jacobmcgrew47

Hi All - I am brand new to this forum and unfortunately experiencing oil consumption with the 2012 A4 Avant S-Line I just bought with 128K miles. It's in beautiful condition except for the oil consumption issue. I've read it is likely the piston rings. My local mechanic where I took the A4 for an oil change told me it was blowing black smoke and he was nervous about taking it more than half a mile down the road fora test drive. He also told me I'd neeed a new engone or he'd sell it to a wholesaler for %500 - so I have absolutely zero faith in his diagnostic skills or intentions.

I've driven it at least 100 miles since the oil change and although it does produce some white smoke, especially after acold start, the oil consumption doesn't seem to be too bad.

I think the dealer I bought it from was a pathological liar who told me it had just had an oil change and wasn't burning oil at all when he used it as a daily driver in the weeks before I purchased the car.

Now what I think is that the car had not had a recent oil change, and full synthetic was not used. I'm also of the opinion that my local mechanic has no idea what he's talking about.

Any thought on the minor burning oil problem? I've read a lot about bad piston rings in these models. Is this something that can be fixed without an engine rebuild? Seems like it should be?!

Airbag

i will tell you they lied .. Oil burning is a massive problem on these cars and the number one reason they are dumped. Mine burned a quart every 300 miles and i did completely rebuild the engine to fix it including pistons and rings.

But that said there is a new hope that a piston soak can resurrect these cars and we have some reported success...

I would suggest joining audizine and reading about it, it is a fairly recent post with several people reporting success.


i have no idea what %500 means.

uberwgn

Jacob, welcome aboard! Can you return the car for a full refund?

142 guy

Can it be fixed without an engine rebuild? That depends on your definition of what constitutes a rebuild. The complete fix for oil consumption is more involved than just ring replacement. VAG revised the ring design which requires different pistons and connecting rods. This is the typical cost of a complete kit using OEM parts
Dominic C. says... (ecstuning.com)

At 128 k miles, you would want to assess bore wear to address whether you need oversize pistons which then becomes an engine out repair because the block is going to a machine shop for boring. Before you do anything, you need to assess the actual oil consumption rate. Purchase a dipstick measuring tool.

Follow the instructions for the tool and do a measurement after an oil change. Repeat the measurement every couple of hundred kilometers to assess how quickly the oil level is dropping. Allow oil level to drop close to add level and then repeat the series of measurements to confirm the oil consumption rate. Based upon the oil consumption rate you can make a decision as to whether this is a minor burning oil problem.

I am not familiar with the oil specs for the 2012 model year; but, based upon the requirements for my B9.5 I would be surprised that the oil is not a synthetic if it met the correct VAG spec. Check to make sure that the oil has the correct VAG spec; however, if the engine has a serious ring problem that will not fix the issue. Also, check the PCV because some of these engines had PCV issues.

Airbag

its an engine out repair regardless if replacing pistons/rings due to the upper oil pan and RMS flange design.

jacobmcgrew47

thanks very much for the response. I actually just spoke with an Audi specialist who said that machining the head gasket replacing the rings would be the recommended course, but I would definitely like to try this piston soak idea.

Sorry, I meant to write $500.

I would say the guys that told me that our total shyster is, and are trying to get me to unload the car to the wholesaler, who would undoubtedly give them a kickback.