Hello,
We have an 03 A4 with 70k, a couple of weeks ago it signalled the need for oil, we put oil in and everything was fine. Happened again Saturday and again this morning after we added oil Sat night. No puddles under the car after being parked for prolonged periods. Can someon give us an idea of what this might be and what we could be looking at for repairs???

Thanks

 

how’s oil level? are u using synthetic oil? something around 5-40?
R u getting low pressure error?... i’ve seen this on car using 10-30 synthetic oil mobile 1…

 

Get underneath the endine and pull the cover, look and see if there is any leaks then let the car sit after warming up with teh cover off and see if you can see and small puddles, make sure yur not over filling it and check the oil pump and your coolant, it could be leaking in there

 

Thanks for the info, when we get the warning and check the oil, the level is only slightly lower than what it should be. We are using 5-40 for the oil grade. Any other thoughts?

Thanks

 

If you have added a few quarts of oil in the last few days, you are either leaking or burning pretty good. You should either see smoke out the tailpipe, smoking under the hood, or puddles under the car. Listen to the guy above. There is a plastic pan under your car that could collect the oil and keep it from hitting the pavement below your car. It disguises coolant leaks etc as well. It can collect a puddle that later gets blown off while you are driving, hence no puddles of fluid under the car in your driveway.

So here is the question: Are you going to attempt to fix it yourself?

If you are willing and able, then go search for smoke and pools of oil. Take the plastic belly pan off and see if you see oil on the other side of it. If you are leaking or burning that bad, you should be able to find it. Look for wet spots down the side of the engine or on the underside of the car as well.

If you aren't going to try to fix it yourself, then all you need to know is that you def have a problem. It doesn't matter where it is coming from if you aren't going to fix it yourself. Get her into the shop.

 

Thanks again, we're not adding quarts just topping off. We're gonna go out and check that pan now. Definetly no smoke and the car is driving like it has been since we bought ita year ago, still smooth (well as smooth as you can get with an A4). Definetly plan to fix it ourselves though. I di know that we are a little behind on an oil change though, plan to get that done tomorrow... or should I find this problem 1st?

Thanks again

 

Update... checked the pan... nothing, Should it look freshly wet?The car has been parked for over an hour at this point. Where should we start checking for the leaks? We appreciate everyone's help, can't even imagine taking it to the dealer and getting charged $200 or more just for analysis!

 

Define 'topping off'. If the level is below the minimum mark, I think it should take pretty close to a quart to bring it up to the full mark.

Ok, so you completely removed the large plastic belly pan under the front of your car and it was completely dry? You have no smoking and the car runs well.

What you are looking for is something that looks wet, or a spot that looks grungy / greasy. It will be a lot easier to find if you are able to jack up the front on one side of the car (if you have proper tools - jack and jack stands - that is, don't get under the car using only the jack that comes with the car). While under the car (or laying next to the car with a flashlight) you should look for anything that looks black and oily. When you get an oil leak, a lot of times it will blow down the underside of the car while driving. If your oil drain nut is loose for example, you should see streaks of oil from the drain plug back. If it is leaking from the top of the engine somewhere, it will run down the block and then streak back along the bottom of the car from wherever it reaches the bottom of the block.

So keep the plastic belly pan off (this is different than your oil pan you know) and start searching. If you can get your head under there is may be much easier to find because it may be blowing back a little higher up and not quite reaching the bottom of the car. Once you finally find your wet / greasy looking area, you can then try to pinpoint where it is coming from. You need to try to follow it upstream or up the side of the block etc until you find where the leak actually starts. You leak is somewhere from the firewall forward. You just need to do a good thorough inspection underneath and around the side of the engine. You may even need to remove your engine cover so you can get a good look around. Finda wet spot and you can go from there.


Oh yea, check your coolant too. It should be a nice pink color (or green if you are using the wrong type of coolant). It should be semi transparent though. If your coolant looks all cloudy / mucky, your oil may be leaking into your coolant. This is the teltale sign of a leak in the head gasket.

 

We were just under the car and can't find anything. Will try again tomorrow with your suggestions (ran out of daylight .

Thanks!

 

ok so went outside with a flashlight. Best way to describe the coolant is guava juice. Like aorangie pinkcolor. Not sure how it's supposed to look otherwise.

Thanks!