Hawkeye_a

Audi A4 2.4L CVT 2003.

Had it serviced in November and according to the report, the oil filter was changed and the oil level topped off.

I do a 50km run daily to work. And it's been summer here down under.

So driving home yesterday and the oil lamp warning light with the word 'min' pops up. So i take it (about 10-15 kms) to a service station, where we checked the oil and it was below the min level, so we topped off the oil. The warning went away and i drove home.

I kept an eye on the the engine temperature gauge and it never went over 90 (which is normal).

I dont think this is 'normal', what could the problems be ? and whats next ? ill have to wait till monday to schedule a check at my audi service place. Is it safe to drive ? I checked the oil level today and it looked fine (just above max).

Cheers

lyleswk

I would just simply check your oil daily for the next week or so before you drive. That way, you can baseline the oil level. If you notice a significant "usage" in a week, that needs to be addressed. If you don't notice a change over a week, then maybe the tech didn't really "top" the oil off. Running the car with up to a quart (~liter) low (bottom of the dip stick) will not harm the engine.

Hawkeye_a

Thanks for the response. Well i took it into the local audi service dudes. And they told me:
-The car has done 5700kms since they last serviced it(November 09).
-there are no leaks
-it's normal for the car to consume oil, and that 2Liters is nothing to worry about
-to check the oil every month at least.

My dad's mersades doesnt use/burn oil at that rate, and he does a daily run roughly the same as me (50kms per day). Is this normal ? or is it a symptom of a problem with the Audi ?

Cheers

lyleswk

My reading has lead me to believe there is no "normal". Here is my dissertation; if others have opinions / experience, fire away.

Turbo cars tend to "use" oil, primarily due to blow by. I have had 3 turbo cars. My Audi is new to me, but appears to be "using" about a quart every 1000 miles. I know there is a leak that I think is from a cam seal and I have no smoke in the exhaust, so I plan on just watching it. My Merkur (your Ford Sierra) with a US 2.3 turbo running at 12.5 psi "used" about a quart every 3000 miles. This just hapened to be when I normally changed it. My 84 turbo Z still doesn't "use" oil with 134K. I never felt I had / have a problem on any of these.

2) Oil consumption has so many factors: 1) oil change frequency, 2) quality of oil used, 3) temperature conditions driven in, 4) how many starts your car has done, 5) how hard you drive the car, 6) build quality, 7) clearance specifications on the specific engine, 8) materials used, etc (i could go on, but would probably just bore everyone...). Some of these, the owner controls and some of these the Manufacturer controls. Of the ones the owner controls, you can build your own scenario, but if you abuse your car (short drives, long oil change intervals, heavy on the throttle, etc), one should expect the piston rings to wear out and allow oil into the combustion chamber. If you take care of your car (frequent oil changes, let it warm up before brisk driving, easy accels most of the time, etc), your pistons will not wear out as quickly and thus "use" oil.

Sorry so wordy, I am an engineer and bore my wife and sons with this stuff all the time.

Hawkeye_a

lyleswk, Cheers for the info.

It is summer here, so i guess the oil consumption is higher now (according to the manual anyway). I just thought it was kinda odd to happen. I guess from now on, i should check the oil every 1000 kms. According to the manual, this car will consume .5L every 1000 kms, in summer, with a few other caveats.

I'm just glad the engine isnt burning it and there isnt a major leak.

Cheers

hgerber

Hi

I had the same problem and it was the oil pump.
Check the oil Pump.

lyleswk

hgerber, was your issue the yellow oil level fault or the red oil pressure fault? I believe Hawkeye is having issues with the yellow level fault.