2006 Aygo - Oil Consumption

[SNAKEBITE]

Morning.

I was hoping you could help with a problem.

My partner has a 2006 Aygo that is consuming vast amounts of oil. Now obviously this is not normal, and I was wondering if anyone has any ideas. (Although I am not keeping exact records I believe it is ~0.75 litres a month).

The car past the MOT with no issues last year (Oct/Nov if I remember correctly), so I am assuming that if it was burning oil then it would be flagged up in the emissions  test. The car is used on journeys of ~10 -15 miles, however smaller distances are also common. No long journeys  to speak of.

There is no external leakage, i.e. no oil patch on the driveway.

Before I start looking closer I was hoping that I could get a few answers to a few questions:

1) What is the oil capacity for the 2006 Aygo?

2) Does this engine consume oil when in good condition?

3) How many cylinders does the engine have?

4) Does anyone have stories of a similar problem?

Obviously I know it is impossible to get an accurate diagnosis via the internet, but was just hoping for any ideas.

[Kenny500]

Hi my engine burns oil also, it's done about 100,000 miles, l keep a very close check on the level.

Always carry a litre in the boot. Keep in mind that the dip stick is quite hard to read correctly. Do not over fill the engine this can cause major damage. The engine has 3 pistons.

sorry no idea about a new one, never owned one.

The engine holds 3.1 litres but l WOULD like someone to support that please.

keep in mind it might take 3 goes to get a good reading on the dipstick.

good luck 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Current generation has an oil capacity of 2.8 litres including filter - same engine.

Mine hasn't used any oil since new - August 2016.

[SNAKEBITE]

Thanks guys.

I would anticipate an older engine to use more oil and would be interested in the rate it goes through it @Kenny500

I always take multiple readings on the dipstick as I know how tricky it can be!

[Cyker]

What kind of oil are you using?

 

Also, how's the car driven? I find with my Yaris it doesn't generally burn oil, but if I've been hooning around at the upper end of the rev range repeatedly I do find the oil level will be lower than it would otherwise be!

 

[SNAKEBITE]

@Cyker The car is not "Thrashed", but being a small engine it can be driven enthusiastically.

As for the oil it is the recommended 15/30w (Halfrauds recommended the Ford blend).

Would a thicker oil help?

Or maybe one of those Wynns oil treatments?

[Cyker]

Yeah, sorry, not sure what else to suggest atm; Not that clued up about specific issues with that engine alas; Don't recall anyone having major oil consumption issues.

 

One thing - pretty sure the Aygo should be using 5w30 so you might want to check that...

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Yes - should be 5W-30.

[mickburkesnr]

Aygo should definately use 5w-30.

With my 107 (which is an Aygo but has the sadness of being badged a Peugeot) I've owned it since 2010 from new. It's done 70,000 miles, mixed driving (but on balance has done more motorway driving than inner-city).

Your rate of .75 litres a month, yeah I'd say it's pretty normal. It is in my experience with this engine. And @Kenny500 you're correct it's 3.1 litres on capacity.

So yeah, my personal opinion based on my own car, there's nothing to worry about. It's normal for this engine to drink a bit of oil.

[SNAKEBITE]

NOTE:

Apologies for the mistake, it is 5/30 oil that is being used!

@mickburkesnr thank you for the reassurance.

[Kenny500]

Must admit all these oil numbers get me totally confused, but l've always used 5w-30 with a Bosch or mann filter.

[SNAKEBITE]

I had this with my Hyundai.

What Halfords recommended was not in fact right, well not 100% right.

I even spoke to three separate dealers and even they had different oil grades, madness.

In the end I did a whole lot of homework, include contacting Hyundai directly and ended up going with a Castrol Magnatec.

Expensive, but I have a trade card so get £12 off a bottle. It is worth it though as it stays clean from year to year and the engine seems to love it.

[AYGOSTU]

I have a new unopened bottle of 5w - 40 premium oil from my old Abarth sat on my desk. Its made for really high pressure / performance/ temperature engines, and does not burn easily. I wonder if that is available in 5-30. maybe oil consumption would be better with some premium top quality stuff like this.

 

 

[mickburkesnr]

The way engines work is that some oil is passed out of the engine through to the throttle body and mixed with the air, which in turn is then burnt. This is what it's like on my Corolla, and I think it's the same for more or less every other petrol engine.

Regardless of the grade used, 5w40 is a thicker oil than 5w30. The first number equates to the viscosity of the oil when it's cold (or winterised - hence the w), the second number is the viscosity of the oil when hot. Older engines tend to use 10w40 as it was popular at the time, whereas now newer cars tend to use 0w20.

Usually when an engine is burning oil in vast quantities it's due to a number of things, most common is a head gasket failure which is leading to the oil and water mixing together, so the oil is leaving the engine and being carried throughout the water system. This can be identified by opening the oil cap on the head of the engine and looking for a white gunky material on the cap. This indicates water in the oil system (and obviously vice-versa). Obviously after that you'd want to check around the head gasket area on the block of the engine to see if it's damp in case oil is going out of the engine physically.

So if you're revving hard on the engine, more oil is being thrown from the engine through to the throttle body to be reingested via the combustion process.

But as the OP said, the figure he guesstimates sounds normal for this engine as you do have to rev hard sometimes to get to speed. I do anyway, and my car has been like it since it rolled off the factory line.

My opinion is I'm not sure if an engine has been used to a thicker oil whether introducing a thinner oil would allow the oil to find any cracks or holes more easily in the engine. So it's best to stick with the grade recommended for your engine.

[SNAKEBITE]

Thanks.

I have checked for the mayonnaise in the header tank and in the oil cap, but there wasn't any. Luckily.

[mickburkesnr]

I would say then that your engine is fine and the oil consumption is normal then.

[SNAKEBITE]

After a bit more research and recording it appears that the oil consumption is approximately 1 litre per 1000 miles.

My partner has done 600 miles over 2 weeks on holiday and it used 0.6 litres of oil.