boz151

I have an 04 A8 and the low oil light came on a couple of days ago (the yellow one). I checked the oil and it was a quart low. The dealer just did the 55k service about 2500 miles ago. I've had the car since 44k miles, and it did not seem to burn any oil between 45k service and 55k service, but all of a sudden seems to have burned a full quart. I do not drive the car particularly hard, and have not noticed any significant exhaust other than the usual visible exhaust from the colder weather in NJ these days. There is also no visible oil leaking onto the ground. So a couple of questions:

1) is there any type of code that anyone knows of via vcds reading that may indicate an oil burn. I have not scanned it since, but am not sure I would know what to look for.
2) I suppose that the dealer could have underfilled the oil during the 55k service, and the normal amount of burn that occurs put it over the edge. I guess this could be likely.
3) are there any known oil burn issues with this engine. I know there are issues with the rings in the newer 4 cylinder engines with oil burn, but I did a search on the forum but don't see much about this engine.

As always, thanks to all for any insight.

mishar

I think it is #2. Just add a quart and check.

Brozee

I've noticed a few times when having my oil changed by places, dealer or indy included. They look at whatever their computer says to fill it with and they fill it. They must not check the fill level after that as I've noticed it was on the low side a few times after they've changed my oil. Most likely it's that.

Mister Bally

I abide by the 10,000 mile interval. I use 5w-40 and fill it using eight quarts. Usually around the 9,000 mile mark I get the low oil warning. I add a quart and life is good. If I remember, I start checking it once I've put 7,000 miles on it. It usually indicates at the low end of the dipstick's "Operating Range" so I only add a half quart which sames me some scratch.

volvopentaman

Add the quart, and keep an eye on the consumption over mileage.

A quart to three quarts on 6000mls is a normal consumption, in europe we have a simple rule 1-3deciliters per 1000km, more in rough conditions of course, but this in normal driving.

I suspect nr.2 of your choises, no a8 engines seem to have common oilburning issues, as the cheaper models smaller engines have. They've probably put some more effort on these more expensive cars and engines, to cope with this kind of reliablilty issues.

My dealer filled mine a bit over the max, an it requested more after around 9-10kMLS. I changed the oil last time myself, and after 6kMLS no request yet. The car has 145kMLS on it and a w12 engine.

gtreng1

Take the belly pan off and look for leaks as well. My d2 would lose 1qt every week, it came down to the rear breather hoses. They only last 45-60k miles. My drivers side was replaced with some Napa emissions hose, my passenger side is still OEM, and the front hose is another Napa emissions hose. Never had the problem again. Other place to look is just under the serp belt in the front of the engine. Could be oil pan gasket. Hopefully, it's just an under fill issue. Car should take 8.5qts

boz151

Thanks for all the insight guys. I've added the quart and will monitor it over the next couple of thousand miles. I also threw a spare quart in the trunk just in case...

bmwm750

I'd strongly suspect the dealer just under-filled it. Add the quart and monitor.

gtreng1

Reminds me when I drove from Florida to Vermont and back with a case of oil in the trunk.

mishar

Reminded me on sailing out of war zone with barrel of oil and leaking oil pan.