Citroen C3 Owners

Why does my car seem to drink oil. I am no car expert i admit it, but my Golf before this car did not drink oil for fun. I have had to refill it a few times in 1 year of owning the car. A friend from work says it shouldn't need refilling at all through out the year, only changed when it is serviced. My car has no oil leaks anywhere and i have no idea why it seems to use oil so much. It is now back down to 1 bar out of 6 on the reader and needs refilling again as i type this! Agh! Help!

why does my car seem to drink oil.

It shouldn't drink oil.

Make sure the right oil is used on the next drain and refill (with filter change). Total 7000 10W40 engine oil meets the spec for your petrol engine and cheaper/lower spec oil breaks down more quickly. The oil needs changing at the correct times to prolong engine life. Make sure all the old oil is drained out before refilling with fresh oil and don't overstretch the service schedule.

If its not leaking over your drive way, then its got to be getting blown out of the exhaust. You may be able to detect this.

Hi
Ours is the same, no Oil leaks and no blue smoke.
Spoke to the Dealership and they confirmed they do consume oil more than most. It also rattles like hell on cold mornings until the oil reaches up to the top of the engine. They said its a very long/tall chamber so it does this. Completely different on a mild/warm morning
If you read the manual it says it can be up to .75L every 1000 miles

I have to keep checking it but there is no evidence of burning or leaking, go figure

Philb386 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 23, 2021 4:52 pm Spoke to the Dealership and they confirmed they do consume oil more than most.

LOL! Rote answer from dealers I'm afraid. They will say that about ANY engine they don't want to rebuild or to placate their customers. There are some engines on the market that had manufacturing defects that caused the piston rings to prematurely ware out and the engine to consume excessive oil (e.g. a batch of specific Toyota engines had a fault that increased oil consumption. Toyota had to replace the rings and pistons. REF: Toyota service bulletin EG-6020). That is a defect!! An engine is not designed to consume excessive amounts of oil! Over time, because of fair ware and tear, random engines within a production may consume more oil than it's peers. But if they all did it, that's a defect! But having said that, how long is an engine designed to last?? The length of the warranty?? Also, how much oil does the 'average' engine consume? Excessive oil in the exhaust will damage the catalytic converter, the engineers know this, so how much is too much? See below?

Philb386 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 23, 2021 4:52 pm It also rattles like hell on cold mornings until the oil reaches up to the top of the engine. They said its a very long/tall chamber so it does this. Completely different on a mild/warm morning

Classic signs your oil is too high a viscosity and not reaching the engine parts quick enough. Review your oil type/brand/service interval. Oils thicken in winter and thin in summer. Oil's also thicken with age/miles. Again, dealers and their "Oh it always does that" answer. No, your engine needs to be protected by oil from the moment it begins to rotate. If it's not the oil then you have a failure in your engine.

Philb386 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 23, 2021 4:52 pm If you read the manual it says it can be up to .75L every 1000 miles

This is true. Engines must burn oil!! A VERY small amount must get past the rings and be left on the cylinder wall when lubricating the piston rings. Typically there are 3 rings on the piston and one of them is specifically to control oil lubrication. The oil left on the cylinder wall then flashes off during the next combustion stroke. This amount can range from unnoticeable to excessive. As an engine gets older, parts wear out and don't work as well. But there is a point up to which you don't worry about it. Beyond that point, you either get it fixed, sell it or run it into the ground!