Boink

OK, I'm just curious.
Without a dipstick (what with the Q5 using the electronic system where you go to vehicle settings to see what your oil volume status is - page 317 in the manual), how does the system know? More specifically, where are the sensors that it uses? Also, if I'm, say, down 1/2 quart, how far down the bar-graph will the display show? Is the range from high to low a full quart?

Also, what is that cap/plug at the front of the engine not far from the filler? I THINK it's the place that the dealer uses an oil-extractor (glorified vacuum cleaner) to "drain" the system (because they don't actually have to under the car anymore to do that work - particularly since the filter is also at the top of the engine).

SQQQQQ

Bought a dipstick from ECS a few months ago after having LOW OIL warning during 600 mile days on trip back east.
Best advice is to spend the $50 and get your own dipstick. Audi is going WAY TO FAR with all the electronic crap.

Boink

Interesting. Didn't know you could buy a dipstick for it (at ECS or elsewhere). Does it go in that evacuation tube? Does it alter the performance of the sensors?

EDIT: when I went to ECS, it seemed like all the available dipsticks (and there were a lot) did not fit the 2.0T engine. Also, I see a mess of related YouTube videos on this subject.

Audigy76

Hi folks, anyone can advise the part number for the 2018 Q5 dipstick?

Boink

Spoke with the service department of my local dealer and learned that (when one goes into the "Vehicle" then "Service" settings on the MMI screen) the bar-graph represents 1 quart between the MAX and MIN setting levels, but that if the oil is down you should also get a specific warning of how much it's down.
Forgot to ask about a dipstick.

farmerjones

Sensor inside measures oil level just like a coolant level sensor and some fuel tank sensors. A sensor "rod" sits vertically inside has an electrical charge applied to it. The voltage changes when a fluid touches the rod, and the sensor can see the point on the rod where there fluid starts and stops, translating into a level. This is a common practice now, not Audi "gong to far". It's a design choice, and yes a dipstick seems to work fine. However a large % of owners have zero car knowledge and wouldn't even know how to use a dipstick, making the sensor and display warning a welcome feature to this owners. John Deere construction or agricultural equipment uses sensors to monitor fluid levels just like Audi, and some large diesel semi-trucks have had an in-dash digital oil level gauge for over 15 years now as standard equipment. It's far from new tech or high tech, it's just not been used a lot in the auto industry. That is changing, as a number of brands (from MB to Volvo) have abandoned the dipstick as well....for better or worse. And no...a failed sensor will never let you run the engine out of oil...software precautions make the system smart enough to know when the reading is "wrong" or the sensor has stopped functioning (the software to do this is actually the high-tech part).

Interesting topic for discussion!

Wires

It does save a couple things:
1) Joe User puts dirty dipstick back into the engine (or fails to insert it) filling the crankcase with dust/dirt.
2) Most users NEVER check the oil. Lets be honest here, how many people pull the dipstick before every drive, as per the manual?

I like the electronic dipstick. I can check oil anytime, and it prompts me when it's a quart low. My BMW has it as well (the die hard car guys on that forum complain about it as well). It's never let me down though.

daberlin

Our 3.2L GEN 1 Q5 did not come with a dipstick. Easily remedied by buying a dipstick from an A5 also with the same 3.2L engine but that DID come with a dipstick. Fast forward to 2018. Both the 2L and 3L engines are brand new; both with the same plug inserts instead of a dipstick.

I'm assuming that all variants of these new engines won't have a dipstick. So how do you cross platform a dipstick like I was able to do from the A5? Trial and error in some legacy dipsticks?

ocwill1

One benefit of having a dipstick it to verify the dealer actually changes your oil when you take it in. I have a friend with an S4 that checked his in the parking lot when he had it in and they did not change it, could easily tell by the color of oil on the dipstick..

Just a thought...

farmerjones

New oil can become very dark just after minutes of the engine running. If the car was driven around the dealership and presented to your friend's S4 and he pulled the dipstick it's likely the oil would no longer look new. In fact, it can be very difficult for a professional to tell the difference, let along an "amateur" (which would describe many Audi owners). This is because used oil no longer gets all nasty-looking like it did 10-20 years ago. Having a dipstick to check for an oil change could really only be done by an oil sample analysis.

You really think your Audi dealer is so corrupt they "fake" oil changes?!? Yikes....time to find a new dealer if that's all the confidence you have in them....