Illegible dipstick and heavy oil consumption

I have the exact same problem. Every time I check the dipstick (I have a black one) it appears to be covered in oil, no matter how much I wipe it and reinsert it. I have also had the low oil light come on a few times. I have no blue smoke and no leaks. Car has also done around 50k miles. When it was recently serviced they didn't notice any problems.

If it was possible to read the dipstick I would check it more often and top up when required rather than waiting for the low oil level warning. This is my only main gripe with what otherwise is a fantastic car.

One thing I wondered is that my car has longlife oil and most of my driving is short local journies to work and back. The previous owner also only did about 2,500 miles in 2 years. Would it perhaps be better to have regular oil and change it more frequently?
 
knirirr said:
I haven't seen anything obvious.
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Could be the undertray is soaking up a large volume when stationary and then depositing it on the road when you drive? Maybe take the undertray off and have a look/ check for drips over night?
 
Checking Oil Level

knirirr said:
I put a litre in.
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Hi Knirirr,

In the owner's manual, I think it suggests that you add half a litre at a time when topping up. When the low oil alarm has gone off on my TDi, adding half a litre brings it up to the hatched area. From looking at your photograph, adding a full litre has taken it past the hatch area.

The other thing that hasn't been mentioned is that you should check the oil level about half an hour after stopping the engine. This will give the oil a chance to drain down, but you probably knew that.

John.
 
Poor_John said:
In the owner's manual, I think it suggests that you add half a litre at a time when topping up.
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It appears that I did indeed get that wrong...
For the moment I've ordered a new dipstick and will be dropping into the Audi garage later today to pick it up. Someone has also kindly offered some assistance checking the sensors.
 
OK, new dipstick obtained and showing about 2/3 full.
According to the Audi dealer the trick was to insert and clean the dipstick several times until it removed most of the oil in the tube and left it sufficiently clear to read.
 
knirirr said:
OK, new dipstick obtained and showing about 2/3 full.
According to the Audi dealer the trick was to insert and clean the dipstick several times until it removed most of the oil in the tube and left it sufficiently clear to read.
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Is the new dipstick easier to read?
 
I've been keeping a note of how much oil I've put in, and this indicates that the level goes from full to empty over approximately 2000 miles. That seems a bit much, particularly as there's no sign of a leak or of any white smoke.
 
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