Car Question - Is this normal?

Question

I have a '03 VW Beetle (I am the original owner) and it seems to be burning oil. I am told to get the oil changed every 5,000 miles by VW. Three times in the last year or so I have gone over that milage and each time I have been low on oil. Low to the point that nothing is even on the dipstick. The first two times vw wouldn't look at it because I hadn't been using them for my oil changes. So the last time (5,500 miles ago) when it happened I had them do the oil change. I have scheduled an appointment with them, but honestly I hate the service dept there, they seem useless.

So anyway, I just want to know, is it normal for a car that is 4 years old to be burning that much oil? And any vw owners with the same problem?

It is definitly not leaking oil, becuase I did have a problem after my last oil change where I noticed oil spots in my driveway. When I brought it back to VW they fixed the problem, it was a mistake they had made while doing the oil change.
Since then no oil has leaked, I would notice because I have a paved driveway and have put cardboard under it at night to monitor it.

I have to go to VW because for the next month and a half it is still under warranty.

My car has 44,000 miles on it now but the first time I was out of oil it had maybe half that. I was only driving 3 miles to work until about 6 months ago and have put a lot of highway miles on since.

Answer 1

I first of all have to tell you that you absolutely do not have to go to the dealership because the car is under warranty. You can have any shop or garage work on it and keep the receipts and you are fine. It is against the law for a Dealer to make you or even tell you that you have to use them in order to keep the warranty. Second of all maybe you should reconsider how often you change your oil. Maybe try it every 4000 miles. See if the consumption is a little less. From what I see this is normal for a VW to use a lot of oil. The ones that come in to me normally are 1-2 quarts low when following the 5000 mile interval. If you still feel the need to go that time length then make sure you check the oil level every couple of weeks to monitor the level. Once you do that for a while you should be able to know how much and how often the car goes through oil.

Answer 2

My mother has an '01 VW Beetle. It doesn't burn oil, but it has just about every other problem under the sun. She has found the same thing you have found with the local service department -- they're useless. She'll never own a VW again.

To answer your question: It's possible that the car is burning oil. If it were leaking oil you'd have oil spots on your garage floor or on the driveway/street or wherever you park it. 4-cylinder engines are notorious for burning oil. Not exactly sure why, but it's something you'll need to keep an eye on. Be sure to check your oil level at least once a month.

Answer 3

#1 if you park your car in the same place put a peice of card board under the engine for a while like a week if oil drips on it then it's a leak if there's a lot of oil then its a big leak. If theres no oil then no or very small leak.if your burning oil it will be light blue to white not black. Black smoke is over fueling. 4 years depending on use is getting close. If you let the oil level get away from you even once you might have scored the cylinders and yes you will burn oil especially with vw engines due to the fact they are air cooled. I hope this helps.

Answer 4

Two things: #1 check and see if it's leaking from oil plug. Very bad about leaking there! #2 It wouldn't supprise me if it isn't burning oil. I know some people who work for VW and they got this long run around to get out of fixing it for free. What kind of oil are you using in your car. VW are perticular about the type of oil and the weight you use in your car. should be 5w-40. But I would seriously take it back to the dealer, that's if it still has any of it's powertrain warrenty left on it.
If it's out of warrenty then I suggest using a slightly thicker brand synthetic fluid, like 10w-40. Should slow down the oil consumption. Hope this helps you!

Answer 5

Thats not too normal. Burning small amounts of oil is.
You really should check your oil level at least once a week, on both older and newer cars. You can blow an engine up with no oil.
Also, for us to give you a better answer, how many miles do you have, what kind of conditions do you drive under (city/highway?) and how do you drive.
If you drive it hard in the city, then yea, you'll probably burn up a good amount of oil.

Answer 6

Unless you have black smoke coming out the exhaust, it isn't burning the oil. If it were you would be having problems with your spark plugs fouling also. You have a major leak somewhere. Find a dealer with a maintenance department that knows what they are doing and cares, and have it looked at and fixed before you run out completely and ruin the engine (and then they would say it was your fault for not checking the oil).

Answer 7

Could be leaking out need to check oil more often. every 1000 miles to track usage

Answer 8

immediately, i ought to need a "well-known" automobile, which contain a commonly used Honda Civic over a Hybrid. that is beacuse you'll ought to force the hybrid a minimum of 50,000 miles in the previous you'll destroy even on the further initial value of the motorcar over a common one. also, after assure expires it should be very severe priced to replace the batteries at the same time as they positioned on out.

Answer 9

You sure it isn't maybe leaking out?