Oil consumption question - non MB

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bob6600

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My aunt purchased a 2010 Hyundai i10 1.2 petrol last year as she really wanted one of those. Car was great, 80k miles and even had heated seats! 4 months down the line she is complaining about losing oil and 'a garage' says it is not leaking and that is possibly valve stem seals or piston rings. Both of these sound feasible as she has said it has been topped up 3 times in 3 months (engine oil light has come on according to her). She is not mechanically minded and is around 50 miles away from me so I can't look at it to help her. I don't trust her local garage as they are guessing and have not investigated properly.

Recently she came to visit and didn't top up before she came. The oil level was exactly the same as it was when she left, leaving me to think it can't be the seals?

I know it needs a proper investigation but if the valve seals or piston rings were gone, would it not consume oil all the time? There is no smoke out of the back either, which I would expect if it was burning oil. Anything I can check or get checked?

Any advice welcome as she has left it late and I don't want to go back to the seller (trade) and look an idiot.
 
What oil is being used?.
I do not have any experience of Hyundai petrol engines but I do know that my local Kia main dealer told me that they use ACEA C3 oil at all times.
A family member has a Kia Rio petrol with 170,000 miles on it and it does not use a tint of oil.
It has always been serviced with ACEA C3 spec oil
 
Not much help but I had a Picanto with the same engine and it didn’t use a drop of oil in the 3 1/2 years I had it.

You sure it is the oil light coming on?
 
It must surely be leaking oil or burning it ... where else could it be going?! It has to be losing oil somewhere if it's actually having more added to the engine once a month. Who is doing the topping up?

When the aunt came to visit, if the level was checked cold before setting off and warm after arriving ... that could mask a loss. But I think a visible loss after just 50 miles would be pretty serious?

A family member has a Kia Rio petrol with 170,000 miles on it and it does not use a tint of oil.

Assuming the engine hasn't been rebuilt 3 times ;) that's pretty impressive. I didn't think small engines lasted like that - I'd have considered 80k to be a fair bit for the 1.2 mentioned in the OP!
 
How is she measuring the engine oil level?-- by dipstick? many people don't understand that oil expands when hot so to get consistent level readings it has to done at the same temperature each time.
Piston ring wear can sometimes be revealed by removing the oil filler cap when the engine is warm and running- excessive crankcase pressure might indicate a degree of ring blow by. Valve stem seal leakage is normally ellicited by checking the exhaust in the mirror on the overrrun. With a closed throttle the engine vacuum draws oil past the valve stem seals into the engine where it comes out as puff of blue smoke in the exhaust.

ps bear in mind that the 80k might be a "clocked " mileage
 
How is she measuring the engine oil level?-- by dipstick? many people don't understand that oil expands when hot so to get consistent level readings it has to done at the same temperature each time.
Piston ring wear can sometimes be revealed by removing the oil filler cap when the engine is warm and running- excessive crankcase pressure might indicate a degree of ring blow by. Valve stem seal leakage is normally ellicited by checking the exhaust in the mirror on the overrrun. With a closed throttle the engine vacuum draws oil past the valve stem seals into the engine where it comes out as puff of blue smoke in the exhaust.

ps bear in mind that the 80k might be a "clocked " mileage

Thanks gents. The oil is being checked via dipstick and was checked cold prior to visiting me and cold again after she had been here an hour or so. She said the reading was the same as when she left so on this occasion no loss?? Vehicle history seems correct for mileage and doesn't seem clocked. No smoke which is why I don't think it is the seals

What oil is being used?.
I do not have any experience of Hyundai petrol engines but I do know that my local Kia main dealer told me that they use ACEA C3 oil at all times.
A family member has a Kia Rio petrol with 170,000 miles on it and it does not use a tint of oil.
It has always been serviced with ACEA C3 spec oil
I'm not sure which oil but good point as I know some engines are sensitive to using the correct oil.

Not much help but I had a Picanto with the same engine and it didn’t use a drop of oil in the 3 1/2 years I had it.

You sure it is the oil light coming on?

So she tells me. She said she has had 4 litres put in at a time which would be empty for a 1.2 engine.

It must surely be leaking oil or burning it ... where else could it be going?! It has to be losing oil somewhere if it's actually having more added to the engine once a month. Who is doing the topping up?

When the aunt came to visit, if the level was checked cold before setting off and warm after arriving ... that could mask a loss. But I think a visible loss after just 50 miles would be pretty serious?

At the rate she is saying it has been topped up the 40-50 miles to my house should have consumed some as she only does minimal mileage around town. I think it's leaking but hasn't been checked properly.
 
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A car can't leak 4 litres of engine oil a month without it being pretty obvious underneath, IMHO!
 
An engine leak should be evidenced on the engine undertray if the car has one. But it might be worth getting her to place a large cardboard sheet under the engine compartment to check with car parked up after a run?
ps the engine light may not be an oil pressure warning light but a general warning light?
 
A litre lost every week for 3 months would be a pretty big leak ... not like looking for small drips! There would be a small lake where it was parked :eek:
 
Assuming the engine hasn't been rebuilt 3 times ;) that's pretty impressive. I didn't think small engines lasted like that - I'd have considered 80k to be a fair bit for the 1.2 mentioned in the OP!
170,136 miles on it as I speak and has averaged 25,000 per year. It is an amazing car. Apart from brake pads, tyres and the odd bulb it has never had anything-and I mean anything-...except, at 25000 miles, a heater matrix under warranty.

The Hyundai and the Kia are all the one; I would try the ACEA C3 type and see what happens. After all they have some reason for specifying that oil, even for cars without a DPF.

This is the oil used in the Kia

MPM International Oil Company - Producten
 
.....and of course it gets a shot of Dipetane at every fuel fill:p
 
170,136 miles on it as I speak and has averaged 25,000 per year. It is an amazing car. Apart from brake pads, tyres and the odd bulb it has never had anything-and I mean anything-...except, at 25000 miles, a heater matrix under warranty.

Of course nothing but short local trips (which is how many small cars are used) will wear an engine out much quicker.
 
Good point about losing so much oil... It should be fairly obvious even if dripping half of it whilst driving. The problem I have with my lovely aunt is because she has driven cars for years she thinks she knows alot about them, but she doesn't. I don't mind stripping the head off (the car lol) but only want to do that as last resort. The other problem I have with her is that she seems to be easily led... The garage advised her to get rid of it after topping up her oil? Surely they would have checked it and given a price to fix it? I believe she isn't telling me the whole story and is now making out that the car is worse than it actually is. If the oil isn't going on the floor, she would have mentioned the oil consumption but left it until the end of 3rd month to say anything? Never help a family member buy a car lol
 
The problem I have with my lovely aunt is because she has driven cars for years she thinks she knows alot about them, but she doesn't.

I had a colleague who was an IAM member and allegedly quite technically clued up. Always offering advice to others. She ended up in hospital with severe scalds after taking the radiator cap straight off with engine at full temp.
 
If it's not leaving clouds of blue smoke everywhere it drives, it MUST be leaking, and with that much disappearing, it will be really obvious wherever she parks!
 
If it's not leaving clouds of blue smoke everywhere it drives, it MUST be leaking, and with that much disappearing, it will be really obvious wherever she parks!

Not so. I've seen a car consume oil at 2-stroke levels (2% of fuel) (due to lousy oil control rings - common to all of that car model) and show no smoke . Presumably, it is the cat cleaning up.
Problematic though as the engine management can't tell oil from fuel and the end result is burned exhaust valves.
 
I'm trying to find out if these had a PCV valve or are they not on UK models?
 
I'm trying to find out if these had a PCV valve or are they not on UK models?

On the car I referred to, a one-way valve (there to prevent pressurisation of the crankcase under turbo boost conditions) in part of the crankcase ventilation system is prone to sticking open which can cause high oil consumption.
 

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