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It is amazing what they can extract from these turbo engines when they want too. I have a new respect for turbos now. My next Audi may have one. At least I will have an open mind while researching.
Glad to see you are still out there on the board.
Don
Have a nice (belated) Thanksgiving!
Billy
http://www.audiworld.com/tech/
I will be using my MityVac fluid extractor instead of the drain plug and would like to know what's the easiest way to replace the oil filter. What tools do I need?
Billy
and the usual recommended service. Have any readers had similar problems with their A4s after the
coils replacement? I like many things about this car, but I also need a reliable vehicle, and none of the cars I have owned previously have had as many problems in the first two years of ownership as this one has.
You might have to replace the catalytic converter (maybe both) as a result of running with a failed coil. Because a cylinder was shut down from the failed coil, some raw fuel would have travelled through the exhaust and can damage the cat converter. Since the 3.0 has a true dual exhaust, one or both converters may be damaged.
I've had my 2002 A4 3.0 for just over 2 years and have 54,000+ miles on it. The only thing that has happened since was a relay that was faulty causing the exterior lights to blink off and back on every minute (and caused the motor to the wiper arms to fail as well). Everything was quicky repaired with no new occurrances.
Looking forward to the next 50,000+ miles.
"As part of Audi's committment to our environment, we would like to inform you of our decision to extend your Emissions Control Ssytems Warranty for mass air flow sensors to 7 yrs or 70,000 miles, whichever occurs first, from the vehicle's original in-service date."
"The mass air flow sensor is an important emission control device which, in the event it malfunctions, causes the MIL light on your instrument panel to come on and may adversely affect the driveability of your vehicle."
Interesting enough, the Evap Purge Valve feeding the gas vapor back from the gas tank to the engine malfunctioned in my car and was replaced under warranty.
Anyone else got this?
Billy
Have a new problem with my A4 though. In temps below about 40, my air bag light comes on and will flicker as the car warms up. Only happens in cold weather. Any ideas?
Also, any DC metro area people have experience with dealer service? I've been going to HBL in Tyson's, but hate them. They hate me too. Worst service ever. How is Rockville? Alexandria?
Does anyone else not have a high idle (1200rpm) when it's below freezing ? When it's warmer than freezing I get the high idle and it will slowly lower as the car warms up but when it's extremely cold I get the normal 750-800rmp idle and it takes forever for the car to warm up. Has anyone else experienced this ? My dealer says it's normal and even the loaner car I had while the coils were being replaced did the same.
For the idle, mine is the same way. No big deal, you can drive it to warm it up faster (higher RPMs).
Talonsma, yeah here in Chicago we're experiencing 20F mornings. The idle speed was below 1,000rpm at around 800rpm, whereas during warm weather it was 1,200rpm and come back down to around 800rpm after the car's been driving around for a while. Like cyberpmg said, just drive the car around and avoid extended warm-ups. The manual says the same. I usually just warm it up 15-30 seconds and start driving (not aggressively).
Billy
Thanks.
Tony
I think the B6 (02-) A4's have the same number of cup holders and same locations.
Billy
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
"controls" have any significant impact on performance, gas mileage, maintaince or reliablity.
Thanks for the response. The closer I look at the pictures, I figured that must be where the cupholders are located.
Thanks.
Seriously, the interior is nearly flawless, the gauges are very easy to read and the red lighting looks great at night
http://forums.audiworld.com/a4gen2/msgs/340172.phtml
Therefore, there is no impact at all on performance, gas mileage, maintaince or reliablity.
--'rocco
It's not clear to me whether the A4 is "50 state" simply because the extra emissions package can be ordered in any state. If both engines are certified ULEV to begin with, then why are CA and NE buyers forced to pay more?
--'rocco
Of course, those are the 6 buttons I use most often, which probably makes it seem worse than it really is.
Flawless:
Flawed:-seating position
-placement of controls
-lighting, lighting, lighting
-nicely camouflaged airbags (esp. on pass. side)
-material quality on most surfaces (not crazy about feel of control stalks on steering wheel, but it is an improvement over ones I've test driven in the past)
I'm also not a fan of the stereo and climate control buttons. There are too many of them, and they look and feel too much alike. Luckily, the auto climate control is so good, I can set it when I start the car, and forget it. As for the stereo, I just hope the preset buttons don't pop out on me. I've read this has happened to other A4'ers.-sun visors (almost useless, especially when the sun is on your side)
-cup holders (the one on the dash is for decoration only. the one in the center console is just in the way)
-that %*$&# aluminum strip on the dash. I will never buy another car that has ANYTHING this shiny in the interior. I get blinded by the extra-shiny "quattro" logo as I drive home each morning. I don't know how to solve that other than put masking tape over the blasted thing, and we all know that's not an acceptable solution.
After 4,000 miles, I really don't have much to complain about. Just two unscheduled visits to the dealer -- one to fix a wiring mixup with the XM radio, and another to reset a check engine light that came on for no reason the service department could find. I've built up enough confidence in this car to go ahead and sell the Civic which I had been keeping as a spare.
I was considering the exact cars you are when I finally pulled the trigger on a 2003 a4 1.8t w/all options this summer. I could not be happier with the car-the only thing I regret is not getting a 2004-I really want xm radio and the all-season tires, not to mention the 6spd...bmws are great cars, but you just can't beat the audi for value-I got an incredible deal on mine up here in mass. (wagner in boylston) and couldn't be happier. A similar BMW with the options I have (sport, premium, xenon, bose, etc) would cost well over 35K. After 6 months with this car I have no hesitation recommending it to anybody, and 2 friends of mine have recently made the switch from 3 series to a4s. It handles on rails and with snow tires the traction is better than on my g/f's suv. I considered the tsx as well as I had always had good luck with hondas/acura but it just didn't have the styling I was looking for. Same with the saab 9-3-great car, very quick, but it just felt cheap inside compared with the audi (you can't beat that red lighting at night). I also hear that the quattro is a far superior awd system than bmw's, and for me the 1.8, while a tad underpowered, is more than enough, especially once I chip it in a few months...good luck with your decision, you really can't go wrong with either car. Audiworld.com is also a great site for a4 info if you need any more convincing!
Gee, this is hardly a reasonable comparison other than the obvious way "if price did not factor in."
So, if the answer to the question, which one would you buy "if they were the same price. . .I would get the BMW," well you have answered the question yourself, since the differences are not "diminimus."
I too test drove the Audi, the Passat GLX w/4Motion and the BMW 3 series "X" version. The monthly payment differences could only be mitigated by decontenting the BMW and the VW was the most expensive on the lease.
The Audi A4 1.8T with all options, 6spd and if you desire, "Ultimate Sport" package (ask about it) will be higher in content and lower in price than the BMW. The Audi at 170HP, will, however, not be as strong (in the HP and torque department) as the BMW.
The BMW therefore MAY be worth more if you place any value on the accelerative differences, for example, between the two cars. However, the Audi should have "higher" content for lower bucks and "comparable" performance.
Did the Audi A4 1.8T you tried have the sport package?
*heh* here all this time I thought you were in CA. Roger Jobs is my dealer and it's an excellent dealership. They have a good reputation and I'm sure you'll be pleased with the service there.
Give Tony a call or e-mail him on your question about how much the CA emissions will hurt performance ...if it does at all. He's the service manager and if he doesn't know, I'm sure he'll find out.
Sounds like you made an excellent deal. It's difficult to get a "steal" on a new Audi here in the PNW. I talked about this on these Edmunds boards several years ago, ad nauseam. It was frustrating to me how folks in other parts of the country could make these fantastic deals and here in the PNW, we had almost "take it or leave it" pricing. I think it is somewhat better now that the economy has slowed but still, here in this region, we still seem to pay more for our Audis than anywhere else.
I hope you'll have good luck and tremendously enjoy your new A4 when it arrives.
Btw, Tony is also the Porsche service manager there at RJM so I'm pretty sure he'll know performance issues.
I'll try to find your post over there at AudiWorld and follow it because I'm curious just what that $150 is buying.
--'rocco
PS..I'm going to regret the day I have to return to the U.S. and drive in the Chicagoland area!! OULALA!!
Well hey, it will take you some time to get back to the Chicagoland driving habits, i.e. no rules at all. I would say the most important thing is to meditate and not to swear when you see bad driving habits exhibited by some mindless drivers.
Billy
Billy
I'm looking to get a base 3.0 with the Cold weather package but have been told that this is nearly impossible. Is this true?
Of the over 25 Audis my wife and I have owned, we have ordered over 20. The experience of ordering the car and having it come exactly as you want it is very satisfying.
If you want an A4 with Cold Package and nothing else, order it. They will build it then will sell it and you will, presumably, be happy.
You don't have to take what is in inventory.
Now, on another note. The majority of Europeans buy the 1.9L TDI. I have seen a few 2.0 A4's, but because of the price of gas here, most drive diesel injected cars. I will tell all the read this board, that those cars will run in excess of 130 MPH! I have been passed on the autobahn while cruising at the governed speed and couldn't catch a VW Golf 1.9 TDI! This is very common. The adjustment for me should I return in August instead of three years from that point, will definitely be the driving!!
Yeah I was driving on the Tristate heading north yesterday and i was doing 80-85 with a couple of other cars and then all of a sudden this BMW 530i just blew past us at 110 or so. Rather stupid if you ask me, since he's sneaking in and out of traffic. No passing only on the left here in Chicago. Btw the law just came into effect here that says cars cannot stay in the left lane of a highway more than 0.5 miles unless traffic doesn't warrant it to stay to the right.
I've seen more Jetta TDI's lately. Guess they like the gas economy and the torque on the diesel vehicles!
Billy
Check out the brochures, test drive the cars on the lot -- configure EXACTLY what you want, wait 4 months and you will have the feeling "that new car feeling" twice in 4 months. As Carly Simon says: "anticipation. . . ."
Above reflects a lot of the "spirit" of the way I wish things happened -- probably not what Audi wants, also a little tongue in cheeky-ness and much more than a pinch of truth. Drive it like YOU live YMMV.
The nav system is worth it, unless you never stray from familiar territory. I even use it to navigate around my "relatively small city," Cincinnati -- especially if I am on a client visit and I have not been to the client's location; or, if I am going to the "new restaurant" in East Egypt sub-urban Cincinnati or Columbus. When we take cross country (200 - 250 miles one way) trips, you can use the "find" function for gas stations, ATMs and restaurants (hmmm seems to be a theme here).
My wife and I consider the sat nav a safety and convenience feature. Traffic Jam?!? Push the traffic jam button and you are re-routed around the problem.
Accurate -- about 97% of the time. Complete -- well for where we drive: Cincinnati, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Dayton, Cleveland -- about 95% of the time.
Gripes -- CD not DVD; smaller gripe -- no "moving map" but I've been in my friend's BMW with the moving map, and the commands and the accuracy are the same. Another friend has a Lexus and it's nav is DVD, which would be nice but I have only changed my CD once, when I drove to a meeting in Indianapolis -- no biggie.
Sat nav, among other things that as the Doobie Brothers once said (paraphrased) "What once were vices (excesses, perhaps) are now necessities (virtues, to be accurate.)"
I don't have the system, but I have friends who have them and love them. It's a no-frills system that will let you know when you need to turn and where you are. If you're on the road a lot or like to go on long trips, it's a valuable asset.
I'll probably get one when the time comes for my next Audi. In the meantime, I'm now looking into getting a PDA/GPS system that I can mount and use while I'm on the road.
Anyway, i just ordered a A4 3.0 6-SPD.....does anyone have a silimar experience on ordering...just trying to come up with rough estimate on the delivery date.
As Homer Simpson says........"MMMMMMMMM.......Deliveryyyyyyyyyy"
Holler
I wouldn't have one any other way -- unless, of course they had EXACTLY the car I wanted on the lot. Hasn't happened yet (well, OK, once or twice).
Twice as much fun to order YOUR car -- fun to order and fun to pick it up!
Audi probably cringes when they see this in print, since they know most Americans "want it now!" and if they don't have it on the lot the customer may go to another brand where the inventory is more plentiful.
Problem is, I always seem to want that one option or one combination that is only availble in Screaming Chicken Fat Yellow at the dealer.
I usually get sat nav and stick shift. Other than my own cars, I have never seen "on the lot" a combination like that. Or, I want, sat nav+On*star plus stick shift and parktronic but no summer package with Bose -- well you get my drift; ordering is half the fun!