[alex0616]

Hi,guys
It is a year since I bought the car.The total mileage of vehicles is 128,000 kilometers.
I've driven about 7,000 kilometers in the past year.I found that my car had been consuming engine oil.
I fill up the oil one space below the Max mark, and after about 2,000 kilometers I need another liter of oil to make sure the oil stays at its normal capacity
It bothers me because I'm always worried that the engine will be damaged by missing oil.
So I was hoping to understand how to solve this problem, and how much will it cost.
Is this a problem that needs to be solved urgently?
What would happen if I ignored this problem and only added oil when it was missing?
Any advice would help me a lot.
Thank you guys.

 

[alex0616]

most manufacturers wont investigate high consumption until over 1 litre /1600 km. while it seems high, its not outside what they would class as normal. Couple of things to watch, Make sure visually its not leaking, and check the tailpipes for any sign of oil, give it a good boot full through the gears (accelerate hard) and see if she's chucking smoke out. With all the signs checked, continue to monitor.

First of all, thank you for your reply.
1L/1600km does feel a lot.But my car does exceed that standard.
Speaking of the exhaust pipe, there's no sign of a leak but there's a lot of black carbonized powder on the exhaust pipe.And my car did get some smoke from the tailpipe as it accelerated, but not much.
By the way, I have been to the repair shop (not the official store of Volvo) for consultation to solve the problem of engine oil consumption.They said it would cost at least 8,000 yuan (about 1,000 pounds). Probably need to replace the piston ring and some other parts.

 

[alex0616]

You have the very well known problem of high oil consumption. In Europe it costs around 2k euro. Like you said, piston rings and some other parts need to be changed. I suspect your car is 2014-2016?

Thanks for your reply.My car is 2013 version.
The hourly fee for fixing a car in China is not very expensive. I think that's probably why it's cheaper than in Europe.

 

[alex0616]

I've been around long enough to remember when oil changes were every 3,000 miles (5,000k) and you had to add a pint (500ml) or so every few hundred miles.
The tight tolerances and minimal oil consumption of modern engines is more to do with pollution/emissions control than anything the moving parts need.
At the mileage of your car I wouldn't worry about it at all. As a bonus you're getting a "rolling" oil change so probably don't need the regular service interval changes as often.

LOL😂,I've thought about that "rolling" oil change thing and I'm not sure it really works.Hahahaha...
By the way, does the manufacturer recommend changing the oil every 10,000 kilometers?Is 5000 kilometers too early to change the oil?

 

[alex0616]

I can remember having to check and adjust the valve clearances at every service too.

As far as the engine is concerned, it's never too early to change the oil, but your wallet may think otherwise.

HPSauce is right though, you are effectively replacing the oil over time by frequently topping up. I wouldn't suggest that is a substitute for regular oil changes, but a normal annual oil change or mileage related change in line with Volvo's recommendations if you are doing very high mileages should be more than adequate.

And as long as you never let the oil level drop below the minimum mark on the disptick, there is absolutely no difference in capability or risk to the engine between the maximum and minimum marks. They indicate a range between which the engine is designed to operate normally.

I'm glad you could reply me, RS3100.
I wonder what is the meaning of adjusting the valve clearance.Because our repair shop here does not take the initiative to check the valve clearance when doing vehicle maintenance.
So as long as I check the oil level regularly and keep it in the normal range. At the current level of engine oil consumption, there is no damage to the engine, right?However, I have heard some people say that the excessive consumption of oil by the engine may cause damage to the cylinder wall. Of course, this may be a rare event.
So can I say that engine oil consumption is more harmful to the environment than the engine itself?
This Volvo V40 is expected to stay with me for a long time（It could be seven or eight years, maybe more）. In the long run, do I need to replace the piston rings to solve the engine oil problem?Or does it depend on my wallet

 

[alex0616]

As far as the engine is concerned, it's never too early to change the oil, but your wallet may think otherwise.

Thank you very much. I see what you mean.

 

[alex0616]

No need to worry about it. Modern engines are either self adjusting or of a type/design where adjustment is not required. I'm going back over 40 years!

My God, 40 years ago! I'm only 26 years old 😂 .

Excessive oil consumption won't in itself cause damage as long as the minimum oil level is maintained. The consumption may be a symptom of damage, but if your rate of consumption is fairly static, although high, I would say it is most likely ring/bore wear rather than more serious damage that would be expected to quickly worsen and l;ead to imminent failure. It may get worse over time though. Without edxamining the engine to establish the exact cause, it's difficult to say.

I get it，It's better to get to work on this problem.

Yes. It would be different if the engine was a modern diesel with particulate filtration system, since oil deposits passing through the exhaust would likely result in other issues.

Yes, the vehicle has a three-way catalytic unit. I'm not sure that's how the word is said in English. It might also be called a particle catcher. This is another problem I worry about. Engine oil consumption leads to excessive exhaust particles and clogs the particle catcher.

If you intend keeping the car for some time, in my opinion I would want to strip it down to find and rectify the reason for the excessive consumption. But I'm a bit of a perfectionist and if something isn't right I have to fix it, no matter how insignificant. I can also to much of it myself, which avoids labour charges that are often the largest contribution to the overall cost of repairs.

I really admire your ability to solve these problems by yourself, which requires a lot of car knowledge and strong practical ability, which is exactly the quality I lack.
In my country, the labor cost of repairing cars accounts for about one third of the total cost. So going to the repair shop to solve the problem can be my best choice. But I also want to know how to solve these problems, and I hope to learn more knowledge about car repair.That's why I put so many questions on this website. Thank you again for your answers.

It's impossible to guarantee that it won't get worse, or that there won't be further problems in the future though. As long as you are happy to accept that you need to keep topping up the oil and that you will accept the possibility of the demise of the car at some future time - maybe within your current projected length of ownership, maybe later - you might decide to carry on as you are now.

Your other options are to either get rid of it, either as a quick sale "sold as seen" or a trade in, and look for a better replacement; or to get it fixed properly. Until it has been stripped down so that the parts can be examined and where necessary measured, it's difficult to say with any certainty whether that would be a viable option financially.

You have analyzed my problem very thoroughly. I think I know what to do. I'm going to work this out. Thank you very much for your reply.