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Audi A4 2005+
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Comments
A car is a piece of machiney, and every maufacturer has their share of problems. Whether it's Honda, Toyota, Audi, or anybody else.
Audi has really stepped up on quality in the last several years, and they're only a few points behind Infinity, Lexus, & Acura in intial quality according to consumer reports.
Your car may have indeed been a lemon and I'm not trying to diminish your frustration. Have the dealer buy it back and get something else.
If I buy, let's say, a brand new TV and it breaks down on the 2nd day and/or has continuous problems I simply take it back to the store I bought it from and return it. End of story.
With this car, it appears that I have become Audi's test driver, but i have to pay for it out of my pocket.
Well, that's my experience and unfortunately nothing will change what I thing of this brand.
Byron
Not surprisingly, the downside of my current A4 has been reliability, a problem that seems to plague Audi, and most German cars. Still, I'm seriously looking at another Audi (along with Volvo and Acura) to give them another chance! OK, I'm had two wheel bearings go with just 75k miles, an alternator, 2x brakes, gaskets and lots of belts... (So, why am I considering this? I guess it just drove so well compared to either the S60 or the TL!)
I'm wondering what new features will be in the 2006? I've heard that Bluetooth will be added: will that be part of a premium package? Anything else that makes it worth the wait? Any idea what the wait will be?
Thanks!
The 3.2 engine should become equipped with a manual transmission (yeah!!!)
S-Line sports package - which is similar to last year's ultra sports package
Bluetooth is an option and will be part of the technology package.
I'd contact your Audi dealer and ask about the 2006 availability. I haven't seen anything yet on Audi's website that suggests 2006 models are available, but you can order one now.
Had: '99 A4 1.8t Avant (manual)... car had a few "issues".
Have: '02 A4 1.8t Avant (sports suspension, manual)... issues so far: in nearly four years one bulb over rear plate. Lucky? maybe!
Byron
This dealer has been extremely easy to deal with... but I must confess that I attempted to buy a '05 BMW 330i with the performance package at a great price (new) but some lucky stiff got to it first...
The A4 sure ain't cheap for a four-banger but it's all in the synergy.
Byron
Finally, are you leasing or purchasing?
Thanks,
Luke
And I'm buying the sucker rather than leasing.
Cheers,
Byron
Thanks in advance.
Sweet car... All 06' models are at the port. They are only releasing them if they are marked "SOLD"
Bose w/Sirius, Prem, Cold, Tech/ w/out Bluetooth... iPod adapter and Sunroof. Everyone was correct, Dophin Grey Metallic is special order only.
The only thing I am unhappy about... I went to 3 different dealers and none of them have a picture, brochure or can really tell you anything about the A4 06'.
Did 05.5 vs 06' change any interior? I guess I'll be surprised. I love how the A6 added the LCD screen standard with or without the Navi. I'm hoping that the A4 06' would have done the same, being its no longer the entry level Audi. But, I doubt it.
Byron
So here is the straight advice and comment. This is a crying shame. However, the Audi advantage should minimize your issues -- if the car is unreliable, you should get a free loaner car (typically one just like yours or a last year's model A4.) I know it isn't yours but at least you should not have to make repeated trips. My brand new 2003 allroad spent 11 of its first 18 days in the shop for a problem with On*star (turned out the factory had connected the GPS and the On*star "backwards" or something like that.) I had a one year old A6 with less than 10,000 miles on it (and never been smoked in) car to use. I was not happy that I didn't have MY car, but I didn't have to fool around with multiple trips after the first trip, anyway.
So, you need to know what the lemon laws are in your area (and I assume they are difficult to find and understand but that they are available.) Then you need to see what documentation is required to exercise the lemon laws to reach the conclusion you want.
The DEALER cannot eat the cost of the car -- the dealer is a retailer -- the dealer probably doesn't have too much to do with the car's issues of manufacture. The dealer sort of has his hands tied. I got a new Sharp TV this weekend -- the box says "if this thing doesn't work, don't return it to the store where you bought it. . ." bla bla bla. Now Best Buy gives you 7 days to return it but after that -- you have to make the warranty claim, etc etc etc.
Here in Cincinnati, a person (who posted over on the A6 board) had a problem wherein his new A6 wouldn't run and no matter what the dealer tried it would not resolve the issue. Time passed. Let me repeat that -- time passed.
Time passed.
And, some more time passed.
In the mean time, he was given another 2005 A6 (the sales manager personal demo which was above the car that he bought and was having problems with) -- this is above and beyond. But the dealer did this for this guy.
Time passed.
Audi of America called him and said, tell us what you want and we will replace the car. I don't know all the details, other than what was posted here, and I may not have totally accurately conveyed the story. This was a Buy Back, not technically a lemon law car as I understand my wife's brief explanation of Ohio's Lemon Laws.
This was unfortunate -- but Audi came through. The guy was persistent. He was not difficult, but he did not give in or give up. He wanted the A6, perhaps if he wanted his money back 100% and wanted a Pontiac or something other than to be made whole with a new A6, things would have been different.
This story may not replay with you. The fact that this story happened SHOULD, under the circumstances, give you some encouragement.
You need to know what the applicable lemon laws are -- at least as a starting point. Thus far, based on my pea brain understanding of the lemon laws you do not have a lemon (at least in the state of Ohio, America.) Good luck!
:shades:
The engine sounds a bit less noisy than the 05.5's, and the exhaust note sounds a bit sweeter as well.
Byron
Byron
Brilliant Black, Quartz Grey, Light Silver, Moro Blue, Brilliant Red, & Arctic White are stock color choices for 2006.
Ocean Blue, Dolphin Grey, Dakar Beige, & Liquid Blue are available as sold order colors only.
I have an Audi A4 its a 05 1.8T multitronic. i have also been having problems with the remote locking. one minute it works the next it dosent. i had it back to the dealer twice but the problem is still there. my last car was an 04 model A4 and this had the same issue. i need help as i am at my witttttts end. i have been on to Audi and they are not aware (or so im told) that there is a problem with the remote locking..
helPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPp
Paul (Ireland)
2. Maybe it's just what they ship to Canada, you know, not quite the litigation rep. we have down here in whatever insult du jour you call us up there. We have lemon laws here. Trust me, a couple of nice letters from an attorney and you no longer own it.
Call your service manager and tell him/her to look up the bulletin.
2. It has nothing to do with what gets shipped where. If you look at Audi's reliability, it is horrible everywhere, it's a fact. Hopefully they have improved and yours will be a great car. I currently own a 2001 A4, and looked at getting the new one, but in the end though I don't want to take the chance so I spent a little extra and got the Bimmer. For me, I can no longer justify owning a /VW/Audi until they prove they have fixed their problems.
Depending on my mood, my favorite is either of the 2005's.
With over two dozen Audis (between my wife, my company and me) since 1977, I have had some experience with Audi reliability. Our Audis have been very reliable -- one, one time, right after we bought it (a 1993 Audi 90 sport quattro, as I recall) had a DOA engine -- Audi took care of us and our only small issue was the moment at which it died.
Recently, the statistics -- availble on the WWW -- indicate that Audi, BMW and Mercedes have reliability statistics below some Japanese makes. However, the Audi -- at this snapshot in time -- is THE reliable German, NOT BMW and certainly NOT Mercedes.
This may change, probably will -- but going to BMW for reliability (at this time) was moving to a less reliable marquis, not the other way around.
Now in the past 30 years, we have had, including the one in our garage at this moment 2 BMW's (a 1988 325ix and the X3). The '88 had a premature dead battery and had brake pads and oil changes at the same intervals. The X3 at 5,000 miles is, thus far, flawless -- but so are the two Audis mentioned above.
The dealership can make all the difference too. Now, however, notwithstanding -- Audi dealers have a bad (not bum) rap (or bad REP, better said) against them, and from what I can tell, it is well-earned. BMW dealers somehow have managed to be "the good guys" -- but I do think Audi dealers have improved (but when you're in the basement, there's only two ways to go: sideways and up.)
The Audi products have, statistically, improved while the same has not been true of the other Germans.
Wait a moment. . . .
The shoe will soon be on the other foot, perhaps. :shades:
Byron
I have also had several flat tires and am fed up with Audis selection of them furin' tires -- oh wait, I had Goodyear's on the last one.
Well, the phone cradle on my wife's TT broke off its mount and it took two whole days to order the part -- I was verklempt.
That blown bulb will be the cause of my leaving Audi for sure.
...hope your experience with your present Audis goes well. I'm picking up my A4 in a couple of days :shades:
Byron
The brake rotor problem in the 2000 and 2001 models are the only major issues we have ever had and I should add the brakes worked, they just warped the rotors every couple thousand miles (Audi ponied up 9 sets at no charge until they finally found a vendor that got it right.)
Those problems and some key fob battery problems (which were primarily annoying) have been the sum and substance of our Audi experiences.
You may have a terrible experience -- my bet would be that you will have a delightful experience (but the DEALER more than anything will make or break the experience.)
I must confess to having taken a liking to my wife's BMW X3 and the treatment at the BMW store in Cincinnati. But this is NOT meant to damn with faint praise my Audi dealer, here in River City -- The Audi Connection.
Audi has had spotty dealer issues and in the past couple of years have made great strides in righting some wrongs in this regard.
Audis are great to drive -- this alone would not mitigate completely a crummy ownership experience, but at the end of the day I would take the Audi driving experience and a wee bit of other issues over the Bland Boring Experience that some folks relate -- but with "perfection" with respect to reliability.
Actually, I want both a fun to drive car and reliability -- Audi is pretty good at this.
The service department has been very good. They actually seem to listen. If I request my tires to be set at 37 psig, I can rest assured that they will be. The one issue that I do have is that they don't seem to keep much of a parts inventory on hand. My '99 A4 Avant had those exterior mirror heaters that came on and stayed on whenever the temp dropped near freezing. This resulted in about three blown mirror heaters. The dealer always had to order them. Certainly bits and pieces like that should be stock items.
----
But gotta say I very nearly went for the new BMW 330i. Great car... probably should have tried to drive the Bimmer back to back with the A4. Oh the heck with it! Who wants those run flat tires any ways :P
Byron
Paul
Problem is I'm the owner of a 1998 A4 1.8T Quattro now -- and while driving the car gives me a great deal of joy, I'm frustrated with reliability (or the lack thereof). I've meticulously maintained this car, and it's actually got pretty low mileage (75k), yet I've had some doozies over the years. I had the heater block leak, and fill the passenger compartment with radiator fluid, not a pleasant experience on a long trip!
Last month I had to replace a wheel bearing for $1100 & this month I've got another wheel bearing that needs replacement. In fact, the dealer gave me a $2700 estimate for this and that.
So, as I prepare to buy another car, I'm asking the same question: has Audi's reliability improved? Because, when you're paying $35k for a car, it's fair to expect better!
The reliability issue is a tough one. It is said that Audi has worked very hard to improve quality to "near-Japanese"' but we won't know until we get > 50,000 miles on our Audis. Because of that, I tend to dump mine prior to the warranty expiration. OTOH, if I planned on keeping my new A4 (picked it up yesterday) beyond the warranty, I would certainly price an extended coverage plan.
BTW, I know someone that has an S6 that's about 12 years old (not exactly sure of the model year) and he's hitting 230,000 miles. He's had little difficulty with his ride and still on the original turbo. Maybe he's the world's luckiest Audi owner :P
Byron
Does anyone know what the drive bias is for the new generation of Quattro? I learned that the 2006 S4 has a 40%front/60%rear bias. Did the 2006 A4 quattro change? I am currently deciding between a 2006 Infiniti G35 6MT Coupe and a 2006 Audi A4 2.0T 6MT quattro and love both cars. Unfortunately, the local Audi dealership only had the 2006 Front-Trak 2.0T A4's available for a demo.
Byron ('06 A4Q, manual)
Byron
I drive 170 miles a day, put about 40K miles on a car per year. I need to have some degree of confidence that I can get 5 years and 200K miles on a car and not be killed on reliability. I service cars regularly, don't neglect but don't want a lot of shop time, nagging stuff and extraordinary repairs.
I would like some opinions from Audi owners. People who have gotten this kind of mileage, etc.
Thanks
2006 Audi A4 6MT quattro
Black on ebony
S-line package
Sunroof
Tech package w/Bluetooth
Premium package
Woohoo!
If you can, please post a photo.
It's not cheap @ 3 grand, but it's really nice looking.
If they never changed this, it would be hunky dory with me -- for the real benefit that would accrue to Audi drivers would come from a better F/R weight distribution, perhaps a lot closer to 50 50 than the NOSE heavy distributions currently offered.
But, to shut the press up (primarily if you asked me, which you didn't), Audi gave in to the Rear Wheel Drive bias is best crowd.
Don't get me wrong, I am ALSO in favor of the RWD bias -- but since I assume this took engineering talent and time -- and MONEY, I would rather that Audi have put such resources into balancing out the car rather than something that I consider (I said "I" -- I am not speaking for the great journalists at all) more for show than go.
Give me an Audi with a near 50 50 weight bias and a 50 50 quattro drive line and leave the competition in the dust.
Better yet, give us both.
I say, more's the pity Audi chose to incorporate RWD bias for their AWD cars first.
But Audi didn't consult with me -- once again! :shades: