I have owned two Audi's and they burn\pass oil more than domestic cars. My current 01 A4 V6 will go through a quart in about 2500 miles. It has since the day I got it. I get my oil changed about every 3500 miles.

 

So the Cars BURN oil? hmmm, I should check my level tommorow then because I am coming up to about 16000KM and I dont know why there is such a huge interval gap of changing oil? hmmm...

 

I figured I should clarify my findings, since I haven't updated this thread.

Basically, I did not get the 5000 mile service. The dealer I bought the A4 from made it sound very optional, and that 10k was really the important service, which of course is incorrect. Whoops. So from what I gather, since Audi assumes you're going to bring in the car at 5k, they don't top off the oil when you first buy the car. Also, the engine gets broken in the most in those first few miles. Those combined with the fact that I didn't bring in the car for service... yeah, the oil was low.

No problem though, these cars really don't use that much oil. I'm about to hit my 15k service probably next week, and my oil level is still around 85% since going in for the last service.

 

I just had the same problem. Synthetic oil tends to work into the gaskets too so it will go down quicker, in addition to the turbo burning more.

Had the indicator come on at about 16kms, I filled up with a litre of Castrol 5w40 synthetic, and after a few hours or so the level was back up to full. FYI - the 8K service is covered b the dealer, and the next scheduled service is at 24K (covered by Audi Care), but they do 'Recommend' an oil change/etc at 16K but it's not mandatory.

 

Not sure where you picked up that bit of information but it is no more true for one vs. the other. Synthetics and good old dino oil are bascially the same thing. Synthetics are "made" molecule by molecule so the consistancy is much greater. This allows every molecule to be the optimum size to properly lubricate the engine. Sythetics last longer since they start off with almost %100 of their molecules lubricating properly and only lose effectiveness as the molecules are sheared by the engine and as they collect acids, moisture, metal, etc.

 

It sounds like you really need to take better care of your car.
Dealers perform a PDI on every car and are "supposed" to check all the fluid levels and bring them up to spec.
I find it amazing that some some guys can drive around knowing thier cars are low on oil and simply shrug your shoulders. This is exactly the reason I only buy new cars or used cars from people I know....
Just curious, are you on a lease??