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Comments
Today, what with two or three chip tuners offering direct port programming, that would not be needed.
The reason I had the Audi dealer get involved is I assumed it would not be smart to try to hide something from the dealer. And, I figured, if the dealer had installed it, not me, then any issues could be dealt with.
Changing the chip, per se, is not likely to cause anything untoward to happen to your car. However, if anything goes wrong that CAN be attributed to the chip's effect, well the argument is that you would eat the repair costs.
OK, so you put your chip in and the power steering pump goes out or the brakes warp or the a/c stops working or or or (these are NOT likely to have been caused by the chip) -- Of course if the turbo somehow was made to operate outside of its tolerances (which is supposed to be controlled and NOT allowed to happen) well, you could be left holding the bag.
I chipped a 2000 1.8T motor in an Audi TT to add 15HP and over 90 lb ft of torque. This was called, at the time, a stage I chip (the lowest performance upgrade possible).
I also changed the air filter to a high performance filter (made the engine sound a bit louder under full acceleration). Other than that, the thing was pure stock.
Some folks go nuts and go with Stage II or Stage III chips and whole new exhaust systems and new fuel injection and even larger turbos -- taking that little bitty 1.8T up by hundreds of horsepower. Of course then it needs a new clutch and bigger brakes and on and on and on.
I had no issues, it cost about $500 and it made the car feel stronger, in my opinion, than the 225HP TT's that we replaced our 2000 1.8T 180HP version with.
We did not feel the need to chip the 225HP cars, though, FWIW.
Try a 24 hour test drive with a DPP'd stage one chip -- if you like it, pay for it, if not it will reset itself after the 24 hours and no harm no foul.
On my current 2.7T engine, I did one thing -- replaced the turbos By Pass Valves with Sport By Pass Valves -- the idea being a slightly faster spool up of the turbo boost -- all for $90. I had the dealer do that too.
Audibon
plz help me, give as much as possible, thanks
Our purchase was motivated by the seats more than anything else - they were the only ones my wife could enjoy for several hours at a time. I was concerned about reliablilty issues, but so far only problem was a stuck driver's headrest - factory screwup fixed under warranty. We get 27-29 mgp mixed driving, 34-36 highway on midgrade gas with conservative driving. We are more than pleased with this car! The combination of exceptional seat comfort, more than adequate performance, and surprisingly high gas mileage all for less than 30K has exceeded our expectations. Dealer purchase experience and service (two trips for free, regular service) has also exceeded expectations. So much so that I am considering replacing my very frugal 92 civic Si with a GTi.
While 15,000 is just getting broken in and the reliabilty issue still looms, my wife says she can't imagine getting a different car.
If you want some peace of mind, you should look into Audi's extended warranty program. Since Audi (and other European companies) don't ship as many vehicles and parts over to the US, the cost will be higher than another company (like Honda) who brings in more product inventory to be on hand in the US (and drives the price down). With the extended warranty, you will be protected for most major items in the event of failure after the OEM warranty has expired.
To date, I have replaced every exterior light on my car, TWICE ! My windshield motor burned out two weeks ago. The main computer had to be replaced under warranty, the cd player quit working, the wiper blades rotted and scratched my windshield after owning the vehicle for one month but the dealer would not do anything for me b/c "it was not their problem".
It is quite sad that the Service manager knows me by name b/c I'm there so frequently.
Prior to owning my A4, I had an Acura Integra and never had one problem with the vehicle during it's 5 year tenure. I traded it in with 90k miles on it and the only maintenance items I had done was oil changes and tires.
I now expect the same quality from all of my vehicles.
I am going to cut my loses now before this A4 sends me to the poor house.
I will never recommend Audi to anyone.
Any ideas?
Thanks
I am a new Audi owner and I have found this site and discussion board very helpful! I must admit I never even considered buying an Audi in the past, I have always had an appreciation for their styling but knew very little about them. Until a deal came along that I couldn't pass up. A friend of mine was selling his 2003 A4 1.8 t 5spd silver on black with sport and luxury package with only 25k miles for only 18k (selling due to a new job that req' him to be out of town most months) so I jumped on the deal and it was a big upgrade coming from a 93 Honda Civic SI- so far I am happy with the car I love the interior and exterior styling, and it exudes a subtle class! But just yesterday while driving to the gym the car totally bonked out on me, and I had to re-route and barely made it to the dealership. They said it was a wiring problem with my ignition that caused the severe loss in power. There also have been minor interior cosmetic problems such as peeling on some of the power window buttons and stereo that were more or less fixed. Just wondering to all those more experienced Audi owners, how is the overall long -term reliability of the A4's or Audi's in general? I was pretty happy up until yesterday that is, now I'm second guessing my decision to purchase this car...any words of wisdom from more tenured or loyal Audi owners would be much appreciated!
I have a question about my 1997 Audi A4 1.8T. I recently had my drivers side headlight assembly replaced due to a collision. After having it replaced, I noticed that my passenger side headlight lens is very dirty and now I have the problem of one clean and one dirty headlight. Does anyone know how to clean the lens without having to replace the entire assembly for $250? I have heard that C.L.R. works but if anyone has any other ideas to help match my headlights I would really appreciate it! Thanks
-Heznave
I have a 98 A4 Quattro 1.8T
I had a minor accident but my entire rear bumper came off! I'm trying to determine whether or not I should file a claim with my insurance company or if I should pay for the repairs on my own.
I'm looking for an idea of how much I should expect to pay for new bumper, bumper cover, painting, installation, etc. Am I looking at $1,000 or a lot lot more??
Thanks.
--Linda
That having been written, I wanted to compare notes regarding how others in similar situations negotiated (or attempted to negotiate, if unsuccessful) a 50,000 mile service in spite of being a few days past official warranty expiry. I am interested primarly in cases where people were less than one month past the official date.
Please share!
Jim
With Daimler, as well as certain American and Japanese companies now offering standard warranties ranging from 5 - 7 years, and from 75K to 100K miles, is anyone here aware of any moves on the part of Audi to offer a longer standard warranty? Are there warranties longer than 50K / 4 years already offered in certain countries (I am in the US - here it's 50K/4 years).
Cheers,
Jim
Does anyone have a recommendation on a good place to get it through. I checked the Audi dealership one...but I am assuming that that is typically more expensive than other companies. Any help would be great!
Here are the notable things that I have experienced:
- Catalytic converter went out at about 90k: Not unusual and the non-Audi branded part came to $400.
- Main hydralic brake unit (located in engine compartment) went out: Audi branded part cost me $900.
-Electric valve firing unit (something that manages the valve timing) died: $300 ish.
-Water pump blew: $150 ish.
-In dash LCD screen has been losing its clarity for the past 30k miles; unreadable on warm days (Would cost $500 to replace).
-My Turbo unit's waste gate (allows for excess boost to exit turbo unit on de-accelerations) is bent and making a fluttering sound. Cost to replace stock turbo is $800.
There have been some other "minor" things as well, but these are the big ones. I do love the Audi brand and enjoy the car tremendously. If I was in better financial straights I would probebly lease a new one and enjoy the protection of the warranty. Overall, this car has been very reliable, strong in the snow and rain and has given me greater appreciation for the germanic engineering. I would do it again.
I hope this was helpful!
I just got rid of my 89 Toyota with 240K (owned from new) and am looking to start another 16 year relationship with an A4 (lightly used). My question is whether the 6 is necessary? I'm the kind of driver that sticks to the slow lane and goes about one mile above the limit but my daughter says "Dad this is not about need, its about want." I'm also interested to hear about reliability problems of the turbo versus the unturboed 6.
Thanks for your advice....
Have fun!
I have A4 1.8T Quattro 2002.
Fells like it is lacking some power so I waned to chip it. APR seems to be the one I like.
I really wanted to talk to some one who is done it already.
Couple of questions to you if you mind
Is there I significant power increase? Not the figures but the feel
Did the fuel consumption on average go up much?
Any idea what boost does it runs after been chipped in PSI?
Did you do “stage1” or “stage 1+” ?
What octane rating fuel you put in it now?
Thank you
audi body parts--1.314.638.6040
audi body parts-1.800.624.3876
This is the way it always happens!
By the way, welcome to the club
From what I can tell:
-change oil and oil filter every half period what AUDI recommends!
-use best oil available (I personally go for MOTUL synthetic, racing oil)
-keep an eye on electronics for unusual warnings lights
- MOST IMPORTANT ONE “ ENJOY YOUR CAR, IT IS A FINE ANIMAL”
AUDI A4 1.8T Quattro
Like you, I have just bought a used Audi and am about to embark on the same experience as everyone else who posts here.
It might be of interest to tell others about my buying experience. Here in Canada, the new warranty is 4/80,000 K, that's 48,000 miles to Americans, and Audi certified pre-owns get another 2/80,000, so you get 160,000 km in all. I haven't seen too much mention of this secondary warranty in other posts. Having a lifestyle that doesn't leave room for bringing the car in for repairs, I opted to pay a little more to get a car that was more toward the lightly used side than being well used but cheaper.
I finally settled on two almost identical 2002 3.0 M6's. One had close to 48,000 miles and the other was 24,000 miles. The difference in price was $4800. I suppose you can buy a lot of repairs for that much. I consulted car nuts, previous audi owners and my mechanic and they all said go for the more expensive car.
The high mileage car had the sport package and gorgeous 17 inch Continental aggressive tread pattern tires. The low mileage car had wimpy Michelin Pilot 16 tires. One car said, "I belong to a fast driver." The other car said, "I'm a boulevardier." One car had deeply scored rotors. The other (and this may be a dealer's trick) still had silver paint on the outside edge of the rotors.
I said, how fast can you go in bumper to bumper traffic on the expressway at rush hour? (95% of my driving.)
So, after signing up for some pretty hefty monthly payments, I'm the happy owner of car with about 3 years bumper to bumper warranty and the wimpy tires.
In my former life, the Cressida got me through the first 120,000 miles without a single repair, other than routine maintenance. But the oil seals went at 138,000 and I replaced the engine with a rebuilt model. The new engine immediately leaked just as badly and I had it back under the 6 month warranty. This was a premonition; ultimately the second engine leaked a quart a day at 240,000 on the odometer, which means that it only lasted about 100,000 miles. Even so, I was ready for my third engine, except that there was a long list of maintenance items. So we'll see how this Audi compares.
I know I can install a glove-box changer but they are too expensive at the dealer + I'd rather go w/ an aftermarket trunk unit if pre-wired.
Now, just today, the catalytic convert went out costing around $1,600 to repair. The Audi rep said that if the mileage were not over 80,000 that Audi would cover it with a claim--my cars mileage is 82,000. Does anyone know anything about this catalytic federal law?
Thanks,
Pat
As for your catalytic converter, I will have to see if any info is available online.
Regards,
--MC
I asked about oil leaks, and they haven't noticed any problems in that area. It has about 140,000 kilometers on it. When they got the vehicle it was still under warranty so they had like alot of stuff replaced at that time.
Sorry if I"m asking this in the wrong area.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
All A4s do make an ABS initialization noise just after initial movement. It sounds like running over an empty soda can and it is normal. I found this out on my A4 when I got it and thougth there was a problem.
Regarding the other dash light you would need to find out what one it is and what the underlying problem is.
These are great cars but I would not jump into one before knowing the entire situation and right now this all sounds just too vauge for my liking.
JR
I guess private sales are always a tough thing... so perhaps I could maybe talk to the owner about getting the car checked out or 'safetied' or whatever... let them know I'm willing to pay the difference to have it checked. After getting checked the shop should be able to let me know what problems are with the car and estimated cost to fix everything needed. Sound like the best thing to do?
Like I said, it's a 1998 A4 2.8, going for $11500.00 (Canadian dollars)... i figure a dealer would resell it for much more. Anyone know what this model would resell for at a dealer? I figured maybe that even if I put a few thousand in repairs, it would still be around the 14000-15000 mark which I willing to spend if I know I'm gonna have a good car in the end.
Thanks,
James
Anyway, given the investment you are making I would think that it would be money well spent.
Good luck witht the process and enjoy the car if you do get it.
JR
j
I just had APR Stage 1 upgrade done to my A4 1.8T Quattro B6.
The power increase (judging by acceleration feel) seems to be only about 10-15%. Clamed increase is about +51KW. Which is a big jump from 110KW originally.
I wonder is there something can be possibly wrong with my engine or it is just me been too greedy for power ..
I am used to be a car mechanic in the past so I have a rough idea of how the engines feel like.
It seems that I may need to go to Stage 2 or 3 got get some reasonable power out of it. Which is a bit of shame as I do not want to run the motor under so mach boost.
Looks like to be able to have some fun I will have to get something with the bigger engine.