Mondeo burning oil...allegedly

daithi1970

Hi folks -is it usual, or otherwise for a 05 mondeo to start burning oil? the car has been recently serviced, with no issues, it has 60k on the clock, is used mainly for short commutes .I looked to trade it in
and a guy told me it was burning oil and was not economically fixable due to oil burning-Im thinking hes taking the pi$$...

Avns1s

You own it, have access to the dipstick, etc...... and you're asking us if it's burning oil!

daithi1970

the oil levels are grand in the car,no warning lights are visible-i'm wondering if its safe to assume the dealer is just a chancer trying to do down the trade in value of the car

StereoSound

daithi1970 wrote: »

the oil levels are grand in the car,no warning lights are visible-i'm wondering if its safe to assume the dealer is just a chancer trying to do down the trade in value of the car

Is there an NCTon it?

daithi1970

yes, nct not due again until feb 2016..the dealer seemed surprised when i told him the car had been recently serviced and had always passed the nct. he said that "light" driving could cause buildup in the engine causing the engine to burn oil..its a petrol engine...
the car does about 40-80 miles a week,its not the main car

StereoSound

daithi1970 wrote: »

yes, nct not due again until feb 2016..the dealer seemed surprised when i told him the car had been recently serviced and had always passed the nct. he said that "light" driving could cause buildup in the engine causing the engine to burn oil..its a petrol engine...
the car does about 40-80 miles a week,its not the main car

You could get an emissions test to see if anything changed in the car since the nct was done. I'm always skeptical about dealers since its in their interest to get the car of you at the cheapest possible price.

Toyotafanboi

If it's a 1.8 petrol, they are well known for it. Whether yours is or not is impossible for us to say. may be is, maybe it isn't but it will in time. Maybe the dealer is using it to beat you down on price and maybe that's because he knows that that car could end up being more trouble than it's worth in the long run. Maybe :pac:

daithi1970

I have seen online discussions about this problem in 14-15 yr old mondeos with 110-120k miles on the clock-my mondeo is 10yrs old with 60k, so i'm a little bit suspicious..

daithi1970

daithi1970 wrote: »

Hi folks -is it usual, or otherwise for a 05 mondeo to start burning oil? the car has been recently serviced, with no issues, it has 60k on the clock, is used mainly for short commutes .I looked to trade it in .............

As mentioned above, the dispstick won't lie, it's possible that it's been burning a bit for years and you haven't noticed, for example it might have used 1/2 litre or so in between services and if the garage don't tell you and you don't check your levels recently you'll never know.

It'd be best to sell an 05, NCTd car privately, especially the likes of a 1.8 Mondeo petrol as garages will be wary of the potential of it being an oil burner.

martinr5232

More than likely the dealer doesnt want the car and if he is going to take it wants it for nothing.

Titzon Toast

Leave the car running at idle for a little while until it's nice and warm, then give it a good rev and see if you get any blue smoke out of it.

daithi1970

..white smoke only :)

obezyana

My Mondeo has 77000miles on it its a 04 and its burning oil so it is very possible for 05 with small mileage to burn oil. As said above the Mondeos are well known for burning oil.

daithi1970

daithi1970 wrote: »

..white smoke only :)

Do you monitor oil usage?
Does it need topping up in between servicing?

visual

The pcv valve could be blocked if it is one symptoms is excessive oil consumption

Leonard Hofstadter

I thought after about 2003 those Mondeos had the oil burning problem sorted out? Didn't Ford switch from using their own 1.8 litre Duratec HE engine (which is noted for burning oil, plus it has a problem with swirl flaps to boot) to the much more reliable (and non oil burning) Mazda MZR engine for the Mk3 Mondeo after its first facelift in 2003?

George Dalton

The short answer is no.

obezyana

visual wrote: »

The pcv valve could be blocked if it is one symptoms is excessive oil consumption

I dont this on mine and unfortunately its still using oil :mad: it def is worth checking out tho.

captainspeed wrote: »

I thought after about 2003 those Mondeos had the oil burning problem sorted out? Didn't Ford switch from using their own 1.8 litre Duratec HE engine (which is noted for burning oil, plus it has a problem with swirl flaps to boot) to the much more reliable (and non oil burning) Mazda MZR engine for the Mk3 Mondeo after its first facelift in 2003?

Yeah they sorted the swirl flap issue alright but I guess they missed the boat on the burning oil issue.

daithi1970

To sum it up:

1. There is no blue smoke on revving engine to 6000
2. All NCTs have passed ok
3. Recent servicing showed no issues
4. Oil level ok
Am I missing something else that could prove/disprove salemans line about burning oil?

daithi

Renegade Mechanic

They're an oil burner by default. All mondeos do, particularly 2 litres. I wouldn't put too much stock into it though tbh. Just keep an eye,on the level yourself and all will be fine. Likely just a Salesman scaring a few pounds off the trade in value.

9935452

daithi1970 wrote: »

To sum it up:

1. There is no blue smoke on revving engine to 6000
2. All NCTs have passed ok
3. Recent servicing showed no issues
4. Oil level ok
Am I missing something else that could prove/disprove salemans line about burning oil?

daithi

All signs are that it doesnt burn oil. Its probably just the salesman assuming it burns oil and trying to get the price down. Did his mechanic have a look at it by any chance or did he just use the force to figure this out.
I reckon he is messing you about. If it was me i would tell him that the car you are looking to buy is also burning oil and see what he says.