Hi, had a strange incident with my A4 B6 2.0 FSI...

Had oil change in august 16, checked oil in Dec 16 was down to the minimum on stick so topped up to maximum... On a drive 3 days ago felt a sudden loss of power and my MPG started dropping as in continued to drive, engine started feeling laboured. Picked up some oil a few days prior as a gut feeling thankfully, got her home and checked the the stick not even the tip was getting wet. Gave it a top up to max again and let it sit before I gave her a gentle run to the shops, she is a little rougher on start up now than before and considering the 150bph I could "enjoy" before the familiar pull seems to be absent. Have I fried something in there and worryingly.. Why were there absolutely no dash warnings of any kind. Even when in had the car parked before in added the oil I pressed the "check" button by the instrument panel and oil showed as fine.... I know there is an issue with A4's around 2007 being oil hungry but can't find anything on the 03 model I have....

 

As a thumb of rule never wait or trust the engine oil light. I've heard a million horror stories about that oil light. If it comes on you better shut that engine off quickly and hope for the best because you could have already caused damage.
I don't know what the design issue is (not just Audi!) but that light comes on too late (with some exceptions of course).
Seeing that you were barely touching (or maybe right below) the dipstick I would say you are still within that "safe" zone before the light comes on. Personally I would also hope that the light tells you before it's too late but it seems like you simply cannot trust it.
Your car is older so maybe the sensor is no longer working correctly and should be replaced - simply adding to the delayed light on your dash. The check button you are referring to does not check oil level but simply goes through the basic checks - so not helpful and not what you were looking for.

Damage wise it's hard to tell what is going on but you need to start scanning for codes, do a good oil change (maybe the filter is bad, or oil is old, etc) and find out where that oil is going. It doesn't just disappear it does go somewhere.
It could be burning off (you would see excessive smoke from your exhaust), it could be leaking down the outside of the engine (check valve cover), heck it could be leaking directly from the oil pan.

Power loss: Once you determine where your oil is going it could give you a hint why your engine has lost that pull. Maybe oil is leaking on your sparkplugs - therefore causing issues with igniting the fuel and robbing you of power. Either way you gotta start somewhere troubleshooting.

 

That's the weird thing... I had a complete liquids exchange done around August and had all filters changed so it can't be that, I only fill up with BP Ultimate so engine should be pretty clean and I had new plugs and coils fitted in august too.

I've been getting some rough starts intermittently despite trying to keep the engine happy by giving it new bits and good liquids...

 

Do you have a VAG-COM? Those cables are worth every penny in my opinion since they can scan your car for trouble and find things before a check engine light tells you something is really broken. Scan your car for codes and see what you can find - there might be a sensor or 2 on it's way out and that scan could tell you what to do to restore power.

 

I may be best to get one however I'm considering contacting my garage tomorrow, car has had major troubles starting today, engine has felt very laboured and MPG has been dropping again.. Oil is down from topping up the other day... Does the non turbo FSI engine have a PCV... As the symptoms point to that from various google searches indicate.. I know in don't hand an EGR but what about PCV? And what might I be looking at in repair costs?