Hi guys

I bought an Audi A5 2018 one year ago. 62,000 miles on clock at present. No issues so far. Car always has white smoke. Doesn't matter how long I drive it, I always see white smoke. It doesn't smell. One or two mechanics have looked at it during MOT check and tyre changes and they don't think it's a problem, but they aren't inspecting it thoroughly. Also oil level message said it's low and to fill up last week, isn't one year too early? - not guy said can't see any leaks. I bought it at about 52,000 miles so only 10,000 done in a year. Service due now so before doing it I thought let me see what you guys thinking should do or check.

Here's a video link below to see the smoke - I can't upload file via forum as it's too big.

https://jumpshare.com/s/dBibuZzGFWnWS60c2nRQ

Please everybody share your thoughts 👨‍⚕️

There is no white smoke in the video, only a little condensing steam which is prefectly normal in cool weather. If it is no worse on the road under load you have nothing to worry about.

The oil level is a different matter. How much oil are you adding and at what distance since the previous top up?

Car needs to be scanned to see any logged error codes. I agree, using oil is worry. Also, coolant, does it need topped up or is it discoloured?

5 hours ago, cliffcoggin said:

There is no white smoke in the video, only a little condensing steam which is prefectly normal in cool weather. If it is no worse on the road under load you have nothing to worry about.

The oil level is a different matter. How much oil are you adding and at what distance since the previous top up?

Hey bud thanks for your reply. Yeah other people also mentioned the smoke is normal in cool weather, however say I've driven for 1 hour, is it normal for the steam/smoke be there then?

Oil was completely replaced, to the max in March 2025 and it said low last week so I topped it up up to 75%. 

(replied)

Edited March 7Mar 7 by A52018Petrol
Didn't quote previous post

1 hour ago, spartacus 68 said:

Car needs to be scanned to see any logged error codes. I agree, using oil is worry. Also, coolant, does it need topped up or is it discoloured?

Thank you for your input 🙂

My brother in law plugged in a diagnostic tool and it didn't show any error codes.

A mechanic over the phone said it's normal for these types of Audi's to finish from max to low in a single year (I think about 4l of oil). I didn't think it was normal as all my previous cars didn't say low after a year for engine oil but I'm no expert.

I need to double check the level of coolant but I'm pretty certain last week when I checked it was between the min and max (normal level). 

9 hours ago, A52018Petrol said:

Oil was completely replaced, to the max in March 2025 and it said low last week so I topped it up up to 75%. 

That does not answer the question, so let me repeat it. How much oil (in litres) was added, and how many miles or km had been done since the previous top up? Without accurate information from you, nobody in the forum can help advise you.

9 hours ago, A52018Petrol said:

Hey bud thanks for your reply. Yeah other people also mentioned the smoke is normal in cool weather, however say I've driven for 1 hour, is it normal for the steam/smoke be there then?

It's not smoke, it's steam. Every car since the dawn of motoring over a century ago has made steam, because water is a byproduct of hydrocarbon combustion.