27th Oct 2010, 20:09

"The funny thing is, the dealer said to me that my lack of care was the cause of all these problems, so the voided my warranty. They claimed that I was not idling the engine before my drives, and that I should idle for at least 5 minutes before I shut the ignition off."

Boy, you'd get a ticket in Colorado for this... You can't even warm a car up there due to the excessive emissions.

You should have gotten a second opinion from a different dealer or private mechanic that you know and trust, and gone back to Audi with your findings to force them to honor your warranty.

17th Mar 2011, 16:01

My Audi S4 is twin turbo, has 370000kms on a completely factory engine, just replaced the original clutch! Timing belts, water pumps and related parts can be costly. The value of German engineering far exceeds the costs associated with maintenance. They are worth fixing. Too bad domestics don’t fall into this category!

18th Mar 2011, 08:38

There is some truth to crappy customer service done at N. American dealerships. For the higher end auto manufacturers, a service quote isn't discussed, the job just gets done because it's assumed that if someone can afford to purchase their cars, they have the $$$ to fix'em up. The more crap that doesn't get pushed through warranty repair, means a higher earning profit for the actual dealership. To combat this, there are many quality independent shops that specialize in Audi/Volkwagen for a fraction of the cost. They use OEM parts, often bought from dealerships at cost prices.

25th Oct 2011, 12:49

Just got an Audi (2006 A4 with 36000 miles). In 6 weeks with less than 6000 miles, it needed 6 qt of oil. Low oil light came on three times before I caught the low oil. Had to check it continuously. The dealer where I bought it said this is OK. The car was a certified Audi used car. I got rid of it in week 7 with a financial loss, but will never buy or recommend an Audi.

1st Nov 2011, 08:43

I bought an 2006 Audi A4 quattro in 2008, which had 79000 kilometers. I had a pre-purchase inspection done by the Audi dealership. I have unfortunately, had nothing but trouble with this car.

It has an extremely loud engine noise, causing everyone to believe it must be a diesel?? After having it to an Audi dealership and 2 Audi mechanics, I have had to change the crankshaft, valves, lifters, and fuel pump, in addition to the timing belt and water pump. Also changed front wheel bearings.

The engine noise is less noticeable, however still very much there! The idle is quite rough. The engine trouble light remains on. The passenger air bag light is on. The trunk does not catch. This has been repaired once already. There is a clunking noise and feel when at the end of braking. The car now has 160000 kilos. I have spent well over $5,000.00 on this car to date, and it still does not run well??

My next car will be a Cadillac CTS, which is much less expensive, and more car than this A4.

In addition, the nonsense that you have to endure from the mechanics, be they from the dealership or otherwise, is ridiculous. No one really knows what causes the poor engine performance, rough idle, and noise, and their solution is to start replacing parts in the hope that they will replace the source of the problem. It is as if these engines are mysterious to them. Very disappointing experience, which I did not expect.

I drove 3 Honda Accords for 5 years each, and only changed the oil and brakes in each case, and always put 25,000 kilometers per year on them. I did not have to spend one cent on them otherwise, and they ran perfectly.

Very unfortunate. When I google the Audi's, I see the same sort of comments??!!

29th May 2012, 23:23

Well my 2008 A4 2.0T must be some sort of freak, because with 76,000 miles on the clock it does not exhibit even the first fault. I check the oil every couple of weeks, because turbo engines use some just by their very nature, but I only have to add about one quart every 5,000 miles, and the oil change interval is a very livable; 10,000 miles (full synthetic 5W40, which is specified by VW/Audi).

I have had this car for a year and a half, and I have put over 25,000 miles on it. It has been wonderful in every way, and I am a happy customer. The dealership made the purchasing experience very enjoyable, and it was my first car purchase. The service has been great. I don't let them stick me for the overpriced inspections and all; I just get them to do the oil changes and plug their computer in for updates to the car's software. I have a dear friend who is a private import mechanic, and will take care of me when it's time for stuff like the timing belt and brakes.