The breather replaced adjusts the internal vacuum inside the engine. The software update changes the parameters that monitor it so that a MIL doesn't come on.

 

Thank you. I am planning on replacing my PCV as well as breather hose. Probably ignition coil and spark plugs along the way too.

There is a great amount of suction when I open the oil crankcase cap to a point where car will about to stall when I open it and I am getting system lean CEL P2187 right now. I thought my oil consumption problem is caused by this too and replacing and resetting the CEL would do the job.

Will I need this software update as well?

 

We are having this oil consumption issue on a very carefully driven 2010 A4 with under 32K miles (actually problem started at 29K). It was consuming 1 quart every 2,200 miles. Test #1 changed seals, pcv, and mapping. At 700 miles into test, Audi says it is using (adjusted) .3 quarts per 1,000 miles and that is all they will do on it. What is more, if it gets worse, they will not pay for any retesting. That is total bullshit. And, in my experience, with all of the cars, Japanese, German, and American, some costing much less, I have not experienced this level of oil consumption where I cannot make it between what I would call a normal oil change interval for synthetic of around 5,000 or 6,000 miles (let alone go all the way to 10,000 miles). Putting in a quart every 2,200 miles or possibly now, every 3,000 miles is costly and is indicative of poor engineering and workmanship. My 2011 BMW 328 does not have this problem and I am 49k miles. Now that I just checked my records, I had the oil changed last at 38k and it needs 1/2 quart. BMW pays for oil changes up to 50k but I have been having paying for oil change in the middle of the interval since it is too long in my opinion and oil changes are cheap in comparison to anything involving engine repair. Again, back to the Audi, oil consumption at 1 quart per 3000 miles or less is in my opinion a sign of inferior engineering and workmanship. I would be less of a complainer if I bought the car second hand or if I were a young and unbridled driver like I was in the 70's, but both my wife and I have been very careful with this otherwise decent and above category car. One more thing. If you are using 1/3 quart every 1,000 miles, where does it go? Are these cars polluting more than expected? And, at this rate of consumption, if you wait for the light to come on, that means you are running the car with less than optimal oil level, increasingly, from the time it is topped off. Put another way, if the engine holds 5 quarts, at 1,000 miles you are down to 4.7, 94% optimal protection from an engineering standpoint for all the things oil protects including capacity as a heat reservoir. At 2,000 miles, we are at 4.4 quarts or 88% oil protection, and so on. I can only assume engines need oil. Why is the capacity 5 quarts? Likely an engineering rule of sorts for this engine, otherwise, hell we could just use something much less. These engines are designed for a specific capacity of oil so you would have to assume that you have less optimal engine wear dynamics as the capacity is decreased. 4 quarts out of 5 is a large gap. So please spare me the argument that 1 quart per 3,000 miles isn't too excessive. For a car engine built before 1985 I can easily agree, but not a modern engine found in a car of this caliber.

At this point, we won't be purchasing another Audi or VW for that matter. We have been duped.

 

please remove

 

Vfr you are completely over reacting.... Because all the european lines are having oil consumption issues and it comes with strict emission guidelines put on them in order to sell here.

Whatever your dealer said to you they are full of ****. If you call Audi of America and complain they WILL make good on a repair if there is an issue. We have had Audi TAC team tell us to replace pistons on many many cars that passed stage 2 and they are even covering repairs on cars out of warranty.

But if you think leaving Audi will rid your car problems, i hate to break it to you..... It's the reason i will always have a job

 

The reason you have a job is due to a great marketing team from Audi that pushes a nice car with a crappy engine. They targeted the demographic group and sold them a bill of goods. It would be interesting to see the data on how many of these engines have oil problems. I believe there are a lot but because the dealers consider it "normal" most people don't consider it a problem. Those who have never had a car that used oil and now do find the design unacceptable. Because of their investment the stick it out but when the time comes to sell they will defect to another brand. All you would need to do is take a simple poll on this or other blogs and using the Audi oil change interval of 10,000 mile ask "does your Audi 2.0L turbo use any oil in between the scheduled 10,000 oil change". Answer yes or no.

 

I bought my used 2009 A4 in the US and imported it to Canada. Shortly thereafter, and while it was still under factory warranty, the oil light came on. I put in a litre of oil and had to do so again about 3000 km (about 1860 miles for my American friends) later. At the time I was told that was "normal". Since the warranty expired, I am now having to add a litre every 1000 km. Given it was originally a US car and based on some of the positive responses on here about Audi USA stepping up to fix out-of-warranty cars, I reached out to Audi USA and was eventually contacted by Audi Canada. They told me to do step one and two of the oil consumption test and that I could expect assistance if it failed those tests.

After spending $1300 on the two tests, not surprisingly, it failed. Now Audi Canada wants me to do additional tests and be prepared to pay half of the potential repair. (One of their customer service reps even told me I had had the wrong tests done when I went back seeking the previously promised "assistance".)

At this stage I am more or less resigned to driving around with a case of oil in my trunk and topping up between oil changes. I am also reluctant (and embarrassed) to hit the gas too hard because of the cloud of smoke I leave behind when I am required to call upon Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration. I am not spending another cent on oil consumption testing or repairs because as far as I'm concerned this is Audi's problem, not mine. I also doubt I will ever buy another Audi. It's too bad as I really like the lines of the A5 and my wife had her eye on the Q7. Instead, I just ordered a custom-made $5 bumper sticker that says "Another Audi Oil Burner" and will slap that on the back of my A4. I'll be happy to take it off if and when Audi makes my car right.

 

VFR, Audi Tek is right. This discussion thread is now 11-12 pages long. I recommend that you go back and look at the problems other people have had as well as the suggestions to remedy it. I had the very same problem and I recently traded in my 2010 A4 Premium Quattro (manual) for a 2014 Premium Plus. I've had it about a month. I worked very closely with the service dept when I was prepping the vehicle for trade and with the sales department. I wanted the oil consumption problem repaired because I didn't want to pass along a problem to another buyer and I wanted to maximize my trade. In a previous post I offered exactly who you should write to.

The first-level test does no good unless you do the second-level test within 800 miles. In fact, if you go more than that, they'll have to repeat the first-level test. Insist on this. My dealer also told me a notice had gone out from Audi about this test.

Driving your car "very carefully" is silly. Nobody buys an Audi to drive 55 all the time. Servicing your vehicle "very carefully," however, is key. Go back and tell your dealer that there are literally pages of information on the internet about this problem and you insist on BOTH tests. Tell them you are going to follow up with Audi America -- and then do it. In a previous post I tell readers exactly who to write to at Audi corporate.

When you insist and having the repair made, don't be a jerk about it. Everyone who has had this problem is annoyed and no one believes it's a normal part of driving an Audi. Part of my argument when I started down this road (and it took me a solid year to finally get them to respond) was that my 2010 was my THIRD Audi. My previous cars did not use oil at anywhere near the same rate. My service department knew I understood their cars. I talked to them calmly and rationally. This might sound like a "girl" comment (I am one), but you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. My service department appreciates my business despite the number of times they saw me in a year because I handled my problem like an adult.

I got both tests done and they revealed not surprisingly that my car had an issue. They pulled out the engine and all of the piston rings were replaced -- on Audi. About a week before I was to trade my car (the new one was on order as I wanted another manual), one of the ignition coils went. I called the service dept on my way over that one had gone and when the car limped in at 30 mph (the car loses power when an ignition coil goes) he said, "you called that one right." This may end up being a byproduct of the service (ignition coils were a recall item on my previous 3.0 2003). If one goes, I recommend replacing them all (4 in a 2.0).

This forum is set up for the purpose of trading information, and yes, venting from time to time. But as with anything else in life, your car is a piece of machinery (albeit an expensive one) and from time to time you will have problems that require a solution. You can turn your back on Audi (and if your service department is in denial, find another dealership), but all makes/models have problems from time to time. Listen to the news and in any given year an automaker is announcing some sort of recall. I recommend then, that you fix your problem... sit on Audi and work with them to find a solution. I guarantee that if you write a letter to corporate and work with your service department, you'll get somewhere -- as I did.

 

Does anyone know if these oil problems have been fixed for the slightly altered 2013 A4?

 

The 2013 bears a different engine code than its predecessor. It's fundamentally the same engine but so far no oil concerns