How often do you top up your car oil?

StrangelyBrown

Just wondering what other people's experience of a 'normal' amount / frequency for an oil top up is?
I don't mean a full oil service where you drain it and change filters, just a top-up via the filler cap.

As I'm expecting several "it depends" answers, for reference I have a 10-year-old 2.0L diesel which has done 4,000 miles in 6 months since it passed the last MOT/service and is now over 90,000 in total. The oil level has gone from just below the max to just above the min and so I need to top it up.

I've seen answers elsewhere on the internet ranging from "never" to "0.5 litres per 3,000 miles".

Just wanted to know if this is normal, or an indication that it's a bit heavy on oil use?

oldagetraveller

With all the cars I've owned over many years - never! I even have a 50 year old Morris Minor (summer use only), the engine's done many miles, which never needs a drop between oil changes. Of course the oil has to be changed every 3500 miles/6 months so maybe that's why!

House_owner

I never need to top up mine between services (usually gets serviced every 10,000 miles).

verityboo

Some cars use a lot from new and there are some where up to a litre per 1,000 miles is considered normal (BMWs and Alfas etc)

What is importantis that oil consumption is usually constant over time and any change in the rate of consumption should be treated as a warning sign

fivetide

Personally I'm in the never camp across a number of marques, including BMW.

A friend had a VW Bora that needed a litre every 1000 miles and VW did claim it was 'within tolerances' so it can vary wildly.

Not every engine is the same.

5t.

verityboo

Thought I would double check and Alfa state that a litre per 1000km is within tolorance on several of their cars (145, 146, 155etc) which is only 625 miles!. You would be topping up the oil every time you filled with petrol!

Might be better to ask on a Ford forum. If the consumption is excessive it might just be something simple like a blocked engine breather

StrangelyBrown

verityboo wrote: »

Might be better to ask on a Ford forum. If the consumption is excessive it might just be something simple like a blocked engine breather

I don't think it's much of a problem - searching shows a lot of places suggest a full oil service every 6 months / 3,000 miles so I guess being a little low is to be expected.

cardinalbiggles

Never in 47k miles in my Fiat Bravo and its 21k service intervals.

rdwarr

Every time it runs out.

StrangelyBrown

rdwarr wrote: »

Every time it runs out.

Haha! Wait, you are joking, right?!

[Deleted User]

Usually never apart from a few months back when I lost 2 litres worth over time due to a slow leak. Haven't lost any more nor have I had the leak fixed.