Oil Consumption - Hyundai i10
Posted: August 2nd, 2023, 2:23 pm
Here's a question.
I've battled with oil consuption on my Hyundai i10 (2015) for years. It doesn't appear to have a leak and it runs great with no tell tale smoke coming out of the pipe.
The Hyundai forums seem to think that 1 litre per 1000 miles is acceptable, which I think I disagree with.
Anyway, I've narrowed it down to a couple or three possibilities.
1. 1 litre per 1000 miles really is acceptable.
2. I've discovered a thing called a PCV valve and I know for a fact that mine has never been changed. Its a small plastic valve in the rocker cover....PCV” stands for “positive crankcase ventilation.” It is a one-way valve attached to the crankcase. Your vehicle's crankcase holds your motor oil, and is located at the bottom of your engine. It produces gases when your engine burns fuel.
https://www.google.com/search?client=fi ... =pcv+valve
Anyway, a potential symptom of a faulty PCV valve is higher oil consumption because if the valve gets clogged it can force gases out of other orifices in the engine - along with engine oil. I think I have that right. But I had no obvious oil leaks....except around the filler cap, which was always 'wet' with a fine covering. I didn't really think much about it until I ordered a PVC valve off the internet from China. Weeks ago.
This is a £5 part. It literally involves taking the airbox off and unclipping a couple of hoses. 10 minutes tops. The bearing inside still moved around, but without the clicking noise of the new one. It was also pretty clogged up with debris.
So I've cleaned up around the filler cap and taken a photo of my dipstick (fnarr) & notes date and mileage. So here we go.
3. The oil viscosity. The manual says 5w/30. The Hyundai forums say up to 15w/40 will be fine. My garage replaced it at the MOT with 0w/20. I'm assuming the lighter oil makes the motor easier to crank when it's cold, so if I use the heavier stuff I'd better make sure my battery is in good fettle this winter.
An online Hyundai technician suggested that the heavier oil would reduce consumption (just by being thicker and not being so easy to 'escape' or boil off I presume?)
....but the 0w/20 would only explain the issue for about 1000 miles until I top it up with 5w/30 - unless that is escaping too?
So maybe I should buy a bottle of 15w and top up using that? I realised Ive just answered my own question (sort of). But hey, replace that £5 PC valve regularly and when you buy one, buy 2 and keep one as a spare.
I've battled with oil consuption on my Hyundai i10 (2015) for years. It doesn't appear to have a leak and it runs great with no tell tale smoke coming out of the pipe.
The Hyundai forums seem to think that 1 litre per 1000 miles is acceptable, which I think I disagree with.
Anyway, I've narrowed it down to a couple or three possibilities.
1. 1 litre per 1000 miles really is acceptable.
2. I've discovered a thing called a PCV valve and I know for a fact that mine has never been changed. Its a small plastic valve in the rocker cover....PCV” stands for “positive crankcase ventilation.” It is a one-way valve attached to the crankcase. Your vehicle's crankcase holds your motor oil, and is located at the bottom of your engine. It produces gases when your engine burns fuel.
https://www.google.com/search?client=fi ... =pcv+valve
Anyway, a potential symptom of a faulty PCV valve is higher oil consumption because if the valve gets clogged it can force gases out of other orifices in the engine - along with engine oil. I think I have that right. But I had no obvious oil leaks....except around the filler cap, which was always 'wet' with a fine covering. I didn't really think much about it until I ordered a PVC valve off the internet from China. Weeks ago.
This is a £5 part. It literally involves taking the airbox off and unclipping a couple of hoses. 10 minutes tops. The bearing inside still moved around, but without the clicking noise of the new one. It was also pretty clogged up with debris.
So I've cleaned up around the filler cap and taken a photo of my dipstick (fnarr) & notes date and mileage. So here we go.
3. The oil viscosity. The manual says 5w/30. The Hyundai forums say up to 15w/40 will be fine. My garage replaced it at the MOT with 0w/20. I'm assuming the lighter oil makes the motor easier to crank when it's cold, so if I use the heavier stuff I'd better make sure my battery is in good fettle this winter.
An online Hyundai technician suggested that the heavier oil would reduce consumption (just by being thicker and not being so easy to 'escape' or boil off I presume?)
....but the 0w/20 would only explain the issue for about 1000 miles until I top it up with 5w/30 - unless that is escaping too?
So maybe I should buy a bottle of 15w and top up using that? I realised Ive just answered my own question (sort of). But hey, replace that £5 PC valve regularly and when you buy one, buy 2 and keep one as a spare.