UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Hi all,

I am a new member and a new driver so please go easy - I just got my Polo 1.4 2010 off my aunt who had it serviced in Dec (3 months ago). In the service she had oil refill - but three months later, now the dipstick is completely oil free, not a spot.
There is no sign of an oil leak and the engine sounds okay - but now I am scared to drive it.
I am going to buy some oil of course and see how that goes - but wondered how much oil you get tend to get through? Would that be expected to use all that oil within three months?

All the best

The 1.4 TSI engine (petrol) takes about 4 litres of oil when doing an oil change plus more if the filter also changed. It will still have some in the engine so top up carefully say - a couple of litres and then check using the dipstick. If none showing on the dipstick with the engine cold do not drive it until you have put oil in it. Use a 5w30 or 5w40 fully synthetic oil. Some 1.4 petrol engines did have excessive oil consumption problems that could be as bad as 1litre per 800 miles. Once topped up check regularly to get some idea of the oil consumption.

Thank you so much for you reply and advice. There is no way my auntie has done 800 miles she only nips to the shops occasionally. I have bought some Castrol EDGE 5W-30 LL Oil. I can only think that either the dipstick is not long enough or that the mechanics didn't put any oil in in when they said they did. Is a completely dry dipstick even possible - even with a leak?

I have a 1.4 and I've never had to top up with oil in my 5 years of ownership ( obviously serviced ) top up slowly and overfilled can do just as much damage.

Thank you - i thought that would be the case, that its not often needed. I'm concerned there is oil in there. Maybe the dipstick is the wrong one - maybe the mechanic put the wrong one back in?!Long shot i guess. If only there was another way of checking - maybe to drain the oil? - but I have no way of lifting the car and getting under it myself. I think firstly I will just put a litre in and see if i get a reading on the dipstick. If no reading - I will take it in to a mechanic.

The dipstick doesn't reach all the way to the bottom of the sump. It only monitors the oil in the upper part of the sump. So no oil on the dipstick could still mean you have more than 2.5 litres of oil in the sump.

Do you wait around 15 minutes after parking-up to check the level? There could still be oil draining down from the upper chambers if you check immediately after stopping the engine.

Adding 1 litre is a good place to start.

d-ash wrote: ↑Sun Mar 10, 2019 5:11 pm The dipstick doesn't reach all the way to the bottom of the sump. It only monitors the oil in the upper part of the sump. So no oil on the dipstick could still mean you have more than 2 litres of oil in the sump.

Do you wait around 15 minutes after parking-up to check the level? There could still be oil draining down from the upper chambers if you check immediately after stopping the engine.

Adding 1 litre is a good place to start.

Thanks for your reply. That is really useful to know, and reassuring. The people on here (like yourself) are top. Was expecting to wait weeks to hear any advice.

Its a long story that i will try to keep short - but when i first got the car, it had been on a long journey from Surrey to Kent. My uncle dropped it off and i got in it about 2 hours afterwards. When I tried to start it, it struggled and wouldn't turn over. Anyway after a jump start i managed to get it going and drove around for an hour. Next day the battery was 100% dead. Not even a flicker on the dashboard. I tried a jump start again, but nothing.

I had to wait a week with a dead car until I was able to get a new battery (today) and as soon as I connected it we were up and running. So i decided to check the oil level. This is when I noticed there was no oil on the dipstick.
So to cut a long and boring story short and to answer the question - i have checked after running the engine for a few minutes, but haven't driven the car in a week.

I would suggest you check again after the engine has been stopped for a while, then you'll be in a better position to ascertain oil level.

Might be worth getting someone to check that the new battery is receiving charge from the alternator (just to be 100% sure that it was the battery that had failed and not a charging issue; though, having said that, you should have seen a warning light on the dash if the alternator was not supplying charge)

Thanks, I will check the oil again later unable to do so at the moment.

I am thinking maybe there was a problem with my alternator and no power was being returned to the battery and it eventually died. Although there was no warning light when driving home.
I guess I will find out if the new battery starts to lose power.

Is it hard to replace the alternator yourself should I need to - or does it have to be done by a mechanic?

I also got a parking ticket outside my house this week too because i incorrectly displayed the permit.
Its been just one thing after another. My first car ever as well.

You’re not having much good luck lately !! Hopefully things will now turn for the better.

Get someone to check that the battery is getting charge. Not sure whether somewhere like Halfords or an auto centre will do a free check (maybe the same place where you purchased the battery). If the battery is not getting charge it will likely fail to start the car within two or three days.

No i am not. Thanks for the kind words, very much appreciated.

I got the battery from Halfords. I have a Blutooth handsfree transmitter that tells me the batter Voltage - and its showed 14.5v when i started the car. Stupidly i didn't check when i turn the engine off. I assume it should drop to nearer 12.5v and then if back up to 14.5v this could be an good indicator that the battery is getting recharged. I will give it a check when I'm home later.

Thanks again!

Don’t keep starting the car until the oil situation is resolved, you risk destroying the engine.

I think you need to get someone experienced out to the car to check it. It could be something simple like a loose oil filter or sump plug. I’ve seen this before with garages having made mistakes.
But it sounds like the car has done lots of short journeys in its life, which is generally not good for longevity of engines or batteries.
If you’re a member of a breakdown service maybe call them out to look at it.
Good luck.

Voltage can drop to 11.5V when engine is off.

The fact you are seeing 14.5V is good and indicates the battery is getting some charge.

Oh. And make sure the car is on a level, not sloping surface, when checking the oil otherwise the dipstick reading will be totally inaccurate.

Thanks - yeah i did actually think about the hill position but I'm on a flat. I am sure that has happened to some people before.

Thanks again for all your advice - very glad i came to this forum.

Update. So I checked and with the key in position 1 the battery is at 12.5v. When I start, upto 14.5v.

Guess that's a good sign however in position 1 I see the battery, engine warning lights and EPC, they all disappear though when I start the car. Is that normal?