River616

Hi everyone. This may sound stupid, but I need some help!
I have a 2001 A4 1.8T. I love my car and plan on keeping it as long as I can. It's got 102k miles.

Check engine light came on about 500 miles ago. I take it in for the 5k service am told I need injection service, brake flush & radiator flush. I'm unemployed right now so I go for the most urgent. They say it's the injection...then come out and say they don't work on turbos so they can clean the throttle (for $20 instead of $100+ for injection) and do the brakes b/c that's the 2nd most urgent.
When I asked about the c/e light, they say it'd be another $99. No thanks.
They also pointed out that I have an oil leak but not sure where. (Didn't they just do an oil change...couldn't they have seen where?) They also say since they cleaned the throttle, I don't need the injection service anymore....?

The next week, my battery dies and I go to AutoZone to get a new one as well as diagnostic. Get a code p-0135 O2 Sensor.
The guy suggests I try cleaning it before buying the new one ($155).

So, Saturday, I open my hood after a short drive and oil is caked on various locations, fresh and still wet in others. Then I see the problem. The dipstick they ordered for me and told me was OEM part (which is why it cost $18 as opposed to $7) is the wrong one! It's not closed and there are about 6 or 7 inches of the actual dipstick showing!

Could the oil that's been leaking since last September when they put the wrong dipstick on and ignored just 2 weeks ago when they did the latest oil change, cause the issues with the O2 sensor?
What other damage can it cause?!

I'm going back in today with my dad. As you guys probably noticed, I'm a girl and don't know a great deal about the workings of my car. I try to take care of it. Get the synthetic oil changed every 5k miles. Now this.

I wish I could find an honest mechanic that won't break my wallet when I get stuff done. (I'm unemployed right now so the timing is that much more miserable!)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Any tips on cleaning this myself, too. I can borrow the sensor wrench from AutoZone. Are there cleaners you like?

Thanks!!!

5v/cyl

The code you have is for the upstream (pre-cat) sensor and it is for the heating circuit. The O2 sensor is still working, but the heater in it isn't so cleaning will most likely not do a thing. Check the O2 sensor connector to make sure there is no corrosion causing the problem, but most likely needs replacement. Brake fluid flush is not a huge deal and can be put off for awhile. You don't need a injector cleaning. Get a can of Sea Foam cleaner from auto parts store and pour it into a full tank of fuel. This will clean anything that might be clogging injectors and only cost $8.

Whoever ordered and put in the wrong dipstick needs to fix their mistake. This means getting the right dipstick and cleaning your oil sprayed engine bay at their expense. They screwed up and need to own up.

4Driver4

Your shop sounds like it is run by idiots. Honesty is useless of wasted on morons. Find a new shop. Fix the dipstick. Change the O2 sensor.