McCadders

Hi guys, appologies if this is covered elsewhere but Im new to the site. If it is please can somebody redirect me and i'll close this one.

I recently entered the world of the S4 over here in Canada. I picked up a 2012 ex-demo S4 with 19,000km on it. Im assuming all levels were topped up in the pre-delivery check when i picked it up.

Ive since put 12,000km on it in 5 months, alot of highway driving and less around town, no agresive driving other than normal overtaking etc.

A few days ago I got the low Oil Level light come on telling me to add a liter and head to the nearest dealer.

I called to book it in and was told there's a problem with teh engine and they need to install some electronics to monitor the oil consumption rate, send the info to Audi and then have it back in again to make and adjustments / fix the problem etc.

Is this a normal issue to be experiencing at such low km's or are there issues with these engines?

Thanks in advance, and appologies again if this is covered elsewhere :-)

DrGP

Unfortunately, your(and mine) definition of heavy oil consumption and Audi's definition are quite different. According to Audi , anything less than 1 qt /1200 miles is considered "within acceptable limits" As I calculate 12,000 Km equates to 7500 miles and little more than 1 qt. Even by my own more reasonable standards, 1qt/5k miles is within my acceptable limits. It has always been my position that cars that have had the Audi recommended easy break in procedure were more likely to consume oil More aggressive technique seem to lower the chances of oil consumption issues. You have no idea how this car was driven before you bought it. Unless my calculations are wrong, I don't really think you have a problem. Audi won't either. Also, your assumption that all levels were topped off is not always valid

McCadders

All valid points mate. I'll wait and see what they say after they've played with it. I appreciate the quick reply ;-)

AudiS4SD

What oil would you use/recommend if you had to fill it?

audi40

I used to keep a quart of Mobil 1 0W-40 in the trunk of my A6 3.0T at all times.

McCadders

The manual for the S4 recommends synthetic 5W 40 but 5W 30 is usuable as long as it meets Audi / VW specifications. I dumpt 2l of 5W 40 in it until I get it to the dealer tomorrow.

McCadders

Sorry....I dumped 5W 30 in it as a stop gap, not 40.

DrGP

Holy $hit! I think your engine will blow up!. J/K. Does the viscosity really matter that much in summer? And if you think you are consuming oil, it might behoove you to use a slightly thicker viscosity .

McCadders

Lol. The book says you can use both, but 40 is the preferred. Im sure when I get to the dealership they'll charge me through the nose to keep some VW Audi branded 40 on my shelf ;-). In all fairness the local dealership up here have been pretty good so far. I got a rock through the radiator less than 2 weeks after picking it up, they said I wasnt having much luck so the Audi rep covered the part and I paid labour cost.

DrGP

That was quite generous of them. I had a rock perforate the IC radiator on my 2010. Cost me $450. Others have paid as much as $850 to have it replaced. Probably what happened to you. FYI, you can make up a protective screen from wire mesh available at your hardware store and place it between the grille and screen. Cheap solution for a problem Audi is aware of. In fact they have plastic protection bars on the A6 for just this purpose. Some have bought them and installed them on their S4s. Much more expensive to do. DIY project should take less than 1 hr. Easy project. Will save you money in the future.