OlyS5

Last week, I just took my S5 in for its 45K scheduled service which consists mainly of an oil change. I've put about 200'ish miles on the rig since then and last night, decided to check the oil and this is what I found...



This looks "dirty" to me... not "almost honey-clear" like when I check new oil in my other cars and motorcycles. The dealership is saying this is "normal" (new).

I'm looking for opinions from anyone with professional experience with auto maintenance. Thx!

findalex

It looks normal to me. Same as my 2.0TFSI.

In my opinon, how "clean" the oil looks doesn't have much bearing on how well your engine is running. True, I've had older Japanese normally aspirated engines that wouldn't make the oil change color as much, but the Audi turbo engines are an entirely different beast. On my TDI, the oil changes from dark amber to pure black after just a few miles due to the soot from the diesel combustion.

Think of it this way: the engine oil is designed to lubricate, remove heat, and suspend any impurities so they don't grind up the engine parts. The darker color probably comes from the particles suspended in the oil. That's what you want. A perfectly clean and clear oil means it's not doing its job.

OlyS5

Thanks for the insight. My points of comparison may not be apples-to-apples (car to car / engine to engine). I know that oil will - over time and miles -- darken. I was just taken aback by how dirty it "seemed" given only ~ 200 miles since the change.

findalex

You can always send a sample in for oil analysis. You'll be able to see if you have excessive wear by how much metal is in the oil.

OlyS5

Good suggestion. The dealership says that with SC engine, to expect some darkening as soon as ~100 miles.

S5Black

What year is your S5? Mine is a 2014 and has no dipstick that I could ever find. I can only check the oil level through the computer.

OlyS5

Mine is 2015. I bought an OEM dipstick off the Internet. You would remove the plastic plug (front-right of engine) and insert dipstick.

S5Black

Thank you, I don't like not being able to physically see the oil. Do you leave the dipstick in all the time or do you replace the cap after checking the oil?

OlyS5

I leave it in. IMHO, not sure why a car of this level doesn't come with the dipstick... maybe the bean counters @ Audi didn't believe that an average owner would get their hands dirty. ;-)

S5Black

Thanks again. I agree. I'm also baffled why alot of the newer cars, trucks and SUV's don't have a dipstick for the auto transmissions.