on 30,000 miles back then). It doesn't burn too much, maybe 1l every 3-4k kms. I use recommended oil, which is Valvoline SynPower 5w40, and for a while it seemed better than other oil, but I still get yellow sludge under the oil cap.

I would like to find out if I have a reversed piston ring, but I will have to phone VW Canada for that, and hope that they can tell me.

Is the yellow sludge something that people with reversed piston experience, or is my problems something else. Is it possible that I just have a broken valve?

What do you think would cost (how many hours) to diagnose the problem and would it require taking the whole engine off?

If you need any other information about my car, please let me know.

Any help is appreciated

[shawshank2]

Quote, originally posted by brakedust »

well what was the FALSE information.

Quote, originally posted by brakedust »

its a little unusual to be burnin' a quart every 1500.....

false.

[frytz]

ok so i bought a 03 jetta with 50k on it exactly a month ago and I took it in for its first oil change and it had no oil on the dipstick. I was expecting it to of used maybe only a quart like all my past cars were like and i go back to the dealer(VW dealer) to complain and the service manager tells me its perfectly normal to burn 1qt for every 750 to 1000 miles. now ive never heard that line of BS before and from reading all these other posts I find that hard to believe. so is the any direct way to find out if this car is one of those with a reversed piston ring?

[GOGOVDUBER]

i had the same problem but was persistent with the dealer. they tried pulling that its normal oil loss crap but i ended up talking to the manager and they tested my car over a few oil changes. they rebuilt my engine at around 40,000 miles and there was finally a bulletin put out i believe for earlier mk4s pre 2002 i think. this back in 2002 i think but now after 90,000 miles and 5 years later i never lose oil the way i did before they replaced the piston rings. hope you guys that have this problem are probably not under warranty anymore ao my suggestion would be have someone hone your cylinders and replace your piston rings.