car serviced 4 months ago and now oil needs to be topped up!!

bada_bing

well as the title says, i got my car fully serviced by the Peugeot dealer just about 4 months ago and now i checked the oil level today and it was just at the bottom level. This would seem to me that they didn't top up the oil or change it in the last service. Is it reasonable to expect that for a full service, you wouldn't need to top the oil level for a full year? I don't drive that much at all, roughly about 8,000 km per year. So do i have a right to complain to the Peugeot garage?

milltown

Unless you're checking the oil more regularly, no.
Some cars burn oil. Very possible to burn the litre of oil between upper and lower marks on the dipstick in 4 months of short runs.

Drummerboy08

If the garage didnt top up/change the oil at its last service, i would imagine it to be well below the low mark?

I dont think its reasonable to expect not to have to top up oil between services. What make/model car is it? Could it be burning too much oil?

stevenmu

It's fairly normal for cars to use a certain amount of oil during normal use, so I'd say it's fairly likely they did change or top it up at the service or you'd have non left now

An excessive amount of oil being burned up may indicate a more serious problem so it's something you should keep an eye on (it should be really be checked every week or two as part of your regular checks anyway). Top it up now, then in a week or two see how much oil it takes to top it up again and compare that to your mileage. Do this a few times to see how much oil your burning per mile and you should then be able to compare that to owners of the same model to see if it's reasonable or not.

bada_bing

it's a 04 peugeot 407, petrol ,2.0 L automatic. Bought it about 20 months ago and had it serviced about 15 months after getting it, never had a problem with the oil level during that time of 15 months , so i don't think that it burns up the oil very quickly according to that.

professore

Is it petrol or diesel? In my experience diesel peugeots burn very little oil. Don't know about petrols though.

EPM

It's normal enough to top up the oil in many cars. If you complained I reckon you will be laughed at. Short runs could cause this. 15 months without a service may have caused a problem possibly too. If the oil was old it may not have been doing its job properly

dobsdave

Theres a reason they sell oil on petrol station forecourts.

Anan1

If the car managed to do 15 months/10k kms without running out of oil then it should manage 4 months/3k kms without the oil going from max to min on the dipstick.

As I see it, the two possible reasons for this are:

1. The car's oil consumption has suddenly increased

or

2. The garage didn't fill the oil to the max mark.

mickdw

Well firstly, you should be checking your oil regularily regardless of service. If you had done this you ould know if it was full the week following the service. Its not so strange to have to top up your oil. Also the amount of oil between high & low on dip sticks seems to be getting smaller by the day. I assume this is because modern engines are more fussy about the specific amount of oil in circulation. Its most likely you would need less than 1L to top it up. This could be considered quite normal for many engines

NabyLadistheman

As an owner of a Corolla saloon I can state how important it is to keep an eye on the oil. Id say that I have to top her up every few months

allthedoyles

Yes it is possible that garage did not top up oil to the mark - but this would be hard to prove now .

You should now top up you engine to full mark and take note of the mileage .

Check again in 4 months time and see how much oil has been consumed .

If your car is burning oil , use a thick oil like 15w 40.

Anan1

mickdw wrote: »

Well firstly, you should be checking your oil regularily regardless of service. If you had done this you ould know if it was full the week following the service. Its not so strange to have to top up your oil. Also the amount of oil between high & low on dip sticks seems to be getting smaller by the day. I assume this is because modern engines are more fussy about the specific amount of oil in circulation. Its most likely you would need less than 1L to top it up. This could be considered quite normal for many engines

We all should, but how many people do? My guess here is that the garage simply didn't fill the oil to the max mark - if I were the OP i'd fill to the max now and keep an eye on it fortnightly for the next while - that way they'll get an idea of how much (if any) oil the car's using. Unlike many here, I believe a good engine shouldn't need its oil topped up between services.

mickdw

Anan1 wrote: »

Unlike many here, I believe a good engine shouldn't need its oil topped up between services.

I dont think its about good or bad engines, just some do & some dont.
My last car (Audi TT 1.8T) needed nothing between services while my current Audi A5 1.8T uses 1L every 10k miles approx

eman66

I've a 07 Golf Gti DSG. I've read that this car has a reputation for being sore on oil but it's gone through another 5L (long life) since the last service on 07 May.

Anan1

mickdw wrote: »

I dont think its about good or bad engines, just some do & some dont.
My last car (Audi TT 1.8T) needed nothing between services while my current Audi A5 1.8T uses 1L every 10k miles approx

Maybe i'm wrong, but I see high oil consumption as being a result of either wear or sloppy design/construction. It does seem to vary from car to car with the same engine type too, which reinforces my opinion/prejudice. I'll accept it in something old/special/exotic which has me by the balls emotionally, but really a 2004 Peugeot 407 should just do the job without complaint.

EPM

eman66 wrote: »

I've a 07 Golf Gti DSG. I've read that this car has a reputation for being sore on oil but it's gone through another 5L (long life) since the last service on 07 May.

5 litres of oil in 2 months?!? How many km's have you done since then?

That doesn't sound right at all as I cant imagine you've done a huge amount in 2 months

eman66

EPM wrote: »

5 litres of oil in 2 months?!? How many km's have you done since then?

That doesn't sound right at all as I cant imagine you've done a huge amount in 2 months

I've done 8000km.

unkel

Anan1 wrote: »

Maybe i'm wrong, but I see high oil consumption as being a result of either wear or sloppy design/construction. It does seem to vary from car to car with the same engine type too, which reinforces my opinion/prejudice. I'll accept it in something old/special/exotic which has me by the balls emotionally, but really a 2004 Peugeot 407 should just do the job without complaint.

I agree. I rarely check oil levels. I do check them when the car is new to me, but when I see that the car is not consuming oil, I stop checking. I've only ever owned one car that I had to top up, and that was because of a leak (not consumption)

Anan1

eman66 wrote: »

I've done 8000km.

5l in 8000km? I'd be looking for a new engine.

eman66

Anan1 wrote: »

5l in 8000km? I'd be looking for a new engine.

Sorry for my thickness, but why do you say that?

Anan1

eman66 wrote: »

Sorry for my thickness, but why do you say that?

I'd consider 1l/1600km oil consumption to be unacceptably high by anybody's standards, and indicative of a serious engine problem. Is the car still under factory warranty?

EPM

eman66 wrote: »

I've done 8000km.

Ring the dealer today. If it's under warranty get it in to them, if not you could be looking at a hefty bill

T-Maxx

I never fill to the max on the dipstick, rather halfway in between the min and max. This allows for oil clinging to the internals.

Maybe that's what the mechanic did as well?

Anan1

T-Maxx wrote: »

I never fill to the max on the dipstick, rather halfway in between the min and max. This allows for oil clinging to the internals.

Maybe that's what the mechanic did as well?

Perhaps, the easiest way to be sure is for the OP to fill to the max now and monitor the level over the next few months. My feeling given the OP's previous experience, is that the car's just wasn't filled to the max at the last service.

eman66

Anan1 wrote: »

I'd consider 1l/1600km oil consumption to be unacceptably high by anybody's standards, and indicative of a serious engine problem. Is the car still under factory warranty?

EPM wrote: »

Ring the dealer today. If it's under warranty get it in to them, if not you could be looking at a hefty bill

Just checked with dealer. Warranty is up on 21 July! Skin of my teeth

EPM

eman66 wrote: »

Just checked with dealer. Warranty is up on 21 July! Skin of my teeth

Lucky man:eek:

Make sure you get names of who you were speaking to and if there is any work carried out get an extended warranty from them just in case it happens again

Lucifer

Most manufacturers would allow up to 1 litre per 1000 miles to be an acceptable amount for an engine to use.

While I agree most engines wont come near this, this is what would be considered the limit as to if it is ok or not.

eman66

I don't know if it's connected in anyway, but the last service didn't seem right. This is my second Gti and I always looked forward to the service as the car was like new again afterwards. This time, it felt quite flat in comparison. Got new brake pads all round at the same time, which were not as good as the previous pads that were on from new. Wondering did he do a cheap service.

eman66

Left the car in today but they said there is nothing wrong with it. They said they will monitor the oil usage and I am to come back in after 1000km so they can check it.

mondeo

Oil consumption can depend on your driving style. As an example I have a Bmw 320i petrol with 88k on the clock. If I drive her hard she will use oil but if
I drive her normal she wont use a drop! If you drive your car hard revving the stones out of it you get oil blow by through the engine seals. It's the same almost with every car. I have a 1.3 Mitsubishi lancer as a second run about and it's the same as my 320i regarding hard and normal driving oil consumption.

JHMEG

badabing, you can't really speculate on what the oil level was 4 months ago.

eman66, which end of the car are you putting the oil in? I don't mean to sound sarcastic but if you've put 5L in the engine in 8k kms then your car has a serious problem.

jaybee747

I put 3L (long life) into mine since my last service, 12k miles up on her since the service. My car is an A6 2.0tdi and apparently that type of oil cunsumption is the norm.

Anan1

NilByMouth wrote: »

muppet

Who is this aimed at?

kona

Anan1 wrote: »

Who is this aimed at?

I might be wrong but I think its at eamo, because he agreed to come back after 1000k for the garage to check the oil, in which time the warranty would be up.

Either that or the garage giving it the all clear.

eman66

The problem was reported within the warranty and will be fixed to my satisfacton under warranty, no matter how long that takes.

NewApproach

Surely once the problem is logged within the warranty period and the garage has given instructions on how to diagnose and ultimately deal with the problem, it will still be covered by the warranty, even if any work that takes place happens outside the warranty period.

edit: eman, your good

Anan1

Anan1 wrote: »

If the car managed to do 15 months/10k kms without running out of oil then it should manage 4 months/3k kms without the oil going from max to min on the dipstick.

As I see it, the two possible reasons for this are:

1. The car's oil consumption has suddenly increased

or

2. The garage didn't fill the oil to the max mark.

Or he has a leak

PugDriver

Just want to row in here with my experiences. My Peugeot 207 (turbo petrol) was serviced in April - it had a full oil change and I was billed for 4 litres. In mid June the car reports low oil, so I checked it and it was just below the min mark on the dipstick. There was no sign of an oil leak on the driveway and I have had this car for 2 years and never had a problem with excessive oil consumption. I rang the garage and the dealer explained it was possible the machine may not have dispensed the right amount of oil when it was being changed. Who knows?

crosstownk

eman66 wrote: »

Left the car in today but they said there is nothing wrong with it. They said they will monitor the oil usage and I am to come back in after 1000km so they can check it.

This is probably the best course of action at this stage. I would assume that the Peugeot dealer has checked for leaks (found none) and has topped up to the max mark on the dipstick. All that can be done now is to monitor the oil level and see what happens but do be sure that the dealer has a record of your most recent visit with this concern in case a warranty issue does arise.

vw4life

JHMEG wrote: »

eman66, which end of the car are you putting the oil in? I don't mean to sound sarcastic but if you've put 5L in the engine in 8k kms then your car has a serious problem.

sounds ok to me,about 0.8-1L oil used per 1000km is allowed on modern engines and the only real way to measure oil consumption is to drain the oil when its hot and weigh it,put it back into the engine and weigh it again after a certain distance drive which can vary depending on manufacturers specs usually over 1000kms and then apply a matematical formula

crosstownk

vw4life wrote: »

sounds ok to me,about 0.8-1L oil used per 1000km is allowed on modern engines

Yes - most owners manuals will state this. They will also recommend that you check the oil level every time you fill up with fuel.

While a manufacturers manual may state that 1l/1000km is acceptable, in reality it is far from acceptable.

vw4life

crosstownk wrote: »

Yes - most owners manuals will state this. They will also recommend that you check the oil level every time you fill up with fuel.

While a manufacturers manual may state that 1l/1000km is acceptable, in reality it is far from acceptable.

true,but what ye gonna do

JHMEG

vw4life wrote: »

sounds ok to me,about 0.8-1L oil used per 1000km

That's way too much, at 1L per 620 miles.

Chevy cosider 0.94L per 2000 miles normal (and that's in big V8's)
Here VW replaced an engine that was using less than a litre per 1000 miles.
This crowd reckons 1L per 500 miles and you'll have blue smoke and an engine that's fupped
This guy reckons his M5 takes a litre every 1000 miles when he drives the stones out of it. The rest of the M5 owners reckons his car has a problem

Fishtits

crosstownk wrote: »

0.8-1L oil used per 1000km is allowed on modern engines

I stand to be corrected but I believe VAG are the only people to state this.

They obviously have no shame. I drive a pushing 200k miles car and have never added oil between 6,000 mile changes, nor has the level dropped between services.

Sorry for being obtuse here but if it burns oil on average day to day operations in my book its a dog, and by extension, anyone associated with defending its appetite for oil is worthy of derision.

Modern motors should not need topping up between services, end of.

cashmni1

PugDriver wrote: »

Just want to row in here with my experiences. My Peugeot 207 (turbo petrol) was serviced in April - it had a full oil change and I was billed for 4 litres. In mid June the car reports low oil, so I checked it and it was just below the min mark on the dipstick. There was no sign of an oil leak on the driveway and I have had this car for 2 years and never had a problem with excessive oil consumption. I rang the garage and the dealer explained it was possible the machine may not have dispensed the right amount of oil when it was being changed. Who knows?

I think this has happened to a friend of mine also. The oil dispensers in some garages have a setting for the correct amount of oil to be put into the car. Depending on the car and on the mechanic, there could be an error made by the human element that might never be proven.
Just a thought. It is possible too.

Edit: The buddy went back to a garage with low oil warning after a service and this was the excuse given.

crosstownk

Fishtits wrote: »

Modern motors should not need topping up between services, end of.

Oil gets hot. It creates fumes and these fumes escape into the crankcase. These fumes are usually burnt off in the combustion chamber via a crankcase breather. As a result the quantity of oil will be reduced so topping up may be necessary from time to time. Modern oils are designed to work with modern engines in an effort to reduce this but topping up is not uncommon on most engines but not on a regular basis.

Previous VW models I had required frequent topping up especially in the first 30,000km or so. Lately I've had a few PSA diesels that never needed even an eggcup full of oil between services. My old 1982 Golf GTI never needed a drop of old mineral oil between services even when it had in excess of 200,000km! I've no idea why there is such a difference but there is.