MalSer

I have a 2010 P+ S4 auto with 13,200 miles on it and got the "low oil but vehicle is still safe to drive" warning Saturday evening so Sunday I added a quart of oil. I have Audi Care and all service has been at the dealership. Had an engine warning light on the dash last week but the dealership couldn't find any problems. Taking it in for thermostat recall and 15K mile service on Wednesday but still wonder about the oil usage. Dealership said that oil usage varies by customer driving style and this is not unexpected. I enjoy the capabilities of my S4 but haven't tracked it or done anything excessive so does this sound right? My concern is that something else is wrong, but I'm definitely no expert. I'd appreciate input from those with more exerience with S4's and other high performance vehicles. Thanks!

NWS4Guy

Assuming you got your 5K service and have not gotten one since (as the next required one is at 15K) you are fine. 8K miles and burning ~1qt is perfectly fine and well within tolerance. Even 1qt per 5K is pretty normal.

DrGP

Some of our cars use negligible oil. Others more than that. The real problem is that Audi sets the standards for "EXCESSIVE" oil consumption so high(1 qt/1000 miles) that they will almost never have a warranty claim. Its pure Audi BS cop out. Most of those with cars that do consume appreciable amounts of oil have unfortunately followed Audi's "easy" break in technique. No one posting on AW, QW or AZ that has used more aggressive techniques have reported significant oil consumption issue so far. That cannot be said about those following the audi easy technique. What break in style did you use? If you did baby the car for the first 1000 miles and you have oil consumption issues, most likely, your piston rings have never completely seated. AND, it is not likely that they ever will. I hope I am wrong. Nevertheless, Audi doesn't care and most likely will never rectify the situation unless you are consuming more than 1 qt/1000 miles. IMHO, That's a lot of oil to burn and still be considered "within normal limits". You might find some of the posts by redrockeron this link interesting since they are based on actual oil analysis of his engine http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...-1k-Oil-change

DrGP

I agree that 1 qt/5k miles would not be considere excessive by either Audi or me. Most engines will consume small amounts of oil. But hopefully, MUCH less than 1 qt/1000 miles.

rktskicar

I haven't added any oil yet and coming up on 12K miles.

Bruce

seinsmeld13

You should never get that warning light. An enthusiast checks his oil level at least weekly. Did you ever check your level? I doubt you were down one quart. For the light to come on you were probably down two or more. This has to be the easiest car to check your level so if you haven't been checking it on a regular basis, shame on you. However, if you have been keeping an eye on it and your light came on, you have major issues. Let us know as there have been reported problems with a defective hood sensor which prevented correct readings in the oil level display.

DrVolkl

Yeah, I just rolled 12.5k miles and I was calling Neal on the way back from B-ham asking him what weight oil to buy because I got that same warning.

Funny thing is, someone else on the run in his group needed a quart as well... maybe it was the hard driving?? (although honestly we weren't pushing it that hard... ie. no track day)

So, it seems like you need to add oil here and there... this is my 2nd time adjusting the level...

GR8-LIFE

I pretty much agree. And I will say again that new cars arent suppose to burn new oil. To me a quart is quite a bit. I've been through this with chevy when they finally admitted that 2001 corvettes had a ring design issue which burned oil (about the same amount of oil the S4's are claiming.) Up until GM's admission of guilt, they provided the same bs excuses that we are now hearing in the threads. I am not saying the S4 has ring design issues like the vete had , but there is somethign not normal here and since, as you say, AUDI has cleverly created a protective barrier for themselves, most of us will fall for the bs as normality

S4 is still a great car but burning a quart of oil shouldnt happen. If it was normal we would see it on so many other cars

helix139

Mine burns none. My previous car didn't either. I broke both in aggressively with the Motoman technique (same as DrGP uses).

NWS4Guy

How many miles were you at since the last service? WAZZU_STU had just rolled 30K on his B8 S4 when we stopped for him to add a qt. I had mine low, but never a warning after my dealer service at 5K, I personally don't think they fully filled it, as a couple days after the service when I checked the MMI it showed me at 3/4 on the meter, and I know we use the same dealership Doc...