Hi,

I wanted to get some opinions/advice regarding an issue I have and wanted to know what the general feeling, or even better someone who has experienced this problem and what the outcome was....

I purchased an Audi A3 1.8TFSI and the car has the same oil consumption issue as the 2.0 TFSI (mainly Audi A5's but A3 and other models also).

I went for the 1.8TFSI as I didn't think it had the same oil consumption issue but it appears it does, just less well known.

My local Audi dealer is doing all of the tests and in a couple of weeks they will have all of the details to put forward to Audi UK for a solution and a cost and what they expect me to contribute towards it if I have the work done.

Audi say that the more main dealer services you have had, the more favourable this will be looked at and and if you were to have the next service with them, this would help also.

Through speaking with my contact, he seems to think that the dealer that sold me the car (non Audi) could be liable for the cost of any repairs as he sold the car to me and the car clearly has a fault.

I countered this by saying the dealer is likely to say it's a known Audi issue therefore the issue is with Audi and they are liable.

Who is liable?? The dealer who sold the car or Audi?

Thanks in advance.

The seller of the car would be liable for all defects.

You don't seem to have told us when you bought the car. Is it a secret?

No secret, it's a independent trader.

Thanks for the response.

That doesn't answer my question as to when you bought the car. Why are you keeping it secret?

I misread the email - I thought you said where - no secret, no conspiracy!

I bought it in September last year.

I raised the issue with the dealer within a few weeks and they had a look at it for leaks but couldn't see anything and said it may just be the case it burns more oil due to the engine is is.

They recommended trying a thicker Oil which would last longer however the issue has been getting steadily worse.

Well known problem and plenty of discussions about it on Audi forums.

Unfortunately no solution either, just top up when required.

I used to have an Alfa 156 and accordingly to factory spec it would eat half kilo of oil every 2000 miles.

In any other car I owed I only ever topped up once a year in between services by 100/200ml at most.

I don't think Audi would even recognise this as a defect.

It doesn't matter that it's a well-known problem. If the purchaser didn't know about it then he is not encumbered by it. The car was purchased in September and so you are still within six months of the purchase date.

This means that under the consumer rights act you are entitled to a repair and if the repair fails then you are entitled to reject the vehicle.

The seller is responsible and they are not entitled to pass the buck onto Audi or to anybody else.

You should act quickly to reserve your rights. Send the seller a letter – recorded delivery – pointing out that the vehicle is defective and that they have a single opportunity to carry out a repair and that if they do not carry out the repair or if the repair fails then you will assert your right to reject under the 2015 Act.

Tell them that you are not prepared to contribute to the cost of repairs. The liability is entirely theirs and you are not prepared to be passed around and to deal with Audi directly.

Make sure you send this letter – whatever you agree.

Then you need to tell us what action you want to take if anything. You need to tell us what you pay for the vehicle. In fact it would be helpful if you simply laid out the entire story because dragging it out of you bit by bit is a bit like pulling teeth.

The only thing I would add to what has been said is that you bought a car knowing the 2.0 engine had an oil consumption issue. You say it’s known that the 1.8 engine has this same issue albeit not as well known. I don’t wish to sound harsh but you’ve seemingly done a little research into this, learned that the engine has a common fault yet decided to press on with the purchase and then subsequently found that the car you bought has the same issue you sought to avoid in the first place?

I suppose you’ll have to wait to see what Audi say and as to whether the consumption is within their tolerances. As said above there’s plenty of info out there on this subject.

How old is the car and how many miles and how many main dealer services has it had if you don’t mind me asking? It’s a shame about these engines, I really like the look of the Audi A3’s!

Out of curiosity, did the thicker oil slow down (no pun intended) the issue? How much oil is the car using?

Bankfodder, what I meant is that Audi might find the oil consumption within their margins, so not considering that a defect at all.

Yes, it's a fair point - and of course that means having to trust Audi!!

In the handbook of VAG cars iirc it says that oil consumption of 1LTR per 1,000kms is within normal limits. BMW petrols can use a LTR every 1,000 MLS or so. Some engines consume oil when in normal use, Ford/Mazda 1.8 petrol, Peugeot/Mini VTI 1.4/1.6 petrol variants etc.

The OP does not state how old their Audi is but increasing oil consumption is all part of running a car as it gets older. Some people think cars are like washing machines and will just run without attention for 15 years. The modern combustion engine is a miracle of human engineering with some components moving with the same intertia/speed as a bullet when it leaves the barrel of a firearm.

Audi dealers will perform a consumption test on these TFSI units where they top up the oil and then ask the owner to run the car to accurately measure the oil being used to see if it is within tolerance.

There is a solution, I've stopped retailing vehicles with TFSI engines due to these issues, the repair needed is generally new piston rings, which requires removing and dismantling the engine, a labour intensive job, although on the occasions I've needed to have repairs on 1.4 TFSI and 1.8 TFSI engines on cars I've retailed, Audi and Volkswagen have covered the costs which would no doubt run into the thousands. I believe in America, there was actually a class action law suit against Audi in relation to these faults, not to mention they appeared on BBC Watchdog here.