mswanson65

Hi All,
A couple months ago I picked up a used 2015 Q5 TDI with 38K miles. It had the "fix" done just before my purchase. At 41K miles I had my local dealer do the 35K audicare service that was remaining from previous owner.

I am now at almost 45K and I noticed that the mmi oil meter is 1/4 down from max. I am a little paranoid on oil consumption having come from a couple of B8 A4 Avants with the 2.0 engine.

Should I be concerned here with a small amount of consumption in about 4K miles or should the 3.0 TDI go 10K with no consumption.

Also what are you guys doing for oil change interval? I used to do 5K with Mobil 1 0-w40 in my A4s.

Also what is a good oil to use

Thanks!

uberwgn

1/4 of the bar from MAX represents a few ounces of oil. However, if the dealer had the oil over-filled, (well above the MAX indication), you really have no way of knowing how much oil the car is consuming since the indicated level if off the graph and not providing any point of reference.

I think you've got to continue to watch/monitor how much farther the level drops against miles traveled. The entire bar graph represents something like 1 litre of oil.

Assuming you are asking about oil selection for a diesel in the USA, that requires 504/507 compliant oil. The M1 0W40 does NOT meet that spec.

MurrayA4

I've done 200k kms on my 14 Tdi.These remarkable engines are very "oil sensitive".The only time I've seen oil consumption is the 2 occasions I had the dealer do it using their Castrol stuff and it was minor.I run all the way out to 15k kms. for oil/filter changes, do a fair bit of towing, and like to get into her.I have always used LiquiMoly in my 3 Audis and never had an engine lubrication issues 350k kms, 460k kms and still counting on this one.

mswanson65

Thanks for the replies! I am going to try the LiquiMoly.

davidglt66

On my 2014 TDI with 75,000 miles have always used the dealer Castrol low SAP oil as recommended, 10,000 mile changes, total oil use in 75,000 miles has been 1/3 of a quart at around 25,000. No use at all between 10,000 mile changes.

MurrayA4

Yes it's pretty remarkable how they get these super high compression motors to seal up so well !

Adjuster

Anyone had luck running Shell Rotella T Synthetic? 5-40 I think is the rating, and it's a "Diesel" type oil I have used on nearly all my cars and motorcycles for years with good service.

I've also run the Mobil 1 brand oils, but tend to get thicker weights when possible. I'm running 15-50 Mobil 1 in my 2001 S8 right now, but I'm selling that car. It's run the Mobil 1, but mostly Rotella T Synthetic while I've had it. Change the oil twice a year with new filters every oil change.

In my Supra Turbo I used RedLine oils, and they were awesome, but expensive. (That was with a custom Canton/Mecca oil system, and a Oil Guard bypass filter that brought it up to using a full 12 quarts of oil with the larger oil cooler, accusump, 15' of AN10 lines and the remote mount Canton filter housing etc.)

Not to thread hijack, but has anyone installed a bypass filter? I've got the OilGuard setup from my last Supra, and am thinking of adding it to my 2014 Q5 TDI. Looks like the oil pressure sending unit is right up top, near the filter housing, so should be easy to tap into for the oil supply, and I can dump the clean oil back into the PCV system at one of the valve cover hose ports.

Mythdoc

Adjuster

I just bought the 2014 Q5, and it's now time to change the oil for the first time for me. (I have no idea what oil is in it.)

I researched the filters, and it looks like all of them are the same, only branded/boxed differently. (Wix for example is a OEM filter, in a different box... So are the off/no name brands, they are all made by the same company, same filter it appears.)

I did buy a new fuel filter for this tune up as well. (The Q5 has just over 50k miles, and I do not think it has been changed before, but the vehicle has had the Audi "fix" for the engine/emissions issue.) I don't know if they replaced that filter at that time, but the filter is less than 30.00 for peace of mind.

I have done some limited research into the recommended oil, VW 507 specification, and it appears it's only about the soot control, heat resistance for the turbo use, and some other additives and properties that many Diesel rated oils also have blended into them. Multi-grade weights and all that stuff are also in the same range, with my personal experience being that just about any true synthetic is going to pour and pump at lower temps better than standard type base stocks for the oil.

Is there a detail the VW 507 spec oils have that Rotella T Synthetic, or another quality oil such as Delo Diesel would not have as well? They are all rated for compression engine use, control soot, deal with the high heat of the CHRA on the turbo and other important details, but they are quite a bit less money up front. This is my first turbo diesel, but I've run stock and highly modified turbo gas engines on my Supra for many years.

The oil guard bypass filter looks like an easy install, just remove the stock oil pressure sending sensor on the filter housing, replace it with the right sized adapter, a T fitting with AN 4 one side, and thread the stock sensor in the other side of the T. Route it to the bypass filter, and dump the filter oil back into the valve covers by placing a T into the hose at the PCV port. (On my S8, it was in the front hose that crosses over between the two valve covers, just dumps the filtered oil back into the hose, and it drains down into the sump via the heads, and there is not so much oil flow that it's caused any issues with the vapor flow between heads/valve covers at all.) Any recommendation on where a good place to return oil back into the valve cover would be? Some folks just buy a new oil filler cap, and place a AN fitting into it, dumping the filtered oil right back into the engine there. It works, but I'd rather not have a line and fitting that has to be removed every time I change the oil.

The bypass filter really does not flow that much oil, or cause a significant oil pressure loss. I am however worried about the stop/start feature for fuel economy. Seems like starting the engine over and over to save a few pennies on fuel, is not smart considering every start is a zero oil pressure start, and that has to cause some wear on the bearings, and other friction surfaces that should be suspended in a nice film of pressurized oil in a perfect world.

Appreciate any and all advice, and discussion on this.

DennisMitchell

To use other than VW507 spec oil or to install other custom parts on this engine is inviting the loss of your warranties. 10 year / 120,000 mile engine long block warranty along with the turbo coverage, why would you do this?