171 Mk 3 Audi TT 2.0 petrol Burning oil?

Avatar MIA

Approx 13.5k KMs on the clock and the check engine oil level light came on in the car.

Is this "normal" - I would have thought not, but a quick google and some are saying that it's normal for a new Audi Really?

Should I just stock up with engine oil and add as required? A check on the dip stick shows it's sitting just above minimum. I'll need to go to work early in the morning, before the motor factors are open - about 5 mile drive hope it's okay.

porsche boy

The best thing you could do would be to read the manual. It will clearly state that engine oil will be used in the normal running of the car. Usually 1-1.5L per 1000 klm but that can vary by manufacturer.
Every car uses oil, its actually impossible for them not to.

Toyotafanboi

They can be a bit hard on oil before their first service, they actually seem to get a little better after that. A litre across 13k kms isn't bad anyway and you read varying theories that they may not be completely full when leaving the factory anyway which makes it seem like it's used more than it actually has.

There should be a 1 litre "sponsored by Castrol" top up bottle in your spare wheel well, no?

tabby aspreme

porsche boy wrote: »

The best thing you could do would be to read the manual. It will clearly state that engine oil will be used in the normal running of the car. Usually 1-1.5L per 1000 klm but that can vary by manufacturer.
Every car uses oil, its actually impossible for them not to.

1-1.5L per 1000 klm would be a lot , should that be per 10000 klm

Henry Ford III

Might be a leak?

Comhrá

I have a 161 A4 1.4 TFSI petrol and I recall during the first year it used a drop of oil and I had to top up once or twice.

Subsequently the oil consumption eased quite a bit and I haven't had to top up in the last 10k at least.

Gravelly

Consumption seems about right for a new one. Should drop a little after first service as others have said. You should have oil in the kit with the spare wheel, but even if you haven’t, 5k with some showing on dipstick would be fine - we see plenty with a lot less!

Del2005

tabby aspreme wrote: »

1-1.5L per 1000 klm would be a lot , should that be per 10000 klm

Burning approximately 1l of oil per 1000km isn't considered excessive by any manufacturer, regardless of the age of the car.

Avatar MIA

Thanks for the replies, that's put my mind to rest and saves me an embarrassing phone call to Audi

No sign of the complimentary litre of oil, but it was a demo model and a couple of month's old when I got it and it may have walked or used in the first 2k Kms.

I'll buy a few litres of it and keep to hand.

Cheers

Atlantic Dawn

It's odd the check engine light has come on, I'd get that fault read.

Neilw

Same basic engine in my car, it doesn't burn oil at all.

Saying that, the engine is still fairly new.

What way did you drive it from new? They say engines are run in from the factory, I don't buy it.

Also I wouldn't rely on the warning light as a reminder, old school weekly check of engine oil with the dipstick is the way to go.

Avatar MIA

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

It's odd the check engine light has come on, I'd get that fault read.

Back to being worried again :pac:

Is it not just telling me that the oil has come close to minimum (similar to the tyre pressure monitor). From the check it has.

Gravelly

It's an Audi - get used to the engine check light

I reckon about 25% of all the Audi's on the road have a check engine light on at any given moment - they must have the most sensitive engine check light of any make! The engine check light is on in mine at the moment, and it's a fairly new model too. I've owned half a dozen Audi's and I reckon only one of them never had it on - must have been broken!

Avatar MIA

Gravelly wrote: »

It's an Audi - get used to the engine check light

I reckon about 25% of all the Audi's on the road have a check engine light on at any given moment - they must have the most sensitive engine check light of any make! The engine check light is on in mine at the moment, and it's a fairly new model too. I've owned half a dozen Audi's and I reckon only one of them never had it on - must have been broken!

This is my third Audi (Zero BMWs :pac: ) But, never really seemed to have to top the other two up. But, it's grand, as long as it's somewhat normal.

Gravelly

Avatar MIA wrote: »

This is my third Audi (Zero BMWs :pac: ) But, never really seemed to have to top the other two up. But, it's grand, as long as it's somewhat normal.

I've found all my Audi's were fairly heavy oil consumers, compared to, say a Merc. but it seems to vary from car to car - we'd get some into the garage that the owners never check and they are fine, while others need a weekly top-up. Just one of the quirks of the brand I suppose - could be worse, if you'd a beemer the quirk could be a snapped timing chain

166man

I could be totally out of whack here but if my €50k Audi TT was throwing up a low oil level light after 7500 miles it would be straight back to the dealership.

In no way is it acceptable for an engine to burn 1l of oil in 7-800 miles as alluded to earlier.

JoeA3

Relax the kacks.
I’ve had a few TFSI engined cars. A couple of them had a slight thirst for oil. Maybe a litre or two between regular (annual) services. I didn’t think it was that big a deal. Rushing back to the dealers ffs. Pick your battles...

As per above, good idea to check the dipstick every so often. The oil light tends to come on long before it’s actually a real problem though.

That said, some modern cars (my current one included) don’t have a dipstick...

tossy

166man wrote: »

I could be totally out of whack here but if my €50k Audi TT was throwing up a low oil level light

When did you buy the TT ? Excellent purchase dude.

JoeA3

JoeA3 wrote: »

Relax the kacks.
I’ve had a few TFSI engined cars. A couple of them had a slight thirst for oil. Maybe a litre or two between regular (annual) services. I didn’t think it was that big a deal. Rushing back to the dealers ffs. Pick your battles...

As per above, good idea to check the dipstick every so often. The oil light tends to come on long before it’s actually a real problem though.

That said, some modern cars (my current one included) don’t have a dipstick...

TFSI's like oil,
Simple!
Keep them full of the good stuff and its not a problem.
My 2L TFSi uses a liter every 2/3 months (at least).

166man

JoeA3 wrote: »

Relax the kacks.
I’ve had a few TFSI engined cars. A couple of them had a slight thirst for oil. Maybe a litre or two between regular (annual) services. I didn’t think it was that big a deal. Rushing back to the dealers ffs. Pick your battles...

As per above, good idea to check the dipstick every so often. The oil light tends to come on long before it’s actually a real problem though.

That said, some modern cars (my current one included) don’t have a dipstick...

We all know you have had a few TFSI engined cars at this stage.

Did you read my post or were you too busy trying to tell me what you drive? A litre or two between 18k km isn’t the end of the world, probably about right.

The oil light coming on after 13k km is unacceptable, there is a difference.

Funnily enough, my old Alfa V6 burns no oil between services and neither did my 159 JTDm. Progress eh?

tossy wrote: »

When did you buy the TT ? Excellent purchase dude.

Thanks dude, do you give other VAG drivers condescending comments if they buy a new car too?

I didn’t buy a TT - I think there’s better cars out there than a dolled up Golf

mloc123

166man wrote: »

Funnily enough, my old Alfa V6 burns no oil between services and neither did my 159 JTDm. Progress eh?

What is the power/litre ratio on these? My very basic understanding on this was always higher tuned engine = more oil usage. TFSI engines produce ~ 140-150ps/litre so I would expect them to use oil.

Edit: I assume the oil light that came on was the "top up" alert and not low oil pressure? Which would indicate ~1litre used (based on the last Audi I had). 1 litre over 13000km seems *okay*

JoeA3

166man wrote: »

Did you read my post or were you too busy trying to tell me A litre or two between 18k km isn’t the end of the world, probably about right.

The oil light coming on after 13k km is unacceptable, there is a difference.

You didn’t read my post either then? I said it is acceptable (to me) - and it’s well known and even in the owners manual - for these cars - that they can have a slight appetite for oil and a litre or 2 between services (15k km) is far from unusual. 13k kms is coming very close to its service due date so I would say it’s normal. Whether it’s acceptable or not is up to the individual.

kooga

2.0 TFSi GTI here need an oil top up in between annual services can live with that 5w 30

tossy

JoeA3 wrote: »

You didn’t read my post either then? I said it is acceptable (to me) - and it’s well known and even in the owners manual - for these cars - that they can have a slight appetite for oil and a litre or 2 between services (15k km) is far from unusual. 13k kms is coming very close to its service due date so I would say it’s normal. Whether it’s acceptable or not is up to the individual.

Exactrly, mine burns about 1L every 5k performance comes at a price as another poster has said.

There are acceptable limits. OP's seems to have burnt a similar amount in 13k which is acceptable.

166man

Lads ye are a gas bunch, talk about the rose tinted glasses coming out.

Dads Giulia Veloce is a 2.0T 280bhp has over 5k km on it now, has it burned a drop of oil? Nope, nada, nor should it either.

Plenty of performance engines out there don’t burn oil.

kooga

166man wrote: »

Lads ye are a gas bunch, talk about the rose tinted glasses coming out.

Dads Giulia Veloce is a 2.0T 280bhp has over 5k km on it now, has it burned a drop of oil? Nope, nada, nor should it either.

Plenty of performance engines out there don’t burn oil.

check to see if the low level oil light on the dash is working/has a bulb

JoeA3

lol.

mloc123

166man wrote: »

Lads ye are a gas bunch, talk about the rose tinted glasses coming out.

Dads Giulia Veloce is a 2.0T 280bhp has over 5k km on it now, has it burned a drop of oil? Nope, nada, nor should it either.

Plenty of performance engines out there don’t burn oil.

My 2.0T 280ps engine hasn't burned a drop either at 13k km ... :eek:

ohnonotgmail

Del2005 wrote: »

Burning approximately 1l of oil per 1000km isn't considered excessive by any manufacturer, regardless of the age of the car.

If i had to put in a liter of oil every two weeks i would consider that excessive. You dont?

mloc123

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

If i had to put in a liter of oil every two weeks i would consider that excessive. You dont?

I had a 523i a few years back that burned 1l every 2-3000km... it was pretty annoying. Various BMW forums claimed it was 'normal enough' for that engine. That is excessive IMO, 1l/1000km would be ridiculous. I assume manufacturers include this to cover themselves.

Some people will claim that it also depends on if the engine was run in or not. These days most makes say there is no need to run in an engine. Anecdotal evidence online suggests that if you run it in properly most will not use oil compared to driving it hard from the start.

JoeA3

mloc123 wrote: »

My 2.0T 280ps engine hasn't burned a drop either at 13k km ... :eek:

My last car didn't either for the first 15k, but I did put a litre in it between the first and second service (around 25k km) - actually it was during a very spirited run, the oil light flashed up unexpectedly. I suppose it varies from car to car and from one owner to another.

Miley Byrne

Del2005 wrote: »

Burning approximately 1l of oil per 1000km isn't considered excessive by any manufacturer, regardless of the age of the car.

Burning at that rate is ridiculous. At a service interval of 15k you would have topped up 12/13 litres?

Are you seriously saying that is considered normal by most manafacturers?

MetzgerMeister

Let's cut the crap about which cars don't burn oil. As usual this has been turned into a thread of drivel. Let's get back on topic and answer the OP's question.

Neilw

As I've said earlier, same engine in my car with 28k Kms on it and 360bhp, it hasn't used any oil.

Having said that it gets an oil change every 6k.

Avatar MIA

166man wrote: »

Did you read my post or were you too busy trying to tell me what you drive? A litre or two between 18k km isn’t the end of the world, probably about right.

Not being Rachel Riley, but two litres being okay every 18k km (average 9k per litre) would suggest 1 litre per 13km should also be fine.

166man wrote: »

Funnily enough, my old Alfa V6 burns no oil between services and neither did my 159 JTDm. Progress eh?

My last car was a 2008 159 2.4l JTDM and it did need oil topped up (probably the only OTHER car I had that needed such attention) - kept it nearly 10 years and was a worthy car all the same.

Maybe it's me. :pac:

MetzgerMeister

If we want to talk about cars burning oil.....RX8 anyone? :pac:

rex-x

For anyone thats interested, this is why the VW tfsi burn so much oil. They changed to a new oil control ring design with tiny holes which dont allow the oil to fully drain so it gets forced into the cylinder, especially as the mileage increased and the holes get plugged with carbon. This was so bad they had to change the design in 2013 as there were so many coming back for rebuilds. This car I took the photo of had only 70k miles and was using 1l of oil in about 120 miles. The reason they use oil is ****e design not performance.... And I am a big fan of these engines There is a kit being made I'm testing that replaces the VW design with the more traditional one, 20k in so far and no oil useage.

removed from 70k old CDDA engine:



Traditional oil control ring, no drain issues:

kirving

More than likely that design allowed them to reduce the tolerances on the cylinder (liner) and pistons and build them cheaper.

Personally I wouldn't be too concerned if a car that did only school runs burnt 1l/1000km. The vast majority of the driving wouldn't even be at temperature.

A car that sat on the motorway burning 1l / 1000km has a serious issue.

Del2005

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

If i had to put in a liter of oil every two weeks i would consider that excessive. You dont?

I'm not a manufacturer. If you are doing 1000km a fortnight and topping up a litre of oil the manufacturer does not consider it excessive and they are the people you would have to deal with.

mickdw

Don't heed that crap about 1L per 1000km being normal. That is what manufacturers state to cover their arse but if you had anywhere near that consumption, your engine would be fecked.
Your useage over 13k km is fine for a very fresh car and it's nowhere close to 1L per 1000km.

I've my audi 10 years. It burns no noticeable oil and it doesn't have engine light on either.
It appeared once for good reason that needed a sensor replaced.
I think there are too many people just getting the light cleared and cursing the car when it comes back again.

ShadowHearth

mloc123 wrote: »

What is the power/litre ratio on these? My very basic understanding on this was always higher tuned engine = more oil usage. TFSI engines produce ~ 140-150ps/litre so I would expect them to use oil.

Edit: I assume the oil light that came on was the "top up" alert and not low oil pressure? Which would indicate ~1litre used (based on the last Audi I had). 1 litre over 13000km seems *okay*

My one is not TFSI ( and not audi, but still german lump ), but 1.8Tsi with 192hp and I had my first service in January. 18k km on it and I never had low oil lights on.

I really did not know that modern cars have acceptable oil consumption of 1l per 1000km!!! That sounds mad. Did manufacturers took notes from Mazda and rx8?!

rex-x

ShadowHearth wrote: »

My one is not TFSI ( and not audi, but still german lump ), but 1.8Tsi with 192hp and I had my first service in January. 18k km on it and I never had low oil lights on.

I really did not know that modern cars have acceptable oil consumption of 1l per 1000km!!! That sounds mad. Did manufacturers took notes from Mazda and rx8?!

What year is your 1.8? Generally speaking the 1.8 tsi are the worst affected by this issue.

ShadowHearth

rex-x wrote: »

What year is your 1.8? Generally speaking the 1.8 tsi are the worst affected by this issue.

2017. No issues with oil so far. As I said, 18k km in and after first service.