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Had it for 2 years. Over all it's OK, however fells like it may need more that 110KW...
Intresting problem, the ESP ligth use to come on every now and again. Nor AUDI or my mechanic cannot grip on problem.. 3 months sisnce the car come out of the warranty AUDI dealers have identified AIR MASS SENSOR failture... )) Cost me 500 to fix. Very convinient!
1. I got the trouble code read out for free at auto zone and it came back as a [1101 & 1106] manufacture control fuel air metering. To get the facts I took it to the dealership and it cost me $90.00 to find out the same thing (P1101 - voltage too low/leakage air and P1106 - voltage too low/leakage air). To my dismay the dealership did not know exactly what part to repair/replace based on the code. They said to bring in back so they can "run" the diagnostics tests longer.
Has anyone had this experience or know of a shop in the greater Baltimore, MD area where I can get this type service?
2. I will need tires soon and wanted to try all season brands by 1. Falken (Ziex ZE 512), 2. Dunlop (SP Sport A2), or 3. Sumitomo (Srixon 4). Anyone used either of these on an A4 or know if they are good as advertised (price & performance)?
I had made a posting earlier asking for recommendations on auto shops in Chicagoland. I'm writing now to get any advice you may have on the actual 60k mile service itself. The Audi maintenace schedule recommends the following:
- Replace spark plugs
- Replace brake fluid
- Replace engine filter, dust/pollen filter
- Engine oil change
- Check fluid levels, coolant level and battery
- Clean and lubricate sliding roof, door hinges
- Check brake system
- Check transmission for leaks
- Reset service reminders
I spoke to a couple of repair shops and both said that this list was not enough. One of them wanted me to change my timing belt, water pump and thermometer costing an additional $800. The other said I should replace the automatic transmission fluid and a couple of other things costing $400. I'm concerned that the recommendations do not match and also want to make sure I do not leave anything out that needs to get done. Any advice on what is recommended as part of the 60k mile service would me much appreciated.
Thank you.
I done 60K service on my A4.My mechanik simply went by the AUDI service book + small other thinks which he spotted.. like belts. I think it does not matter if you do it all in 1 hit or simply do a total check up between the servises. Regardles AUDI reccommendation to service it every 15K as per on-board computer, i do oil and filter change in beetveen 2 service periuds. Just find good mecanik you trust or take it AUDI.
If you want to save $20-30, it's really easy to change the pollen filter and air filter yourself.
If you look at the forums on audiworld.com, you'll see a lot of people who claim that the timing belt should be changed out every 60,000 miles, or less. I don't necessarily agree with that. These forums tend to be a place where complaints concentrate and overly enthusiastic owners tend to wax on. However, if the timing belt is changed, it is a good idea to do them water pump at the same time. I have 78K on my car and don't intend to do the timing belt until 90K.
Were these repair shops stealerships?
Hey folks.. First time poster - I am looking into purchasing a 2005 audi a4 from a private seller. He is calling it an ultra sport (which I want) but the carfax report is calling it a 2005 AUDI A4 1.8T QUAT/SPEC EDIT.
I have not seen the car except in pictures.
I know the ultra sport came with 18in rims, and the spec edit w/ the 17 inch rims. So if he is truthful and it has stock 18 it must be the ultrasport.. but carfax is calling it a spec edit?
His description [2005 A4 1.8T quattro ultrasport package in the dolphin grey exterior with black leather interior. Car Has all options except the cold weather package and the bose stereo. Has the lighting package and the premium package and the ultrasport package. 18 inch ultrasport rims]
How can you tell the diff between a ultrasport and spec edit?
Also, if it is a special edition.. what I am really losing from the ultrasport? The suspension tuning?
Thanks for the help.
ESP will come ON every now and again. Turned out to be air mass meter fault, it had to be replaced. No problem sisnce then.
Other time that light come on as i heard is when you have a faulty brake/cluch pedal switch.
A4 1.8T Quattro 2002
Australia
I am new to list so hope this is correct method to post.
Ron
My dealings with Audi dealers and Audi USA: dealers are incredible gougers.... example: local body shop replaced ALL the external door trims that fell off in a couple of hours for $125; Audi dealer had quoted $200 PER door for a total of $800. Since the trims had fallen off just post-warranty and had clearly been rusting and deforming for some time, I approached Audi USA to see what they would do about it - tried to be non-confrontational at the outset. But that changed once they had the cheek to deny a problem existed with '99 A4 door trims (despite literally dozens of other A4s in our area with similar, very visible problems!), would not arrange for a company area rep to meet me at the dealer to discuss. Take-away: Audi thinks consumers are suckers or stupid. Dealing with Audi USA "Customer Service" was a joke.
Summary of most important lessons learned: 1) these cars are fragile and have the inherent quality of the VW parts they are built from; get rid of the Audi once out of warranty or, if you really must continue to own the Audi, avoid the dealerships - find a good independent shop that will do VAG parts. 2) pick up an aftermarket warranty - a friend of mine has a '99 A6 under a warranty offered by a reputable insurance company and he has had a positive experience.
Finally, maybe I am a sucker and have paid too high a rate for these repairs, but the majority were performed at an independent shop and with quotes way lower on each job than those provided by a dealer. And the bottom line is all these things broke on the car - so even slightly cheaper repairs would still add up to expensive ownership.
So there you have it....Audi has not met my expectations, I will be trading in the car for an Infiniti, Lexus or BMW. Audi had its chance to win me back, but now my experiences have certainly cost Audi sales with several Chicago area friends, possibly more.
My included service for my '01 A4 expired last year so I need to get the 50K service this month. Audi charges $200 for this which is basically oil change + inspections and reset the service reminder.
I can get this done on Jiffy lube or a similar place for $35. Could you please advice if it's really worth going with Audi or just have the $35 job done.
Thank you! :sick:
It does sound like you got a lemon. I wouldn't expect to have to replace 2 dash computers, several airbags, wheel bearings(before 64K!!!), "preignition coil", and all the suspension components. I know another '99 1.8T owner who had similar bad experiences. The door trims do rust away, and once mine fall off I'm going to replace them myself. It's really quite easy to replace them yourself. Your wheel bearing story terrifies me though. They are supposed to be sealed, and to last for a long time.
On the whole though, so far my experiences haven't been bad. I expect to replace the brake pads and rotors pretty soon; they are a wear item($800-1000). And the timing belt/water pump is another $1000, but that's another service recommendation. Theoretically, my upper and lower control arms need replacing because Audi made them out of cheese. But the car still seems fine, so I'll wait until it feels like I have a problem. Luckily, I go to an independent shop that knows what the hell they're doing.
I definetely agree with you regarding the dealerships. AoA is also completely useless. The dealerships take you for all they can and AoA doesn't seem to care about losing potential customers. I avoid them like the plague. They love to take something like a faulty sunroof and turn it into thousands in profit, like alchemists making gold from lead. If I took mine into the dealership today for the suspension arm recall, I would bet $100 that they would find at least $5000 worth or repairs that they would claim are essential. They must imagine they're dealing with very rich idiots.
Thanks,
DL
Please help!!!
Tnks you all!!!
this is my first time in this forum and i happened to be here because i really want to get rid of my 01 toyota celica and like audi so much... And i have to say that i am very dissapointed from what i have read so far for the past 3 hours. Audi is not reliable at all - and that sucks because i love the A4! I could only afford about 13K car. So i was woundering what would the cost be to own it for couple years in repairs -roughly? The car is 2000 A4, 1.8t, 5spd manual with 71.5K miles. I know many of you might think this is stupid and i should just concider bying a different car. In that case - any ideas in that price range what would be a simmular performance vehicle?
1. All plastic trim under the doors came loose, since the metal clips rusted out. This was not considered a warranty issue, so I purchased new trim and installed it myself.
2. Right front wheel bearing failed at 60-70K miles
3. I was fortunate in that the original control arms actually worked without creaking and groaning until 90,000 miles, at which time I had an independent (and excellent) service facility replace all 8 of them. Unfortunately, the replacement control arms are now beginning to make similar noises, beginning at 110,000 miles. The good news .... a hard rainstorm or drive thru carwash apparently lubes the ball joints enough so they quit complaining for a few days.
When Audi of America announced they were prepared to reimburse owners who had paid to have control arms replaced, I was elated. I wrote Audi, submitted every service record I could find for repairs over 5 years, and sat back thinking they would do the right thing and reimburse me for the lower control arm replacement (since Audi didn't indicate any issues with the upper arms, I didn't ask for compensation on these items).
Approximately two months later, I received a check for a little more than $250.00, which was approximately half my cost for parts and labor on the lower arms.
I communicated back, asking them to reconsider reimbursing me for the total cost of the lower control arms. Their response "..... since we can't determine if the parts were replaced with Genuine Audi Parts, we cannot pay 100% of the repair" (whatever this might have to do with reimbursing me for their faulty original parts??)
I then asked them to document their rationale for paying only 50% of the repair in writing, which they verbally refused to do. Nice folks!
I won't bore you with additional details of the back and forth communications with a very uncommunicative Audi of America, except to say that I felt stonewalled.
Now I receive a notice in the mail from A of A stating they are in the middle of a class action lawsuit over misrepresentating the replacement schedule for the timing belt and belt tensioner. Since my car has well over the 101,000 mile limit specified in their announcement, I won't have to deal with Audi of America on this issue.
BTW - the independent shop replaced both the belt and Audi hydraulic tensioner on my A4 at 80k miles. The OEM tensioner was replaced with a mechanical type tensioner, which the independent shop said was much less prone to fail. Now, at 140k miles, the independent shop suggests replacing the belt again. Hate to put any more $$ in this clunker, but maybe a belt replacement will get me through until next spring, at which time THIS CAR GOES AWAY!
To summarize - I'm not sure which has been the most disappointing part of the Audi ownership experience, the failure of major vehicle components, or the difficulty Audi of America has in owning up to the problems and making it right with their customer base.
Based on my disappointing experience with the car and with the Audi of America, I for one will not repeat the Audi Ownership Experience.
ilight4u
I checked the power steering fluid at somebody's suggestion, but that was fine. Any other ideas? I need to take this car on a long (500 mile) trip tomorrow. Is that going to be a bad idea?
Thanks for your help.
Thanks
thinking of getting an extended warranty since I have had problems with
the electrical system on my car that would have cost me a fortune if it
wasn't under warranty. I was wondering if people had advice on where to
get one and about how much it would cost? I have talked to the Audi dealership and got their qoute for their one through JM&A group. Any others I should look at?
Anyone know of any recourse legally or otherwise?
I traded in my 02 Celica for my 05 Audi A4 and have never looked back. You have to realize that people who don't have problems with their cars never log on. Very few people will take the time to log on if you're happy but will FIND the time if you're unhappy. My sister had a used A6 and admittedly had a few problems with it, but Audi took care of everything. Used cars are just going to have more problems by nature. Also, you may want to consider leasing a brand new car. Their lease rate is amazing and you could probably get a really good deal on the "old" body style 2005. I can't guarantee that there won't be problems with my car, but as I'm leasing it for 3 years with everything covered, It's not something I am worried about in the future. People don't take as great of care of luxury cars because they expect them to hold up better, plus we trade up every two or three years. Consider what you are buying. Expect problems with a used car -- ANY used car, but realize that a luxury used car is going to be more expensive to fix than a non-luxury. Good luck
I have A4 1.8T Q 2002.
I just wonder if any one has had an upgrade done to car using APR "www.goapr.com" (Stage I ECU Upgrade) and what is the result. I am thinking to do it.
Other think is that "oil sludge" problem AUDI has. What I done, is asked my mechanic to use one of those OIL FLUSH additive before he changes the oil. This additive rinses the engine internals. Apparently the first time he done it there were some dirt coming out with oil. So it did the job. If you use that staff it should help you keep the engine clean and happy.
Open the boot, on each side approximattely 10cm away from rubber boot seal there is a visible round plug, which is the service holle. It is about 5 sm in diameter. Pop it with flat screwdriver and you will see botl under it. Undo it and pull it all the way out. Then simply pull the light out! There is 2 more clips holding it, but they will let go.
This is all.
I greatly appreciate your response to my Oil Sludge problem. I am curious however as to the confidence I should place in the decision as to how badly my engine is plugged. My car is still at the dealer for repairs so I do not have a final decision. Although when I followed up, they indicated most likely there was no engine damage and they would be cleaning, flushing, etc. Since I originally stopped in and at first all they did was add a quart of oil and send me on my way I have very little confidence in whatever they tell me. Interesting comment about the frequent oil change. I have always wondered why/how these engines could go 10,000 miles before recommended oil change. What are your thoughts on using regular, unleaded gasoline? That's another recommendation from the dealer when I reported problems with the engine seeming to choke at times. They said the Premium gas was too rich.
Again, your comments have been greatly appreciated.
2.)continental warranty---- 1.800.929.2694
3.) western national---------1.800.722.4758
This started after some routine maintenance was done.
Any ideas?