MySecondA4

I have a 2003 Audi A4 3.0 6M. I had Audi change the oil at 5000 miles (5 months). I thought it would be a free change, but they suggested I pay for it and get the free one ar 10k miles. Then, 3 months later @ 8k miles, after drinving for about 2 hours, the "Min Oil" light came on. I pulled over at the next gas station and bought a quart of oil - Mobile 1 SuperSyn Synthetic 5W-30 "Newer Vehicle Formula". I checked the dip stick and didn't see any oil on it, so I added a half quart. The Min Oil light went out.

Now my questions:

1) I have no idea what kind of oil Audi put in the car, so did I do anything bad by adding the type of oil described above?

2) Should I schedule an immediate oil change to replace the "stressed" oil with new oil?

3) Not really a question, but I have a suspicious nature... I wonder if Audi really changed the oil at 5k miles, or if they simply figured it didn't need it until the free oil change at 10k miles.

Thanks for all responses.

Shaun

The low oil warning will come on if the oil level drops just a quart, so it doesn't take much. If they inadvertently underfilled it at 5K, it wouldn't take much for it to go down past the point where the light comes on.

Also, regarding which oil they used, unless you specifically requested synthetic (and paid for the difference), I doubt they used it.

With that said, I would make very sure that they do change the oil at your scheduled 10K service. Also, you should be checking your oil on a regular basis just to keep an eye on it.

Good luck,

f1isbest

I suggest chging with syth oil, I prefer Mobil1 0-40w, every 5k. Oil is cheap, engines are expensive

MySecondA4

Thanks.

I'm clearly guilty of not checking the oil. I must say, I thought with new cars, you could simply go from oil change to oil change and not worry about the oil level. But after reading the forum I now understand that is not the case.

Since the oil still registers low on the dipstick, is it OK for me to add the remainder of the quart of synthetic oil that I bought?

A4NCAR

You just have to ask them what they used. And it's no problem with what you used to top off. Engines will consume oil too, no worries. Also, there is no need to change every 5K miles, unless you are using cheap dino crude. The Euro flavors like M1 0W-40 are formulated to go the manufacturers service OCI [Oil Change Interval]; which in this case is 10K miles. Don't be frightened of extended drain intervals - it's fine if you're using a high quality 100% synthetic oil. I personally recommend using Motul. Their 8100 Ester E-Tech 0W-40 is the shtuff. But if you're a follower of the "on the counter/name brand" oil, then you want the Euro spec'd M1 0W-40.

As with the dealer; I'm sure they changed it. I suggest bringing your own oil in the future, unless the dealer uses what you want. And it's ok to go the 10K miles in between oil changes. Just use the high quality synth oils mentioned. Castrol SLX 0W-30 (Made in Germany). But I'd still recommend Motul over any other oil out there.

Audi Junkie

You 5w-30 lover! He means 0w-30, typo...lol.

Audi Junkie

All is well, your factory oil is amazing German Castrol Syntec 0w-30.

A4NCAR

Unless it is Mobil, Castrol, Vavoline,...

Audi Junkie

I wish we could get the Castrol Formula RS here. RS6 oil might be it, but I guess Audi is dropping Castrol. ; 0 ) I am getting the part numbers for TDI and RS6 oil today. Did you see my post on Saab Synth, pretty sweet and easy to get for $4. Might be better than M1 0w-40.

A4NCAR

Someone local was using the RS6 oil, until I convinced him to switch to Motul ; )

I didn't see the SAAB synth.