Two months ago I purchased a new MK6, 2.5l base model. I replaced the oil at 1000 miles, my car now has 3000 miles. A couple of days ago I noticed that my Golf is 1 qt low. I am not sure what type of oil they used, or if they even used the special “break-in” oil, if such a thing exists. The VW service dept. told me that this is normal! Is this normal?
First I suggest you read the owner’s manual. It will tell you the type of oil you need. It will likely be something like 10W30 & 705.6 You need an oil that meets BOTH numbers
It may not have been a good idea to change the oil at 1,000 miles. It would have been good on a 1965 VW but modern engines and oils are far different than what grandpa had. READ THE MANUAL. Some cars come with a special break-in oil. That said I doubt if that caused any damage.
It is not all that unusual for a modern car to need a quart of oil at 3,000 miles. It does mean you should keep close check on the oil level. I would suggest no less often than after every fill up. (I find it easier to check the oil after the engine has had a chance to cool down. Don’t use any oil that does not meet those specifications in the owner’s manual
Unfortunately for consumers, some car makers say they will only consider oil consumption a new car warranty problem if an engine uses more than a quart every 600 miles. A quart/1000 miles was a common threshold for many years. They seem to be lowering it now to a quart/600 miles.
Use of a quart every 3000 miles wouldn’t bother me. I definitely would not be happy with a quart every 600 or 1000 miles.
It could a little consumption or it was shorted at the last oil fill.
Make sure it is at the correct level after the next oil change and then monitor it.
Good thing you check your oil .
Your car requires VW spec 502.0 oil .
First off, WHO changed your engine oil?
Was it the dealer?
Or a quick lube place?
Did you check the oil level after the oil change to make sure it was at the right level?
Your car might have been a quart low for the past 2k miles, and you just now found out.
Personally, I wouldn’t have changed the oil until 5k miles on a brand new VW.
And every 5k miles after that.
Chances are the new 2.5 engine needs the 504 spec oil, and not the 502 mentioned by Genex.
BC.
I rented a Toyota Matrix last month and, yes the manual says 1 quart in 700 miles is considered “normal”. These cars now use 5W20 or 0W20 oil, and at high speed this stuff just does not cut it as well as the 5W30 they used to recommend.
Thank you all for replying so quickly.
The VW changed my engine oil. I have decided to have the dealer conduct all service and maintenance repairs.
I had the VW inspect my car today and found the following. I was about 1qt low but they consider it normal, in fact if the VW burns up to 1qt in 1300 miles they consider it normal. Go figure. In addition, VW do not come with “brake-in” oil.
They are going to monitor my oil consumption for a while, and explained that they problem might go away at around 6-8000.
The only reason I changed the oil was to remove any metal particles that might harm the engine.
I have owned lots of pre-owned cars, this is my first new one. I have never had this issue before.
“The VW changed my engine oil.”
Now that is a talented car!
Next, you should find out if it will do your laundry and mow your lawn for you!
;-))
Anyway…what you were told–“if the VW burns up to 1qt in 1300 miles they consider it normal”–is true for VWs and for every other make of car with which I am familiar.
In fact, most manufacturers will state that the consumption of 1 qt per 1,000 miles falls “within normal limits”. Please note that I did not say that this is a desirable rate of consumption–only that it is not really abnormal.
A quart of oil every 1000-2000 miles is VERY normal…Many cars use much less. But that just means THEY are the ones that are abnormal, not yours…