Consumer Reports Begins Dinging Models For Excessive Oil Consumption - Is Yours One Of Them?

Certainly true with BMW. I have to add ~2 quarts between oil changes (10K miles) compared to 0 with Porsche. I'm not sure they should be dinged for it since the added expense is minimal.

I would however ding them for battery costs. Last week I looked into replacing the battery in our 128i and found that it cost ~$700 at the dealer due to an expensive battery plus the car has to be programmed through the ODBII with the date and parameters of the new battery. Cost to do it myself is $260 for the battery plus ~$120 in interface hardware and Android software.

My understanding is that Audi's 2 liter inline 4s have a reputation for drinking oil, and Audi claims it's "normal" to consume a quart every 600 miles or so. That's about a pint of oil with each fill-up! Yikes!

Instead of thinking "Miles Per Gallon" or "Liters per 100 kilometers", think "cost per mile, including consumables like oil and DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid)." That's when you'll start seeing the bigger picture, especially if you're adding $5 of quality oil with every fill-up.

High oil consumption is one of the reasons I chose against this Audi option. My 90s BMW 328 with almost 200,000 miles on it never consumed oil, so it is possible to build "oil efficient" engines.

I have had 4 Audis with the 2.0T over the years. About two years in on my 2009 A4 (this was an early production unit of the new body style and unit), I started having the oil issue and had to add a quart once between oil changes for the last year or so or ownership. The dealership told me it is normal and nothing was wrong, The other 3 (including a 2012 A4 and 2015 A6) have had no oil issues. Give that, I think Audi has solved the issue.

jeffgall: According to what I've been reading in various Audi forums...

(1) As at April 2015, Audi still considers it "normal" to consume "0.5 litres [of oil] per 1,000 kilometres (approx. 620 miles)." That's about a pint per 600 miles. See this article for an alleged response directly from Audi:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1Q2rXBpVsXVQ12hVFmxMBjP/audis-oil-guzzling-issues

(2) People with new Audi 2.0 liter inline 4s are still reporting high oil consumption, and having challenges in getting Audi to address that. See item #1 regarding what Audi considers "normal" oil consumption.

(3) Not all 2.0 liter 4s are affected. Many people with 2015 model year vehicles are not reporting problems (perhaps they merely accept this as normal?), yet there are still people who do have this problem with new Audis being sold this year. It appears not to be an "older engine" issue, especially when we realize that Audi considers a pint of oil every 620 miles to be "within spec."

You could be right, but the info I'm seeing suggests it's still a problem, though possibly one that occurs less frequently than it did years ago.

Reports may be true, but did not see an issue at all with my 2012 A4 and my current 2015 A6 (although I only have 4k miles to date)

Doesn't Audi and BMW have included maintenance, and does it cover the oil top offs? Seems like oil consumption that lasts past break-in is a sign of a problem, (piston rings or seals). More than a quart every 5k would be very annoying. The Subaru issue keeps me away from their models.

MrEE: Prepaid and "free" maintenance plans include an oil change, but not oil top-ups needed with every gas fill-up.

Just want to add that oil consumption issues may not be specific to a brand, and rather, be attributed to specific engine models. And even then, all engines might not have the problem. Still, in *my* opinion, if a manufacturer has a significant number of incidents reported even for one engine model, then that's a serious problem. In Audi's case, claiming that a half quart per 620 miles (or a fill-up) is "normal" oil consumption, is an outrageous claim. We're not in the 1960s anymore! We easily have the ability to create engines that don't drink oil as a consumable.

I have a BMW (328 cab) and two Mercedes (S and GL). I was in my local BMW parts dept buying a new battery for my "comfort access" key and was speaking to the guy behind the desk. Sitting there right next to the service area was a beautiful new BMW Twin Turbo V8 engine, shrink-wrapped and everything, sitting on a pallet.

The guy behind the counter said it was going into a year-old 7 series with a blown engine. Abuse I asked? Nope - oil problem, happens fast he said.

Unless you are running a BMW M or Porsche or Masertai (hi-performance cars with hi-maintenance owners), these oil issues should be taken out of the equation for cars in this market segment. I am on my third S550 (twin-turbo V8) and I have NEVER had to add a quart of oil in between the 10,000 mile service intervals. NEVER EVER.

Does the elderly, wealthy guy who drives a 750iL want to deal with this? No he does not. BMW needs to fix this.

BobM: That's great. If you visit the Audi owner forums, you'll read lots of posts by people both in the warranty period and out that have "excessive" oil consumptions in their inline 2 liter fours, and they're upset because their dealer and Audi say it's "normal." I wish all other Audi owners that have this problem had your pleasant experience, but it appears not to be so.

Just a personal thought here: I believe lots of people consider Consumer Reports to be a credible publication (I take it with a grain of salt). I also understand that some manufacturers create some engines that consume a substantial amount of oil. In *MY* mind, if I have to put in oil between scheduled maintenance, then that's a problem.

I believe it's a GREAT idea for this to be brought into the knowledge of the public domain, perhaps even having it listed on the window sticker along with EPA fuel consumption numbers. I believe consumers would shy away from buying a car that needs a pint of oil with every fuel fill-up if they knew that up front. The one downside with this is if every manufacturer adopts the principle of stating a stupid-high number, in which nobody will be differentiated this way.

There's a huge "Caveat Emptor" here. Visit the owners' forums and hear the gripes before buying a vehicle. Do your own due diligence.