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I just wonder that if the car has ran fine up to this point, no major problems, then that means it won't have any now?
But others have told me that the problems start after 50k miles? Any opinions?
I am wondering what steps i should take to be sure that this car lasts? When and what should i change and how often? As you can tell i am a NEWBIE to German Cars, any help would be apprecieated.
My service rep informed me that after inspecting the car it was decided that a new engine would be ordered. She stated that a representative from Audi of America had to come to the shop, taken some parts and he had placed the order for the new engine.
The service report states the following:
Bad Engine; pulled plugs and found the plugs and pistons damaged on cylinders 1,2, and 3. Pistons are all pitted.
I am now concerned about several things, the car only has about 17k left of warranty and I am very worried that something will go wrong after the warranty expires. I am also concerned that a carfax report will show that the engine was replaced and that will affect the resale value.
I am hoping for some input from forum members as far as what I should/could do next. Do I have a legitimate reason to file a complaint with Audi? I’m hoping that at the very least they would extend my warranty. Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.
Luis
The wife has a 2001 A4 with over 150k miles, almost all put on by her, the rest by me. The car looks and drives like new. Sure there have been a few problems over the years, but only a few. The biggest was last year when she finally had the dealer fix a small leak and wiring problem (some of the warning sensors would go off occasionally) on the back side of the engine. Major disassembly was required and I think the total bill was around $2000. She felt it worthwhile because she will keep the car several more years. Other than that, struts, brakes and such which are normal. She now has a slow leak in the AC so we just recharge it every Spring and it lasts til Winter. She absolutely loves the car.
I currently drive a 2002 Audi A4 3.0 quattro; as many others on this forum have posted, the vehicle drives great and has considerable pick up. I love the way it looks and the interior; that said, I have some serious issues with both the reliability and the care provided by Audi dealerships.
When I purchased my Audi, it was eight years old with 88k miles on it; it drove fine in the test drive and for the first several months afterwards. Since then, I have nearly bought it again in repairs. I had to get my power steering pump and front bushels replaced, twice; my A/C unit had to be replaced. I cannot stress enough the costs associated with owning this vehicle. To make matters worse, the primary motivation of ALL employees I have come into contact with at the Audi dealership seems to be getting my car in there once a month. As previously mentioned in this forum, Audi is very hesitant to stand by their product and quality of repair/maintenance. If you or anyone you know is considering purchasing this vehicle, drop the money to get it checked out by a mechanic you trust; in addition, I hope you have a good bit of disposable income because chances are you will get hit with a hefty repair bill at some point.
For all you a4 owners out there, if any of you live in the Atlanta area and know a good mechanic who specializes in german vehicles and is trustworthy and affordable, please let me know.
As for the reliability, it began having issues as soon as that trip ended. A coolant puddle appeared in the garage under the car and came with a repair bill of several hundred dollars. The windshield washer reservoir and pump failed within another month and another few hundred to repair. Tail lamp bulbs burned out along with center brake light strip for another three hundred. It was at this point where I became frustrated, cause I would have liked to replace the bulbs myself, but this required removing panels inside the trunk. Even changing the air filter required major disassembling of intake, which I found out after purchasing a K&N filter replacement. I was told by the service manager that repair work was where Audi makes the money, so it is not designed for much owner upkeep.
The check engine light problems finally put me over the edge, and prompted me to buy my own hand held code reader rather than pay the dealer $69 to reset. My A4 had the CVT type transmission, and one of the codes Audi determined would require a new valve body at $2000. It was at this point I started looking to the internet to see if this issue was common with A4's having so few miles on them. Sure enough there are problems with the CVT transmissions and even though it is not recommended in the owners manual, the CVT fluid should probably be changed out every 25,000 miles. Failure to do so will cost money, since when the fluid ages it creates a variety of problems with seals and hydraulic pressure. I opted to give changing out the fluid for a couple of hundred, to see if this might help the hydraulic pressure and possibly reset the code. At this point I had no shifting issues or indications of transmission problems, the car had only 40,000 miles, and the code stayed reset for a week and then came back. After reading more horror stories about CVT transmission issues and $6000 replacement costs, I had some decisions to make. I had spent well over a thousand in repairs for the 3,000 miles we had driven the car, and still had a check engine light and code that would not reset. So I decided to fold my hand and limit my losses, and part with this car after less than a year. A 40K automobile should have better reliability!
Still think the A4 Cabrio is a beautiful car, but to much wallet liability for me to worry about.
If you ar thinking of purchasing an Audi A4, stay away from the CVT, and purchase an extended warranty to limit your liability. These cars seem to do well for the warranty period, but then require deep pockets to keep up.
I owned a Saab which had its share of CELs and fixes, but I was good with doing repair work myself and hunting for reasonably priced parts instead of buying retail from a dealer. Overall the car was fantastic, but its the kind of vehicle that really requires an owner with mechanical aptitude AND genuine interest. I had a similar coolant leak and took care of it myself in <2 hours and with $15 worth of parts (or less). The most expensive repair I ever had to make was a new DIC which set me back $150 buying one online. An owner that doesn't know any better would have forked over $500 to a dealer to install one (a 10 minute job by the way).
In your case with the A4 you probably made the right decision to get out from it. If working on cars was a hobby you enjoyed, it might have been worth holding onto.
I have heard good things from my dad who takes our 2006 525i and 2006 325i (also 1998 Honda Prelude too, but you wanted to know about German cars) to Summit Auto in Decatur, GA.
You can check them out on yelp and find more info about them on Google. They specialize in imports (European and Japanese Cars).
It's a bit far out from where I am from (Alpharetta) but my dad says it's worth it.
I'm getting ready to purchase a 2005 A4 convertible with only 32k miles on it. It has been garage kept and is beautiful.
Wondering if you are still pleased with yours and if you have had any problems? This forum does cause me some concern and I've never owned an import. I know, American only but have been blessed. Husband's Lumina has over 241k miles and he changes the oil when the light comes on! Crazy!
Thanks
Hope this helps.
Eddie
German vehicles will eat your lunch. Germans love to tinker with their automobiles. The more problems, the better they like it. We Americans do not like to tinker with our daily drivers that we depend on.
If your going to buy a German made automobile, you might be better off leasing the damn things. Get a new one every two to three years. All under warranty. Their problems. Not yours!
Of course an expensive luxury European car might cost more to repair, that is not the point, anymore than a beautiful girl friend might cost more to maintain and keep happy than a dumpy frumpy girl.
A German car is lot like a trophy wife (or GF) - an awesome creature with an attraction unlike any other. But once you move in together, you find there are some less pretty stuff that she never advertised. She can just shut down on the side of the road, and remind you there's nothing you can do about it. And you'll hate her for a few days as she unloads your wallet. But once she comes back all dressed up and cute again, purring like normal, you fall in love all over again, pledging your undying love to the end. And guess what, some of us think it is worth it.
Aside from this, the only other major problem I have had was with the water pump. It was replaced. Other minor issues were, door sensors failing one by one, which were all replaced promptly.
I am wondering, after I get my car back, should I trade it for a new one, or keep until warranty expires. I will probably get a S5 or A7.
It is EXTREMLY IRRITATING that, Audi hasn't addressed the reliability issue. On the other hand, all makes seem to have such problems (BMW/MB/Infiniti etc), though to a lesser extent.
Any one else have similar problems?
Any feedback/advise is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Ignition coil - inspection or replacement. Action 28F2/J1 02-2010
Crankcase Ventilation Valve/DTC's. #170903 01-20-2009
Fuel Pressure Senor. #24M4 10-22-2010
This week I have experienced "transmission failure". I wish we could really know when the mechanic is being truthful. After a lot of research, I now doubt that I needed to rebuild the transmission. It may have been the result of a failed "range sensor". I was out of town, so I didn't have the ability to wait and see. Started off with a dead battery. Coincidence but, seemed to start the ball rolling. Still suffered hard starts, AutoZone checked it out and decided my alternator was also bad. So I bought it from them and they referred me to a Mechanic down the street. Remember I was traveling. My gear indicator lights started to flash a few days prior but after the intitial battery replacement, the car may have been a little sluggish on take off but not too noticeable. I thought perhaps the battery being dead, something needed to reset.
The mechanic put the new alternator in, checked the codes for the transmission, inconclusive... Said he checked the trans fluid, actually drained about 4 tbl spoons out, said it was fine & added a quart. I was good to go. About 100 miles later pulled in to a parking lot, the RPM's dropped, then jumped I thought it was going to die. Never had that happen before. Gear indicator lights started flashing again, but I got back to where I was staying. Thinking I really had a problem, got up the next morning started the car everything was fine,no lights, ran great, a little low on gas I drove it around until I could fill it up. It seemed fine, I even washed it, no problems. Around 10 pm ran to the store, while parking I put it in reverse & nothing, just nuetral. indicator lights flashing, RPM's up & down. I couldn't believe it. I changed gears repeatedly couldn't get reverse. Next morning knowing an AAMCO shop was nearby, drove it over.. it went into reverse now, but no Backup lights came on. He checked it out, said they had to pull the transmission, it's a sealed unit Ma'am.. called me later and said there was metal everywhere.. I had a bearing failure. I am concerned, that because it was intermitent and AAMCO has taken 2 extra days so far, because they are waiting for the "range sensor" from Audi.. That I may have been dupped. Reading about range sensors, it sounds like that may have been it from the beginning. Should I have gone directly to Audi? Audi said they would not rebuild it, they would have put a new one in for $7,100. out the door. AAMCO gave me 3 options, from $5,800 to $7,700 depending on how I wanted to sleep at night, they said. This is my first repairs out of warranty, but it's major.
i am having a similar issue. what has your progress been? thanks
About to purchase my first Audi here - 2010 A4 CVT Premium with 17000 miles CPO for $28,500. Forgive me if this has been answered before, but what is the verdict on the CVT issues? I am really concerned about these things now. My other alternative is an Acura.
I test drove the car and it seems fine, but will be driving it again this Friday. Can someone provide me with a set of steps I need to carry out to check for CVT problems (like changing gears a certain way)?
Really really appreciate any help. I really like the Audi but don't want it to turn into a nightmare. Also, are the 2011s any better?
thanks
CB
so i took my ecu and asked them for a tooth brush ~(which they had) i was nto allowed to clean the contacts in the workshop, so i walked into the street ... brushed gently on the contacts with ED40 until clean. then went back to the workshop and asked them to plug the ECU in. Everything worked and the car ran perfectly. these 3.2s are excellent fun but i am nit sure i would buy one again. i am very tempted but after reading about the issues you are all having and the ones i had with audi, i think there are better cars out there ... unfortunately they are all from Japan.
Why is that unfortunate?
We have a '99 TL with 135,000 miles and a '07 A-4 2.0T Quattro with 59,000 in our household, so they're not comparable with the new ones. Both drive very well, but judging from our experience to date, the TL costs less, in terms of maintenance and repairs. It's probably not enough of a difference to prevent me from buying another Audi in the future, if the Audi drives better and looks better. My wife and I drive older cars because we're not fans of the new ones in the "near-luxury" segment.
Sorry I'm not of much help.
Approximately, what was the mileage on the Rabbits, Fox, '94 Audi 100 and '97 A6 when you bought them and sold them?