mcperreault

Hello all. I have searched the internet and various forums and cant seem to find a discussion that matches my particular problem. I have a 2016 Q5 Premium Plus with the 2.0T at about 82,000 miles and it is consuming oil at about 1 quart every 1000 miles, and it seems to be getting worse. The twist here is that the only thing that appears to be wrong is that it is consuming oil. There are no codes, it runs great, there is no smoke, no noise, no drivability issues at all. The vacuum in the crankcase appears to be normal - a slight sucking from an open oil fill cap at idle, which leads me to believe it is not the PVC. I have a pristine garage floor and there are no leaks. No evidence of leaking oil from an underside visual inspection either. Cosmetically, the formerly chrome tail pipes are now a carbon black. Any thoughts or ideas on what this problem might be would be greatly appreciated.

silver_tt

You probably would get a much better response if you posted here:
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q5-...iscussion-129/

My suspicion would be your piston oil control rings. Have you done a compression or leak down test?

mcperreault

I have not done either of the tests, but I will. If nothing conclusive comes up I will repost under your suggested forum. Thanks very much for the reply.

silver_tt

You’re welcome, sorry I didn’t see it sooner. Leak down test may tell you a lot and be sure to look at the spark plugs which you have to take out to do the test. You should also pay close attention to the turbo and make sure it’s not being lost there. There are only so many places it could be getting into the intake system. Please report back when you have more information. Best of luck

toledotom

Owning a 2004 Jetta TDI, I did not burn any oil till I noticed some loss. The Turbo would go out in about 60,000 miles down the road. You have a leak in the turbo which gets sucked into the airflow hoses to the air cooler. Check your air cooler for oil or air pipes to the air manifold to the engine. It burns so little, No smoke till the turbo actually fails. I doubt it is the piston seals? You would have oil smoke on start up? But who knows?

morris39

It would be interesting to hear from someone who has actually done (or had it done) this sort of repair and can present an objective and complete story. How likely are such reports to come forward? Usually there is a preponderance of advocates in favor with how- to advice but no actual experience. For some sad but amusing experiences visit Audizine A4 B8 forums .

mcperreault

Silver_tt and I kind of approached this on the other thread. I'm new to the forums - and didn't expect much. I was surprised to find a lot of what I consider solid advice and things to consider/watch out for. Of course that also came with some downright ridiculous advice too. The value of experience is kind of a nebulous thing, and it very much depends on the specifics. For example, the reason I'm here is that beyond the minor and major maintenance procedures, and replacing the fuse that supplies power to the 12-volt outlet in the center console, I have no experience working on an Audi Q5. Based on that alone, you would think I would be crazy to consider a project like replacing the pistons and rings. But I do have experience pulling engines an replacing not only pistons and rings but camshafts, crankshafts and valves in relatively recent (2006+) Chevrolet V-8s and Porsche flat-6s, and so far (knock on wood) my track record of having the things run again when I put the engines back in the car is 100%.

I did spend some time looking at some of the threads on Audizine. You are absolutely right - there are some sad and amusing experiences there. I very much appreciate your insight into the scope of what I'm looking at and the pitfalls. The key to dealing with advice of any kind is to evaluate it first. Mainly - does it make sense, and why (or why not)? When you are out of your comfort zone, its important to know not only what you are doing at each step, but why (from which follows understanding of consequences when the step is not done or done incorrectly).

morris39

I had not known on my first comment that you are an experienced 'mechanic' as you had not mentioned it. In hindsight it does not apply as you clearly are not unaware. I did not mean to diminish your statements in any way.
As far as experience goes my statement was/is intended in the narrow way of actually experiencing the whole sequence of events, not about skill at all. I stand by this. Why? I think that pointing out the difference might help some young, unaware person from making a mistake albeit not that likely,All good?

mcperreault

Absolutely we are all good! I didn't really take your comment as diminishing, and I hadn't considered that some time down the road, some other person might be trying to make heads or tails out of this discussion.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to do this - and silver_tt thinks it would be good to actually start a thread covering the effort with pictures and updates. I've never done anything like that before. What do you think of his idea?

morris39

I would be interested in following your progress if you undertake the repair. Your posts suggest a detailed and objective attitude so your experience will be useful and interesting. I appreciate that you stick to what you experience/know and not general theory (never setteld)
If you do do it please include a short note on equipment and tools.
I can't help but point out that your experience/skill is very far from typical and people with lesser skill need to account for that in their expectations. Goof luck.