trlyka

My husband had my car yesterday and sent me a pic of the warning. It says 'Add oil, max 1 qt. You may continue driving'. Is this normal? The mileage is 10,551 and I got the car Oct. 2010 and had the 5k maintenance done. I was waiting until 15k for the next visit. I don't do a lot of driving as you can tell by the mileage so far. My work is only a few miles away, but when I don't need my car, or every so often, my husband takes it. Or if we go out, we take it. We do this to help give the '08 a break and run my car like it should be once in a while. Can I use any synthetic SAE 5W40? I would typically choose Castrol, but I didn't know if it mattered. I haven't had a new car that needed oil before. The '08 has needed it because of the distance my husband goes to work every day. I would assume going short distances is almost as bad for oil consumption.

Thanks

uberwgn

I think the dealer will add the appropriate oil if it's convenient to get over to them.

If you do add oil, be certain it meets the 502.00 requirement. I think I would add 1/2 quart and check the oil on the MMI.

zulujams

Agreed with uberwgn--VW 502.00 spec full synthetic oil is what you need. Castrol has a version as do others. The hardcore drivers will tell you to get a German made 502 spec oil but that isn't easily found at all auto parts stores I don't think.

My other thoughts: go more slowly with the oil adding than a 1/2 quart maybe. Add 1/8 to 1/4 a quart and check MMI again. If you don't see it register, try a little more. If you don't see anything showing in MMI, you may want to get more help. Another driver had a faulty hood sensor that somehow interfered with the MMI oil readings. He ended up overfilling the oil (he added over a quart and it never registered with MMI?). I don't have all the details, just suggesting caution. If you have the optional oil dipstick, you can manually check what MMI is telling you.

trlyka

Ok. No charge? Maybe I can have my husband take it in. I work until 6pm, so it's too late for me to take it. Or maybe we will just buy the oil. Might be easier then taking it in.

zulujams

Oil would be considered wear and tear most likely and they would charge you. I don't think Audi Care would cover this either as that program is for scheduled maintenance, not oil usage between service intervals.

dsackman

Had the same recently in the A4. Wifes regular ride with primarily short distances. After 5,000 miles since the last service needed a quart.

My dealer will add the oil free of charge as it is under Audi Care.

Easier to get Castrol Synthetic 5W40 from your local store and add it yourself. That is the oil the dealer uses.


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zulujams

Good info, thanks. I didn't think the dealer would cover oil usage between service intervals. For whatever it is worth, I needed to top off the oil a little at a time and ended up using a full quart in about 5K miles. Some cars use far less, but a quart every 5K is not considered excessive by Audi per other threads on AudiWorld.

trlyka

Good to know I can do it for free. I do have AC. I think I'll just go buy it. I can handle adding a little oil

uberwgn

You'll find M1 0W40 at Walmart, which is what my dealer claims to use. You might find this oil at Advance Auto Part.

Autozone will have the Castrol 5W40 and the M1 0W40.

Regardless what you purchase, trlyka, the bottle must show the 502.00 spec on the label - - that's pretty simple.

jdong

Technically, the dealership is not required to give you free oil, AudiCare or not. AudiCare doesn't cover "normal wear and usage" which is what your level of oil consumption falls under (adding 1qt per 5000 miles is considered normal for Audi)

I've had my dealership turn me down when I called requesting free oil. It works better if you call and act sufficiently concerned/confused about what the warning means, and what kind of oil to buy.


But really, I ended up paying something like $6 for VW 502.00 compliant Castrol full synthetic oil, same that my dealership uses. And $6 per 5000 miles won't make me complain too much.