Polo GTI High Oil Usage - Discussion Thread

[Guy_H]

yes, it's a double edged sword (the approach) - it may make VW and their dealers treat complaints in a different manner. If this happens, we all may be better off, lets hope so!

[brad]

I think I've mentioned previously that my mate got his Volvo replaced after giving the dealer several opportunities to resolve driveline vibrations. Volvo AUS & the dealer supplied him with a new vehicle. In 1 month of ownership with the new vehicle he experienced several faults. They gave him his money back.

It wasn't difficult & he didn't have to involve lawyers.

I'm not quite sure why so many of you are sitting on your hands & not making use of your statutory warranty.

[Zakarados]

I think if you are having oil consumption issues and they have replaced your engine, its time to get a refund...

I will be back at my dealer for a oil consumption test as I just went over 5,000km and have had more then 5L of oil 'topped up'. Hopefully get an engine replacement, then if I still loose 1L/1000km, its time to demand a refund. (or a golf R, hehe)

[RoknRob]

I think I've mentioned previously that my mate got his Volvo replaced after giving the dealer several opportunities to resolve driveline vibrations. Volvo AUS & the dealer supplied him with a new vehicle. In 1 month of ownership with the new vehicle he experienced several faults. They gave him his money back.

It wasn't difficult & he didn't have to involve lawyers.

I'm not quite sure why so many of you are sitting on your hands & not making use of your statutory warranty.

Maybe most people are in my situation - very borderline oil consumption. Enough to need to be way more watchful than you should have to be these days, but not enough to be "out of spec".

I agree, though, if they've already agreed your problem is severe enough to warrant a new engine, you've got a great case...

My hope is that this kind of action will prompt a proper fix, implemented by a recall - because I otherwise love this car!

[RossP]

Hi, I am here people, but have never posted before. I will have a bit more to say very soon, but let me say just a couple of things here and now. Firstly, Maritsa Eftimiou, the CTTT chairperson has not been at all accurate in her summary and went out of her way from day 1 to make out that I had done the wrong thing somehow. I am attempting to take her actions and statements to the chairperson at present. Whether I get a fair hearing or not remains to be seen. But to suggest that I did not give the dealer a chance to diagnose or fix the car is ridiculous. Before I get on to that though, there is something about the CTTT decision that you all should take into consideration.

That is this- an oil consumption test WAS done before I took the case to the CTTT. The dealer claims that the car used 300mls of oil in that test and refused to repair the car, stating that everything was in spec. Despite that, the CTTT has decided that the car is faulty and has ordered it back to be diagnosed and repaired. Therefore, if your car uses 300mls of oil, I would urge you to point out this decision to your dealer and demand that it be repaired, or take it to Fair Trading and the CTTT and quote my case.

Now, just a little about why I took it to CTTT and approached things the way I have. The car had heavy oil use from day 1, about a litre for the first tank of fuel. It very quickly developed a heavy detonation problem due to carbon build up. The dealer couldn't diagnose the detonation issues, even though their mechanic drove it and acknowledged hearing it detonate, it didn't show up on the ECU diagnostics, so they declared the car fault free. After 7 months of repeatedly reporting oil usage and detonation, they agreed to an oil consumption test. I believed the car used around 600mls going by the dipstick and the way I drove it for the test. They gave me a set of figures stating that the oil was measured at 4.1 litres at the start of the test, 3.8 litres at the end. They then posted me the service invoice a few days later which stated the oil consumption at the start of the test was 3.8 litres, with 3.5 litres at the end. While they had the car, they had also updated the ECU with software designed to fix misfires. When asked for evidence of the misfires, they refused to give me any diagnostic information and the service manager stated that misfires and detonation were the same thing as far as he was concerned. He declared that oil consumption was in spec and that he had fixed the car with the ECU upgrade. That particular ECU upgrade was nothing but a disaster, heavy fuel consumption, major transmission changes resulting in clutch shudder. However, he told me (George Rallis, service manager) that if I maintained that anything was wrong with the car, then I would have to prove it, as far as he was concerned, there was nothing wrong with it.
So I had that choice or take some sort of legal action. Now, it needs to be remembered that there is a vast difference between your statutory rights of warranty and advertised warranties. It's easy for a manufacturer to find some loophole to get out of advertised warranties outside of the statutory warranty period. Did you realise that the owners manual tells you that you MUST keep the oil level within Zone A at all times during summer & on motorways or mountain passes? That is within 250ml of maximum!! Most of us burn more than that per tank. Let it drop and they could breach your warranty......
So - sell the car to some other poor sucker for $29,000 in Nov 2011 - no I couldn't do it. They would have cursed me. Sorry, but I care about things like that.
So, I chose to take CTTT action before the statutory warranty expired - 12 months folks and the dealer is 100% responsible under legislation. The manufacturer only becomes liable if the dealer defaults on a consumer guarantee!

About the CTTT action. I have alluded to the report being highly inaccurate. I don't intend to open myself up to action, but it is in the public domain now. I will make the recordings available on vwpologti.com very soon & post back here with updates.

Just as an example, member Maritsa Eftimiou states that the matter was first heard in April 2012. Baloney. It was first heard at a directions hearing in January 2012 before acting senior member Sabine Thode. At that hearing I again stated that I was willing to accept an offer of repair if the dealer made one there and then. They refused. She then asked them to make an offer of a cash refund or replacement vehicle, which they also refused. She then directed that the car was not going back to them for further diagnosis, but that I was to obtain an independent mechanical report at my own cost. They were directed that upon receipt of my report, to obtain their own independent report in reply at their own cost. They were specifically instructed not to turn up at the next hearing with only service invoices. They were also directed to strongly consider making an offer of refund before the next hearing.

So what happened? They turned up with service invoices and a story about me refusing to give the car back to them for diagnosis. Member Thode had been replaced by member Eftimiou, who went on to ignore and deny everything member Thode had said or done, stating that the hearing of April was the first one. She then accused me of piling up evidence against the dealer without giving them an opportunity to diagnose or repair. I smelled a rat straight way, so I have now dug my heels in. There is a lot more I have to say about all of this. Will all be on the website for you to check out soon.

I'll let you know how it progresses soon. Cheers all.

[gavs]

Welcome my friend and thank you, on behalf of all 1.4tsi owners, even those of us who are not afflicted with the same issues.
Please feel free to contact me further regarding this if you require a statement to say that what you are experiencing is abnormal. I am sure I am not the only one without any oil consumption issues who would like to help.

[RoknRob]

I too would like to thank you for your gumption!

You show great integrity by not wanting to afflict a potential buyer with your lemon.

Thanks for keeping us informed.

PS: 300ml of oil over how many km, if I may ask?

[GTI JOE]

Great perseverence and courage. I too would like to congratulate you on your efforts and look forward to your next installment. We are all hoping for a positive outcome for you, and to those afflicted with this fault.

[k0e1]

Wow you are amazing. Thank you very much for standing up to your rights and not letting them bully you. Receiving a faulty product from your hard earned money is wrong and injustice. Being on similar grounds burning about 400mL of oil every 2.6k I support your actions.

[RossP]

Thanks for making me feel welcome everyone. Yes, the dealer (McGrath Volkswagen) presented the case that the car had used 300ml per 1,000kms, although I disagreed with that amount. They were ordered to diagnose the car, report and provide me with copies of the diagnosis and repair if the car was repairable. This order was made in November 2012, I won't bore you with their failures to get moving, but they finally inspected the car on the 18th Feb. They started an oil consumption test at the same time, kms were 14,095. The kilometers now are 14905, so it's done 810kms. Mostly low speed in traffic to & from work. The rear hatch is covered in soot specks. I have attached a photo of the dipstick that i took a few minutes ago. The red arrow is where it started. I look forward to how much they think it has used this time. Thanks again for your support guys. I appreciate it, it has felt like a long lonely struggle.