High Oil Temperatures?

[scorp965]

I am STILL waiting for the previous owner of my car to mail me spare keys, and the owner's manual, so I have difficulty looking up info for this car, its a 2001.5 S4 avant, which passed a multi-hour purchase inspection at an Audi dealership prior to my purchase. After buying it, I drove it 1200 miles from Colorado to California, and have been using it for about a week, for my daily 27 mile commute.

Recently, I have become paranoid about the oil temperature - it's in the middle of the gauge, 225-250F, but this seems rather hot, even for a turbo car. I did a search, and some people say the temp rarely hits 225F, so today, having to go to work, I did so practically staring at my oil temp gauge.

I went out of my way to keep the car out of boost for the entire drive, for the first 6-7 minutes, the oil temp gauge stayed at 150F, the car temp gauge warmed up, and went to the middle. After about 7 minutes, the oil temp gauge started to go up steadily. It went to approx 200F without issue, then took a while (about 15 minutes) to get to where it stayed, 225F. This is with 0 boost, driving along with 70-75mph traffic.

On the way home, I let it warm up again to 225F, but this time I drove the car using some boost, I wasn't doing high speed pulls, I wasn't even driving in a spirited fashion, just passing some cars, and using more throttle than before. In this situation, the oil temp gauge went up to 250F, and took a while (15 minutes) to drop back down to 225F.

Some people have said their car never hits 250F, others say its normal - I cannot determine what the owner's manual says, because I am still waiting on it - I tried to talk to my audi dealership a few days ago about an unrelated issue, and they seemed annoyed to have to deal with a car that was outside of warrenty, and weren't much help - I don't want to go back to them for another concern.

If my oil temperature is high (it seems to be), where do I go from here? The fans all seem to be coming on, the car is stock, no mods, and passed a purchase inspection. The oil level is fine, it was changed two weeks ago, along with the filter, by the audi dealer prior to my purchase. The oil was changed in Colorado, should I change it again here? Even so, I doubt the weight would cause a significant rise in temps. The gauge moves steadily, so I don't think its a defective sensor. If, after my 27 mile drive, I have to wait for a parking space, I see visible heat rising from the passenger side of the engine bay; the bay itself is also rather hot, so I believe this is 'real heat', as opposed to a sensor.

[JackalS4]

The owner manual states that if the oil temps go over the middle mark (250F), to drive the car lightly until they return.

And that if they're staying over the halfway mark, to have it checked out.

[scorp965]

The owner manual states that if the oil temps go over the middle mark (250F), to drive the car lightly until they return.

And that if they're staying over the halfway mark, to have it checked out.

I appreciate your response; it's under the half way mark (or at it), unless I do a full throttle run, then it goes up to around 260F. The main concern I have, is other members seem to infer the 'cruising' temp is closer to 175F, than the 225F I am experiencing - driving as conservatively as possible, no boost at all, and I am at 225F - this is at close to sea level, where temps should be cooler.

There must be some reason why my oil is running 50F hotter than a comparable B5 S4? Are the gauge calibrations, or relative values, different between different years of S4? Perhaps these values are normal for a late production car? If anything, I would think a late production car would run cooler, due to the larger diameter oil lines for the turbos. The engine bay is also pretty hot after a drive, my friend, who is a mechanic, commented on it (but he doesn't work on Audi).

What values do other people see in their cars? During my 1200 mile drive, the gauge was in this same range, perhaps closer to 250F, but I thought nothing of it, as it was 'in the middle', and nowhere near the 'red'. When I got back, and drove my other turbo car, which is not stock, I noticed the temp was 200-215F if I drove aggressively, while the stock Audi wagon is 225-250F? It doesn't make sense.

[MacDaddy]

my oil temp gauge barley moved when i had a faulty thermostat, now with a new t-stat it goes about 1/2 way to the middle, or if i drive it really hard for about 5 minuets straight it will go to the middle.

my thermostat was not not opening or closing enough when it was suppose to (cold on freeways, red hot in city driving), yours is possibly partially closed and the engine is over heating or running right at its maximum temperature. When you pop your hood, does the engine seem excessively hot? these cars do run hotter than most, but if your driving it nice and easy it should be about as hot as any car under the hood, otherwise i'd be looking at getting the thermostat replaced.

[gmann]

I'm lazy and not going to read. Where is your temp gauge reading? My oil temp has never gone above 1/3rd of the gauge, that's where it stays all the time after the cars been warmed up. With your oil temps high it could be a BUNCH of things, but like what MacDaddy said, where's your coolant temp?

[scorp965]

I'm lazy and not going to read. Where is your temp gauge reading? My oil temp has never gone above 1/3rd of the gauge, that's where it stays all the time after the cars been warmed up. With your oil temps high it could be a BUNCH of things, but like what MacDaddy said, where's your coolant temp?

Water temp gauge is in the middle, Oil temp is also in the middle (which is high), 225-250F.

[scorp965]

yours is possibly partially closed and the engine is over heating or running right at its maximum temperature. When you pop your hood, does the engine seem excessively hot?

The engine does seem hot, but I thought thermostats failed in the wide open position?

Perhaps some kind of coolant restriction, if there was crap in the fluid, but the fluid seems good in color, and was recently flushed (12k miles ago by PO).

[Evilevo]

If everything fails, get a Oil Cooler

[scorp965]

215F is normal?

[lonestar22]

mine stays between a quarter and halfway all the time, never goes over but takes about 5 miles of driving to get to that point. after i drive my car for more than ten minutes i cant even set on the fender without it burning you. and it stays like that for up to an hour

[JackalS4]

Water temp gauge is in the middle, Oil temp is also in the middle (which is high), 225-250F.

My vote is its either just your climate (oil temp's biggest factor during normal driving in my experience), or perhaps your oil could use a change or even a change in type. Mine usually hangs out at about 225F+- on a hot day.

Use the factory recommended 0W40 (if I recall right..) and a good synthetic such as Motul or similar.

If that lines up and you're worried, you could look into replacing the oil temp sensor and/or seeing if there are any codes etc.

[scorp965]

My vote is its either just your climate (oil temp's biggest factor during normal driving in my experience), or perhaps your oil could use a change or even a change in type. Mine usually hangs out at about 225F+- on a hot day.

Use the factory recommended 0W40 (if I recall right..) and a good synthetic such as Motul or similar.

If that lines up and you're worried, you could look into replacing the oil temp sensor and/or seeing if there are any codes etc.

Thank you for the input, it's a new car (to me), so I am, as I mentioned, paranoid right now. I am not sure what the Audi dealer put in the car (it was $85), but I will put in some Mobile 1 this weekend.

The problem is not necessarily the 225F, it's the fact that any application of the go pedal results in 250F.

Are there any SoCal S4 owners who can post their oil temperatures?

[scorp965]

If everything fails, get a Oil Cooler

It seems like this would mask the problem, rather than address the cause; this is a street driven car, with no modifications - an oil cooler shouldn't be necessary?

[InLoveWithMyS4]

Has your thermostat been replaced in it's service history? If so, was it replaced with the updated 'green' sensor? IMO, it sounds like a thermostat problem.
The gauge may seem to 'read' correctly, but that doesn't mean it is operating properly, as it may not opening up at the proper temperature or at all. A failing thermostat is a somewhat common problem on these cars...

[Reich]

I don't know if that will help but i work for Cummins engine since 12 years now.

All our engines have water cooled oil cooler with oil thermostat. I know that diesel is different than gaz but oil is oil.

We have oil thermostat that opens at 235f otherwise it will stay closed to warm up the oil.

The oil can warm up to 255f before strigering a fault code and derate.
The engine will shut down after 30 of that 255f if it does'nt get lower.

[cdc]

I live in Socal and my oil temp when warmed up does get between 200 to 225 driving fairly easy. I would imagine mine would shoot up to 250 if I drive it hard.

[MacDaddy]

Use the factory recommended 0W40 (if I recall right..) and a good synthetic such as Motul or similar.

my owners manual says 5w40 prefered, 5w30 acceptable, and synthetic or you'll end up with a crankcase full of sludge. unless the later models specifically state using 0W40, i wouldn't use it, as an engine gets older it should use a thicker oil, not a thiner oil.

I wouldn't put such a high priority on designer oil, the certification the engine calls for has now been superseded twice, so basically no matter what synthetic you put in there, its better than what the car was designed to use. I run wal-mart synthetic, its still API certified just like Mobil1 is.

but oil grade isn't going to change oil temp, I still think it could be a thermostat issue if the engine is indeed running alot hotter than it should. but If the engine isn't running hot, i'd look at the oil cooler, at least its a relatively inexpensive part and does not require as much labor to change as a thermostat.

and i wouldn't trust the water temp gauge, with my new thermostat my water temp gauge needle always points straight up, with my old thermostat the engine was without a doubt running much much hotter and the needle still pointed straight up.

[RolledMySTi]

Welcome to the new joys of Audi ownership scrop965. First take deep breath and calm down before you have a heart attack. I was kinda like you when I got on this forum. You read all these post about issues people have and it makes you think all kinds of things are wrong.

Your car is totally normal. The reason a lot of people report lower temps is because they live in Connecticut, Canada or some other area that's really fucking cold. When I cruise the freeway my car sits at 225 as well. I have a new oil temp sensor and new coolant thermostat. When I'm driving it like a mean it the oil temp easily hits 250 and I have had it hit 265 under some really hard driving with no problems. I use Royal Purple 15w-40 for oil.

Also these cars have the hottest engine bay of any car I have ever seen so don't worry about that. Audi decided to put a big ass lump of iron with two turbos in the smallest space physically possible so this these are cars always hot and stay that way for a long time after stopping.

So stop worrying and start thinking about what modification you want to do so you are not driving around in a boring stock car.

[nateS4]

Mine stays around 212.5 (right between 200 and 225) on my 30 mile commute to work. On over 90 degree days with hard driving it sill has never gone over 250 and the only time it was at 250 was when my ac fans we're coming on and i was parked with the ac on and had driven hard for awhile. It could be one of the two electric fans are not coming on when they are supposed to.

[nateS4]

Welcome to the new joys of Audi ownership scrop965. First take deep breath and calm down before you have a heart attack. I was kinda like you when I got on this forum. You read all these post about issues people have and it makes you think all kinds of things are wrong.

Your car is totally normal. The reason a lot of people report lower temps is because they live in Connecticut, Canada or some other area that's really fucking cold. When I cruise the freeway my car sits at 225 as well. I have a new oil temp sensor and new coolant thermostat. When I'm driving it like a mean it the oil temp easily hits 250 and I have had it hit 265 under some really hard driving with no problems. I use Royal Purple 15w-40 for oil.

Also these cars have the hottest engine bay of any car I have ever seen so don't worry about that. Audi decided to put a big ass lump of iron with two turbos in the smallest space physically possible so this these are cars always hot and stay that way for a long time after stopping.

So stop worrying and start thinking about what modification you want to do so you are not driving around in a boring stock car.

^^ What he said. But why are you using 15w-40?? Why not the recommended 5w-40 or 0w-40??

[dennisS4]

mine stays at 225 all the time when warmed up, if I whip it hard it will go up to 230 tops. maybe its the altitude/climate you live in?

If problem doesn't go away soon, assuming your looking to mod the car, get an oil cooler and you will not have to worry again.

[JDM EJ1 95]

mine holds from 200-240max(beatin on it)

[RolledMySTi]

^^ What he said. But why are you using 15w-40?? Why not the recommended 5w-40 or 0w-40??

Because the car is older and I couldn't find 10w-40. Mainly because I live in a warm climate. We may get a week all winter where the temps when I leave for work are in the high 20's. Other than that it doesn't really drop below freezing here so I don't need such a thin oil.

[nateS4]

Because the car is older and I couldn't find 10w-40. Mainly because I live in a warm climate. We may get a week all winter where the temps when I leave for work are in the high 20's. Other than that it doesn't really drop below freezing here so I don't need such a thin oil.

I gotcha, it can get pretty cold here, but mine is older too (127k). But it uses only about a half of a quart in 5k so I'll stick with the 5w40. I use Elf BTW

[MacDaddy]

Your car is totally normal. The reason a lot of people report lower temps is because they live in Connecticut, Canada or some other area that's really fucking cold. When I cruise the freeway my car sits at 225 as well. I have a new oil temp sensor and new coolant thermostat. When I'm driving it like a mean it the oil temp easily hits 250 and I have had it hit 265 under some really hard driving with no problems. I use Royal Purple 15w-40 for oil.

I would agree with you if i liven in Nunavut in an igloo, but where i live we can still get 100+ degree Fahrenheit summer days, and on those days my oil temp needle never goes to the middle if I'm cruising around with the a/c on full (which i did do when i had an ice cream cake in my car this summer) if anything my car should be overheating on those days because the front fan isn't on Canadian cars, all we have is the fan clutch (or as i call it "truck fan") and the dinky little eletric fan next to it.
also, the whole point of a thermostat is to maintain a specific temperature no matter what the ambient temperature outside is, so if its winter or summer, your engine will always be at approximately the same temperature.

the main reason i would be concerned is that the viscosity index of an oil changes the hotter it gets. Basically the hotter the oil the less it lubricates and the thicker it is the more it lubricates but at the expense of needing more energy to overcome its resistance to movement.

[haus4]

there are sure a lot of different numbers overall. Even this past summer, running 0w-40 mobil 1 and driving the car good, i barely got it up to 225, and never got up it up to half. Everybody car is different and you have to get used to how your car reacts to your driving style and the weather. I was got worried this past weekend when i was going down a long hill on the highway and the oil temp went down from 200 to like 160. I was like oh boy, this cant be good. But once i started giving gas again it came back up. Guess it doesnt help it was 45 out.

Your going to have to get a few things checked out and make sure ur T stat is opening correctly and have the correct weight oil. other than that, your gona have to live with it

[fatezero]

well, I got a Stg 3 Avant in SoCal and I was running 235 on hard driving. After installing ER IC's, temps dropped to 220-225 on hard driving.

[scorp965]

well, I got a Stg 3 Avant in SoCal and I was running 235 on hard driving. After installing ER IC's, temps dropped to 220-225 on hard driving.

Curious, what is your definition of hard driving? We seem to have the exact same cars, in exactly the same location (Orange County, CA).

Today, I drove to Long Beach going 80-85mph, and the oil temp was just North of 225F - I was not boosting for extended periods of time, more cruising in top gear with the engine around 3k.

Has your oil temp ever gone to 250-260F? Mine tends to go to 250F if I start using small degrees of boost regularly, while driving, and goes above 250F if I do an extended full boost run (eg 5 minutes across Utah when I picked the car up)

WRT an oil cooler, is there a DIY that shows where to mount, and how to plumb, a small oil cooler? My car doesn't have any noticeable symptoms, aside from the oil temp gauge, but I am installing ABT stage II, and don't want to have to worry about a component failing. I am installing a turbo timer tomorrow, I have the after run pump temp switch in the mail, for installation later this week, and this weekend I intend to change the oil with Mobile 1 syn in my driveway. I am going to be changing the timing belt in a few months, so the thermostat will be replaced when I perform this service. I checked the hoses going into the radiator, they all seem warm, so it appears to be functional.

[Rated S]

Recently in SoCal my oil has been getting up to 240* with no boost. I used 0-40 Mobil 1 this oil change. When I use better oil, like Royal Purple for instance, it stays more around 225* with no boost.

[scorp965]

Recently in SoCal my oil has been getting up to 240* with no boost. I used 0-40 Mobil 1 this oil change. When I use better oil, like Royal Purple for instance, it stays more around 225* with no boost.

I typically use amsoil, the marketing surrounding royal purple gives me pause... I mentioned mobile 1, because it's easy to get my hands on without having to order, as with amsoil.

What weight of Royal Purple do you use? Perhaps the temp difference is due to changing climate?

[changs4]

I am assuming the high temp is due to the grade of the oil you use. It happened to me once when I tried Redline 15W-50. Oil temperature hits 250F frequently.

Use 0w-40 and the oil temp will drop noticeably.

[CruzS4]

i'm just chipped, no other mods. oil temp rises to between 215-225 if i drive conservatively and stay out of boost. spirited driving/boost usually yields about 235-240, and it'll drop back down to the aforementioned temps during the cooldown drive on the way home. i always use mobil 1 synthetic and replace the filter probably every other time. best of luck

I'm in PA by the way so probably not so helpful to you in socal

[fatezero]

Change your oil temp sensor. Unless your oil level is low or you have ""heat soak" then 250 is high. What IC's are you running? There should be no need for an oil cooler in SoCal unless you are going to the track.

Is this a black Avant from Commonwealth?

[Rated S]

Mobil 1 I use 0-40
Royal Purple 5-35

And I have definitely noticed cooler oil temps with RP @ that viscosity. I don't actually know if RP makes a 0-40.

[scorp965]

Change your oil temp sensor. Unless your oil level is low or you have ""heat soak" then 250 is high. What IC's are you running? There should be no need for an oil cooler in SoCal unless you are going to the track.

Is this a black Avant from Commonwealth?

It's a yellow Avant from Colorado; the intercoolers are stock, I recently added an ABT chipped L-box ecu, but the temps were consistent with the stock ECU.

I am not aware of the current weight of the oil, it was done by the dealership in Colorado following their purchase inspection; I would assume its the audi recommended weight and brand.

[skunkoncrunk]

I took this today after about a nine mile drive to work for you to reference and compare. I held between 2500 and 3000 RPM's during the drive on the freeway.

...and since we are talking oil, I use Royal Purple 5w30.

[fatezero]

It's a yellow Avant from Colorado; the intercoolers are stock, I recently added an ABT chipped L-box ecu, but the temps were consistent with the stock ECU.

I am not aware of the current weight of the oil, it was done by the dealership in Colorado following their purchase inspection; I would assume its the audi recommended weight and brand.

Yeah, well ABT chip is really a AMS tune (they are no longer in business).

1st - Change your oil to Mobil 1 or Castrol 0w40 (castrol is what Audi/VW uses now)

2nd - If temps are still high, swap your ECU with a stock one. (And get rid of that AMS ECU and get a GIAC or something)

3rd - If temps are still high, replace your oil temp sensor

If the temps are still high after that, then you either have a bad gauge in the cluster or maybe oil pump? I am sure someone like JHM can chime in here and give you some better advise over the above.

[AudiSportB5S4]

OP.. I drive just about 30 miles to school and then 30 miles home each day and when on the highway I can maintain 3000-3200 RPMs right around 70-80 the whole way. My temp will get up to 225 but then cruising through the streets again i keep the RPMs real low and it ll fall back towards 200... best thing for you to do in your case is make sure you idle your engine for about 30 seconds prior to turning it off. this will cool the oil down you would be surprised.

[xx_s4quattro_xx]

Im from san diego my oil stays at about 225 but when im driving up to sactown sometimes at night the you can see the oil gauge and the coolant gauge drop all the way down. Dont know if its normal but yea no problem here.

[AudiSportB5S4]

Im from san diego my oil stays at about 225 but when im driving up to sactown sometimes at night the you can see the oil gauge and the coolant gauge drop all the way down. Dont know if its normal but yea no problem here.

could be thermostat stuck open. not normal, not that great for the motor over time. time to do a timing belt and all that goodness!