I heard Saturday’s comment to the A4 (2.0T) owner that “certainly not all 2005 A4 owners use that much oil”. I have to correct you…I have the EXACT CAR, year and model 2.0T engine, and have the exact SAME issue. We need to add oil about every 5,000 miles. At least we know the low oil light works.
I drive a 1998 Volvo V70 with 172,500 miles on the clock and right before one of the routine 5,000 mile oil changes, it looks like the oil is getting a little low on the dipstick. However, I remember that 150,000 miles ago, I was seeing the same thing.
I thought “a little” oil was supposed to get past the rings or else it would be impossible for the oil to do it’s job of lubricating the rings.
Is the excessive oil consumption “real” or is it just a function of the extended service intervals? Is the extended service interval a function of Audi paying for the services, or has Audi metallurgy really gotten that much better over the last 10 years? Maybe if they want to go 10,000 miles between oil changes, Audi should expand the sump capacity by one more quart so it won’t be missed.
I seriously doubt if they all use that much oil I would also suggest that they should not. However that is just my opinion and an many modern cars use more oil than I believe they should. It does not mean they are about to fail.
hello,
I personnaly own Audi cars for 10 years now, living in France I buy the A3, I had so far 5 of them. The first one was a 1.8T no problem at all. The second one a 2.0 FSI (same engine than the 2.0T) I bought that year 2 of them the same day one for me one for my mother. Both had the same problem than you consuming oil 1 liter every 3 or 4 000 km. I went back to hte Audi dealer same answer than you. I wrote to Audi germany, I took an athorney and after a year and 18 000 km for each they gave us 2 new car, diesel, because their gasoline engine doesn’t work.
So ask for your money back and buy one of these great car made in Detroit they are just as good.
I have plan to move to California next fall, the opportunity to live the american dream with go through on of these GM Ford or Chrysler.
good luck
Um, people who wait for their oil lights to come on before checking the oil have engines that are living on borrowed time.
1 qt every 5,000 miles is normal usage. It takes more than 1 qt low for the oil light to come on, but letting it get low enough for the light to come on even one time means internal damage. Oil level should be checked regularly.
I have a 2006 Audi A3 and I have 27,000 miles on the car and for the fourth or fifth time the oil light goes on showing that I am low a quart or more of oil. I am estimating that the car burns a quart of oil every 2,500 miles. I have never experienced that before with other models and I am concerned about the life of the car. Any comments? Audi says “get it out of your head that there is a problem”.
I believe he is referring to the oil level indicator, not the oil pressure light.
I have an 06 A3 with the 2.0T engine. The first 5k service showed no problem with oil usage. But at 8.8k the oil light went on. Needed a quart and a half to top it up. The dealer says this is no problem. But what about the emissions and catalytic converter? Will the excess oil burning choke the converter?
I am concerned about my A3 and have switched dealers twice because their lack of response to having to add oil every 2,500 miles. They tell me that this is not an issue…what do you think? Should i send a letter to Audi American Headquarters?
I can tell you this much…
If you want to stick with a VW/Audi, you have to expect their engines to burn more oil that most other makes. Some burn barely any, but some burn 1-2qts every 5000 miles.
If you believe that this isn’t acceptable for how much you otherwise like the car, trade it in sooner rather than later.
FWIW, I have a VW that burns the same amount of oil, and it’s a pain, but worth it for owning the car.
I have an older A4–1998 with 170,000 miles–that hasn’t used a measurable amount of oil between changes (every 5000 miles although Audi recommends 7,500 for this car). They only weird think about oil usage was once when I parked the car for a month (at about 70,000 miles) and it lost a quart and a half–somewhere. It wasn’t on the ground (or the skid plate) or in the engine compartment–it just evaporated!? I tried to call Click & Clack about where the oil might have gone, but I guess it was too tough a question (or they thought I was nuts).
I’m puzzled about your concern. Consumption of 1 quart every 5000 miles is very good. Many years ago cars routinely used 1 quart evry 2000 miles, and some like the old Jaguar straight 6 were designed to burn a quart every 1000 miles. Responsible car owners check their oil regularly, since a leak could develop even on a new car. Your oil light is is called a “Protective Function” in reliability engineering science. It provides protection against engine damage when an accidental leak develops. Such could occur if the oil filter is not crewed on tight enough by the drive through oil change guys. Your oil light does not take the place of manual oil level checks by the owner or service station personnel.
You guys have got to be kidding me. My 2007 Audi A4 was initially serviced at 5K. At the 8K mark, the oil indicator light appears when I’m on a road trip. I find a service station and find out that I’m 2.25 QUARTS low. That is UNBELIEVABLE! Whomever says this is normal behavior, why is this not happening with 2005 or 2006 A4s? I have family members that own one of each. Who would want to spend money for a new car but have to take care of it like an old car??? There is growing discontent with the excuses Audi has given us.
They are talking about a low oil level light, not the old low oil pressure light. Some cars do not have a dipstick anymore. They only have the oil level lights.
I have a 2007 Audi A4 2.0T with 8400 miles on it. I just added a third quart of oil. The low oil light has come on twice in the past, of course I no longer wait to come on. At other websites they say that Audi will not do anything about this unless usage exceeds 1 quart per 1000 miles. They expanded oil usage expalnation in the manual. That is all the fix they will do.
That is about the standard for the industry. They (the auto manufacturers of all makes) have defined that as acceptable usage. An unknown percentage of their cars will use this much oil, while most will use far less. This is nothing new, and I have not seen where this oil usage level indicates any reduced engine life.
Oil usage in 2005-2007 2.0T engines (Audi, Passat, Golf) is due to poorly closing, or not closing PCV valve (also referred to as crankcase ventillation pump). Audi modified the PCV valve to get rid of the problem. Installing this $75 part has solved my problem. I am now demanding that Audi compensate me for parts and labor. This is a design fault that Audi evidently knew about as proven by the redesign,
I have a 2007 A4T and it was burning up oil every 2000 miles. 1st time back to dealer was told that this was normal but they topped it off. Next few times back still told that it was normal but they’d check. Finally went back and told them that my previous 10 Audis never did this and Audi had better fix it permanently or the car was theirs. They took it for about a week and when I got it back they indicated that the oil was going somewhere in the engine and not returning to the right place. They claim to have fixed it. I’ll let you know in another 2500 miles.
Update to my post of October 2008. A year of persistence with my dealership had them finally get to the root of the problem. They admitted the existence of the problem and had to replace the engine. I was hoping that this was the final solution, but after reading many of the 100+ posts ( on www.topix.com/forum/autos/audi-a4/TBIH0F9LPNHIBLUEV ) I’m not so sure. I’ll make it a point to keep checking the oil, but I seriously doubt that I’ll buy this car at the end of my lease.