[AutoRacer100]

Hi All,

I'm picking up my A4 this weekend and I have read so many problems of this car, mainly the oil burn issue however, Audi considered that as normal oil consumption for their engine. I dont like surprises, so I want to know what are other problems the new A4 have.

Could you guys please share your experience with the new A4?

Thanks in advance

 

[boronet]

Hi All,

I'm picking up my A4 this weekend and I have read so many problems of this car, mainly the oil burn issue however, Audi considered that as normal oil consumption for their engine. I dont like surprises, so I want to know what are other problems the new A4 have.

Could you guys please share your experience with the new A4?

Thanks in advance

In general, it's not unusual for a VAG diesel to burn about a couple of litres of oil in the first 10K until it beds in. Then you should find it settles down and uses very little (depends on your type of motoring a bit though).

I've taken 2 A4 1.9 TDi's upto 150+K and neither used more than half a litre per 10K even then. VERY important to use only the correct oil if you service it yourself. 5W40 FS PD in my case.

I've heard from VAG specialists that there has been an issue with timing gear with the early 2.0 TDi's but that VAG now have a fix so yours should be fine.

Enjoy.

I'm aiming for a 2.0TDi S-line in about a years time if finances allow.

 

[newjack21]

oil burner

my '09 a4 quattro 2.0 has about 7600 miles on it . ive added 1 quart of oil just about every 2000 miles. 'service' tells me that's 'normal' for the turbo engine. i carry quart in the car just in case. they act as if it's a very normal condition.

 

[DeeDee]

2009 A4 Oil Burning too!

Just bought my 09 A4 used Audi. It has 12,000 miles and the oil light came on just like the rest of you. I was traveling so I called the nearest dealership and made them add the oil to the car (by the way the 09's do not have a dip stick). I ask the gentleman who helped me if this was normal and he more then reassured me it was. He said the newer engines tend to burn hotter and expect to use a quart of oil every 5000 miles. I see another posting that someone said every 2000 miles. I took it a step further to call another dealership in New Jersey and again they reassured me with the same information. However if you have relatives or husband who are screaming at you telling you are crazy for believing the dealerships it is hard to accept what we are hearing. I had an 02 Passat so cars have improved a bit from 2002, so I am trying to roll with it and hope I get as many good miles out of this car as the VW.

 

[kmb]

Oil Burner

I've just been reading up on the oil consumption problem and am surprised to see how common it is. I have a 2003 A4 Avant, with 146,000 km on it. Love it, BUT...it was trouble free until last summer when I started to get low oil warnings. Had it in the service dept. almost every week through July & Aug. and they fixed about 3 oil leaks (gaskets, etc.), replaced rad, and more recently temperature sensor and thermostat. Throughout I've been having to top up the oil every 1200 to 1600 kms. Also notice an occasional burning smell but my dealer tells me the oil consumption is normal and that they can't find any further leaks. I've got 15k left on extended warranty and am worried there is a major untected problem still lurking. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[ace333]

I purchased a 2008 A4 S-line and today while traveling for business the low oil indicator came on. I work in the automotive industry and have always found it hard to believe when I read that its common. No car I have ever owned seemd to burn oil. But I guess I'll take the dealers word for it. Just have to keep a quart or two handy at home so when the indicator comes on I can add oil. When I added tonight it seems a quart got me back to the max line on the dip stick. Not a big deal, but still a pain to have to add oil like this.

 

[kmb]

Reply to ace333:

A couple of suggestions for you based on my experience. I would never go out of town without a quart of oil in the car just in case. Last summer I had to stop several times on the highway to top up. Some of my problem then was due to a couple of oil leaks that were subsequently detected and fixed, but even recently I had to put more oil in. Second, when I top up the oil, I always reset the odometer so I can keep track of how far I go before it happens again. Or I reset it after an oil change for the same reason. Last time it was 1200 km. This will give you something concrete to discuss with your service guys. If the problem persists or gets worse, you might ask them about an oil consumption test. When my car was new, and for the first 4 years I never had to add oil between 15k service checks. So where is all the oil going I ask. It's not on the driveway, and I'm not burning oil when I drive it. Good luck!

 

[newjack21]

hi dee dee,
my '09 a4 burns a quart every 2000 miles. i'm told some people add a quart after 1200 miles. audi says it's normal. just carry a qt. with you in case it needs it. otherwise the car is terrific. would i get another audi.......absolutely. it's beyond fun to drive.
newjack21

 

[CalMedic]

My 2010 A4 2.0T doesnt have this problem at all. Maybe i am just lucky

 

[newjack21]

how many miles does your car have? or maybe they fixed the issue.
jack

 

[nikola audi a4]

I need shift knob installation guide

I am just fixing my audi (a4 b8 2009 2.0 turbo automatic multitronic) and I am looking for manual instruction for installing shift knob. I am not sure how to install it.
Does anyone has anything that can help me with my problem.

Thanks ahead,
Nikola

 

[textodd]

Just went past 4K miles on my 2010 A4 2.0T and the add oil indicator just came on this weekend. Despite what everyone's saying, I've never had a new car that burned oil. I'll take the dealership's word for it but it seems suspicious to me.

 

[mikey8888]

Audi A4 Quattro - '10 - oil burner

I noticed my A4 's oil sensor bar go down below the min a few days ago. I'm at around 11k miles right now. I barely made it to my first service visit which was at 5k. According to Audi's mnt minder, the second service is at 15k. I'm definitely not making that without a refill. So, I called my dealer and they told me to come in and they will top off the oil for free. They dont care if you have the Audi Care package or not. It's good thing I checked the msg boards... -m

Just bought my 09 A4 used Audi. It has 12,000 miles and the oil light came on just like the rest of you. I was traveling so I called the nearest dealership and made them add the oil to the car (by the way the 09's do not have a dip stick). I ask the gentleman who helped me if this was normal and he more then reassured me it was. He said the newer engines tend to burn hotter and expect to use a quart of oil every 5000 miles. I see another posting that someone said every 2000 miles. I took it a step further to call another dealership in New Jersey and again they reassured me with the same information. However if you have relatives or husband who are screaming at you telling you are crazy for believing the dealerships it is hard to accept what we are hearing. I had an 02 Passat so cars have improved a bit from 2002, so I am trying to roll with it and hope I get as many good miles out of this car as the VW.

 

[esnedden]

Hello, I purchased a 2007 RS4 used from the US in January, I've put approx 3500 km's on it since then . I love the car, and would not trade it for the world. My low oil indicator light also came on Friday so I drove it to the dealer and we topped up the oil with 1 litre and the light went off. The dealer also reassured me that it's normal for these cars to burn up to 1 litre after 1,000 km's which seemed absolutely bizarre to me. I owned a 1998 Trans Am for 12 years and it never used any oil. From reading these posts, it seems even newer cars have the same issue. I'll get used to carrying oil in my trunk.

 

[michael.greenwalt]

I am at an Audi dealer now getting service on my 09 A4. I spoke with the technician andhis response to me regarding the higher than normal oil consumption is this:
It isn't so much that the engine is "burning" the oil, but that the turbo-charger on the engine is oil cooled and the turbo uses oil during operation. My search of the internet seemed to verify this claim. Indeed turbo's cooled by oil will burn oil during usage, and sometimes after the engine is shut down. Audi engines, at least the newer ones, have a turbo-timer installed which helps cool this turbo down and reduce oil usage.
I have approximately 27,000 miles on my 09 A4 and I am extremely happy with the car and it's performance. I am having the phone module replaced today along with the service but other than that the car has performed as well or better than my BMW.

 

[esnedden]

Response to Michael Greenwalt

Hi Michael, thank you so much for your response on the turbo-charger and the fact the oil is used to cool it. Now my question, you have an A4, I have an RS4, do both have the turbo-charger which is oil cooled? I haven't owned my car very long and am not a car junkie so still learning about Audi's and my car.

I just had my last full service oil change at the dealer as I thought the oil looked too dark (for my liking) and they tuned it up really nice, it runs great. I also keep an extra litre of oil in my trunk per the owners manual in the event it runs low.

After owning many cars I'm still surprised that any higher end car would use oil for any reason, this sends red flags to me. I'll keep an eye on my oil levels and see exactly how much I use before adding more I don't drive it much, only about 3,600 km's since January so it might be a while before it needs more oil .

 

[robpopper]

I have a 2010 A4 Avant. had to add 3- quarts of oil in 5200 miles. Anyone know where it's going?

 

[dpendl]

I have 33,000 mi on my 2.0T a4 w/sport and have never added oil--??

 

[dpendl]

did have to replace the phone module already!

 

[baxter1225]

We have 2010 A4 with oil problems. Have done 4 oil consumption tests and am at less than 20,000 miles, that have all come back bad and finally they are telling us there has been an on going problem with some of the 2010 A4 audis and previous years. The pistons are too small and need to be replaced with large ones as the oil is flowing through too quickly and evaporating in the engine so there is no sign of oil loss under the cat etc. Apparently the car is not really made for short journeys so the oil consumption is much better on cars doing regular long journeys!!! Soccer moms I guess should not buy this car!! The replacing of the pistons may or may not help the problem, apparently. We got through all the oil put in by the dealer in 800 miles when the oil light came on.