A5 2.0 litre tfsi - Audi purchased from used garage

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Sun 1 Feb 2015 12:57
A5 2.0 litre tfsi - Audi purchased from used garage - Cmsplumber
Hi
Purchased an Audi a5 a month ago not knowing this problem until I had it myself.
Having purchased the car from a non Audi dealer I procedeed to inform them on a regular basis
They took the car back on two occasions , not curing the problem .
They have taken it to the local Audi dealer who has said basically that yes the car uses oil excessively , but had not been serviced throughout by an Audi dealer and due to mileage 110000
Only cure would be a new engine .
This of course is a huge cost .
So here's the dilemma ,
Having informed the garage of the problem from day one I believe this car shouldn't be using 1 litre every 300 miles or so .
Audi are saying its mechanically sound and not a problem !
Surely this will effect the catalytic converta in time and already had new oxygen sensor !
Not to mention the cost of purchasing oil every time a long journey is done .
So I'm currently waiting for an engineers report from Audi and the garage is saying basically the car sold is fine .
Having been in touch with trading standards from day one I feel this is a very grey area to sort !
Any views on this matter would be greatly appreciated
Regards all
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Sun 1 Feb 2015 13:06
A5 2.0 litre tfsi - Audi purchased from used garage - gordonbennet

Audi have washed their hands of it, shock news headline of the day, if it was mine i'd invest in several 5 litre cans of the correct oil from ECP when the price is right or Halfords less than half price when their sale is on, or anywhere there's a bargain (more you buy the cheapoer it becomes, no harm in a 25 litre can), keep the car topped up and enjoy it.

Presumabaly it's not leaving a smoke screen down the road like a Diesel Mondeo or Passat, if it ruins the CAT stick a cheap pattern one on.

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Sun 1 Feb 2015 13:16
A5 2.0 litre tfsi - Audi purchased from used garage - skidpan

You don't say how old it is but its done 110,000 miles and not been serviced by Audi all its life.

You have no idea how the previous owner drove it and you have no idea if the correct lubricants were used by the non Audi garages.

There is no way any manufacturer would pick up the bill on this.

As gordonbennet says buy some of the correct grade oil when its cheap (ASDA have oil offers from time to time as well) and keep it topped up.

My main wory would be that because of the high oil consumption the previous owner may have fialed to keep it topped up, that would have juste added to the problems.

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Sun 1 Feb 2015 13:44
A5 2.0 litre tfsi - Audi purchased from used garage - Simon

Run it dry of oil, let the engine grenade itself, hand it back to the dealer...

(I'll just prepare myself for the flaming...)

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Sun 1 Feb 2015 15:44
A5 2.0 litre tfsi - Audi purchased from used garage - daveyK_UK

I thought this was notorious with certain VAG engines?

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Sun 1 Feb 2015 23:15
A5 2.0 litre tfsi - Audi purchased from used garage - bathtub tom

Run it dry of oil, let the engine grenade itself, hand it back to the dealer...

You didn't add "fill it to just above the minimum oil level on the dipstick with dirty, old engine oil".

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Sun 1 Feb 2015 18:34
A5 2.0 litre tfsi - Audi purchased from used garage - Wukl

I feel you pain Cmsplumber. If this indeed the infamous TSFI problem - rather than neglect and abuse by the previous owner(s) - it's a salutary lesson for all of us to do interent research before commiting your hard earned. I don't suppose the ld trick of running a thicker oil would do the trick? Mileage is quite high so nothing to lose, and other have suggested buy cheap oil and work though it.

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Sun 1 Feb 2015 19:03
A5 2.0 litre tfsi - Audi purchased from used garage - corax

I don't suppose the ld trick of running a thicker oil would do the trick? Mileage is quite high so nothing to lose, and other have suggested buy cheap oil and work though it.

Good idea, I assume it would use something like 5W 30 oil, so change to 5W 40 to give more film thickness at high temperatures.

Above is just an example. I don't know the exact oil the TFSI engine uses, you will need to be clear on this.

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Mon 2 Feb 2015 08:58
A5 2.0 litre tfsi - Audi purchased from used garage - skidpan

I don't suppose the old trick of running a thicker oil would do the trick?

Thicker oil is no solution, in most cases it makes things worse. Modern engines with modern bearing tolerences are designed to use low viscosity oils. Put in thicker ones and the oil pump will strugle to circulate the oil especially at cold start which tend to accelerate wear on the parts that are furthest along the supply chain i.e. the cam and followers.

and other have suggested buy cheap oil and work though it.

And just to confirm what I and other said regarding the above comment. You must buy oil of the correct Audi spec, the cheap bit is simply because most of the major chains sell oil of the correct specs at much lower prices than you pay at garages.

As an example the wifes Kia Ceed requires fully synthetic 5w 30 C3 spec oil, its a diesel with DPF. The dealer charges over £60 for the oil (5.3 litres) at a service but I can buy Total oil of that exact spec which is approved by Hyundai and Kia for £23 for 5 litres. Garage are happy to use my own oil at service which is a useful saving.

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Mon 2 Feb 2015 09:45
A5 2.0 litre tfsi - Audi purchased from used garage - craig-pd130

I don't suppose the old trick of running a thicker oil would do the trick?

Thicker oil is no solution, in most cases it makes things worse. Modern engines with modern bearing tolerences are designed to use low viscosity oils. Put in thicker ones and the oil pump will strugle to circulate the oil especially at cold start which tend to accelerate wear on the parts that are furthest along the supply chain i.e. the cam and followers.

That reminds me, I still have a bottle of STP Oil Treatment on my shelf which I used to use in my old Escort and MGB. A dab of it does make a good points cam lube on my motorbike, but I don't think it would be very friendly to catalytic converters ....

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Mon 2 Feb 2015 20:04
A5 2.0 litre tfsi - Audi purchased from used garage - Wukl

I'm with you in both points, but only if the engine is worth saving or if there was recourse from Audi. As it is with the mileage and incompete history, the OP is on his own and can either put in fully syntheic at £45 a fill and perhaps keep it going for another 70k, or he can roll the dice and put in cheaper oil and see how it goes. Choice is his really.

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Wed 4 Feb 2015 14:03
A5 2.0 litre tfsi - Audi purchased from used garage - balleballe

I'm with you in both points, but only if the engine is worth saving or if there was recourse from Audi. As it is with the mileage and incompete history, the OP is on his own and can either put in fully syntheic at £45 a fill and perhaps keep it going for another 70k, or he can roll the dice and put in cheaper oil and see how it goes. Choice is his really.

Or sell it......

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