score0412

Hey all,

When is the first oil change for 2017 Audi A3 with hitting 5k miles on odometer? I thought it was at 5k marker then every 10k miles or 15k, 25k, 35k etc. Dealership says it changed for 2017 to starting at 10k on odometer and a doscument online says same thing. Thoughts? First oil change if it is at 10k on odometer will be free? Thanks!

core10

First oil change at 10k miles makes me very uncomfortable. That said, it wouldn't suprise me if that's the first interval for Audi. For my wife's Benz I called to make an appointment at 1,500 miles and they told me no need, the first change was 10k miles and the car would tell us when it was time. I know my last new car, 15 years ago, I changed the oil at 500 miles, then I took it to a HPDE. :shrug:

Timmay

OP, first thing I thought to myself is whether your dealer actually explained anything to you when purchasing your A3. These are some of the things a good salesperson should be covering with you when going over the details of your new car. The onboard computer will also tell you when it's time, either 10k miles or 1 year, whichever comes first. Having said that, Audi is supposed to cover the cost of your first oil change.

I'm sure there are plenty of people on these forums that will argue it's not a good idea to wait 10k miles before doing the first oil change. Personally I have no concerns and if Audi is providing a 4 year 50k mile bumper to bumper warranty on the A3, what's the worry? Clearly Audi does not want to have catastrophic engine failures with their vehicles so I'm on the side of trusting their engineers. Just my $.02

mroberte

With the oil consumption problems that started at about 22K miles for me, I would get the oil change done at 1K, then 5K and every 5K after that. Yes oil is good, but for a car that is going through a break-in period, 10K is far too long of a wait, especially if you are an aggressive driver.

Nothing from 2015 to 2017/18 year changed for EA888 engines, just some minor software so if the previous year was suggesting 5K, I'd do that.

score0412

Thanks all for replying. This is pretty unbelievable how skewd a simple oil change concept for this car is getting mixed responses.

Timmay

Please elaborate on your oil consumption issues. Also, 1k miles??

Diztek

ive always done it every 5k miles. my service advisor at audi also told me that he does it every 5k miles, as well, for his personal vehicle. i live in arizona tho, and our summers avg 110-115 degrees F.

Va_TTer

1. Search this A3 forum for "oil consumption."

2. Read this article: Excessive Oil Consumption Isn't Normal - Consumer Reports

"Meanwhile, a settlement to a class-action lawsuit against Audi would extend the power*train warranty on its 2009 to 2011 model-year CAEB 2.0-liter turbo engines to eight years or 80,000 miles. Audi declined to comment on the litigation or oil-*consumption problems in general. Our data shows that newer Audi 2.0-liter turbos and V6 engines are also burning oil. In a recent technical service bulletin, Audi recommended that 'the customer always have a spare quart of engine oil in case the engine oil needs topping off while on the road.'”

3. Check your owner's manual in the checking and filing engine oil section. In mine, for a 2015, it says "the oil consumption may be up to 1/2 quart per 600 miles (.5 liter per 1000km) depending on driving style and conditions...Because of this, the engine oil level must be checked regularly. It would be best to check each time you refuel your vehicle and before long drives."

tl;dr version:

Certain 2009 and newer Audi engines burn oil. Audi knows it, and was sued over it. They settled as to 2009 through 2011 cars. Then they changed the definition of "normal" consumption to bring their oil burners into spec and avoid another suit. I had no idea about this issue until my own 2015 threw a low oil light at me at 2 years / 10,000 miles -- 5,000 miles and one year after my first annual oil change.

I'm sorry, but in a car with a 10,000 mile oil service interval, if you're replacing 1/2 quart every 600 miles, that's consumption of almost 1.5 times the total engine oil volume between SCHEDULED oil changes. Meaning that in the worst of the oil burners, every drop of oil that gets added in a scheduled oil change is burned off by the engine, along with another 1/2 of the oil you've had to add to keep it topped off, and what gets pumped out during the change is the rest of your top-off oil. In what automotive reality is that "normal"?

Timmay

Thanks for the info, I'll check it out.

Here's a question, if you're topping off the oil every several hundred miles or so, what is an oil change going to do to change that trajectory? I'm halfway kidding here but if you're constantly adding new oil by top offs, wouldn't that almost constitute an oil change over time? I realize the filter should be replaced as well but I'm not sure that mitigates actual oil consumption.

How many S3 owners here have required frequent top offs? I'd be interested in hearing from Fixeroh and others that have driven their S3s for a few years. This would certainly be good feedback.

Diztek

in 16k miles, ive never had to top off.