Audi Q7 2017 Oil Consumption. Any one else with this issue with this model and year?
05-19-2024, 02:20 PM
#831
AudiWorld Junior Member
Greetings all, new member here.
I know this thread focuses on oil consumption and I appreciate the posts. I’ve distilled that high oil consumption (let’s define it as more than a quart I between 5k OCI’s) is due to bad piston ring design primarily, and secondarily, bad/faulty PCVs aka oil/air separators.
with that as background here’s my situation:
I bought my 2014 SQ5 from a dealer, it was one owner, with 28k miles. Los Angeles car. I bought in 2018, and have maintained it (tires, brakes, oil changes) while having few mechanical issues.
I have noticed increasing oil consumption in past 15-20k miles or so. About 1-1.5 quarts every 5k miles. Have begun to smell oil after parking in my garage (hot engine) and so realized it might be valve cover gaskets. Talked with my indie guy who I’ve been dealing with on above mtce items and he recommended replacing valve cover gaskets and also PCV replacement, also something about tensioner cradle / gaskets. Quarter between. $2500-$3k for this and says he’s done this on several 3.0T engines. Also claims oil consumption is basically normal on these engines but would improve after this work. (Didn’t quantify improvement.)
After reading this thread I’m now concerned about bad piston wings being the main culprit on oil consumption.
Would a compression test confirm that piston rings are faulty? If compression values are in spec then it probably makes sense to do the valve gasket and pcv work ?
Ive alway taken good care and kept cars a long time (also have a bmw 330i with 155k miles) but if position rings are bad I will probably save the $3k in service costs and just cut my losses. The car runs fantastic otherwise and I’d like to hang on to it if it makes sense.
Thanks in advance for guidance on this.
I know this thread focuses on oil consumption and I appreciate the posts. I’ve distilled that high oil consumption (let’s define it as more than a quart I between 5k OCI’s) is due to bad piston ring design primarily, and secondarily, bad/faulty PCVs aka oil/air separators.
with that as background here’s my situation:
I bought my 2014 SQ5 from a dealer, it was one owner, with 28k miles. Los Angeles car. I bought in 2018, and have maintained it (tires, brakes, oil changes) while having few mechanical issues.
I have noticed increasing oil consumption in past 15-20k miles or so. About 1-1.5 quarts every 5k miles. Have begun to smell oil after parking in my garage (hot engine) and so realized it might be valve cover gaskets. Talked with my indie guy who I’ve been dealing with on above mtce items and he recommended replacing valve cover gaskets and also PCV replacement, also something about tensioner cradle / gaskets. Quarter between. $2500-$3k for this and says he’s done this on several 3.0T engines. Also claims oil consumption is basically normal on these engines but would improve after this work. (Didn’t quantify improvement.)
After reading this thread I’m now concerned about bad piston wings being the main culprit on oil consumption.
Would a compression test confirm that piston rings are faulty? If compression values are in spec then it probably makes sense to do the valve gasket and pcv work ?
Ive alway taken good care and kept cars a long time (also have a bmw 330i with 155k miles) but if position rings are bad I will probably save the $3k in service costs and just cut my losses. The car runs fantastic otherwise and I’d like to hang on to it if it makes sense.
Thanks in advance for guidance on this.
I'm no mechanic, but have an A6 3.0T and a Tiguan with the 2.0 so I've been following this thread and videos about the Audi/VW oil consumption issue. Most of what I've gathered is the issue is most likely the oil rings or PCV. I doubt low compression or a leaky valve cover gasket are your problem. I would suggest a Berryman's B12 piston soak. That's the simplest & least expensive thing to try, and many have reported good results. The B12 is only $5 per can. I recently did the process on the Tiguan, which just began consuming a liter between 5K oil changes. I used 3.5 cans so I'd think 6 cans would be plenty for a 3.0T. If your spark plug boots & holes are oily that indicates a leaking valve cover gasket. (I just did the piston soak a couple of weeks ago so I can't confirm whether it worked yet.)
The PCV requires removing the supercharger, so that is probably a bit more than a DIY project for most of us.
05-19-2024, 07:05 PM
#832
AudiWorld Senior Member
My car has been burning through oil last couple years, it went from from tolerable (1 qt. 5k+) to intolerable in the last couple months (it looks like about 500 miles, recently) no issues first 70k or so miles and tolerable 70-90k range I'm at 98k now, and am going to make more meticulous records. If anyone wants to set up a google sheet for people to self add data I will contribute, not sure I'm feeling industrious enough to lead the charge there myself.
I did walk into my local service dept. and they gave me the Audi customer rep. #, which I called but they're only active like 8a-4p Tues-Fri. (eastern) so I'm hoping they'll call me back Tuesday afternoon. Sounds like they're going to recommend a consumption test (~$450) which I'm fine with if they're willing to do something assuming it fails. Otherwise it just seems like a way to waste money.
It would be nice if there were a pinned post somewhere summering potential remedies (varying from 'sealing additives' which seem to be like $20-30 a shot, to changing oil brands, to various cleaning methods to full on engine rebuild/replace).
Adding a qt. a month is inconvenient but cheaper and easier than any real fix, but if some of the cheaper methods have even mild success they seem to be worth trying. My bigger concern is just if the root cause of the burn will lead to something more catastrophic in "sooner than I'd like it to be" future. (I've been very happy with my Q thus far and really am not interested in a new vehicle)
I did walk into my local service dept. and they gave me the Audi customer rep. #, which I called but they're only active like 8a-4p Tues-Fri. (eastern) so I'm hoping they'll call me back Tuesday afternoon. Sounds like they're going to recommend a consumption test (~$450) which I'm fine with if they're willing to do something assuming it fails. Otherwise it just seems like a way to waste money.
It would be nice if there were a pinned post somewhere summering potential remedies (varying from 'sealing additives' which seem to be like $20-30 a shot, to changing oil brands, to various cleaning methods to full on engine rebuild/replace).
Adding a qt. a month is inconvenient but cheaper and easier than any real fix, but if some of the cheaper methods have even mild success they seem to be worth trying. My bigger concern is just if the root cause of the burn will lead to something more catastrophic in "sooner than I'd like it to be" future. (I've been very happy with my Q thus far and really am not interested in a new vehicle)
05-19-2024, 08:08 PM
#833
I'm no mechanic, but have an A6 3.0T and a Tiguan with the 2.0 so I've been following this thread and videos about the Audi/VW oil consumption issue. Most of what I've gathered is the issue is most likely the oil rings or PCV. I doubt low compression or a leaky valve cover gasket are your problem. I would suggest a Berryman's B12 piston soak. That's the simplest & least expensive thing to try, and many have reported good results. The B12 is only $5 per can. I recently did the process on the Tiguan, which just began consuming a liter between 5K oil changes. I used 3.5 cans so I'd think 6 cans would be plenty for a 3.0T. If your spark plug boots & holes are oily that indicates a leaking valve cover gasket. (I just did the piston soak a couple of weeks ago so I can't confirm whether it worked yet.)
The PCV requires removing the supercharger, so that is probably a bit more than a DIY project for most of us.
The PCV requires removing the supercharger, so that is probably a bit more than a DIY project for most of us.
05-19-2024, 08:12 PM
#834
My car has been burning through oil last couple years, it went from from tolerable (1 qt. 5k+) to intolerable in the last couple months (it looks like about 500 miles, recently) no issues first 70k or so miles and tolerable 70-90k range I'm at 98k now, and am going to make more meticulous records. If anyone wants to set up a google sheet for people to self add data I will contribute, not sure I'm feeling industrious enough to lead the charge there myself.
I did walk into my local service dept. and they gave me the Audi customer rep. #, which I called but they're only active like 8a-4p Tues-Fri. (eastern) so I'm hoping they'll call me back Tuesday afternoon. Sounds like they're going to recommend a consumption test (~$450) which I'm fine with if they're willing to do something assuming it fails. Otherwise it just seems like a way to waste money.
It would be nice if there were a pinned post somewhere summering potential remedies (varying from 'sealing additives' which seem to be like $20-30 a shot, to changing oil brands, to various cleaning methods to full on engine rebuild/replace).
Adding a qt. a month is inconvenient but cheaper and easier than any real fix, but if some of the cheaper methods have even mild success they seem to be worth trying. My bigger concern is just if the root cause of the burn will lead to something more catastrophic in "sooner than I'd like it to be" future. (I've been very happy with my Q thus far and really am not interested in a new vehicle)
I did walk into my local service dept. and they gave me the Audi customer rep. #, which I called but they're only active like 8a-4p Tues-Fri. (eastern) so I'm hoping they'll call me back Tuesday afternoon. Sounds like they're going to recommend a consumption test (~$450) which I'm fine with if they're willing to do something assuming it fails. Otherwise it just seems like a way to waste money.
It would be nice if there were a pinned post somewhere summering potential remedies (varying from 'sealing additives' which seem to be like $20-30 a shot, to changing oil brands, to various cleaning methods to full on engine rebuild/replace).
Adding a qt. a month is inconvenient but cheaper and easier than any real fix, but if some of the cheaper methods have even mild success they seem to be worth trying. My bigger concern is just if the root cause of the burn will lead to something more catastrophic in "sooner than I'd like it to be" future. (I've been very happy with my Q thus far and really am not interested in a new vehicle)
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Miss Curmudgeonly (06-02-2024)
05-19-2024, 08:49 PM
#835
My car has been burning through oil last couple years, it went from from tolerable (1 qt. 5k+) to intolerable in the last couple months (it looks like about 500 miles, recently) no issues first 70k or so miles and tolerable 70-90k range I'm at 98k now, and am going to make more meticulous records. If anyone wants to set up a google sheet for people to self add data I will contribute, not sure I'm feeling industrious enough to lead the charge there myself.
I did walk into my local service dept. and they gave me the Audi customer rep. #, which I called but they're only active like 8a-4p Tues-Fri. (eastern) so I'm hoping they'll call me back Tuesday afternoon. Sounds like they're going to recommend a consumption test (~$450) which I'm fine with if they're willing to do something assuming it fails. Otherwise it just seems like a way to waste money.
It would be nice if there were a pinned post somewhere summering potential remedies (varying from 'sealing additives' which seem to be like $20-30 a shot, to changing oil brands, to various cleaning methods to full on engine rebuild/replace).
Adding a qt. a month is inconvenient but cheaper and easier than any real fix, but if some of the cheaper methods have even mild success they seem to be worth trying. My bigger concern is just if the root cause of the burn will lead to something more catastrophic in "sooner than I'd like it to be" future. (I've been very happy with my Q thus far and really am not interested in a new vehicle)
I did walk into my local service dept. and they gave me the Audi customer rep. #, which I called but they're only active like 8a-4p Tues-Fri. (eastern) so I'm hoping they'll call me back Tuesday afternoon. Sounds like they're going to recommend a consumption test (~$450) which I'm fine with if they're willing to do something assuming it fails. Otherwise it just seems like a way to waste money.
It would be nice if there were a pinned post somewhere summering potential remedies (varying from 'sealing additives' which seem to be like $20-30 a shot, to changing oil brands, to various cleaning methods to full on engine rebuild/replace).
Adding a qt. a month is inconvenient but cheaper and easier than any real fix, but if some of the cheaper methods have even mild success they seem to be worth trying. My bigger concern is just if the root cause of the burn will lead to something more catastrophic in "sooner than I'd like it to be" future. (I've been very happy with my Q thus far and really am not interested in a new vehicle)
05-20-2024, 10:02 AM
#836
AudiWorld Senior Member
Well pulling out of the vet today, i get a drive malfunction message from the computer, pull over call a service advisor and he basically tells me I can drive the car but it won't drive well (definitely true), Audi can't get me in until sometime in June. I drove a few miles to my local mechanic, who is randomly closed today, park the car there, so I'll find out more tomorrow.
<insert well that escalated quickly gif>
<insert well that escalated quickly gif>
05-20-2024, 12:51 PM
#837
Well pulling out of the vet today, i get a drive malfunction message from the computer, pull over call a service advisor and he basically tells me I can drive the car but it won't drive well (definitely true), Audi can't get me in until sometime in June. I drove a few miles to my local mechanic, who is randomly closed today, park the car there, so I'll find out more tomorrow.
<insert well that escalated quickly gif>
<insert well that escalated quickly gif>
Cylinder 1
Last edited by gbgastowers; 05-20-2024 at 12:58 PM.
05-20-2024, 06:25 PM
#838
AudiWorld Junior Member
Eurotrash just posted a video for the Audi V6. He decided to soak the pistons at the TDC position, which allows the Berryman's B12 solution to soak the valves too, This method requires the soaks to be done in 3 stages since only 2 pistons are at TDC at the same time.
Here's the video:
Here's the video:
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kelisko (05-21-2024)
05-21-2024, 01:53 AM
#839
01. I removed the spark plugs from cylinders 4, 5 and 6.
02. I jacked up the driver's side of the car to reduce the angle.
03. I manually cranked the engine until pistons in cylinders 4 and 6 were fully retracted.
04. I poured the solution into both cylinders and covered the openings.
05. I let it sit overnight.
06. The next morning, I used my oil extractor tool to suck out the solution.
07. I lowered the driver's side of the car.
08. I manually cranked the engine several times.
09. I changed the engine oil and filter.
10. I covered the spark plug wells with sheets held with clothespins.
11. I started the engine and let it spew out whatever was left for about 30 seconds.
12. I cleaned the spark plug wells with cloth.
13. I installed previously cleaned spark plugs.
14. I started the engine and let it smoke for a few minutes.
15. I stopped the engine and let it cool off.
16. I went on a test drive.
Misfire did not stop because I likely have a burnt valve in cylinder 6 which has 0 compression but I felt improvement in engine response, oil consumption and fuel consumption and that was just two random cylinders. Maybe those who do not have a burnt exhaust valve yet should try this out.
Last edited by kelisko; 05-21-2024 at 02:05 AM.
05-22-2024, 11:41 AM
#840
AudiWorld Senior Member
@GlennR The video you posted is fantastic and thank you for sharing 👍
As the presenter stated sludged rings can happen to any brand any model. Long OCI’s and worn out PCV’s are major contributors. I noted the large chunk of dislodged carbon that prevented the engine from being manually rotated. This is the stuff that can hang and burn a valve.
I really like the idea to piston soak three pairs of V6 TDC cylinders. Yes it takes longer but will produce better results and it avoids having to tilt the V engined vehicle from side to side to soak both banks. Brilliant video!
I believe this is the first go-to solution for anyone with an engine burning oil due to sludged rings. The trick is to not wait too long and risk dislodged carbon accumulation to burn a valve!
As the presenter stated sludged rings can happen to any brand any model. Long OCI’s and worn out PCV’s are major contributors. I noted the large chunk of dislodged carbon that prevented the engine from being manually rotated. This is the stuff that can hang and burn a valve.
I really like the idea to piston soak three pairs of V6 TDC cylinders. Yes it takes longer but will produce better results and it avoids having to tilt the V engined vehicle from side to side to soak both banks. Brilliant video!
I believe this is the first go-to solution for anyone with an engine burning oil due to sludged rings. The trick is to not wait too long and risk dislodged carbon accumulation to burn a valve!
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2kwik4u (05-23-2024)