HailDamage

where are you putting the oil in? Into the oil fill port on the intake cam cover (making sure to be specific) does it have an extended or factory sump? Factory and i have AWD motor if makes any difference if you run the car after topping up the oil and then open the radiator cap do you have a milkshake? No it looks normal. is there a huge pool of oil under your car? No there is a leak somewhere but its definitely no putting anything on the ground.

How it looks after putting another liter in (6.5L approx total since change)

Is it possible its getting pooled in the SMIC?

I have put another 500ml in and the light still coming on and still low reading. I will keep going when rain pisses off. Had the car about 7 months always been funny with oil like heaps blow by and light coming on after oil changes etc. Has the no oil rattle when starting for a couple of seconds usually when cold.

Yes I already tried a dipstick out of another Stagea they were the same. Theirs had plenty of oil wiped put in mine nothing again.

No oil reading and oil light flashing but has oil So I have a weird problem where I have oil did the change about 2-3 months ago and now the dipstick isnt giving any reading when cold after wiping off. And when its cold after starting the oil pressure light comes on for a moment and does it randomly while driving not too often though. I know it has oil in it as it not puddling but yeah its got leaks. I put in another liter after seeing the dip bare but made no difference. So now I am not sure how to proceed and its my daily only one.

Alright I think I was on the wrong track with the diff/AWD system. I'm now certain the power loss is coming from a possible air leak in the trans. Yesterday on my first drive it was really sluggish and it turned out that the dipstick for the trans had popped up so I put a bit of tape on that to give it a better seal (is it supposed to have a rubber 0-ring perhaps?). Last night I went on a cruise and I noticed the pressurization of the gearbox was very inconsistent and at one point I even lost all power coming through the box for a few seconds but I don't think the dipstick came out again. Could be the seals, or I'm also thinking could it be symptomatic of a bad torque converter?

Definitely, that's why I made the thread to gather more information in a new direction of my diagnosis. I have done a few things since I got the car so this isn't my very first idea. I've had boost leaks which I'm faily certain are fixed or very minimal (yeah i know minimal is as good as bad boost leak). I had a faulty boost controller now replaced. I had spark plugs replaced and rocker cover gaskets replaced. I've had mechanics drive my car to confirm the auto box isn't slipping. But no you are right I haven't had either the ecu or timing looked at. At the same time I'm definitely getting a huge effect by flicking this switch. As for boost coming on early, I found after flicking the switch it felt like it came on a bit later but stronger and that's with a whining most likely on it's way out turbo. Before flicking the switch my gauge would read 10 or so but honestly felt the same as stock or maybe less. I don't know how I could possibly explain the switch affecting all of this so drastically, because I don't dispute that all it does is affect the gearbox mapping, but I feel more is going on than just that.

Yes I'm aware of this. When I bought the car I was made aware it had a issue with the trans starting in 2nd gear. The previous owner's fix was to stop and start the car again any time this happened. I've noticed that the issue with starting in 2nd has not been present at all for over a good month. Maybe that old problem is linked to why I am seeing an increase in throttle response when switching to snow mode and back. Could it be the switch itself?

Power loss diag update - snow button So I have come across something that seems to have fixed the very slow responsiveness of the throttle in my series 1 RS4 auto today. I met up with the local stagea owners over the weekend and I heard at some point that the snow button on the centre console pressurizes the Atessa system when it is flicked on. So I thought that maybe in my car it is not pressurizing correctly upon ignition and that might be why the car feels so sluggish. I tried it this morning I flicked the switch to "snow" and back to "power" a couple of times and there it was: torque, accelleration, response. I can now feel the difference between off boost and on boost more defined and the wheels spin much easier too. So is there any info you guys might have or know of about how the "pressurizing" of the Atessa system works? Should I get the awd serviced maybe?

I'm back with updates. I have had the oil leaks in top end repaired properly and leaks in the intake taken care of, except the pcv grommet failed and still chasing one. Used double sided tape to fit the pcv valve back into cover. The lag I was getting was from boost leak i believe and I still may look into more things while I'm leaving it stock. I want to check my cat out I just feel like there's still a very slight restriction somewhere. The boost gauge and mechanical boost controller went in today. I just got back from lengthy victory drive, can't tell how well it's holding the boost (speed camera central) but the car feels fantastic to drive to me. I did not expect to gain much difference boosting it as 2/2 mechs said turbo needs replacing asap, but the acceleration actually scared me a little.. (only driven NA subis and holdens mostly before). Of course I will try to find myself another turbo. A point of concern atm is the cold starts are a bit woeful. It starts real slow and has a loud slow tick at beginning. Mechanic says it may have misfire only on start up but not sure how I go about fixing that one yet. Otherwise once up and running purs like a dream all original (ignoring the intake noise of course). Power steering is working fine but leaks not fixed yet, are quite bad too. A transmission service will be on the cards, just can't afford to convert it full stop. I think the transmission is ok it's just what it is. Haven't gotten up to brakes or suspension yet but the new staggered v35 wheels are finally on.

I have realized that it's my gearbox slipping causing problems taking off, the day I got my exhaust fixed it wasn't slipping few days after the take off was laggy again but good power once already rolling.

Alright got an update on my progress. I have not gotten up to the diagnostics part yet but I can say I have regained a huge amount of power and seems to be running really nice, but I'm still seeking real life opinions at some point as I am not experienced in the slightest in rb25-fu. Now what have I done since last post? -pcv valve was sticky and was stuck closed so I cleaned it out boost/flow of intake restored, power improved a little bit but still felt like driving with the footbrake on. -had someone back into my car pushed in driver side fender and popped out but not straight anymore -replaced rocker cover gaskets but like an idiot left the cam seals alone because too scared to drop huge pile of old gasket goo into engine and turns out that's where the leak is. I have still got new moon pieces. Oh and dropped one of the cover bolts behind engine so seeking a new one, screwdriver wasn't magnetized. -Had exhaust leaks all fixed, pipe shortened and new hangers put on for correct fitment. Now at this point a huge amount of power/acceleration was restored. Before the problem was mainly when taking off from stand still. I was having trouble keeping up with goddamn Hyundais off the line before. Now the power comes on super early in the pedal travel and it's the shit! I never knew what a leaky exhaust system could do to take away so much power. I only wish it was louder like when I had no pipe behind the axle -Wheels balanced. The weights on fronts were counterbalancing each other and causing violent shaking in steering and now they've been balanced I can move onto what the suspension is doing, bushes etc. I think my next thing as said above maybe look at getting trans fluid changed as I feel like it doesn't always do what it's supposed to (like change gear at the right time, esp when opening throttle up) and change rims to smaller size, I need to organize a proper to-do list anyway. Also I hope this is helpful to any new comers and are extremely underwhelmed by their cars performance but like me have not much experience with bringing a previously ill maintained machine back to life.

I want to buy I have pm'd