[Adrian E]

Just came on here to search out this thread to post :grin2:

My scientific experiment to monitor oil usage on our 2011 S5 is almost complete - my wife informs me the 'please top up oil - safe to keep driving' message popped up this evening on her way home from work.

The mileage is about to hit 40k and it was serviced at just under 35k so assuming the oil level is on the bottom of the dipstick and it does indeed need a full litre of oil that's 5k miles per litre, which doesn't seem too bad.

I need to get it on the level tomorrow and will very carefully top it up to the max on the dipstick and see if it needs anything short of a full litre to achieve that.

At that rate of usage it'll not need doing again before its due the next annual service, and that sort of oil usage I can live with. Before swapping to Shell oil it needed about 3 or 4 top ups, although most of those were random guesses based on MMI level pre-dipstick purchase!

Will post details tomorrow - I suspect I'll end up parking it in the garage to do the oil level, which is a bit tight for space but utterly level :thumbsup:

Adrian

 

[Dippy]

When I bought my first Audi 15 years ago I remember people warning me that 'Audi's use oil'. I did have to top up my B5 S4 between services and didn't think much of it. It is only since seeing the reports of the 2.0 TFSI engine using excessive oil and many being fixed and then seeing this thread that became concerned if there is a design issue with the 3.0 TFSI engine. But I agree with you Adrian that having to fill up with a litre of oil every 5K doesn't seem so bad (especially for me as that's a year's mileage), as long as that's all it is - usage of oil - and not an indication of an underlying problem.

 

[Adrian E]

Just been out to buy another 1 litre bottle as it took the full one and still needs about 200ml by the looks of it. I could leave it as-is without worrying about it, but I want to know it's spot on so I can monitor it again.

My 2002 S8 has only just started using a dribble of oil between services - mainly I suspect as the main crank seal is weeping...

Our previous A6 3.0 petrol never used a drop between services either.

I suspect it's all the emissions gubbins that make them use a bit on modern engines

ETA - OK, so 1.2 litres to return it to the max marker.....

 

[C.B]

Car went into audi last week, I emailed them details of everything I had done, oil I had used to top up and the spreadsheet to cover mileage and amount used.

Got it back the next day and was told on the phone they had done a software update and changed the oil breather pipe. Unfortunately when I picked it up the staff member I was dealing with had gone home so was unable to get more specifics.

I have now been told to bring it back after covering exactly 621 miles, not as easy as it sounds!

I don't do a lot of mileage (currently at 200 since I got it back) and I am away for 5 days next week but initial impressions are that it has not used a drop since I got it back according to the MMI, and I have been trying to drive it hard when I can to be sure.

I'll update the thread once I have dropped it back off and try and establish exactly what they did if the issue seems resolved

 

[54913]

My Car had a full 70K service including a complete oil change, now using 10W60 this was done in feburary and have been driving it both hard and normally ever since and the oil hasnt dropped at all.

 

[Dippy]

Good news. Are you sure that it is 10W60 and not 10W40? What oil temperatures are you seeing?

 

[C.B]

Mines goes back to audi on tuesday, 540 miles down now and its now gone down one notch in the MMI

I am expecting them to tell me this is within acceptable tolerances and give it me back.

I will make sure I find out what oil they are putting in as it iscertainly using the 5W30 recommended by castrol I was putting in faster than whatever audi are using!

 

[Andydunn2]

Something definitely not right. Mine is just over 8k now and I'm only 1 segment down on the MMI and it's never been topped up and gets driven pretty hard.

 

[Dippy]

Well C.B does have a 2010 car and yours is a 2015!

If Audi do state that the usage is acceptable then it is certainly worth changing to a thicker oil at the next change.

 

[Andydunn2]

Well C.B does have a 2010 car and yours is a 2015!

If Audi do state that the usage is acceptable then it is certainly worth changing to a thicker oil at the next change.

Fair point :thumbsup:

 

[C.B]

One notch is actually an improvement believe it or not, its gone down 4 notches over that mileage in the past!

This issue seems to effect the early V6T engines back when they were only used in the sportback and cabriolet (so up to 2012?)

There are no leaks, engine issues or blue smoke, they just seem to use a lot of oil! Which does suggest the oil breather setup which was changed could be the reason.

The early s4's had this engine too and there seems to plenty of reports of high oil usage among those so I dont think its anything to worry about but if I can find a way to reduce it then that would still be beneficial as it could easily mask an actual issue plus its a pain topping it up, especially for those who do high mileage! Although thats clearly not me since its taken me a month to do the 621 miles and go back to audi, really must drive it more!!

 

[Adrian E]

Ours will be due a service fairly soon - the 1 litre I topped up after the last service is all it will have needed, which is OK as far as I'm concerned

 

[Dippy]

The early s4's had this engine too and there seems to plenty of reports of high oil usage among those so I dont think its anything to worry about but if I can find a way to reduce it then that would still be beneficial as it could easily mask an actual issue plus its a pain topping it up, especially for those who do high mileage!

If you're using xW30 then certainly switch to xW40. It might help.

 

[C.B]

I am starting to believe the fact I was topping up with the thinner oil is the reason why my consumption levels were increasing, even if it is the recommended oil type by the recommended oil supplier!

I will make a point of asking Audi what they put in it

 

[C.B]

Ok so car went back to audi having only gone down one notch on the MMI during the 621 miles (which I assume to mean 100ml)

They did the oil consumption test and report usage of 0.4l

So as expected they gave me the car back and said everything is fine, I tried to argue that .4l is uncomfortably close to the limit with both them and audi uk but all I kept getting told was within tolerances goodbye to which I cant really argue. They did do the consumption test FOC at least.

One thing I dont understand is how it only went down on the MMI one notch yet they reported .4l, I queried this and got told its a calculated maximum amount not from just measuring the oil used?!

So what have I learnt from all this? Despite using quite a lot of oil there are no issues with the car as confirmed by audi so it does seem like a trait, in addition as suggested earlier in the thread using a thicker oil than the 5W-30 castrol recommend seems to reduce usage (or should I say for me using a thinner oil increased usage) my dealer uses Shell Helix 5W-40. What I dont know is if replacing the breather pipe and updating the software, as they claimed to have done when the car went in for stage 1 of the consumption test, has made any difference or if it is just the oil viscosity.

I will continue to monitor and update my spreadsheet, if the consumption matches the last 621 miles then it will need a litre of oil every 5k miles which I would be more than happy with, only time and using different oils will tell.

 

[Adrian E]

Ours uses less oil on the thinner stuff!

 

[Richard Groves]

Just had the MMI oil warning come on in my S5 3.0 yesterday. Car has done 62k with FASH, I've only had it two months and done almost exactly 1000 of those miles. Am pretty sure the MMI was reporting full when I got it.

Have just ordered a dipstick from Audi Dipstick - 06E115611H - Stoke Audi Parts as some of the other links earlier in this thread were dead, so will be able to check usage in two ways.

Will put a litre of Castrol Edge 5w30 in and see what happens. Doesn't seem to be leaking where I park, so assume it is from driving activity - I'm not saying either way whether I've had a heavy right foot for the last two months, but new-to-me car and all that....

Will update on how much oil it takes to fill and then on consumption over the next few months.

 

[Crec_wrencher]

I’d just like to make a really good point here:

my Audi B8.5 S5 (CREC) was burning oil and had incorrect oil level readings on the mmi. I bought a dipstick for it and was scouring the net reading the issues. Pcv valve, piston rings etc. All scary

It turns out that where I changed the oil and put in some 5w40 fs - this was the problem. Something to do with the thickness the engine didn’t like.
I’ve put 5w30 fully synth in now and she runs so much better with no burning and no level misreading!!! Hope this helps anyone else who may have the same issue.