borland.ryan@gmail.com

Hi, i am new this forum and I realize there are probably numerous threads on this. But I am about as frustrated as i can get with dealer. I am fast approaching the end of my warranty and i am still having oil consumption issues. I have expressed my concerns to the dealer many times with the same outcome. On a request self test I changed the oil on 8/21 @ 38,864...the light came on 9/6 @ 40326 in which I added 1 qt. Light came on again at 41401 again added a qt. I have been told the indicator comes around 1 to 1.5 qts. That means I am burning almost 5 qts every 3k miles. The dealer did an offical oil test by draining the oil adding new, then drive it for 625 miles, then drain and weigh. They claim only .2 qts of consumption. I have documentation showing much worse than the already pathetic tolerance. I am the understanding that this is a common problem. has anyone had this problem as well? what did you do?

jdong

FWIW, the oil indicator only measures the top 1 qt of oil, not the bottom 1 qt. Looks like you're burning 5 quarts every 5000-7500 miles. Still a lot in my opinion, but not as bad as you stated.

aaronw112358

Is there a source for the MMI oil indicator only showing the top quart max-min? That sounds awfully strange to me, as you'd have 4 (or whatever) quarts left even after it hit 'min'.

jdong

I remember a thread here recently of someone who drove with the meter "empty" for thousands of miles assuming that the meter is broken, then started adding quarts of oil but the MMI still showed empty. Someone else in that thread pointed out the sensor only reads the top quart of oil, which makes sense given that the message tells you to fill 1qt max.

I think the theory behind this is to leave the driver with PLENTY of a margin of neglect/error. Warning when the oil is at the bottom quart will make it more likely some idiot driver out there would run their oil dry.

audi8k

That is not strange.
The measurement range on the display corresponds (supposedly) to the measurement range between "Min" and "Max" on the measurement stick (for us that have one).

You shall not run the engine with an oil level below the "Min", or above the "Max" for that matter.

According to the manual, there is one more alert level below the yellow "add oil" warning message. This is a Red alert message saying "Add engine oil immediately". There is also a sensor that checks the oil pressure with a corresponding red alert "engine oil pressure too low".

My (3.2) came with a stick and the level on the stick seems to corresponds well to the MMI with about 1 liter measurement range. However, after opening the hood the MMI measurement sometimes does take a good while (like 2 days) to show.

quality_sound

You guys are putting WAY too much thought into this. Think of the MMI sensor like a dipstick. A dipstick shows you when you're at full capacity down to 1 qt low. If you're more than a quart low you risk engine damage. If the dipstick or MMI told you when you only had 1 qt left you wouldn't have much to worry about since they engine would have siezed already.

aaronw112358

Ah, I understand now - it's a max/min "allowable range", not a fuel gauge max/min... surprisingly enough, just like you would see on a dipstick. Thanks.

Art234

Not for nothing, but in this day and age, I think that consuming 1 quart of oil every 1000-1500 miles just shouldn't happen.

I am averaging a quart every 1500 miles, and in one case, I filled until the indicator said full, and in 200 miles it was down a quarter of the way..even after letting it sit for 10-15 minutes off.

I am now logging my oil levels and will keep you all informed, but my Infiniti and my Lexus never burned a drop.

JD15

To those with oil consumption issues, did the consumption increase, decrease or remain the same as mileage increased? I am currently at 1200 miles and the MMI still shows full.

dk1

That comes to 5 quarts for 6K miles or so. Technically even your estimate is within the specs (0.5 quarts for 600 miles) but obviously I can see why you are concerned. Ask the dealership to repeat the test. Call Audi and express your concern. Also keep in mind that miles are very poor estimate for oil life and is used only because of lack of other measures. Are you driving in stop and go traffic or are these highway miles? How long are the trips? Short trips are the worst for oil life and consumption.

Why not get over with it and just drive it off a cliff? This is why I don't buy used cars.