Hello. On Dec. 31st we picked up an Audi Q5 for our son. It is fully loaded and came with Quattro, Premium, Tech, and Sport packages. It is a 2015, 2.0T, that had 78,000 miles on it. The car has maybe 5,000 miles on it and I have already had to top off the oil 3 times totaling 5 quarts. We've been in the car dozens of times with our son and he drives like a grandma. He realizes it isn't a race car and doesn't try to gun it. We also track his driving with an in-dash camera and use an app called Life360 to see his speed and if he is driving aggressively. He is not.

So......what gives? Is this common for this model? No oil leak in our driveway, no oil sprayed under the engine itself. No error codes on a scan. Only the occasional low oil light coming on and then I top off. I don't know enough about cars to understand what might be the problem if none of the above are showing up. Any help or ideas are greatly appreciated.


Sidenote: First time I've been logged in here since 3.13.2011 ! ! .......In another life I used to drive a fairly modified A4 and loved it but it was from the 2000's. I do not remember my A4 guzzling oil like this.
Join Date05-31-2006

 

This is excessive consumption for sure. You might wipe the inside of the exhaust tip and see excessive black soot. Also try following the vehicle to confirm blue smoke during acceleration and/or cruising (try at a low speed).

I was told that on older overhead valve cars, you’d see a puff of blue smoke when taking off from a stop if the valve seals were allowing oil to leak into the combustion chamber.

If blue smoke was produced constantly during driving, the oil rings were bad.

at the rate of oil consumption you describe, this engine has a ring issue, or perhaps the turbo system is allowing oil into the combustion chamber.

For either situation, the engine would need a thorough rebuild, which will be thousands of dollars.

if left unresolved, this oil burning condition will ruin the exhaust catalysts and O2 sensors, adding to the repair expense.

perhaps the vehicle history might show oil consumption was a known issue, and you might get a lawyer involved to seek a full or partial refund from the selling dealership.

there is a dealership protocol for monitoring oil consumption, so I suggest you start there, and ask their lead mechanic what is the typical cause for what you’re describing.

 

The 2009-2012 2.0T engines had a known oil consumption problem caused by blowby around the piston rings. This was resolved in 2012-2013 models. Your issue, while similar, does not sound like the problem from early in the decade.

I bought my 2011 in 2014 with 99.6k miles. I test drove it 100 miles, and then MI-FL-MI without it consuming a drop. Fast forward 5 years and it is using a quart every 400-500 miles. I debated a new 2019 but discovered they stopped making the MT6 so I decided to have the engine rebuilt. I made a $6000 job into an $8500 job by having extra preventive work done (like a new clutch). Car fixed two years ago at 153k and currently at 168k and no oil leaks. Car looks and runs great and a far cheaper option than a newer used A4. (PS-Instead of buying a new A4 with an automatic, I bought a new 2018 Maserati Ghibli instead.)