Oil consumption!?!? -Reply

[Vojin Janjic <vjanjic@mail.state.tn.us>]

>>> "S. Joseph Mann" <joem@pswtech.com> 01/19/98 05:16pm >>>
>This weekend my oil idiot light came on briefly in a turn and then went
>back out.

I had the same thing happen to me a year or so ago on 1996 GLX.

Local VW service performed a "oil consumption test", which, if you ask
me, seemed to be a joke.  Here's what they did: after they replaced the
oil (and refilled it above the MAX mark on the dipstick), they required me
to come for check-ups every 500 miles.  After each visit, they would
supposedly measure oil level with a special gauge, marking "oil
consumption normal" on the work request sheet.  After three visits, they
concluded that everything is normal.
"Go home and quit bugging us" approach, basically.  Oil is cheap.

>I've never seen any smoke from the exhaust and my friends who have
>followed me have never mentioned any.

Me neither.

>Is it at all normal for the VR6 to consume over 3 quarts of oil between
>oil changes (6 months / 7500 miles)?

I don't know what the standard is or what it should be, but VR6 does
need *at least* two quarts of oil between VW prescribed 7500 mile oil
changes.  It is not unthinkable - Mazda RX7 and Porsche 911, as far as I
know, are notorious for high oil cosumption.

>I'm taking the car in Wednesday, any advise folks.

Make sure you report it, and document everything that has (or has not)
been done while the car was under warranty.

Good luck
Vojin