Cold Start Low Oil Pressure
 

Today was the first really cold day the car has been in (4 degrees F high). It started fine this morning, however when leaving work there was a very severe knocking and when I hit about 2000 rpm the oil pressure light went on. I immediately stopped the car and thought it was due to the cold. So I idled for another 2-3 minutes and when I started moving it happen again. So I stopped again and checked the oil level, and it is fine. No apparent leaks. So I waited another 3 or so minutes, and took off again. Same thing happened, the oil warning light came on, but I drove through it. After about 2 minutes of driving the knocking decreased and everything seems fine, except it threw a check engine light flag. Is this just a cold start issue I have to be aware of, or something else? After driving for 15 minutes to get home I opened the hood again, and there may have been a slightly louder knock than usual, however it may just be my imagination.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks!

Thought my Sig would show up... 2006 A4 2.0T

The oil pressure light came on cause there was no oil pressure, thats different from having oil. Not good to keep driving a car with low oil pressure, although to be honest damage was prob already done once you heard the knocking noise. I'd suggest bringing the car to a shop, but would not keep driving it.

Bumping as this came up in a Search and I experienced the same issue this morning (-20deg Celsius). I turned the car off and it has been sitting since. Plenty of oil.

Plan on getting it towed to the shop later this week - does anyone know what the problem could potential be? Fuel pump?

Thanks,

HI,

I have a very similar problem with my A4 2.0T 2007. WHen it is very cold, I have to warm up the car for 8-10 minutes before I can drive it. If I drive it, the oil light will light on.

Did you have a conclusion to your problem ?

Thanks

RK

After that one occurrence I have never had that problem again. I still have the same car a few years later, and this winter has been extremely cold in Chicago. So I am still baffled as to why this happened or what caused it.

I'd recommend bringing it to the shop. About a month ago this happened to me. It was a cold start and I got down the block when my oil pressure light came on. The engine was straining but I thought it was just the cold. About a mile later I came to a stop sign and the car stalled. Turned out I broke the tensioner, timing chain and blew the cylinder head. Audi A4.

Another Cold Weather Oil Pressure Problem
 

Similar story this morning for me: 2007 B7 2.0T with 39,000 miles. Very cold morning (17F), car sitting for several days. On starting, much louder rattling than the normal cold weather sound; diesel-like. Keeping the revs very low (idle) I put it in gear, crept forward 20 feet and the oil pressure light popped on. I shut it down immediately, checked oil level (perfect) and waited about 4 minutes to see if the heat generated in my brief start up would help. Restart: Still rattling but no light. Drove about 100 yards (gently) and the oil pressure light came back on; shut it down immediately. Called the dealer and tow company but, after sitting for about 15 minutes, I decided to give it one more try (thinking, again, that engine heat might have improved the situation). On this restart, very normal sound and no oil pressure light. Everything perfectly normal. I drove a couple of hundred yards (still without problem), did a re-start to make myself comfortable, then drove 20 minutes to the dealer, where it sits now. During the drive, there was not one abnormality: sound was perfect, temp, performance, all seemed normal.

Dealer mentioned that this car is one covered by a warranty extension for oil pressure problems that might've been caused by a degradation of a high-pressure fuel pump. (Sorry if I didn't get all of the details...It had something to do with the fuel pump failing, with pieces subsequently blocking proper oil flow. As I said, I don't know details.) He said that it was a 100,000 mile (and i forget how many years. 10 maybe?) coverage for this one particular issue. Who knows if my issue has anything to do with this non-public technical bulletin. I will say that, when I arrived to the dealer, the manager had already written up 4 specific bulletins for the service adviser to include on the service protocol. Good attention.

In any event, they are keeping the car, putting it outside tonight (it will be very cold) then starting it first thing in the morning to see if the symptoms can be reproduced.

I'll appreciate any insight from other members about this problem, including any knowledge about the technical bulletin(s) that the dealer referenced. For obvious reasons, if the dealer is not able to reproduce the problem I will be a little reluctant to put it back into its normal service.

After that one problem years ago the situation has never duplicated itself. Even though the car has been in similar conditions multiple times. There also was no damage as far as I could tell from the original occurance.

Well, I may be headed for the same inconclusive point as you: After leaving my car at the dealer for 5 cold days (several nights in the teens), each day it fired up without any difficulty at all. Further, all their poking around revealed nothing unusual.

Fingers crossed that it never happens again and that no damage was done.