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First, misaligned exhaust system. Was causing quite a racket, specifically a "clunk" noise when shifting (TIP) and/or going over bumps at slow speeds. Problem was fixed and seems to have done the trick to date.
Second problem, a severe squeek in the rear of the car. They concluded it was the rear rocker arms which are now scheduled for replacement. My dealer told me it was a problem showing up with A4s and A8s. Still waiting for parts, been 2 weeks.
Overall, I enjoy the car, but my confidence in Audi has been shaken a bit. Never had problems like this with ANY car I've owned. Truthfully, I'll probably get the rocker arms taken care of and that'll be it....smooth sailing for years to come (knock on wood), but now I wonder.
Curious if anybody else has run into similar problems.
JB
Iconsider the A4 among the best made cars around.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Other problems (all under 50K miles)
Replaced front tie rod ends (on my dime)
Front rotors replaced (this at 35K miles) due to premature wearing - Audi has a recall on brake parts for this model year.
Control arms and guidelinks - car sat in the shop for 5 weeks and I was not offered a rental. It was "out of warranty" by three months, but Audi was "kind enough" to pay all repair costs.
Drivers side window regulator.
I have been meticulous and babied this car. I'm a little disappointed with these needed repairs. I may buy another Audi, but I will be sure to get the extended warranty because everything started breaking at 3.5years and 45K miles.
Good luck with your purchase.
The dealer (Howard Cooper in Ann Arbor MI) checked all the suspension components twice and did not find any problems. They checked the alignment and corrected a slight misalignment in the toe-in but this did not fix the problem.
Does anybody has a similar problem with directional stability of A4? Did you find a solution?
KarenS
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Jimbones
Also, don't know if it's coincidence but the "Check Engine" light came on the day after I changed the oil. Anyone have any idea if there is a connection between the two and on how to reset this -- manual says it's related to the emissions system -- but I hate to pay for a complete diagnostic which the manual recommends.
I am cross posting this in the maintenance and repair section as well.
Thanks,
Gary
Please advise
Recently picked-up '02A4 and was told by one of the mechanics that warming up the car in those cold monrnings is usually the main cause for "check engine light" problems. Been following that advice religiously and so far with approx 7K miles no engine light problems. Hope it stays like that...
But overall it is a common problem for A4's, especially 1.8T versions.
I think quattro, despite its extra weight, does clearly provide better grip and traction, especially on the wet and curvy roads (I live in the mountainous area). Also, the new Audi has 20 extra ponies and you can definitely feel the extra power in the midrange.
Overall, I truly enjoy this car - especially on those early Sunday morning drives when local cops are still at Dunkin Donuts ...
So don't worry about the extra weight and unless you live in a big city with no "room to run", you will definitely appreciate the four-wheel handling.
Audi dealer in Houston and told me not to drive it but have it towed there. The engine
is running a liitle rough. Anyone know what could be the problem? I'm not taking any
chances so I'm having it towed to the dealer. The warranty is already out.
The current mileage is 48200. I already had the brakes/rotors replaced in September.
I also had seal and belt replaced for the Steering.
Thanks,
Greg
1. Sometimes, I hear a humming sound after I turn the ignition off. It dies in about 2-3 seconds. At times it is loud enough for others to notice it.
2. After 3-4 seconds in to driving from 'Park', there is a clicking noise which I can also feel on the foot if I have my foot on the gas pedal.
These sounds were not there earlier. Can anyone throw some light on any of these? I will really appreciate it.
Thanks.
I have a 2001 A4 1.8T with the 5-speed manual transmission (26.8K miles). I have been experiencing a worsening problem with second gear and have now taken it to the dealer for repair. It balks going into gear, and sometimes grinds ever so slightly. Additionally, the gear shifter vibrates excessively in second gear and none in the other gears. Lastly, and more curiously, it frequently pops out of second gear when I'm depressing the clutch to shift to third. What's causing this? The dealer "can't reproduce the problem" (although I took the mechanic for a drive and it did while he was in the car). However, they seem to think it's the synchros in 2nd and 3rd gear. Apparently they have to take the transmission apart to fix it. I'm nervous about them doing this...
Back in October my camshaft adjuster failed and required replacement. After they took the engine apart and put it back together (or whatever they did) it has never run smoothly at idle. It even has stalled before in rush hour traffic. They "decarbonized" the engine and that helped some. I've been stuck putting fuel injector cleaner in it, and that seems to help some. You'd think this was a '85 Buick with 150K miles.
On a positive note, my stereo finally came after a six month wait... Has anyone else had to get a new stereo because it blanks out, etc.? They already replaced the instrument panel a while back due to a faulty fuel gauge.
Additionally, I have the sport pkg with those high performance tires. The dealer tells me they are out of round and require replacement. Has that happened to anyone else? It just seems so soon for new tires (plenty of tread left).
Thanks!
I've never experienced any transmission or engine problems with the car. However, I have had the instrument panel replaced: the top portion of the driver information display would go blank and cease to show the radio station or the CD track as it should. This, however, did not solve the problem and now I too am waiting for a new radio - they think the current radio may have a problem sending the signal.
And it is possible that if you have the 17" wheels for them to be out of round - it's not the tires. Bumpy roads can give those things quite a jarring. I have the 16" wheels, but a friend of mine has the 17" and yes, he has managed to screw two of them up when he came upon an unmarked construction zone.
I called my dealer and he hasn't heard of the problem, but seems to think that it is not a serious issue. I might just take it in to see if it is an indication of a more problematic issue.
thanks
there are a few lines
u know when the paint on the wall is about to peel off...that's the similar appearance i am getting...
and there are swirl marks on the exterior driver door panel
2001 year model...bought it brand new...
i should take it to the dealerhip soon.
Does anyone have any ideas what could be the cause?
In case anyone is interested, initially I had problems with my check engine light keeps going on and off intermitently. I took the car to the shop many times and the mechanics couldn't figure out the problem and their computer keep pointing out that there is no problem (since the check engine light never comes on when my car is in the shop). Finally, the mechanic pump the gas tank with some sort of smoke and noticed that there was a small hole on top of the gas tank. They said that I could not drive the car and they had to replace the whole gas tank. Well, after waiting for about 1.5 months for the gas tank, they replaced it and so far (has been around 7 months) the check engine light has not come on.
Is anyone aware of a problem with 98 2.8s or am I just lucky?
I'm considering buying a used A4 - 1999 - w/ 37,000 miles. I have read a lot of posts - and it seems folks have had a number of servicing issues - where a lot of things have gone wrong with their A4. Am I just being paranoid - or is it a problem car?
This would be a car for my teen age daughter - and wondering if it's too much car for her. But -I want something that is reliable - the car and
her.
Also - the price ? The dealer is asking $21,000.
Said it was marked down from $23,000. It's got a sunroof - sports tires - Bose system - automatic -etc. Do you think that price is in line - or should I haggle?
Thanks for your help.
A good car stereo specialist should know the location of the stock amplifier and whether or not the speakers would be an easy or complicated upgrade. About the only problem I could see is if the amplifier also contains the crossovers (unit that divides full range sound into 2 or 3 separate ranges, highs to the tweeters and lows/mids to the larger woofer speakers.)
Even if the amplifier does house the crossover units and is hard wired to the speakers, the crossover points should be easy enough to match up with an after market speaker.
I installed an ADS system into my BMW318, powered by an after market Sony ES Head Unit. I decided that the BMW system just didn't meet my needs for sound. I make the following reccommendations to you in this order of importance:
1. Replace OEM speakers with high quality after market speakers. Companies like MB Quart, Boston Acoustics, Infinity, or even kicker might make good choices. Try to listen to a few different pairs in the sample room, they won't sound like that in your car, but at least you can get a feel for their strengths and weakness for sound reproduction. General rule is too avoid buying speakers from companies that make everything (aka Sony, Pioneer, Alpine) and instead buy from companies that make their living selling only speakers...makes sense, if that is all they do, they have to be good to live!
2. Add a subwoofer. Nothing makes a more dramatic improvement in overall sound in a car system like a well-matched subwoofer. This can be tough if you stick with the stock system, but not impossible to do. General rule of thumb, smaller subwoofers produce tighter bass response, bigger subs go down to lower frequencies. If you don't listen to rap or dance music, a pair or 8s or a 10 should be plenty of bass to give you a meaningful improvement in sound. Spend a few extra bucks here for a good enclosure, the box that houses the sub is often more critical to sound than the sub itself.
3. Scrub the OEM amplifier. Some very good after market amplifiers can be purchased out there that are flexible enough to connect with OEM head units or with after markets. Without going into too much explanation, OEM radios tend to "speak" with other components in their systems at different levels than after market one will (high level versus low level signals.) Choices for good amps are nearly endless. The more you spend on an amp, usually, the more power and features, and sometimes, more channels. A 5-channel amplifier with a built in sub crossover would be ideal, sending power to the front, back, and sub speakers.
4. Scrub the head unit. Here is where I start to cry. Finding a head unit that will match the aesthetics of your lovely A4's interior. The majority of the after market in car audio is geared towards 16-25 year olds with multi-color dancing displays and the displays get worse as you move up the ladder to the more expensive, higher quality head units. No advice for you here - good luck.
5. Sound deadening - the final frontier. If you want to squeeze more performance out of a full blown system, the last step is usually to add sound deadening panels into the trunk, door, firewalls and floorboards. These panels can significantly reduce noise and dampen the parts, preventing sound rattles and harmonic resonances inside the vehicle. This is the last step in most high end systems, after this, you start all over, with more expensive equipment each step of the way.
Hope this helps a little to someone. Replacing the OEM speakers should be easy...consider finding a better resource than a disinterested clerk at a big box retailer. Find a good custom shop in your town that caters to higher end competition installations, and you will quickly find a major difference in approach and in the final sound of your car.
Good luck.
harlequin
i am also getting the grinding/rumbling in second gear like a previous poster stated. it's not a squeaking, but more of a vibration. they cleaned the brakes, but i keep telling them it's only in second gear and at low speeds. if you turn, it gets worse. now i'm waiting for the tranny to drop out of it.
actually, i'm hoping it leaks oil again so i can pull a lemon law out of my pocket. A4's are nice, but i can't be having my car go in every month for something else going wrong. if i wanted that, i'd saved a couple thousand and bought a FORD.
if anyone has any ideas about the grinding, please chime in.
Do you A4 owners observe this to be normal? I'm not expert with transmissions or engines but the engine did not sound overly worked at those rpms. I thought maybe it's just the meter and everything is amplified by 30% or something. Is that possible? Or is what I described perfectly normal? Any help you nice folks can provide would be great! Thanks!
paul
P.S. please email to [email protected] if you could also...
thanks