KnappAttack

Just curious why didn't you change it with the new Valvoline Restore & Protect 5-30 and start the cleaning process? Would have been the perfect time to start with the road trip I would think.

I'm looking at getting the wife a Q7. Seeing the issues with these sticking rings, I'd use this new Valvoline Protect and Restore 5-30 oil in a heartbeat.

AudiAllTheWay

Two ways for any vehicle, pull the front O2’s and inspect with 90 degree side view bore scope or inspect cat faces when downpipes are removed.

cW6mT mKviGLi

FYI, I had sent over an email to the Valvoline team to ask about prospective additional viscosity formulations. Based on the reply it seems that they have already released the full product lineup of the Restore & Protect and don't really plan on investing in future testing and development. However, I believe that perspective can change month by month. Screenshot of the reply attached.

Ktran350

Should be good to go with 5W30? 5W30 was the orginal oil Audi called for in our Q7 before it was updated to 0W30 or am I missing something? Or are we looking for VW 502/504 specs?

KnappAttack

[QUOTE=cW6mT mKviGLi;25916452]FYI, I had sent over an email to the Valvoline team to ask about prospective additional viscosity formulations. Based on the reply it seems that they have already released the full product lineup of the Restore & Protect and don't really plan on investing in future testing and development. However, I believe that perspective can change month by month. Screenshot of the reply attached.
QUOTE]

I too sent an email to to see if they plan on making it in a 0-40 version and got the same exact response. Of course they are not going to recommend a "unapproved oil" without the MFGR's approvals, but I'd certainly use the Valvoline Restore and Protect 5-30 in a 3.0t if it was prone to ring sticking in a heartbeat. After all, the Audi "specified oil" has been doing the ring sticking in the first place, so what good is that right.

Chance using Restore and protect or keep using "specified oil" and blow the engine up for certain if you don't clean the carbon from the rings and pistons. Seems to me using the "non recommended" Valvoline Cummins Restore oil, Restore and Protect or doing a piston/ring cleaning process continuously is going to be the only way to make the CRCE engine put on any serious miles or so it would seem.

I find this CRCE engine oil usage and sticking rings really strange, because my old 2012 A6 and current 2013 A6 3.0t's have exceeded 100,000 miles with zero oil consumption issues using Mobile1 0-40 oil at 10,000 mile change intervals, they have had no carbon cleanings nor have had any problems of any kind, thats why I've come here to learn about the Q7 and come across this thread. Real eye opening to say the least. Seems like Audi modified the 3.0t engine and didn't even test it for any time at all, just added an extra set of injectors to the old engine.

2kwik4u

If i was near home, I would have. I'm not going to run the risk of changing anything in the setup before a long road trip. The risk of change isn't worth the potential benefit. When researching the Restore Blue Gen 2 (different oil than the new Restore and Protect), it was such an aggressive cleaner that frequent filter changed through out the OCI were required. If the Restore and Protect is even a little bit aggressive like that, I don't have the means or desire to deal with that on vacation. Beyond that portion, I towed the boat with us (a little over 1,100 miles one way) and didn't want to deviate from the 5W40 that I've been running while towing for years. Again, just not worth taking any risk on that front.

Once I'm home I'll probably swap over to the Restore and Protect product, as that's close to the easiest solution.....assuming it works.

ncnmra

Given that Valvoline doesn't have a 5W40 version of this product, what are the ramifications of running the Valvoline R&P 5W30? As I understand it, 5W30 and 5W40 are identical at lower temps, but 5W40 retains higher viscosity at higher temps. If I can find the R&P 5W30 in Canada, I'm considering running it for a few cycles over the fall/winter/spring when I'm not towing my boat. Bad idea?

mtk00

[QUOTE=KnappAttack;25916723]They did a lot more than change the piston rings and add MPI in the GEN4 CREC - although ironically they said that was to reduce oil consumption. This is actually an amazing engine when you look at the technology in it - spend a few minutes browsing this PDF: https://hausofdub.com/pdf/ssp-624-4g-30l-TFSI.pdf hope the link works.

I have not missed one post in this entire forum when it comes to the oil burning issue - there is a lot of good info from knowledgeable people and also a lot of misinformation and speculation, Kudos to the ones posting data/pics from their experience and keeping us posted on techniques like piston soaking. That procedure in particular seems to have, by far, the most promise (the piston pics from above are amazing). My 2019 Prestige with 57k is currently at 1L/3200-3500mi (90% city) and I will likely do this after my list of maintenance and mods are complete. As others have noted, it will be critical to do this before the cylinders get scored too badly, and also you must cover the exhaust valves with the B12. I don't see how any oil treatment will have any effect on anything in the combustion chamber, but remain open to see results.

I would also not be surprised to see a class action lawsuit at some point. I saw somewhere else on the forum there was a firm investigating this and phone # was posted although I cant find it atm.

KnappAttack

[QUOTE=mtk00;25916941]Thanks for that, I'm going to really need to read about the changes, I just purchased a 2018 FULLY loaded up Q7 for my wife this afternoon with 84,000 miles on the clock, it literally looks & drives like a brand new vehicle, has the B&O, Luxury Package, Adaptive Chassis Package, Black Optics, Towing Pack and a bunch of other boxes that were checked on the window sticker, but I'm sure I'll need to do a piston & ring cleaning on it from the sounds of things at some point. It's a one owner vehicle with no accidents or paint work, clean title vehicle that had 10,000 mile changes at the dealership on the Carfax, so we'll see how the oil usage is soon enough on it. I'm not afraid to do a BG EPR cleaning and/or a Valvoline/Cummins Gen2 Restore oil change to clean the pistons and rings up if its using oil. If it needs a piston soak, I can easily manage that as well. I'm sure as long as its not too far gone, the rings and pistons can be cleaned up enough and restored internally with these products from the sounds of things.

This ring sticking/carbon thing due to these new stringent emissions regulations and GDI issues are really rearing their ugly heads including the new diesel engines in all the OEM's, it's not just Audi vehicles with carbon stuck rings.

audi-luver

Greetings,

Long time lurker and haven’t been active for a while since I sold my A4 during covid.

We have a 2017 Q7 (bought new Nov 2017) and it has about 144.5K miles at the moment. Wife drove this mostly until end of 2023. Dealer serviced at Austin. 60 miles x 5 times a week. Bought and towed a Keystone Springdale 260BH to local state parks during 2020. 10-12 trips total. Sold it 2022.

She was getting tired of ‘add 1 qt every 10 days or so’. So I told her to drive my Model S and started to drive the Q7. Mostly city traffic on errands and kids classes, 200-250 miles a week.

I never really paid attention to ‘add 1 qt’ message as I had the same on my 2013 A4. So just added 1 qt and kept driving.

What woke me up to this consumption was a road trip from Austin to Dallas this Memorial Day. Did an oil change filled up gas, went to Dallas and came back home. Approximately 370 miles. Got ‘add 1 qt’ but had a little bit of fuel left.

Bought an OBD, obviously PCV error code. So replaced the driver side valve cover gasket, PCV (and crankcase vent valve), water pump and thermostat. Went back in again for the breather (PITA that I forgot but was able it slip it right through second time around with the supercharger off).

Oil consumption moved to ~750 miles after this and I got the ‘add 1 qt’. Looked online and saw the B12 piston soak process and the BG Dynamic Engine restore kit. Bought them both, but did not attempt B12 for the time the car will be unavailable plus I don’t have a battery assist when cranking. Reached out to @cmarcks as he had replied that he did B12 + BG dynamic restore + BG intake cleaning all in one go. Also watched a YT video where someone did this on an A7 with 100K+ miles. Felt it was worth giving the BG Dynamic restore a shot.

Did the BG Dynamic restore one weekend. 1 x cleaner oil @3K rpm for 45 mins; 1x rinse oil @ 3K rpm for 20 mins; 1x Castrol 5w-40 @idle for 10 mins.

Switched to Liqui Moly High Tech 5w-40 after the process. Mileage was 1442662.

Mileage now is at 1444891 and oil level is hovering around the first notch after half and the last notch towards empty.

So it went from needing a quart from 370 miles to ~2330 miles (still waiting on when that message will show up) which is something I will take at the moment.

Will attempt the B12 in August (out of town in July) and kids have no classes during the first two weeks. So nothing to lose at that time.

I’m also adding liquid moly proline gasoline system cleaner every two months (first fill up of the month) + Liqui moly DI Jectron every month (middle of the month fill up). It has been slowly cleaning the carbon on the piston heads when I last saw through the bore scope. I’ve started to fill Shell v-power since May at the same gas station.

In the midst of all this got a mechanical malfunction code P190D00 ‘coolant pump for charge pressure cooler’ that just won’t go away when clearing the codes. Had to get OEM pump from FCP (saleri brand was unavailable) and pull out the left headlight and swap it out. Wife was like ‘are you really fixing things or are you making problems to get an excuse to work on the car?’

At some point when I am really up for it, I will get a compression test done, but I am not sure if I am ready to stomach the results if any cylinder has low compression. So putting it away for now.

Also, got four CAT 4ton Jack and jack stand in hopes of lifting the car with a floor jack and sliding these and get all 4 corners off the ground. It did come in handy when rotating tires few days ago. Just used the factory rubber spots to jack up the SUV in the front, slide one of this in the back, remove floor jack and jack enough at the back, and slide the second on the front. Repeat on other side. Got this at northern tool and equipment at 89$ per piece.

That’s all for now. Hope this is helpful!