I bought a used Audi A4 from a dealer (9700 miles at purchase last month). I've put 1800 miles on it. A few weeks ago, the MMI display showed an oil level midway between low and full. Last night, after the car had been running for 30 minutes, the MMI would not registered any oil in the car. I have not seen any low oil indicators. I checked with the dealer (since my car is going in for service this friday) - they said NOT to add any oil since the low oil level indicator is not coming on. I'm hesitant to even drive the car since the MMI is not registering any oil. I want to add oil to the car, but the dealer says not to. I want them to be able to diagnose the issue (whatever that may be) but I don't want to screw up my car during the hour drive to the dealer! any advice? Anyone else have this occur?? thanks.

 

I heard the MMI give some bad readings some times. Alot of people prefered the dip stick but then again, I can't get a good reading from the dipstick either. It's probably just a faulty reading. These cars never leak oil. The turbo burns off a bit.

 

Running low on oil is not a good thing but from the sounds of it, if you are actually low, it shouldn't be by much. I wouldn't worry about adding oil since you are taking it in. Be sure to have them check the oil level check mechanism to make sure everything is working properly.

 

The oil measure in our Audi shows some fluctuation, and the Germans have some **** thing about keeping the oil topped off. It may be left over from the aircooled days when the oil also helped to cool the engine. According to the manual, a low oil indication only means you're half a quart low; in our other cars I don't even add any at that leverl.

I check the oil after the car has had time to sit. In the current bitter cold, the oil probably never gets up to temp, and will take a while to drain back into the pan.
Moon

 

A friend of mine just bought a 2010 A6 with the new 3.0 supercharged engine. Oddly enough Audi decided to allow owners to check the oil with either the MMI or a dipstick. It seems both owners and service techs were having issues with the system refusing to show a reading as well as not have any redundancy. If the oil level sensor goes out, you can add oil until it overflows the dipstick tube and it could still read empty.
It will be interesting to see if all new Audi engines offer both and if they go back and add a dipstick to the new 2.0 at some point.

 

For the OP-
Did the display show no oil on the graphic, or did it say 'info not available'?
I've run into the 'no info' thing; may be that opening the hood triggers it, I guess in case you add oil while you're in there.
The electronic check is handy, but I'd like a fallback dipstick as well.
Moon

ETA-
It also appears that the system will not give you a reading until the engine reaches operating temperature. Not a bad idea, as cold oil takes forever to drain back down.
Moon

 

The display showed no reading between MIN and MAX, but did not say "info not available" - there was just nothing to indicate a level. The car was warm. I took it to the dealer and they told me that when the oil level display reaches the MIN level, you are down a quart of oil and the Low Oil Light will appear. When I stressed that there was no reading and that the Low Oil Light never came on, they told me that the oil wasn't low enough for the Low Oil Light to appear. They added more oil and the oil registered as Max on the MMI display. I'm keeping an eye on it for now...

 

Take a look in your owner's manual; unless I misunderstood, the continium on the MIM is half a liter between full and add.
It may be the dealer knows best, as the reading is now normal; maybe it was more than a half quart down.
OTOH, too MUCH oil is about as bad as too little. I'd keep documentation of all this.
Good luck.
Moon

 

Audi states that normal oil consumption is up to 1 quart within 1200 miles. That is on the extreme end. I have seen the sensors go bad on these, but mainly on the V6 A4 and the S5. I can assure you that you will be seeing this light again. These cars burn oil, now they just throw a warning light to freak you out. The meter on the dash from bottom to top is one quart.

In between your service visits (every 10k miles), Audi recommends doing a oil change. This interim oil change will not be covered by your Audi Care if you purchased the plan. That oil light WILL come on anywhere from about 3k to 5k after your last service. Just head to the dealership and they should top it off.

You'll also be seeing a tire pressure warning light on if you do not regularly check your tire pressures. You should check your pressures once a month. It will look like a horseshoe with a exclamation mark in the middle. Most of the time, it is due to temperature change. When temperatures change, pressures change. At least there are no sensors in the new A4 wheels. They measure the pressure by measuring the circumference of the wheel in proportion to the spinning of the wheel from the wheel sensor.

 

What is it with VAG and oil consumption? I was forever topping off our Passat, which had the 2.8 V-6 (always suspected 30 valve seals was part of the problem),but it was always within the companies liberal limits. Our A4 uses a little, tho' I truly only added a dribble before a Florida trip, and it didn't need any more thru' 5k miles.
Interesting about how Audi is measuring tire pressure; I'd like a little more explanation on how that works. BTW, the rule of thumb is 1lb for each 10*, which of course calls for some fudging if you are checking pressure in a warm garage when it's 15* outside, or you are headed from a cold place to a warm one, or vice versa.
Why the car won't always give you an oil reading after it sits overnight is a puzzlement; it is a sometimes thing. It's fairly handy for a quick check out on the interstate after a hot gas stop, but I wish the car came with a dipstick as well.
For the OP, my concern is more about the reliability of the measuring system than excess (!) oil consumption.
Two other things...we have not yet bought an Audi Care program (car is just over 5k; we were in FL when it needed changing, and the dealer here gave us the first one for free); we have been told that AC covers all oil changes; I'd like more info on this.
Second, if your dealer is as far away as mine is (30+ miles), it may be necessary to top off from time to time yourself; you don't HAVE to dump in a whole quart.
Moon