Oil consumption for 2.0L 8V - solved?

My 2003 Golf with 2.0 uses no oil at all between 5,000 mile oil changes.  I
think they have fixed this problem.
TL

That's the first I've heard of an oil comsumption problem with that
engine.

And, by the way, that is a HUGE amount of oil.  No car that doesn't
have a serious problem would comsume that much.

Mike

The 2.0s are well-known to have an oil-consumption problem.  Mine, an
'01, will use about a quart in the span of an oil-change interval, more
when I do a lot of high-speed freeway driving in warm weather.  The
story is that VW spec'ed a low-tension oil ring to decrease friction and
increase fuel economy, but it leads to high oil consumption.  You hear
about it from owners all the time, but dealers refuse to acknowledge it.
  My local VW guy says he's re-ringed quite a few, and putting new oil
rings in does the trick.  I don't like it, but all it requires is that
you watch the oil level a little more closely than you might be used to.
  Scared hell out of me when the car was new, but I've gotten used to
it, now.


No, not true -- it's just a car with too-low-tension oil rings, that's
all.  Huge oil consumption is a couple, three, four quarts in 5000 miles.

I have a friend with a '03 Golf 2.0 5 spd.
It's engine will use 4 or more quarts in less than 3K miles.
She is having the dealer check on it although they seem slow about doing it.

Also the thin oil does not help.  <g>

I work with a guy who claims that he'll go through 6-8 quarts in an
oil-change interval.  '01 Beetle with a 2.0.  If true, THAT's huge oil
consumption.

I do switch over to 15W50 or 20W50 in the summer before long trips, and
it does help.

Good you switch to the thicker stuff, so do I.  ;-)

Oil usage like what has been reported here just isn't right.
VW has had some issues with valve guide seals at least since the 80s maybe
but I thought it was solved with new style guide seals.
Maybe it is how the engines are broken in initially or ?????

I have an '83 GTi engine (in my '83 Audi 4000s) with 240K miles and it does
not use much if any oil.
--
later,
dave
(One out of many daves)

No, really, it's the rings.  Honest!


None of my other Vee-Dubs used oil.  Had the bad valve guide seals in my
'85, but other than that, no oil issues.

Yeah I have heard that after replacing the rings on some engines the oil
consumption basically disappeared!  :-)
I'll keep watching this oil burning '03 Golf 2.0 engine to see what VW does.

thanks,
dave
(One out of many daves)

no need to worry because VW in the USA only has the new 2.5L & 2L-SFI in
that car. The old 2l is gone.

The "City Golf" is only sold in Canada, and is just a slightly re-
optioned A4, at a very attractive price.  It has the 8V 2.0L engine.

My daughter has just taken delivery of a 2007 city golf with 2.0 litre
engine
and it has not burnt a drop in the first 1000kms.
However my 2003 with low tension rings burns 1 litre every 1500 kms.
Has done since day one and is now at 50,000kms.

My only frustration is the VW will not admit their error and probably won't
help when my Cat fails early
due to excessive oil burning.