2013 Audi A4 still burning oil

[Msbrandybaby]

So I have a 2013 A4 with an oil consumption issue. It's burning a quart of oil every 600 miles (110k on dash). This issue didn't start until I had the dealer do my oil change in March 2019. Also took the car to a shop that specializes in Audi and VWs. The mechanic stated that there are no leaks. Besides the high oil consumption, the car drives/run great. I had someone say that maybe I should replace the PCV first to see if that helps. Any suggestions😫

I'm going to get a oil change and try the motul oil to see if that helps as well.

Side note also I had the Timing chain and tensioner replaced at 75k.

[audrobotic]

I suppose trying a different oil could help. I have a feeling dealers use cheap bulk oil. Some have had minor improvements with Motul Xcess.

Did your driving habits change at all? The PCV is a good idea if that hasn't been done in a while.

[Msbrandybaby]

I suppose trying a different oil could help. I have a feeling dealers use cheap bulk oil. Some have had minor improvements with Motul Xcess.

Did your driving habits change at all? The PCV is a good idea if that hasn't been done in a while.

No change in driving habits.

[19birel]

I agree PCV is definitely a good place to start.

Audi dealerships use Castrol Edge Professional which is a step up from what you can buy off the shelf at auto zone and overall a very high quality oil, I'm doubtful that is the issue.

[ThomasA4b8]

If you're burning a quart every 600miles don't even expect the POV to solve your issue. And please don take it to Audi to replace the pcv!! they they charged me 700$ which did nothing and put some bullshit software to help with oil consumption. Just do the pcv yourself if your curious. It's like 50$ if you buy it. Second of all I've done a full engine overhaul with forged new pistons and I'm still burning around the same amount as you. At least it's better than the quart every 150miles when Audi sold me the car and I don't even think the pistons are the problem now since my spark plugs look normal after 20k of driving compared to the pre over haul all white and corroded with build up after 3k of driving. Honestly you best bet would be trading in the car at a dealer if you don't want to deal with spending 5-9k into it. Much rather put that money into something different on top of your trade in value. My sister even has the post face lift b8.5 a4 and it's burning quart every 2000miles.


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[19birel]

I would also question whether or not the rear main seal is leaking?

When these cars have oil consumption issues it's typically something that happens gradually getting worse over time. For the OPs car to just start losing 1qt/600miles out of nowhere indicates that something else is likely the issue.

Does the car smoke at all from the exhaust when you get on the gas?

[Theiceman]

If you're burning a quart every 600miles don't even expect the POV to solve your issue. And please don take it to Audi to replace the pcv!! they they charged me 700$ which did nothing and put some bullshit software to help with oil consumption. Just do the pcv yourself if your curious. It's like 50$ if you buy it. Second of all I've done a full engine overhaul with forged new pistons and I'm still burning around the same amount as you. At least it's better than the quart every 150miles when Audi sold me the car and I don't even think the pistons are the problem now since my spark plugs look normal after 20k of driving compared to the pre over haul all white and corroded with build up after 3k of driving. Honestly you best bet would be trading in the car at a dealer if you don't want to deal with spending 5-9k into it. Much rather put that money into something different on top of your trade in value. My sister even has the post face lift b8.5 a4 and it's burning quart every 2000miles.


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yeah i can see the frustration in this post for sure and somewhat agree... anyone reading this, dont for a second think the problem was " fixed" anywhere along the way . my 14 had the issue too. I did not go after market pistons though and just went with factory updated pistons with updated oil scrapper ring sytem. So far seems to be working well.. but if i did that and was still burning at a high rate i would feel very dejected.

[ThomasA4b8]

yeah i can see the frustration in this post for sure and somewhat agree... anyone reading this, dont for a second think the problem was " fixed" anywhere along the way . my 14 had the issue too. I did not go after market pistons though and just went with factory updated pistons with updated oil scrapper ring sytem. So far seems to be working well.. but if i did that and was still burning at a high rate i would feel very dejected.

Oh if you already went through with this go ahead I assumed this is your first encounter with these engines. Still a great platform if you know what your doing! Cheers


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[Msbrandybaby]

I would also question whether or not the rear main seal is leaking?

When these cars have oil consumption issues it's typically something that happens gradually getting worse over time. For the OPs car to just start losing 1qt/600miles out of nowhere indicates that something else is likely the issue.

Does the car smoke at all from the exhaust when you get on the gas?

No smoke from the exhaust when gassing.

[Msbrandybaby]

If you're burning a quart every 600miles don't even expect the POV to solve your issue. And please don take it to Audi to replace the pcv!! they they charged me 700$ which did nothing and put some bullshit software to help with oil consumption. Just do the pcv yourself if your curious. It's like 50$ if you buy it. Second of all I've done a full engine overhaul with forged new pistons and I'm still burning around the same amount as you. At least it's better than the quart every 150miles when Audi sold me the car and I don't even think the pistons are the problem now since my spark plugs look normal after 20k of driving compared to the pre over haul all white and corroded with build up after 3k of driving. Honestly you best bet would be trading in the car at a dealer if you don't want to deal with spending 5-9k into it. Much rather put that money into something different on top of your trade in value. My sister even has the post face lift b8.5 a4 and it's burning quart every 2000miles.


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I'm would do it myself if I could, I'll take it to my mechanic.

[19birel]

No smoke from the exhaust when gassing.

With consumption that severe if the car was burning it you would likely see that smoke. Since you don’t, my inference would be a leak that was missed.

I would still have the PCV done, but my hypothesis is the rear main seal being perished. Maybe your mechanic can check this somehow

[Theiceman]

well.....

not to start a huge debate but i was burning a quart every 180 miles.. did not see any black smoke coming out. and i followed the car for over a hundred miles as we drove it home after buying it. The cats in these cars do an amazing job. i had the engin eout 2 weeks after buying it .

There is no way the car is leaking that much oil . it would be an absolute mess under that car and your driveway would look like the exon Valdez disaster.

you are burning it no doubt.

[ThomasA4b8]

well.....

not to start a huge debate but i was burning a quart every 180 miles.. did not see any black smoke coming out. and i followed the car for over a hundred miles as we drove it home after buying it. The cats in these cars do an amazing job. i had the engin eout 2 weeks after buying it .

There is no way the car is leaking that much oil . it would be an absolute mess under that car and your driveway would look like the exon Valdez disaster.

you are burning it no doubt.

When I was burning that much it didn't matter cats or not black smoke like it was a diesel. Now since I'm burning a quart every 600miles after the over haul haven't noticed any black smoke and I'm catless... check if you charge pipes from your intercooler have a lot of oil in them. That will give you a good understanding of weather it's pulling oil. Mine didn't have a drop in them before or after the overhaul. Also I might be leaning towards replacing the turbo I feel like when the turbo is in use it could be leaking small amounts at at a time without making it noticeable through the exhaust. It runs completely fine and when I had the turbo off 20k ago it had zero shaft play but that has nothing to do with the seals might just have a small crack in them... I'll do a update once I find a k04. I put over 25k on the motor burning this amount and it's still running strong and looks healthy when examining the sparks and I had every seal also changed in the car so I doubt it's the rear main. I'll check the valves if they have any carbon buildup this week to see if it's leaking through the valve seals but I changed those too so will just have to do further investigations if they're clean.


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[Depthcharge]

How hard are you driving it?

[S-Liner]

How sooty are your tailpipes? Prior to my stg II oil fix this is what my Avant looked like idling in my driveway. Smoke was barely visible coming out of the exhaust on acceleration, but the amount of oil being blown by or burned was crazy.

IMG_0445.JPG


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[Msbrandybaby]

Tailpipes are black basically

[flowhigh]

Tailpipes are black basically

motor's toast.

trade-in with disclosure or rebuild

[Theiceman]

motor's toast.

trade-in with disclosure or rebuild

Yup and if it's already had stage 2 usually what is reported is scored bores. If that is the case, engine is a boat anchor.

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[treginginco]

My previous oil change, my shop tried Motul. I had been using Castrol since taking delivery seven years ago. On the Motul oil change, my allroad burned thru 2.5 quarts in 10k miles. The most I'd ever burned thru was about a half-a-quart in 10k miles. On my last oil change, we are back to Castol. 3k miles later.... no noticeable oil changes. Just sayin'

[weagle1856]

My previous oil change, my shop tried Motul. I had been using Castrol since taking delivery seven years ago. On the Motul oil change, my allroad burned thru 2.5 quarts in 10k miles. The most I'd ever burned thru was about a half-a-quart in 10k miles. On my last oil change, we are back to Castol. 3k miles later.... no noticeable oil changes. Just sayin'

Woah... Which kind of Motul were you using?

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[Quattro420]

How much oil is in your boost hose at the intercooler? Undo the hoses at the intercooler from the bottom (you will have to undo the belly pan) or you can undo the hose at the turbo and see if there’s a bunch of oil on hose and turbo. If you take hose off throttle body you can see if oil is making it to the throttle body.

[treginginco]

Woah... Which kind of Motul were you using?

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The shop I go to used this:
https://www.amazon.com/Motul-007250-...28161861&psc=1

[ferndj02]

The shop I go to used this:
https://www.amazon.com/Motul-007250-...28161861&psc=1

This is what I use. I used to burn an above-average amount of oil (APR stage 2) using Liqui Moly. I switched to this, and I haven't looked back.

Dumb luck? Probably.

Empirical evidence? Nope.

[kissdaring]

hey guys, I have a similar problem with my 2013 2.0T Audi Q5. I replaced the fuel pump because it was faulty but I’m noticing that I’m burning at fast speed. I just did a oil change about 2000 km ago and I’m down to half on the mmi??. I’m not sure if that’s normal? I know they burn oil but I don’t think this much.. I don’t see that being normal, also there are no lights or no store code. Any suggestions are welcome. Do you guys think it might be a PCV valve issue?

[silver_tt]

your rings are beat

[audrobotic]

your rings are beat

"The four rings"

[kissdaring]

Dear eh? What you think a price like this cost? Is the car drivable so long as I top up at a quarter? Or will it eventually leave me stranded? You don’t suggest I pick up a new pvc valve as that’s likely not the issue?

[silver_tt]

It's about a $6K job with an indy. I have a thread with parts list:
https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...th-parts-lists

You can try a new PCV, $150 but a longshot (if you have a manometer you can check your crankcase vacuum to know for sure)... but we have seen enough to know now that it's almost always the rings.

If the oil consumption doesn't increase you can keep driving it. I would use a high quality oil and short OCIs. This is akin to living with a terminal disease -- if you take the right precautions you can sometimes survive. Otherwise the only sure fix is to repiston the engine using the thread cited above as a head start.

[kissdaring]

The car has 170 kms. I don’t notice any poor performance or had cold starts. As I mentioned the only thing is that there is a bit of grey/ish smoke from the tailpipe and they look blackish a bit. I’m obviously hoping that it’s not the rings.

When you say the oil consumption doesn’t increase could you please explain?
I used Castro euro brand 5w40. What’s oci? And advice on precautions?

Is the manometer to test the pvc or to find out if the piston rings are shoot?

Thanks again for taking the time.

[silver_tt]

Those are signs your rings are not in good shape unfortunately.

OCI = oil change interval

A manometer is used to measure crankcase vacuum. One of the primary purposes of the PCV is to regulate crankcase vacuum, so it's to test your PCV.

[kissdaring]

So just for curiosity sakes. Did the oil and filter change less then 1000 kms ago. And it’s showing Half full on the mmi. That doesn’t seem right does it? It’s why I’m thinking it may be a faulty oil sensor. But it’s wishful thinking I’m guessing. :(.

If I don’t fix it I’ll have to change the oil pretty much every 2000 kilometres or would you recommend a better oil brand that I can get a bit more then 2000k out of it. 🤦🏻*♂️

- - - Updated - - -

So just for curiosity sakes. Did the oil and filter change less then 1000 kms ago. And it’s showing Half full on the mmi. That doesn’t seem right does it? It’s why I’m thinking it may be a faulty oil sensor. But it’s wishful thinking I’m guessing. :(.

If I don’t fix it I’ll have to change the oil pretty much every 2000 kilometres or would you recommend a better oil brand that I can get a bit more then 2000k out of it. 🤦🏻*♂️

[kissdaring]

Just bought this thing not long ago so I don’t have much info on it’s passed. The owner did claim there was a issue with the pvc valve, at least that’s what he claims he was told by a German specialized shop.

Hoping to get a bit of drive time before dishing out 6k.

[silver_tt]

I hope it’s the pcv but it sounds like it’s drinking oil and someone dumped it

[kissdaring]

Could very well be. I’m genuinely hoping it’s not the case. At least if I can get through 6/7k oil changes I can live with it; for now at least.

I’m just surprised I have no engine codes at all. I know rings don’t throw codes. Just wish I had a sign to tackle. Also if I pvc is bad does it throw codes?

Thanks much for your help and advice

[kissdaring]

Also any idea if any long term damage if driven and once low it’s topped up? I mean what I’m trying to ask will the engine fail and leave me stranded if it’s drinking oil and it’s a piston issue? Maybe just worth trying the Pvc my dealer here in Canada will give it to me at 130 CAD so about 100 bucks USD. Maybe I’ll also get a actual dipstick to manually check oil level and rule out a possible oil level sensor, even tho I think you may be right and in the end it’s gonna be the rings.

[Theiceman]

silver is right in the money on all points here.. you just bought somone else's oil burner they dumped.

sorry about your luck..btw mmi shows one quart .. if you are down half you are down half a quart on about 4.5. not half empty. but it's still pretty bad..


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[kissdaring]

As per Audi claim it’s ok to burn 1L per 1000 kms. Lol what a joke! Is there Any way to get a bit more oil life? Molly 5w40? I read somewhere ppl talking about Lucas being something they’ve dumped in but I highly doubt that it works or even does anything.

What’s considered normal? 1L every 5000 kms? I will be doing the pvc valve today and keep an eye out for consumption. Hoping it will at least slow it down.

[silver_tt]

All OEMs have that same claim about burning 1 quart in 1000 km. Been that way with Porsches as long as I can remember back to the introduction water cooled engines.......

If you consider my 2014 with 110K miles on it "normal" it burns next to zero oil. The problem is once it gets bad enough no additive or high ZDDP oil like I run is going to save the rings. Again going back to my terminal disease analogy, if you know you have one and catch it early you can save yourself. However if you don't know you have one and find out all the way at the end when you have Stage 3, your odds of being able to change something and adjust the outcome are slim at that point.

One thing I will say is that people often judge an oil based on consumption which is not correct. For example post #19 above does not make any logical sense. You cannot at all judge an oil based on consumption alone (and that doesn't even consider the fact that you can have additive clash when you change oils that can cause some consumption and last ~2-3 OCIs).

[Theiceman]

All OEMs have that same claim about burning 1 quart in 1000 km. Been that way with Porsches as long as I can remember back to the introduction water cooled engines.......

If you consider my 2014 with 110K miles on it "normal" it burns next to zero oil. The problem is once it gets bad enough no additive or high ZDDP oil like I run is going to save the rings. Again going back to my terminal disease analogy, if you know you have one and catch it early you can save yourself. However if you don't know you have one and find out all the way at the end when you have Stage 3, your odds of being able to change something and adjust the outcome are slim at that point.

One thing I will say is that people often judge an oil based on consumption which is not correct. For example post #19 above does not make any logical sense. You cannot at all judge an oil based on consumption alone (and that doesn't even consider the fact that you can have additive clash when you change oils that can cause some consumption and last ~2-3 OCIs).

oil burning in remission is probably a good analogy here.. its always there lurking ... you are just trying to stop it coming back or getting worse lol...

oil burning being acceptable to car manufacturers be " well that is acceptable for getting us out of warranty claims , send it "

[kissdaring]

I guess what I’m trying to ask is what’s the worst that can happen if I keep topping of as recommended? Will the rings fail and leave me stranded? Or is the car still drivable? Like I mentioned earlier I’d like to get some miles out of her before officially marrying her