Excessive oil consumption

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Nego2403
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Excessive oil consumption

Post by Nego2403 »

Hello forum
I have a Citroën BLUEHDI 100 from 2016 with a DV6FD engine. The car has done about 135k km and 21k from last oil change. The last oil change I did I filled oil to the upper mark (max) on the dip stick. Now it has fallen down by about 5-6 lines on the dipstick and is only 3 lines from min. What can cause this?
I have checked the cam- and crankshaft seals when I changed the timing belt and they weren't leaking. I've also looked for leakage on the sump but nothing to find and everything looks dry. What could I look for besides this?

I know it's normal for diesels to use some oil but is it normal that the usage is so excessive?

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Re: Excessive oil consumption

Post by Paul-R »

Are you sure that the oil isn't leaking? Our 308 leaks oil from somewhere on the top but it's only visible looking at back of the engine where the fuel injectors are. The oil pools around here and you really have to take the air filter housing off to see it.

The oil probably comes from either the cam cover to cylinder head seal or the camshaft oil seal - both are known to leak. I'm going to get this done in a year or two when I'll have the belts and tensioners changed.
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Nego2403
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Re: Excessive oil consumption

Post by Nego2403 »

It's quite cramped on the rear end of the engine. I'll try to check the rear end of the engine when I change the oil in a couple of days. There was no leak from the camshaft seal when I checked about 4 months ago. I'll pull the timing belt covers off too and inspect this again just to be sure.

Thank you for your input Paul.
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Re: Excessive oil consumption

Post by citroenguy »

All engines use oil, and since you have gone very far on this oil change i would say its normal.
I never go past 15000km on an oilchange! No matter what the book says.
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Nego2403
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Re: Excessive oil consumption

Post by Nego2403 »

I also thought that. But it seems like quite a bit. I haven't noted this before when the car was newer so I doesn't have anything to compare it to. I also tend to change the oil at around 15k but I have been very busy lately so I'll change it this weekend😁

Other than that I'll still check for leaks just to be sure that everything is in order.
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Re: Excessive oil consumption

Post by Gregor »

Hi. I think the difference between min and max on a stick is cca 0,5 l. If you used only 0,5 l of oil in 20.000 km on a car with 135kkm on the clock it's quite normal. Depends on your drive stile and oil quality .
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Re: Excessive oil consumption

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Also can be dependent on the engines by all accounts - some seem to have excessive oil use - especially on some 1.6 engines, while others seem to use hardly any between services. I never had cause to top up the oil on any of my 2.0 litre HDIs and so far nothing on the Aircross either this past year.
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Nego2403
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Re: Excessive oil consumption

Post by Nego2403 »

I've always use Total Quartz INEO ECS 5W30 for my C3. I also have an Aircross but with the 1.5 diesel. It also doesn't have any problems with oil usage so far but it has only done about 40k.
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Re: Excessive oil consumption

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

Sometimes an engine can 'drink' some oil when it is doing something 'unusual' (and by that I do not mean a problem; just a background task that only occurs occasionally). Several years ago I had a Skoda Octavia (company car). I checked the various levels regularly, and was concerned when (in the space of a week) the oil level dropped from maximum to just above the minimum level, so I called into a Skoda dealership to ask about this. I was told that this happened when the car performed a maintenance task (I forgot what it was), it was perfectly normal, and not to worry about it. She would 'drink' about a litre between service intervals, but was as good as gold.
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Re: Excessive oil consumption

Post by GiveMeABreak »

The DV6 engines are only used by Ford, Volvo, PSA, Mini and Mazda so not the same as and not shared with VW James. In any case I've never heard of anything like this on a PSA engine to date.
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Re: Excessive oil consumption

Post by Gregor »

Hell Razor, don't mess VAG engines in HDI brillance! VAGs are known to be heavy drinkers of oil in all versions! :)
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Re: Excessive oil consumption

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

I did not mention my 'case' to confuse things, but to bring up the possibility that the engine may occasionally need a quick 'swig' of oil. Skoda did not tell me WHY my Octavia did this; just that it was normal.
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Re: Excessive oil consumption

Post by Nego2403 »

This is not my case it's usage is pretty constant. When I only run the oil for 15k km it only drops 2-3 lines on the dipstick. So it seems pretty consistent with the usage. In the weekend I'll check the camshaft housing for leaks when I do the oil change.
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Re: Excessive oil consumption

Post by Doo »

Nego2403 wrote: 29 Nov 2021, 19:37 This is not my case it's usage is pretty constant. When I only run the oil for 15k km it only drops 2-3 lines on the dipstick. So it seems pretty consistent with the usage. In the weekend I'll check the camshaft housing for leaks when I do the oil change.
I have a 2012 Berlingo with the 1.6 8valve which has covered 149,800 miles (241,079 kilometres) and it doesn't burn oil. It weeps & drips, but I haven't had to add a drop since I bought it in March this year 8-)

I would think your problem may be the rocker cover filter might be choked and causing back pressure in the crank case, letting the engine ingest oil. I have seen it in older PSA engines and have no problems in imagining it may well be the case with your car, especially if it isn't leaking out.

These parts are readily available online or at the dealer.
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Re: Excessive oil consumption

Post by Gregor »

I don't have to top up oil on my 2.0 HDI in 30.000 km after 270.000 (168.000 miles). It only dropped from max mark in the middle to the min. mark on dipstick. Driven cca. 60 % highway at 130 km/h the rest in town. Only VAG's vehicles use oil as "normal".
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