What Can Cause Excessive Oil Consumption In Your Volkswagen Beetle?

Increased oil consumption in your Volkswagen Beetle can be caused by a variety of reasons. Some of them are quite serious, yet some are easy to be repaired. Additionally, vehicles tend to burn more oil as they age. Whatever the reasons may be, if left unaddressed- this seemingly less important problem can result in serious damage to the engine.

Therefore, you need to familiarize yourself with some of the prominent reasons why vehicles often use too much oil and the things you can do to prevent that from happening. To begin with, let’s discuss why your car engine needs oil in the first place.

The oil is the lifeblood of your car engine and its basic functions are;

• Lubricate moving components
• Minimize friction among them
• Prevent premature wear and tear
• Keep the engine temperature stable
• Get rid of the contaminants

In the absence of an adequate amount of oil, a car engine would run rough and size up. Therefore, it's in your best interest to check the oil level in your car regularly and if it is demanding more oil and requires frequent oil change- you have to figure out what's causing this problem and what you can do to fix it. In the meantime, you need to supply the engine with the required oil. Listed below are a few reasons why vehicles often use too much oil.

What causes high oil consumption?

Leaking seals and gaskets

Increased oil consumption in your Volkswagen Beetle is often a sign of leaking seals and gaskets. Gaskets and seals are responsible for maintaining optimal compression within the combustion chamber- which is essential for a smooth engine operation. In addition to sealing the combustion chamber, they also avert intermixing of different types of fluid and prevent them from spilling out.

However, damaged gaskets and seals can result in internal and external oil leaks in your Volkswagen. If left unchecked, leaking gaskets and seals can make your car consume too much oil.

Bad piston rings

There are three different types of piston rings- compression ring, wiper ring, and oil ring. They are metallic split rings responsible for performing three different tasks. The compression ring is employed to prevent the seepage of gas from the combustion chamber to the crankcase. The wiper ring keeps the cylinder wall of your car engine clean. And, the oil ring is responsible for regulating oil consumption.

Once they wear out, they can no longer be able to fulfill their assigned tasks. As that happens, motor oil would enter the combustion chamber and burn along with the air-fuel mixture, resulting in excessive oil consumption. You can solve this problem, by simply replacing the broken piston rings.

An aging engine

It is also common for a car engine to consume more oil as it ages; once it gets beyond, say, 80,000 to 120,000 miles. There are a variety of reasons why vehicles often consume more oil as they age- deteriorated seal being the major one. Besides, natural wear and tear to vital engine components can also result in high oil consumption in your Volkswagen beetle. If left unaddressed, high oil consumption can damage your car engine beyond repair. Therefore, get your engine oil checked out by a professional mechanic for its quality evaluation and get it replaced if necessary.

Irregular maintenance

In some cases, high oil consumption along with numerous other problems can be linked to irregular maintenance. For instance, if you're not replacing your car's oil filter routinely, it can cause excessive oil consumption. Similarly, postponing a scheduled oil change and using inappropriate oil can also result in a similar problem. Therefore, you should only use factory-recommended engine oil in your Volkswagen Beetle.

How to fix high oil consumption in your VW Beetle?

A rise in oil consumption in your Volkswagen Beetle can be caused by numerous reasons- some of which are preventable and easy to repair. However, if left unnoticed, increased oil consumption can give rise to all sorts of drivability problems and even can damage the engine beyond repair. Often times, you will need a qualified mechanic to deal with such a problem. Therefore, try to get your car to a nearby auto service center without delay.

Wrapping up

If you're suspecting that your Volkswagen Beetle is consuming more oil than usual, get it checked out by a reliable car mechanic before it leads to bigger troubles. Another important thing you should keep in mind is that cars tend to consume more oil as they ages.

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