SilverStreaks

I have had my 02 1.8T in the garage four times for the oil pressure light flashing. I have had no performance issues. The last episode, the car was in the garage for 3 weeks!
One time they replaced a sensor, two times they found nothing, the last time, they said it was slight oil sludge. It only has 21,000 miles and I perform scheduled maintanence.
In doing research, I found a link between the oil pressure light and exits from offramps onto highways.
Everytime I have experienced oil pressure light situations, I have come off a sharp off ramp.
Is that the problem? Why? Should it happen?
And, shouldn't AoA and my dealer have suspected it, instead of being clueless?

Oettinger_A4

Oil sludge = get new engine haha

Audi4orce

How can a car with 21K miles have slight oil sludge???? Do me a big favor, tell AOA and stealership to go pound sand...

SilverStreaks

Thanks for the input. Honestly, I am clueless when it comes to engines. However, I expect my dealer and AoA to have a clue.
So, you think the oil sludge solution on a car with 21,000 miles is a joke? I do. I think after having my car in the shop for 3 weeks, they were just searching for something.
Any other comments would be appreciated.

Jimax

I know you're not getting the oil pressure light when you're going around the off-ramp calmly and slowly. It has to be happening as you're flying through the off-ramps enjoying taking the turn at high speed. If you're not flying around the turn and you're still getting oil pressure warning lights, then your sludge problem is not so "slight" as your dealer claims.

What it sounds like is that the oil pump is on the right side of the engine and as you take a hard turn to the right, all the oil moves to the left side of the crankcase. It sounds like the oil pickup is not getting enough oil hence the warning light.

Oil sludge definitely could contriube to the oil pressure light. As it sludges up, the oil becomes less fluid hence less to get sucked up by the oil pickup.

Immediately change to synthetic oil, use the larger oil filter for the 1.8T, and start changing oil every 5K miles. If it's a "slight sludge" problem, let the dealer run a treatment through the engine to get rid of the sludge. Also, try not to take frequent short trips with the car to where the oil never gets warmed up.

If you have a short commute, chances are, your oil will never fully warm up, also contributing to a sludge issue. Generally speaking (from the B5 1.8T's that I've driven that have an oil temp gauge), it takes about ten minutes for the oil to reach full operating temperature. Obviously, a lot of that depends on how cold it is outside. Just because your temperature gauge reaches full operating temperature (in the centre), does not mean your oil is warmed up.

Let's say that you don't have a sludge issue, you could still get an oil pressure warning light through the same scenarios mentioned above (flying through a sharp turn). This is simply becasue the oil pickup may not be able to suck up enough oil because of the heavy leaning. This is why the M5s have multiple oil pickups...to prevent this exact thing. An A4 obviously isn't as performance-oriented or as expensive as an M5, so we don't get those other nice-to-haves like the M5. Just an FYI.

Hope this helps

-Jim

SilverStreaks

Thanks for the detailed info.
I'm not sure you can take an off ramp slowly and calmly. On the other hand, I was not overdoing it, either.
This last time - when it was in for 3 weeks - they did put synthetic oil in.
To fix the sludge, they put in several parts, including a switch, gasket set, pipe, OIL PICKUP TUBE, sealant and oil filter.
For the most part, I live in a small town and never get above 40 mph. On weekends, we will travel the interstate and get it up to 70.
Living in Illinois, the car does get cold in the mornings. None of the oil light situations happened early in the morning, though. All after the car was warmed up.
I still wonder, why do you know more about it than AoA or my dealer????
Wouldn't you say 4 times in the garage, the last time for 3 weeks is ridiculous?

Jimax

This is a problem that they need to address quickly, otherwise they will be faced with the costs of a replacement engine. Good luck.

SilverStreaks

Fine with me if they screw around and have to replace the engine. It is a lease anyway.