the_sandman

I have an '09 A4 2.0 quattro. For the last 2 months my car has been consuming oil at a rate of 1L per every 300-350kms. I don't have to be told that this is absolutely ridiculous and abnormal. I've booked an oil consumption test for this weekend so gonna find out whats happening. I wasn't having this issue through the winter/spring months, its just something thats really come to light when the weather got hot, not sure if its related at all.
wanted to know if anyone has encountered this kind of excessive oil consumption (i've read of 1000km/L but 300km/L is way less) and what they did about it. up until now i've had the PCV valve changed but this did not help with the oil consumption.
Any help about this issue from anyone would help.

Daonhathai

being an 09' it's hard to imagine that the valve seals and/or guides or piston rings are shot but those would be my guess.

Post00

Get it to AUDI as soon as you can and have them perform an oil consumption test. I had the same issue with my wife's 09 A4. It would normally burn 1L in between oil changes and then at around 90,000 km it burned 2L between the oil change. After the last oil change I had to add oil twice in 2 weeks and I brought it in to AUDI. They did the oil consumption test it cost me $100 because I was under my CPO warranty. Turns out they had to tear apart the top half of the motor and replace all 4 pistons. It was all covered warranty but they had it for about a week. She's running great now and when I asked if this was normal the answer was it happens from time to time. I think its a know issue but they have to do the oil consumption test first to get it covered under warranty.

hotsaucePK

What is the capacity for the oil tank? Is it just a liter? I've read 4.5 liter somewhere...
Anyways, I just picked up a CPOed 2010 A4 a week ago.
I drove about 700 km and went through a full tank thus far - and I just noticed that about 1/8th of whatever the capacity is, has burnt off according to the MMI.
So approximately around 5000km mark or so, I would have to top it off.
Does this seem fast or normal...?

the_sandman

Well it's in getting an oil consumption test today. I guess I will find out. It's pretty crazy that a 3 yr old car would have such issues. This is my first Audi after 2 bmws and I never experienced anything remotely as such with the bmw.

al-gorithm

I bought an 09 with CPO back in January and my oil consumption has been increasing. I just started tracking at my last service at Oakville Audi. Between the last two services I added oil 3 times. Just after 2800km from this last service, I've had to add 2L.

106,000 - service with oil change
107,692 - added 1L of Castrol recommended oil
108,826 - added 1L of Castrol recommended oil

I called Oakville Audi today because of excessive oil consumption and they told me its abnormal to add oil more than twice between 15K services and using a litre of oil every 1.5K. They said to come in for a top up when it goes off free of charge and keep logging. I take pictures of the cluster display as soon as the oil light comes on. I'm going to keep editing this post to add in every time I have to add oil just as an official log.

the sandman - how did your test go last week?

mikhael

I've noticed my oil consumption has gone down. I have a 2010 a4. Since my last oil change (89000 kms) I have not yet had to top off. I am now just under 93000 kms and the oil level is finally getting low. Over the summer I was topping up every 2000 kms. Do you think the temperature has anything to do with it?

QT

I have a 2009 A4 2.0 that i just picked up used....there is no warranty on this vehicle anymore, but is this problem a re-call for anything, or will it just be out of pocket if I run into this oil consumption problem?

hotsaucePK

Hey there.
First of all, I recommend going to Audizine.com instead of coming here for any information regarding your Audi, just because this forum is kind of dead... whereas audizine.com is very active.

Here is a good thread you can follow for this particular issue:
THE B8 A4 Oil Consumption Thread

As for your question...
This issue is well-known and documented both by Audi and Audi drivers, but there was never a recall. Meaning, they will try to fix this for you if you go ask them, but they aren't going to recall everyone to have this fix done.
If you don't have warranty, unfortunately, be ready to cough up some serious cash.
I'm hearing anywhere from $1200 to $2000 just for the diagnosis test.
Then you need to hope Audi Goodwill will rescue you for the repair.

Here is the break down of how the oil consumption repair process works:
1. Oil consumption test 1: They top off your oil, drain the entire volume, weight it, then they put it back in. They tell you to drive 1000 km and come back for measurements. (This step can be omitted if you have proof that your car is burning oil, such as photos of dash).
2. Oil consumption test 2: They change a few valves and seals, update the MMI, and repeat stage 1. This step is mandatory.

*If the measurement is 0.5 liter / 1000 km or worse, they will go to step 3. If not, you will go back home with a car wash, although you could push for #3, if you came close (i.e. 0.4 liter / 1000 km)

3. Engine Tore: They open the engine and remove the pistons to see the damage on pistons and cylinder wall. If cylinder wall is in acceptable condition, they will replace the damaged pistons and rings. If the cylinder wall has scoring, they will insert a brand new engine. Changing the pistons and rings only is a 3 day job. They will give you a loaner. Changing the engine is a 6 day job. They will give you a loaner as well.

I believe the total cost of this is around 10K.
Of course it is zero dollars from your pocket if you have warranty.

If you really want to get this fixed, I suggest you talk to Audi Canada for good will first.
But it will depend on your relation with them as well as how far you are out of warranty.

the_sandman

Sorry for the delayed response but it has been an arduous journey getting all of this sorted out. SO....UPDATES
al-gorithm - read houtsaucePK's post. that is precisely what i had to go through. my oil consumption was down to a dismal 300km/1L. did an oil consumption test, in that process i started getting errors constantly about oil level, so they changed the "oil level thermal sensor", and then re-did the oil consumption test which the car failed in spectacular fashion. they changed the seals, valves, etc and then had me monitor the oil consumption again and though it had improved i was looking at about 650-750kms/1L.
they finally decided to take the engine apart and replace the pistons, rings, and some other things that appear on my service record. i guess they decided that the cylinder wall was acceptable i actually did not know about that till i just read hotsaucePK's post.
car is finally consuming oil like a normal vehicle and like the mad machine that it was earlier. i swear i must have spent a few hundred dollars at Canadian Tire just buying up oil preceding this whole thing.
all in all, WARRANTY is all i have to say. you are seriously S.O.L is you do not have it. this process can cost anywhere from $4-6k if you're not replacing the entire engine and as hotsauce mentioned...can be upwards of $10k if you are.
any questions feel free to ask.