So i'm driving my car today and all of a sudden 5-6 miles down the freeway the oil temp reads about 300 or so (3/4 of the way). So i pull over check the oil and call my girlfriend to come get me. We go to nappa and i buy 3 quarts of Mobil 1 just incase. So i check the oil (its time for a change and will do this weekend) and it was real dark... it was not bad 2 weeks earlier. So i get in and the car is ok but the temp gauge goes from like 250 ta 150 to 250 like back and forth within a minute. Is my gauge broken or is something seriously wrong. I'm new and just bought my S4 w/ 36,800 miles like 3 weeks ago. I know all about audi's but i'm stumped here. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys, Scott

Oh, and i don't drive her hard yet...

Change the oil, & see if it comes back. The oil temp will drop fast with the car off. When you first turn it on, the gauge can be flaky, as it gets hot/cool oil over the sensor.

In normal driving, it should not get past the middle mark.

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2005 Lighting Yellow Lancer EVO 8
2000 Audi S4 Imola Yellow
1997 Porsche 911 C4S, Black

And dont judge oil quality by the color. The additives that are now added will turn the oil dark very quickly.. well before the oil quality is degraded. Smelling the oil can sometimes help judge the quality but always change when in doubt.

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2001.5 S4 6 spd - GIAC 93, 100 oct
1994 Pontiac Formula - Hypertech tune
1993 C/K 1500 355ci, 292 deg cam, 770 cfm holley, K&N
2001 Honda Shadow 750

Hey, i hate to just show up and bump an older thread, but i've just experience what sounds like this exact same problem and i'm wondering if you ever found a solution, or if anyone else has any additional insight?

The problem started up very suddenly and hasn't gone away. The coolant temps are normal and stay pegged where they belong, only the oil temps are out of whack. Since the problem appeared, i just had my car in to the dealership for some major work (timing belt, water pump), and had them do an oil change while they were at it. I also told them about the problem, so they ran a series of diagnostics, but couldn't find the problem. They concluded that everything was operating within spec and basically told me it was fine (though i'mpositive it isn't). I'm really stumped as to what's going on here, and it doesn't seem like i'm going to have any luck with the dealership on this one, so any helpful information or whatever would be great.

Help?

I figured out what my problem was and it sounds like its exactly what you have also. I took it to Matrix and they got it all sorted out for me. It was an oil temp sensor and it was like a $20 or $40 part and is super easy to replace. The problem is you will have to get another oil change with it so that will set you back when you do it. Shouldn't take more than 30 min to fix WITH the oil change, its that easy. If you have any questions i can tell you more about it. My email is daness373@comcast.net if you want more info. Good luck and i hope this helps you out, SCott