Now I've read the other threads and see that some people use next to no oil between services and some use about a litre per 5k miles. In the last week I've had the check oil level warning message come on twice, first time it was pretty low and the second time I'd say it was about half way between min and max. So the level sensor it not exactly consistent but thats not really my worry. About a month ago (say 1000 miles ago) I topped up by about half a litre so all in all it looks like I'm using about a litre per 2000 miles. This seems a little excessive though I believe its within the allowable spec...
It is within spec. As detailed in an earlier thread, the official guidlines for oil consumption are upto 1 litre of oil per 1,000 kilometres, which is about 600 miles - so by using a litre of oil per 2000 miles, you are well within the spec, by some considerable margin.
Your sensor does sound fcuked though!
What I'm concerned about is two warnings in a week.....and my warranty runs out at the end of the month.
Ahhhh . . . the crucial issue here is - after the first warning, did you make sure you absolutely topped it up to the max level on the dipstick. Then how many miles was it before the 2nd warning occured, AND, by how much oil did it need to top it back up to the max level. These really need to be answered as accurately as possible.
Your concern about warranty expiry - get it checked out ASAP. Even if the stealer finds "no fault"
at your first visit, make sure they log your concerns on the VWUK computer thingy - becauase that will ensure that your warranty "concern" gets officially "logged" before your actuall warranty period expires. If subsequent assessments then go beyond the expiry of the warranty, because you had previously logged the complaint, and it was left "unresolved", then the warranty for that specific complaint will still be honoured even after the warranty period.
Obviously I'll be monitoring this closely over the next couple of weeks but I was wondering if anyone has any resolution from VW on high oil consumption?
Based on your reported oil consumption of 1 litre of oil per 2000 miles, I strongly suspect if you wander into the stealers complaining of excessive oil consumption, they will probably swiftly tell you to do an abrupt "U-turn" and ask you to make a rapid exit. Your oil consumption is NOT excessive.
I've seen some tenuous connections on other sites to a failed PCV? Anyone had any experience on this?
There was also a recent thread on this site. Though I suspect if your PCV valve has gone, then you could be using considerably more oil than what you are reporting.
Just to clarify, what brand, and type of oil are you using? And are you correctly topping it up to the max each time - not over or under filling it?
As a bit of a side note, how sooty are your tail pipes ? 
I cleaned the car last weekend including the 'lip' of the tailpipes and they are pretty sooty already. I see some other cars that don't look that well looked after and their tail pipes are realatively clean. I'm wondering if there is a connection....
Firstly, all FSI engines seem to suffer from sooty tips, explanation in a mo.
For your specific concern, if your car was burning oil, then when you rub your finger inside the pipes in the soot, there will be a definate feeling of oil - it will definately feel "slippery", and if you wipe your finger enough, and then press your finger onto some white kitchen towel, you can sometimes see the "oil" kind of "spread" or wick outwards from the black sooty "solids". If it is merely overfueling, then the soot will feel quite dry, and sometimes rather rough, like fine wet and dry paper - and there will be no wicking on the paper towel.
Now, specifically onto the FSI engines. They all overfuel when cold. This is to bring the exhaust catalysts rapidly up to temperature, for minimising emissions. Basically, the "main" fuel dose is injected on the compression stroke, and is fully burnt in the combustion chamber, forcing the piston down on its power stroke. Then, as the piston rises again on its exhaust stroke with the exhaust valves open, the ECU instructs a "secondary" injection into the very hot exhaust gasses. This second dose of fuel basically self-ignites in the catalysts, which brings them rapidly up to temperatures. Unfortunately, the actuall efficiency of the combustion process is not very good in the cats (they arn't specifically designed to do this), hence the black soot from incomplete combustion. My RS4 also suffers with this, but having the "black optic pack" which includes black painted tips, doesn't bother me!
HTH
