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Audi A4 Maintenance and Repair

2367 messages,  Last post on May 16, 2013 at 8:34 AM

You are in the Audi A4 Forum.

What is this discussion about? Audi A4, Convertible, Sedan, Wagon

    
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Messages Page 156 of 238

#1544 of 2367 Audi A4 1.8 2001 Cam follower or Lifter startup clatter by pchi

Jul 02, 2007 (7:42 pm)

have a 2001 A4 1.8, 87K miles, that on start up has a cam follower clatter for about 6 seconds or so, just started this a few weeks ago. I know these lifters have a tendency to seep oil and thus need to be reoiled on start up but how do you pin down which lifter or lifters needs replacing and what would the time be to replace the faulty part. Are any special "audi" tools required. I recently did an oil change with 0/40 synthetic with an expensive K&N oil filter. Is there a special oil filter required to prevent lifter leak down??? Is the K&N over kill and should I have gone with a thicker oil. Any Audi techs out there that are familiar with this.

#1545 of 2367 Re: Audi A4 1.8 2001 Cam follower or Lifter startup clatter [pchi] by shipo

Jul 02, 2007 (8:08 pm)

Replying to: pchi (Jul 02, 2007 7:42 pm)
"Is the K&N over kill..."
 
No, it's simply a complete waste of money, just keep using factory filters. Period, full stop, the end.
 
"...and should I have gone with a thicker oil?"
 
Nope, the Mobil 1 0W-40 is perfect for your car.
 
Best Regards,
Shipo

#1546 of 2367 Re: Audi A4 1.8 2001 Cam follower or Lifter startup clatter [pchi] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jul 03, 2007 (9:40 am)

Replying to: pchi (Jul 02, 2007 7:42 pm)
Bingo! DONT USE aftermarket oil filters with an Audi engine!
 
I bet if you put the Audi filter in, your noise will go away or diminish.

#1547 of 2367 Re: 2004 A4 1.8T Quattro 6sp manual clutch failure at 29k [christian78] by cneff

Jul 04, 2007 (12:21 pm)

Replying to: christian78 (Jul 02, 2007 12:37 pm)
Christian78 and anyone else that had dealings with Audi
 
Thanks for the results of the story...it brings back memories. I have a few posts here related to my Audi experience which they called "unique", but reading all of the complaints, etc it seems many of us are enjoying these "unique" experiences.
 
It seems it is not the car but the company. Audi seems unable or refuses to take ownership for the failures and fault(s) of their vehicles as well as dealers. It appears to be a common behavioral trait with them.
 
I also contacted the BBB after my car was in the shop 45 consecutive days. Audi responded by offering some lease reimbursement though it never happened. I of course followed up and the smoke screen began to grow. I then emailed and called Audi's PR and Marketing team (info can be found on the web). Amazing how quickly Audi management called me, apparently I got people above the normal customer service group and they promised to help me - they told me they were the part of the team that steps in when issues are not being resolved via normal customer service channels. I admit I was relieved, but unfortunately, as most of you experienced, nothing materialized but more stall tactics and fluff. I wanted so much to believe in them and the brand but after two more months of excuses and the car failing it was over.
 
I did not hesitate any longer, I got an attorney (ignored Audi's disappointment in that act - yes disappointment - who is the customer?) Went to court, before arbitration Audi quickly presented a settlement (they made an offer and met my counter). The whole thing seemed pointless since all they had to do over a year ago was fix the darn car.
 
My point is do not hesitate with Audi, their tactic is to stall you, like their cars. Going after Audi is a horrible thing to go through and takes a lot of hours and work on your part, but we are talking principal here. We are the customer, we are paying for an expensive car, we deserve a little respect. Audi brags about increased market share, a report came out the other year that showed a % of repeat customers among makes, Audi was near the bottom, very telling.
 
Some advice: always go through the proper channels first with the dealer and Audi Customer Care and document everything - it will help you later. I discovered Audi customer service reps keep horrible records. When you negotiate with Audi and you have a copy of an Audi document and they do not it helps you a great deal.
 
Good luck to all in similar situations.....as a wrap up, I had further dealings with Audi, the car was still under warranty and I was pushing for a fix, Audi said they would only repair what was covered by warranty. What I did was call Customer Service each and every time I had a failure (got to know everyone pretty well) plus I took the car to the dealer at least twice a week and Audi paid for the loaner and warranty repair - I followed their procedures. Audi's team that dealt with me before the court experience called me and arranged an expert from Germany (no kidding) to look at the car. Apparently the expense of warranty claims and my failure claims via the Customer Care line was getting to them . The experts had it for two weeks and the car came back with 30 plus pages of repairs. After I still experienced about 50% of my issues until returning the car at lease end last year.

#1548 of 2367 Re: 1995 audi A4 1800cc immobiliser [joseph12] by shannon1975

Jul 04, 2007 (2:15 pm)

Replying to: joseph12 (Feb 11, 2006 9:23 am)
hi iv exactly the same problem did you manage to sort it out if so could you tell me how please any help would be much appreciated
many thanks
shannon

#1549 of 2367 Re: Audi A4 1.8 2001 Cam follower or Lifter startup clatter [Mr_Shiftright] by pchi

Jul 05, 2007 (6:22 pm)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jul 03, 2007 9:40 am)
Thanks for the advice, I'll buy an Audi filter tomorrow and put it on and cross my fingers. Appreciate it. On another point is it very difficult replacing the window washer bottle. It looks like it does not just slip right out.

#1550 of 2367 Re: Audi A4 1.8 2001 Cam follower or Lifter startup clatter [pchi] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jul 05, 2007 (6:24 pm)

Replying to: pchi (Jul 05, 2007 6:22 pm)
Hmmm...might be bolted down below there. I don't recall. Yes let us know if the new oil filter helped.

#1551 of 2367 Re: Audi A4 1.8 2001 Cam follower or Lifter startup clatter [Mr_Shiftright] by pchi

Jul 10, 2007 (6:51 pm)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jul 05, 2007 6:24 pm)
Put the new factory filter on, (same price as the over priced K&N filter $13.00) and topped off the oil with the 0/40 mobil 1, did not help.
Went to a shop today and asked a question about the clatter situation, they said Audis have a tendancy to creat sludge and the oil screens need to be cleaned to maintain oiling and oil pressure. If you go to a picture of the cam chain tensioner you will see a small oval hole that is critical to oiling, this hole has a screen in it and the clatter is due to chain noise untill the oil starts flowing and quite often it starts to sludge up. They seemed to be pretty knowledgeable on this and said it was due to sludge. If you can clean the cam tensioner screen its supposed to help the problem. Then I guess you go after the pickup screen if the first screen does not help. They said even if you are excellent at changing your oil it will still sludge. Good reason to NEVER put in regular oil.
Another friend of mine suggested I put a quart of Marvelous Mystery oil in it and drive it for 30 or 40 miles then change the oil. He has built many exotic car engines. I will give that a try in the next few days.
Thanks for your help.

#1552 of 2367 Re: Audi A4 1.8 2001 Cam follower or Lifter startup clatter [pchi] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jul 11, 2007 (8:05 am)

Replying to: pchi (Jul 10, 2007 6:51 pm)
Okay....yes they are right in that synthetic oil is a great way to avoid sludging, especially in that engine, if that indeed is your problem. But drive the car a bit before doing anything else. Synthetic is a great idea, and factory filters, too. It all helps. Too bad it wasn't so simple in this case, but be patient, you might resolve this. Sounds like you are getting good advice. This "clatter" is not necessarily a sign of doom or anything but sludge is a known issue in this engine.

#1553 of 2367 Audi 2006 A4 Cab Tire Monitor Problems by jwdlem

Jul 11, 2007 (4:43 pm)

I have a 2006 A4 with under 11,000 miles. Beginning at 4,000 miles the Tire Pressure Monitoring system randomly indicated a catastrophic tire failure or failure of the monitoring system. None of the dozens of times this has occurred have any of the tires been out of recommended pressure range nor has the spare. It has been back to Audi 4 times for about 20+ days in the shop to fix it. They have seen the warnings but never been able to get a "hard code" so say they can not fix it. Audi of America will not replace any of the components without the hard code. Has anyone else experienced similar problems? Thanks!

Messages Page 156 of 238

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