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Audi A4 Maintenance and Repair

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Comments

  • simple2simple2 Member Posts: 16
    2002 A4, 1.8T Quattro
    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!
  • gba4gba4 Member Posts: 1
    Sorry tmjaeger, I haven't experienced a failing cylinder but I would like to submit a couple of questions to the forum about my 96 A4 (2.8, V6, 5 Speed). The millage is 182000 and the check engine light recently came on.

    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)?
  • jbuchsjbuchs Member Posts: 4
    I am thinking about leasing the new 2.0 A4 automatic with premium package, which has been out for a couple of months. Does anyone have anything to say on this model. Concerned, readiing about all the problems with Audi.
  • watziznehmwatziznehm Member Posts: 3
    Hello everyone,

    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.
  • auditechauditech Member Posts: 16
    just joined your forum - anyone got anything bugging them? Older Audi's usually have all there kinks worked out and have fix's available - still working on getting to know the newer ones...... :confuse:
  • simple2simple2 Member Posts: 16
    watziznehm-
    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.
  • hydrocarbonhydrocarbon Member Posts: 16
    The brake fluid should be changed every 2 years, regardless of mileage. I don't know of any hard and fast rules regarding spark plugs, but I had mine done at 60K too.
    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?
  • jstrebeljstrebel Member Posts: 2
    Forgive I posted this in another forum as well. But need some fast answers. Thanks.

    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.
    image
  • simple2simple2 Member Posts: 16
    Mate, I alredy wright about same problem a had.
    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
  • hannashannas Member Posts: 1
    my 2001 Audi A4 with only 45,000 miles has this problem. An independent auto repair shop told me I need this replaced at a cost of almost 1100.00 and also told me that I should not be having this problem, that I did not have nearly enough miles on my car for this to go bad. can someone help me with some info about this? I bought the car for my high school graduation a year ago from Carmax, and everything was fine then.
  • jst4shojst4sho Member Posts: 1
    My daughter took her Audi to dealer for oil change and mechanic informed service rep she needed to have wishbone suspension link replaced on left front. I have looked it over and an independant mechanic in Dallas has looked it over and can find no problem. At Audi dealer today car was put on lift and my daughter was shown how this need was determined. He put fingers between the suspension and frame to measure both sides of vehicle at same point on suspension and determined that there is more room on one side than the other. There are no bent parts that can be seem but they want $750 to make this repair to a leased vehicle. Anybody else out there run up against the two finger suspension test?
    I am new to list so hope this is correct method to post.
    Ron
  • jds3jds3 Member Posts: 6
    I have had my '99 A41.8T Quattro from new. Now 64k miles in the Chicago area. Let me start by saying that I had aspired to owning an Audi since I was a kid and the orginal Quattro had dominated the WRC in Europe. Maybe therein lies the problem - my ownership experience has been mixed - fun car to drive, disaster to own. While under warranty & free maintenance it was no problem as it cost nothing. Post-warranty has been a mind-numbing experience. Let me re-cap warranty issues: new muffler, dashboard computer display replaced, several airbag replacements including having to remove drivers seat twice; speakers rattled on delivery. Post warranty: door trims all rusted & fell off; sunroof broke $1000 to replace; "pre-ignition coil" failure left me stranded by the highway approx and bill of $900. Brakes all around @ $1,200, 2 CV joints @ $500 a pop, 4 wheel bearings total approx $1000; front lower pair of suspension control arms this week @ $1000. Now the dashboard computer has gone again.
    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.
  • tdwtdw Member Posts: 1
    My 1997 A4 has done 200,000 miles now and is coming up with all kinds of problems. It's a TD avant 110bhp and recently it developed an irritating and so far unsolvable problem - in third, forth or fifth gear usually at over 40 mph the turbo fails. The Audi garage replaced the mass air meter, boost solanoid and exhaust valve only 6 weeks ago and the valve has failed again. Audi are being their usual unhelpful selves and won't look at it again without charging me (my argument is that they didn't fix it properly). Anyone else come across this? Also anyone else had experience of running an A4 at this kind of mileage as other things are begninning to go wrong.
  • chollowaycholloway Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2003 A4 Avant tdi and it has developped a knock from somwhere between the engine and gearbox area, it knocks once or twice on pull away and then when you're slowing down or braking sharply to a slow pace it'll knock once or twice again. Audi garage checked it and told me it had nothing wrong, and the noise could not be found, only for it to appear as I left the garage car park. That coupled with an incurable creak from new makes me less than impressed with a car that cost £25k Can anyone offer advice, could it be the exhaust flexing??
  • berny1berny1 Member Posts: 9
    Hi All,

    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:
  • hydrocarbonhydrocarbon Member Posts: 16
    I've had my '99 A4 2.8 for 3 years now, and can correlate some of your observations. I'm also in the Chicago area. I got it with 40K and it now has 80K miles. The only money I've put into it has been a passenger side airbag for $600. My sunroof also doesn't go all the way back and I'm not going to fix it because I don't "need" a sunroof. Also, my headlight washers are bad. But I know how to fix the washers; it's just a floating ground.

    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.
  • mohsinicmohsinic Member Posts: 3
    I was driving my Audi A4 96 and i braked to stop for a stop sign and the ABS and tbe brake light came on . I had just recently changed all four brake pads on the car and it brakes fine. I have no idea whut the light is supposed to mean. I checked all the fluids and they are all fine.I looked thru all of the messages in this forum and i couldn't find anything that dealt with this problem. If anyone has any idea about whut this is suposed to mean or what i'm supposed to do for this. Please tell me. Thankyou.
  • auditechauditech Member Posts: 16
    Camshft adjusters DO fail on the 1.8t's from time to time - no fix but to replace it
  • auditechauditech Member Posts: 16
    Common problem area's for knocking are upper and lover control arms, tie-rod ends, aftermarket brake parts, subframe bolts....
  • auditechauditech Member Posts: 16
    The wishbone links fail all day long - but using your finger to check the size of a gap would only be usefull to showthat the car's been smacked. When the links fail you'll hear a trundelling type noise, but the position of the wheel willl NOT change! If you have a distance difference then you've got bent components
  • auditechauditech Member Posts: 16
    Where do you have your brakes replaced? How long ago? Were they using origonal parts? Your ABS light only comes on if there's a problem with your ABS system - since you just replaced your brakes, your mechanic may not have clipped in the harness for the ABS sensor and over a few miles it has rubbed through - or - your ABS module has taken a dump.
  • mohsinicmohsinic Member Posts: 3
    I changed em myself .. whut do u mean by clipping in the harness for the ABS sensor as i certainly did not come across any sensors just the brake caliber which we pushed in. do u have any pictures of what it should look like and otherwise if the module has been broken .. how much of a cost m i looking at. Any information would be really helpful. Thankyou
  • dl7265dl7265 Member Posts: 1,381
    A friend has a 2004 1.8tQ Tip 13k miles. She says that the start up is rough, the engine surges ect. It was taken to Seattle dealer. The service manager drove it for 3 days 300 miles :mad: , and claimed he could not duplicate the probem.All they will tell her is up to specs.. After getting it back, same problem. Bad gas has been ruled out. Any ideals? or known problem?

    Thanks,
    DL
  • coop75coop75 Member Posts: 3
    Watch out for the Audi Xenons if you live near a big city. I was forced to get rid of my 1.8 QT A4 within six months of moving to Boston because my headlights were stolen twice. I don't know about the west coast, but it's been a big problem up and down the East Coast the last few years. Nissan Maxima also have been a target but I understand they were sued by the state of NJ and and have some sort of deterent...unlike Audi. They still have done nothing about it, at first would not even admit it had ever happaned before...this was odd considering the dealership body shop and did the repair said the saw ten in one week...basically Audi was very rude and smug about the whole thing....just a heads up...it was a very awful thing to go through, basically being forced out a car that I loved over some damn headlights?
  • auditechauditech Member Posts: 16
    Your caliper (that holds the brake pads) has a piece sticking out of it, where the sensor harness clips into. If you left the harness unclipped, it could have rubbed against the wheel/rotor..... no pictures...
  • auditechauditech Member Posts: 16
    Audi have changed the way you remove the headlights on the new models - you've gotta take the bumper cover off now to remove them without damaging them
  • bubasupbubasup Member Posts: 2
    I just bought a '96 audi a4 w/ 100K miles. the car is in great shape, but the radio wont turn on, the fuel gauge is at empty w/ the fuel light on even if its full, and the ac works but it wont display the temperature or speed (the ac problem is on and off).

    Please help!!!
  • mid_mid_ Member Posts: 2
    Sorry i didn't finish....

    Tnks you all!!!
  • mid_mid_ Member Posts: 2
    hi everyone!
    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?
  • bcgilliganbcgilligan Member Posts: 1
    Where to start .... ? My 1999 front drive, std transmission, 1.8l A4 has experienced many of the well-documented problems and disappointments plastered all over this forum.
    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.
  • ilight4uilight4u Member Posts: 7
    I just bought a 2004 A4 Cab, and would like to add a "perimeter sensor" or "field disturbance sensor" to the factory alarm system to activate the alarm when someone reaches inside the car, or is too close to it. Has anyone found a way to add these sensors, or to integrate a Viper aftermarket alarm system with those features into the Audi A4 and have it controled by the Audi key-fob / factory alarm system?
    ilight4u
  • coreyryancoreyryan Member Posts: 1
    Please help me. My '00 A4 avant just had it's 60K service a couple months ago. But just last week it started making a really loud, obnoxious screeching noise. It is only occasional (it's done it 4 - 5 times in the last 10 times out). Lasts about3 - 5 seconds and sounds like a bunch of people scratching their fingernails on a chalkboard.

    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.
  • wlpzwlpz Member Posts: 1
    The driver side rear brake was damaged and the brake warning light is now on all the time. I purchased and attempted to replace the calipers but I can not get any pressure to build so that i can bleed the brake line. I'm guessing that the computer has things locked down. How can I reset it so i can finish the brake job? I called the dealer service dept but they refused to to help me in any manner.

    Thanks
  • ankuragarwal12ankuragarwal12 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2002 A4 3.0 that is almost out of warranty at 48k miles. I was
    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?
  • jrueckertjrueckert Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2001 Audi A4 1.8lt engine. Recently the oil light went on and the engine starting making a "fluttering" noise. I brought it to the shop immediately, where they told me the engine was fatally damaged and would need replacement ($9,000). Now VW/Audi knows of the problem where the oil sludge damages their engines and extended the warranty on the engine 5 yrs if you can prove you've had the oil changes per their recommendations. Which of course, I find myself unable to provide the documentation. The last one I can prove is 11 months ago. The dealership is refusing to acknowledge that their product should be expected to hold up better.

    Anyone know of any recourse legally or otherwise?
  • auditechauditech Member Posts: 16
    Get the factory warranty - aftermarket companies use junk yard, or used replacement parts. The factory warranty doesn't question the problem, just fixes it with new parts.
  • jrueckertjrueckert Member Posts: 2
    Just got word from dealership that Audi will cover the engine replacement due to the sludge damage. That is more like the service I've received from them in the past. I guess it's which person you talk to. My advice is keep all the oil change documentation for your car. I guess I took it for granted in the past.
  • bogart05bogart05 Member Posts: 5
    Dear Mid -
    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
  • doyedoye Member Posts: 1
    I am having trouble with Audi. My daughter took her 1999 Audi A4 in for service and they changed her timing belt and all components associated with it. They said it was a "recall". She had 44,000 miles on this well kept Audi. Charge was $1400. Of course, recalls are paid for by the mfg. I called Audi and was told they call it a "service action" and you can imagine the run around after that. Anyway...do you know how she can join the class action suit?
  • ashton1ashton1 Member Posts: 1
    How do you get at the bulb to replace it? Is there a procedure online? Thanks.
  • gormerodgormerod Member Posts: 19
    This oil sludge problem concerns me. I have a 2000 Jetta with the 1.8T engine and 76000 miles. However, I have also been using synthetic oil in it for the past three years. Are there any opinions on whether or not using synthetic oil will prevent the oil sludge problem? :surprise:
  • simple2simple2 Member Posts: 16
    Hello All,

    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.
  • simple2simple2 Member Posts: 16
    ashton1,

    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.
  • psledgepsledge Member Posts: 2
    I have an Audi '02 A4, 1.8 Turbo and recently my oil light came on which I considered unusual. I immediately went to the dealer who first reacted that it just needed topped off. I questioned the dealer about this but they were very evasive and said the problem was corrected. I drove approx. 15 miles and the oil light came back on and would not go off. I called the dealer immediately who now informs me to have the car towed immediately. It seems within 30 minutes the dealer now tells me there is a severe oil sludge problem. After returning to the dealer they now tell me about this supposedly recall that Audi discovered back in January. It is June and I never received anything from the automaker or dealership. I continued to question the dealer about the use of improper oil. It seems they were using a regular oil instead of a synthetic. I was furious! To me it would be common sense to use a synthetic in a high performance engine...duh! Now the dealer tells me they can desludge the engine and I do not need to have the engine replaced. However, I will receive an extended 5-year warranty as long as the dealer continues to do the maintenance. I am very, very leery of this situation. I see there are a few other messages posted. Curious, has anyone been notified by Audi of this problem? I am convinced if my oil light had not come on Audi nor the dealer would have never notified me that there is a problem. If others have been effected are your dealers replacing the engine or just doing some type of clean-up?
  • auditechauditech Member Posts: 16
    The 1.8 turbo engines can have a problem with sludge build-up. It's not so much inside your engine, but the hoses and pipes that run around it, and the oil pump pick-up screen....this fix right now is to see how badly your engine is plugged and either do nothing and switch to synth oil and a bigger filter - or replace the engine and use synth oil and a bigger filter. The turbo eng. just runs too hot - and most people don't know that you should always let a turbo engine cool down after a drive and change your oil frequently
  • psledgepsledge Member Posts: 2
    To Auditech,
    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.
  • marleybarrmarleybarr Member Posts: 334
    1.) warranty direct----1.800.632.4222

    2.)continental warranty---- 1.800.929.2694

    3.) western national---------1.800.722.4758
  • mtmanmtman Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2003 Audi A4 that has a fueling problem. Nearly 75% of the time I try to refuel the vehicle, the pump shuts off, apparently because of pressure. I turn the nozzle in different directions, remove it, and even start refueling at a slower rate but it still shuts off. When I remove the nozzle I can actually hear pressure being released. After a frustrating 10-15 minutes at the pump, it finally starts taking fuel normally.
    This started after some routine maintenance was done.

    Any ideas?
  • jca1jca1 Member Posts: 1
    I thought I was the only one with this problem. One time the pump actually gushed gas over the car and pavement because of this. Don't know why the pressure doesn't equalize when the cap's removed (the little flapper apparently continues to hold the pressure), but I find if I laboriously hold the pump nozzle at a slight angle to allow the pressure to vent while gassing up I avoid spillage or premature cut-off. Happens only when the tank's pretty empty and I'm wearing nice clothes...
  • larrytaxlarrytax Member Posts: 1
    I purchased a 2004 Audi A4 convertible in October 2003. Last weekend the air conditioner went out. I took it in to get serviced on the following Monday. The service was horrible and by Thursday they finally figured out that a rock hit the condenser. This is such a poor design to put the condenser directly behind the grill without any protection. This poor design cost me $1200 to fix. I have been happy with my Audi until this week and in fact I was planning on purchasing another one in the future, but after terrible service and poor design on a very expensive car, I plan on taking my business elsewhere. I wanted to warn other people of this poor design and I hope it doesn't happen to any of you. It has been a nightmare.
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