1.8 TFSI - High oil usage

[Joey3000]

I've recently bought a 2010 A3 tfsi. It drives well but seems to be using alot of oil, about 4 litres in 600 miles!! It doesn't seem to be leaking oil either.
I've read about the piston issue, is it worth getting them replaced, will this solve the oil burn and help performance? And how much would it cost?
Super thanks from a newbie, advivce much appreciated.

 

[Ibisa3]

A litre of oil in 150 miles?

That's 2 stroke mix you are running there, like 20:1....

I'm not sure how long Audi kept doing the repair, worth speaking customer services though.

Audi rebuilt most certainly will cost the more than the car.

 

[Joey3000]

A litre of oil in 150 miles?

That's 2 stroke mix you are running there, like 20:1....

I'm not sure how long Audi kept doing the repair, worth speaking customer services though.

Audi rebuilt most certainly will cost the more than the car.

Thanks for the reply, yes it does seem a lot of oil, will be double checking the oil usage on a long drive I've got at the weekend.
Could it be leaking oil when in motion, as there is no oil leak on my driveway?

 

[samisnake]

audi say the tfsi engines are within tolerance if they consume 0.5 litres per 1000kms (620miles).
something definitely not right with your engine, hopefully the car was cheap.
take it to a garage and get it checked, as it might be a leaking oil cooler or something. if it was burning that much oil, youd notice blue smoke and the cat would be ****** in no time.

 

[SootySport]

It is a common fault with some Audi engines of that period. Piston rings were not not up to par until 2010 but my early 2010 2.0 TSI is fine. There were lots of models affected across the VAG group and we're fixed under warranty. I wouldn't have thought your 12 year old motor would be covered now. You would need new piston rings to cure the problem.

 

[Ibisa3]

Thanks for the reply, yes it does seem a lot of oil, will be double checking the oil usage on a long drive I've got at the weekend.
Could it be leaking oil when in motion, as there is no oil leak on my driveway?

A lot.....it's a HUGE amount. Like astronomical!if it was leaking from say a burst oil pipe at the turbo, the underside of the car would be coated and and dripping in oil. It'd literally be everywhere!

 

[Joey3000]

Thanks for the replies, I think it must be an oil leak as I've had little bit of blue smoke from the exhaust, but not loads. I've got a weekend of driving and then I'm taking it to my local independent Audi specialist next week. I'll update you.

 

[Joey3000]

I've recently bought a 2010 A3 tfsi. It drives well but seems to be using alot of oil, about 4 litres in 600 miles!! It doesn't seem to be leaking oil either.
I've read about the piston issue, is it worth getting them replaced, will this solve the oil burn and help performance? And how much would it cost?
Super thanks from a newbie, advivce much appreciated.

I should add it's the 1.8 tfsi

 

[SootySport]

The 1.8 was the worst affected. Has it had a string of owners in the last few years? If so that's the reason .

 

[Ibisa3]

Mine was drinking a litre in 400ish miles and never smoked even a tiny bit!

 

[Dikonou]

Oil piston rings.............
Classic German malfunction..............

New pistons rods if the dealership covers it.....and if the engine block is is good conditon....

 

[Spike107]

You would think these engines of thar era would all be confined to the scrappers by now, but still some unfortunate punters are getting lumbered with these duds! I had a A4 B8 2.0 on MY11 a few years back. Car was drinking about 1ltr every 500miles so classic chocolate piston issue. The issue was worse around town driving than motorway... I was lucky in the car I bought had main dealer servicing so Audi covered the £5k rebuild. How many miles you got Joey? Mine was only 38k miles on the rebuild... Can imagine the oil consumption issue only gets worse on high milers now....

 

[GTz]

I hear it’s pretty normal for the tfsi engines of this era. How much do new pistons usually cost? I’d imagine it’ll be a very labour intensive job, so not cheap.

 

[prt57]

I’d start by trying the 5W-40 grade of oil. You did not mention what is currently fitted. It certainly helped with our TT that is a bit thirsty for oil. Shell helix ultra is what I use

 

[Joey3000]

The 1.8 was the worst affected. Has it had a string of owners in the last few years? If so that's the reason .

Only 2 previous owners

 

[Joey3000]

You would think these engines of thar era would all be confined to the scrappers by now, but still some unfortunate punters are getting lumbered with these duds! I had a A4 B8 2.0 on MY11 a few years back. Car was drinking about 1ltr every 500miles so classic chocolate piston issue. The issue was worse around town driving than motorway... I was lucky in the car I bought had main dealer servicing so Audi covered the £5k rebuild. How many miles you got Joey? Mine was only 38k miles on the rebuild... Can imagine the oil consumption issue only gets worse on high milers now....

Hi, it had 79000 on the clock when I bought it last month, did the piston change sort it out?!

 

[Joey3000]

I’d start by trying the 5W-40 grade of oil. You did not mention what is currently fitted. It certainly helped with our TT that is a bit thirsty for oil. Shell helix ultra is what I use

Thanks, I'll try that as the next oil.

 

[Joey3000]

I’d start by trying the 5W-40 grade of oil. You did not mention what is currently fitted. It certainly helped with our TT that is a bit thirsty for oil. Shell helix ultra is what I use

Thanks, I'll try that next time, I've been using 5W 30 castrol ll

 

[samisnake]

Oil grade ain't gonna make a difference with that issue.
Castrol 5w30 ll is vw504 spec oil which isn't a 'thin' 5w30. It's viscosity at higher temps is closer to a 5w40.

 

[Spike107]

Hi, it had 79000 on the clock when I bought it last month, did the piston change sort it out?!

Yep... new pistons, conrods etc fixed the issue straight away. Probably a thimble top up of oil over next 10k miles driven which is what you should expect! Sadly Using different oil will not help mate, the engine was badly designed full stop. Audi should have done a recall, but refused to fully acknowledge the issue... Gits

 

[Joey3000]

UPDATE!
- I've driven about 3000 miles and used 15lites of oil!
I've had the AA replace spark plugs plus a coil, this was in october, the engine light came on and I lost power in a cylinder.
It has driven fine until this weekend when lost power in cylinder again. AA man amazed at how corroded the spark plugs covered in carbon were.
He advised about the valves getting clogged up inside the engine, so just replacing spark plugs then isn't a long term solution.
So I'm thinking that I will have to get the pistons replaced!
Any suggestions on good cheap garages in the Birmingham/Midlands area in the UK?!

 

[theViTALiTY]

UPDATE!
- I've driven about 3000 miles and used 15lites of oil!
I've had the AA replace spark plugs plus a coil, this was in october, the engine light came on and I lost power in a cylinder.
It has driven fine until this weekend when lost power in cylinder again. AA man amazed at how corroded the spark plugs covered in carbon were.
He advised about the valves getting clogged up inside the engine, so just replacing spark plugs then isn't a long term solution.
So I'm thinking that I will have to get the pistons replaced!
Any suggestions on good cheap garages in the Birmingham/Midlands area in the UK?!

If it burned 15 liters of oil at that range, im sorry bud, but that engine is kaputt :/

 

[Joey3000]

The 1.8 was the worst affected. Has it had a string of owners in the last few years? If so that's the reason .

Only two owners! sorry for late reply.

 

[Joey3000]

Hi again, update...
I wrote to Audi CEO on linked in, explaining the problem, how some cars had been repaired others not.
It has been passed over to Execitive Office Customer Relations, who have said they will be in touch.
Has anyone had experience of this?!
Hoping they might show some understanding and offer to look at and repair.
An 80,000 mile Audi engine should be better than this!

 

[Joey3000]

Hi again, update...
I wrote to Audi CEO on linked in, explaining the problem, how some cars had been repaired others not.
It has been passed over to Execitive Office Customer Relations, who have said they will be in touch.
Has anyone had experience of this?!
Hoping they might show some understanding and offer to look at and repair.
An 80,000 mile Audi engine should be better than this!

Unfortunately Audi say no! They said a goodwill arrangement was in place last year, but not now.