josepeter22

Hey guys,

So the other night my "minimum oil level" light came on, it made me pretty nervous, so I pulled over and bought some oil and put it in. However, why is the oil minimum light on? It was just services at 88k and now has 91k, so it's gone 3k. I thought the Q5 could go 10k without an oil change?! Please give some advise on this one, I could use some knowledge, I love the car to death.

Thanks as always,

Peter

ex-quattro PETE

Just because 10K is the recommended oil change interval does not automatically mean you don't need to add some oil in-between.

How much oil did you add? If you added enough oil and the light is still on, it is possible your oil level sensor is malfunctioning and needs to be replaced. It's best to buy a physical oil dipstick to verify the actual oil level.

Also, please fill out your profile and/or signature so that we know what year your Q5 is and what engine it has.

Redd

You may have a faulty sensor or you may have burned oil. Certain engines in certain model years were infamous for that and there were lawsuits and repair programs. Your fastest way to find out what applies to your specific problem will be an Audi dealer service, where they will have records of all this. And a web search to see if your model year and engine type were involved.

josepeter22

Hey, it is a 2009 Q5 premium + 3.2, I put a whole quart in and now the oil level says its "okay" it's about a centimeter away from the "max" indicator. I looked at when my system said to get another oil change and it says 5k more miles until oil needs to be changed. However, this all happened at 11pm on my way to camp up northern NH, so I had no choice but to put Mobile 1- 5w-30 fully synthetic. Which the owners manual said was okay to do if you had no other choice. Now what? Should I go get an oil change because I put the Mobile 1 in? Or should I just wait until my 93k service at Audi?

josepeter22

It is a 2009 Q5 premium + 3.2l, I put a quart in and now the indicator says it is right below "max". Does this model typically eat oil like this?

ex-quattro PETE

I would just wait until your next service. While the M1 5w-30 does not meet the necessary VW spec, you are no longer under warranty, and you only added 1 qt of it, to presumably 6 other quarts of VW approved oil that was already in there. I'd say no big deal. Just don't make it a habit.

Also, according to Audi, up to 1qt of oil consumption per 1,200 miles is still considered "normal."

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/s4-...ndard-2575687/

josepeter22

Great news, I really appreciate the advise. So do they not sell the VW spec oil on shelves at common retailers like VIP, and autozone? Where do you get the exact and best oil for the '09 q5 3.2?

uberwgn

Jose, Autozone will sell a couple of compliant 502.00 oils (Castrol and Mobil 1). Walmart is another source for the M1 0W40 in a 5 qt jug for short $$$. I think I've noticed Castrol 502.00 at Walmart as well (you are going to have to read the labels to find the 502.00 products as I don't know their names at this point in time).

ex-quattro PETE

Yup, both M1 0w-40 and Castrol 0w-40 meet the VW 502.00 spec and are readily available at many auto part stores as well as at Walmart around here.

Pennzoil Platinum Euro 5w-40 is another option, but somewhat harder to find.

josepeter22

Thanks again guys, huge help! People were telling me you need to get oil changed every 3k, than my brother who has a VW Tourag told me he goes every 10k, needless to say I was pretty lost.