a4kit03

Hey everyone,

I've been digging and digging through the web for information, and thought I'd come to AudiWorld for another opinion.

Since having my oil changed a month ago, I've been having some problems with the oil pressure light coming on. I have a 2004 Audi A4 Quattro 1.8L. The light only comes when driving the car for more than 30-40 minutes. It beeps a few times, goes away. If I continue driving, it might come on one more time, but then it goes away completely. No noise from the engine or anything, nothing odd.

I took the car into an Audi dealership today to have it checked out. Paid $130 for the diagnosis. The report says:

I also asked if any damage had been done to the engine, since I had continued to drive the car after the oil pressure warning light had come on. They said no evident damage. I took it to the place where I got my oil changed previously, and told them Audi had said the filter was not the right size. They checked it and said they weren't sure why Audi said that; the filter is definitely the right size. They changed it as a courtesy regardless, and the oil.

So obviously, I don't know a ton about cars and I'm skeptical to shell out $1450 for a repair on an old car, which I don't plan to keep for long anyways. The other problem is that I need to drive down the coast this coming Sunday/Monday (11 hour drive), so I'm on a bit of a timeline.

Is what the dealership has told me reasonable? Any other advice? Would it be a horrible idea to make this drive (maybe splitting it into two 5.5 hour days of driving)?

Thanks in advance for all the help everyone.

Prospeeder

Ok so they had an updated filter, originally they were small, like Jetta Golf Beetle 2.0/1.8T filters. I notice oil change places still put these on Passats and A4's. The right filter is much larger for increased capacity to help with the bigger car carbon/sludge issues.

You need to stop driving the car, have the oil pan removed and the pickup tube cleaned or replaced. I see this problem alot, its always just like this, only comes on 30-40 minute drive. Oil gets hot enough, thins out and pressure finally gets low enough to turn the light on. Regardless if the light is off, you know the engine is being STARVED of full oil flow and pressure. Flow and pressure are 2 totally different things, you can have 1 quart of oil in the pan and pressure is fine, engine can be damaged still. The turbo is what will fail first from the lack of oil flow. After repairing it, Synthetic Oil ONLY, no cheap oil. 0w40 or 5w40 Castrol, Mobil, Valvoline.

1400 dollars to remove the pan is absurd. Its 4.0 hours to remove the pan, sealant, oil and filter. How the hell is that 1400$??? Find a nice independent shop this should cost less than 500 bucks to get resolved.

Again, STOP driving it!!

a4kit03

Thank you! Any thoughts on why the warning light comes on, then goes off? If it really was an oil pressure problem, wouldn't the red warning continue to display and beep? Could it possibly be a sensor problem?

Prospeeder

Its just barley able to keep enough pressure, and the fluctuating pressure is setting it on and off. if you really want to try a new sensor, they are 10$, and take 20 minutes to change. But I have yet to have a single 1.8T A4 or passat with oil light on be anything but a real pressure problem.

a4kit03

Makes sense. When the light first came on, I had no idea how serious it was. So I've continued to drive the car for the past month and a half, and ignored the light (big mistake, which I've learned). But assuming the pressure was extremely low, wouldn't my engine have shut down?

So here's my situation. I need to get this car down the coast this weekend. About 12 hours (split over 2 days). While I realize I am taking a risk here. Given there has been no damage to the engine yet (Audi service team confirmed), is it likely for a longer drive to lead to the pressure dropping to a point where the engine gives out?

The timing of this is all horrible for me, but I really will get this to a shop as soon as I can.

John535is

I support everything Prospeeder advised. It's great Audi confirmed no damage to date, but taking on a long run is a gamble, and the consequences are high (turbo's, cams etc) if the oil pressure drops while you are in full flight mode down the highway.

The engine will not shut down to protect itself, it will give you a warning light, which is what it's doing. The fact the light is going off and on should not be ignored.

If you think your independent mechanic is reasonable and have confidence in them, why don't you see if they can fit you in. It's a half day job for someone who can put the car up on a hoist to work under it. It's not super technical, so I would have no problem using a decent local mechanic which will be half the cost the dealer quoted.

Just keep in mind these engines run a lot tighter tolerances than cheaper engines. When they go well, you get a lot of bang for your buck, but when they go bang, lots of bucks to repair.