THE B8 A4 Oil Consumption Thread

[RaudiA4INCHATT]

So, I took my A4 in to Audi for probably the 7th time as the low oil warning came on again(sadly, I have accepted this as a recurrent part of my owning the car) and the service guy asks me if I have been smelling any fuel after driving my car. Actually, there has been the faint smell of fuel I would smell after I got out of my car for the past week or so. I had dismissed it not really thinking anything of it. Well, it turns out there was a bad fuel fitting and he told me that it had been spraying fuel onto my engine and he would have to overnight some replacement parts for the car. Yikes, not exactly sure how serious of a problem it was. I highly doubt my service guy would have told me I was driving around in a bomb. Thankfully, they got me a rental from Enterprise and 2 days later my car is back home. Other than the abnormal oil consumption, this has been my only problem with the car. Hopefully, it will be the last!

[Granz]

What's abnormal in the oil consumption? I run through a quart between oil changes. It was my understand that was normal.

[hoppy6698]

So, I took my A4 in to Audi for probably the 7th time as the low oil warning came on again(sadly, I have accepted this as a recurrent part of my owning the car)

I have had mine for 9k and 10 mos, only done the 5k service and never had to visit a dealership for any other mechanical concerns. I would not accept this as a 'status quo' of the vehicle and press the dealer to finally fix it or determine it a Lemon and replace it.

[RaudiA4INCHATT]

I have had mine for 9k and 10 mos, only done the 5k service and never had to visit a dealership for any other mechanical concerns. I would not accept this as a 'status quo' of the vehicle and press the dealer to finally fix it or determine it a Lemon and replace it.

I have definitely pressed the dealer to find out the problem with the abnormal oil consumption. In the time I have owned my car I have had 2 oil consumption tests done and they both showed the consumption to be within "normal" parameters. It is a frustrating matter for me and I have definitely decided that I will be trading in my car once it nears the expiration of the warranty. Other than this, I have been very pleased with my car. The only performance upgrade I have done is the APR Stage I upgrade. While I love this car, there is no way I would consider keeping it after the warranty as I believe the upkeep would be entirely unjustified. Maybe VW will decide to bring the Golf R stateside and I will have a reason to trade in the Audi.

[NJRoadFan]

Keep in mind that "normal" in Audi speak is burning off no more then 1 quart per 1000 miles. Oh, and you'll get the same runaround and stories if you buy a VW.

[B8_Jim]

Keep in mind that "normal" in Audi speak is burning off no more then 1 quart per 1000 miles. Oh, and you'll get the same runaround and stories if you buy a VW.

Or GM ... a co-worker had something similar with his Surburban... 1 quart/1500 miles was "normal" for them if I recall correctly.

[l1fegam3r]

Keep in mind that "normal" in Audi speak is burning off no more then 1 quart per 1000 miles. Oh, and you'll get the same runaround and stories if you buy a VW.

I am not at 4k miles yet and I have had to fill up the oil once at around 3K. Audi thinks 1k 1quart is normal? Do you guys agree with that? Seems a bit much. Thought it was my engine breaking in. I thought you shouldn't have to fill your oil that often. I haven't even had my first service yet.

[Comp4k]

i need a half quart every 5-6k miles, and it works out pretty nicely since I get my oil changed every 5k. :)

Edit: oops, meant half a quart

[B_Boy]

i have the same problem with oil consumption. the had to run an oil consumption test but it came out fine but it has been running better and not burn alot of oil. so what ever they did, they fixed it.

[RaudiA4INCHATT]

Just a bit odd that we spend $35K plus on a car and we should have to deal with this problem. Heck, when I go in for my 35K service I have 2(!) rattles in my car I need to tell them about. One in my door by the tweeter and the other in the passenger door. I would expect this from a Honda or Toyota but not Audi. Plus, I already had them fix a rattle in the light by the sunroof. Just seems like an awful lot of little things going wrong on a car that isn't even 2 years old yet.

[IndiAudi]

i'm burning through 1liter engine oil every 1250km! I don't think that's normal by any means and this is a brand new car! Its 6 months and 6000km old now, have topped up with 5w30 4 times already and the indicator just flashed empty yesterday.

The dealer initiated the oil test a month ago and the car's gonna go back this week - what i wanted to know was if the car software records the oil indicator levels, if not the levels - atleast the warnings for low oil as and when they pop up?

[RaudiA4INCHATT]

i'm burning through 1liter engine oil every 1250km! I don't think that's normal by any means and this is a brand new car! Its 6 months and 6000km old now, have topped up with 5w30 4 times already and the indicator just flashed empty yesterday.

The dealer initiated the oil test a month ago and the car's gonna go back this week - what i wanted to know was if the car software records the oil indicator levels, if not the levels - atleast the warnings for low oil as and when they pop up?

Good question. I would assume that it is stored like an error code but I honestly don't know. Best of luck to you. I'm taking my car in for the 35K service this week.

[BuzzL]

1 liter every 1250km is absolutely too much. The dealer should do something about it!

I don't know how it is in US, but here in Europe the car manual says something like "depending on the circumstances, the oil consumption can temporarily be up to 0.5 liters/1000km".
As far as I remember it is Volkswagen manual which says it can be even 1 liter/1000km.

However, I got my engine replaced under warranty because of high oil consumption. The engine is 2.0T.
The auxiliary device (turbo etc.) came from the old engine.

From the beginning until the first service (~26000 km) my car burned oil 0.2-0.3 liters/1000km (which was, to be honest, too much in my opinion).
After the first service the comsumption increased to be ~0.5 liters/1000km or even more for unknown reason.

I had been keeping the records of consumption by myself all the time and written down each top-up and km's. Then I went to the dealer's with my calculations and they wanted to initiate the 1000km test drive. The result after 1000km's was that they got the same consumption, 0.5 liters/1000km and they told they will replace the engine. The engine was replaced June this year when my car was 23 months old with ~48000 km's on it. Now I have driven about 8000km with the new engine and the bar on the display shows 1/3. So, the oil consumption has not stopped completely, but I am satisfied, now the consumption is more reasonable.

What is interesting, one of my friends who got his A4 2.0T December 2009, had driven it about 6 months/6000 km's, got also his engine replaced. His oil consumption was even higher than what I had. We took our cars to the same dealer on the same day for engine replacement

It is obvious that the 2.0T engines have a known problem, which causes the high oil consumption. The guy at the dealer told me that there is some kind of "repair kit" or similar coming to fix these problems. At the time my engine was replaced, the repair kit was not officially released by the manufacturer so they replaced the engine. Of course the guy did not tell me anything about the repair kit, what it would be.

[Kay15]

Hmm I need to "add oil" ever about 2500-3000kms. I wonder if I need a new engine =) lolll

[mattlqx]

4000 miles so far and nothing out of the ordinary for oil consumption. Oil indicator is within the top 1/4.

[IndiAudi]

Engine change at 48k? under warranty at that! wow!

I'm in India - Warranty is useless by the 2nd year and the Dealer's aren't that helpful - they go around spitting nonsense stories that 1liter per 1k KM is absolutely normal! My 2.0 TFSI is just hitting 6 months and I'm sending it out for the 1000 KM testing day after. While the drive is absolutely fine, the car makes a 'click....click...click' noise at intervals of 8-12 seconds for 2-3 minutes after you drive for a bit and turn the car off. Any idea if the two can be co-related? The dealer said its the exhaust pipe dissipating heat...I don't understand what that means! I just told him to get rid of the damn noise this time around! Any help/advise appreciated!

[KlRBY]

My car has 1700 miles on it, and I'm below the 1/4th line on my MMI Oil Meter.

Its kind of disturbing, but from what I understand, the 'break in period' will lead the car to plow thru oil quicker than normal.

Still.... having to have my first service done after 2 months and just 2,000 miles seems a little abnormal & excessive to me.

[BuzzL]

Engine change at 48k? under warranty at that! wow!.........

Yes, the warranty period is 2 years, no matter what the km's are. However, I am really surprised how easily everything went. I did not even need to argue about this at all with the dealer. After oil consumption test period they just said, they are going to replace the engine.

[Ryan327]

My car has 1700 miles on it, and I'm below the 1/4th line on my MMI Oil Meter.

Its kind of disturbing, but from what I understand, the 'break in period' will lead the car to plow thru oil quicker than normal.

Still.... having to have my first service done after 2 months and just 2,000 miles seems a little abnormal & excessive to me.

Kirby, I wouldn't be too worried just yet. If it continues after 3000 miles and after your first service I would. Mine went below half in the first 1500-2000 miles. It's settled down now it seems and remains between 1/3rd to 2/5's roughly. Some times I look and it's as low as 1/4 but once it warms up it's back to the same level as before. I'm okay w/ 1/2 to 1 quart in 5000, more than that can be excessive.

Most people used to change oil at 2,500 to 3,000 miles and would need anywhere from none to 1 quart between changes. We are almost doubling that now, keep an eye on it, and if you need to add oil only add 1/2 to 3/4 of a quart to avoid overfilling!

[valida4]

My car has 1700 miles on it, and I'm below the 1/4th line on my MMI Oil Meter.

Its kind of disturbing, but from what I understand, the 'break in period' will lead the car to plow thru oil quicker than normal.

Still.... having to have my first service done after 2 months and just 2,000 miles seems a little abnormal & excessive to me.

My A4 was down to less than 1/4 oil after the first 2500 miles. I topped it off with 1 quart of Syntec 5w-40 which brought it to MAX level and now im at 4200 miles and it still says oil is MAX. I wouldn't worry about the excessive oil consumption during break-in.

[Crucible35]

Just a bit odd that we spend $35K plus on a car and we should have to deal with this problem. Heck, when I go in for my 35K service I have 2(!) rattles in my car I need to tell them about. One in my door by the tweeter and the other in the passenger door. I would expect this from a Honda or Toyota but not Audi. Plus, I already had them fix a rattle in the light by the sunroof. Just seems like an awful lot of little things going wrong on a car that isn't even 2 years old yet.

My understanding is that Audi will not warranty "rattles" after 6 months. You may be SOL.

[Crucible35]

Engine change at 48k? under warranty at that! wow!

I'm in India - Warranty is useless by the 2nd year and the Dealer's aren't that helpful - they go around spitting nonsense stories that 1liter per 1k KM is absolutely normal! My 2.0 TFSI is just hitting 6 months and I'm sending it out for the 1000 KM testing day after. While the drive is absolutely fine, the car makes a 'click....click...click' noise at intervals of 8-12 seconds for 2-3 minutes after you drive for a bit and turn the car off. Any idea if the two can be co-related? The dealer said its the exhaust pipe dissipating heat...I don't understand what that means! I just told him to get rid of the damn noise this time around! Any help/advise appreciated!

The "ticking" sound after you shut your car off is normal....all cars do it and the delaer is correct. It's metal cooling. They can't get rid of that.

[IndiAudi]

The "ticking" sound after you shut your car off is normal....all cars do it and the delaer is correct. It's metal cooling. They can't get rid of that.

Its not there on the X5, CR-V, C300 or ES 350 (2007/08/09). Why would it be there only on the Audi?

[IndiAudi]

The "ticking" sound after you shut your car off is normal....all cars do it and the delaer is correct. It's metal cooling. They can't get rid of that.

Its not there on the X5, CR-V, C300 or ES 350 (2007/08/09). Why would it be there only on the Audi?

[Ryan327]

Most cars make some kind of ticking sound when you shut them off, it's the metal for the catalytic converter cooling down. I think our car is excessive with all the ticking and think it has to do with the huge pan that covers a large area in the front/middle of the car. I wonder if its the pan itself expanding/contracting causing it or if something is dripping on it...a lot of time mine makes that sound while its running almost like something is dripping onto it and then being burnt off right away. A/C condensation is my guess....I'll have to see if it still does it even when I don't use the a/c.

[tommydrum]

I'll take having to add a quart every once in a while over driving some rolling appliance any day. If it bothers you that much, definitely go buy a Honda or a GM. You'll love it.

[Andrew A4]

Oil consumption higher than Honda and Toyota? I don't mean to be an ass but you're driving a turbocharged car. All 3 Audi's I've owned burned a bunch during the first 10,000 miles. Then did just fine after that. 2001.5 B5 1.8t, 2007 B7 2.0T, and now this 2010 B8 2.0t.

You want to talk about oil consumption? During the time I owned my 2007 A4, I also had an Evolution IX for a track car.... and WOW did that thing burn oil. I'm sure having 455awhp with a GT35R didn't help the situation. ;)

[Andrew A4]

Oil consumption higher than Honda and Toyota? I don't mean to be an ass but you're driving a turbocharged car. All 3 Audi's I've owned burned a bunch during the first 10,000 miles. Then did just fine after that. 2001.5 B5 1.8t, 2007 B7 2.0T, and now this 2010 B8 2.0t.

You want to talk about oil consumption? During the time I owned my 2007 A4, I also had an Evolution IX for a track car.... and WOW did that thing burn oil. I'm sure having 455awhp with a GT35R didn't help the situation. ;)

[RaudiA4INCHATT]

My understanding is that Audi will not warranty "rattles" after 6 months. You may be SOL.

We will see as I just dropped off my car with Audi. The Service Advisor went out with me and I let him hear the rattle in the driver's side tweeter. Also found out the service today will be over $800 since a transmission service will be done. Makes me VERY glad that I purchased Audi Care. I must say, Audi of Chattanooga has been very helpful and professional during my ownership of the car. On a side note, VW has invested $1 billion dollars in a new plant here as well. I can only hope they will turn out a sweet new VW midsize car.

[RaudiA4INCHATT]

Well, the 35K service went well. They also found and fixed the rattle in the driver's side tweeter and didn't charge me anything. My SA also let me know that there is a R8 Spyder coming in to the dealership in October. I plan on being there with my camera and an extra pair of shorts.

[rustyshacklefrd]

i just checked my oil level in mmi and its almost at empty. i've heard plenty about the high oil consumption in audis so im not too worried. but i do have a few questions..

where exactly does the oil go?
what volume of oil is "Max" and what is "Min"?

thanks!

[RaudiA4INCHATT]

If I'm not mistaken the dealer told me that it's 1 quart between max and min. I'd love to know where the oil goes as well. If I knew, it wouldn't really be a problem then.

[mauja]

Just had the low oil warning light come on. Looks to be down a quart. Have about 12500 miles on the car, and it has been 7500 miles since the last oil change. Will contact the dealer Monday, and post the results.

Anyone have any thoughts about going 10,000 mi between oil changes? Seems a bit much, especially for a turbo. Although that is no excuse for a new car to have burnt a quart so quickly.

[Kay15]

I just figured out when the entire OIL Level is at Zero that is a Quart = 5L of oil!, that is insane this eats oil like gas! I have to make more frequent trips to the dealer to have them top it up untill they get fedup, at this rate I dont need to do oil changes.

[naemcivic]

^^how many KM do you have on your ride?

[Kay15]

48500 kms, I go through a lot of oil I dont know why, I am just going to start taking it back to them more and more.

[k9lovr]

I am goin thru 1.5 Quarts per 5k miles. I had the 15k service done and just hit 20k miles this weekend and so far had to add 1.5 quarts....this seems a bit high to me, thoughts?

[Kay15]

That is much too high people forget 1 qt is 5LITRES!. That is alot! How many total litres does are cars hold?

[Crucible35]

That is much too high people forget 1 qt is 5LITRES!. That is alot! How many total litres does are cars hold?

LOL....one quart is nowhere near 5 litres. 1 litre is .95 of a US quart. Not sure where you got the 5 litres from!

[Kay15]

Thats what the rep at Canadian Tire told me, I put half of the 5L Castro in and the level only went up half way.. So it kind of made sense guess not.. Hmmmm