Hi all. Just doing up a list of faults and buying advice.  If you have any more from your experience..,,,please add them and then we can do a final addition and keep the page saved. It might help new comers

Common Faults - Engine / Gearbox

Alternator Clutch - There is a Vibration heard when steering while stationary. 

1.8T 

A few of the older 1.8T engines seem to be giving problems. If services were missed or cheap oil used, sludge builds up and blocks the oil pickup as Dougall said above. Then starves the engine of oil and kills it. If your 1.8T is a few years old its worth a oil pressure test or even changing the oil pickup as a service item. In America the 1.8T oil sludge problem has been recognised and Audi are willing to repair free of charge, but only when customers can provide a full service schedule with the proper oil being used. If the recommended oil hasnt been used - then Audi say its your own fault.

2.0Tdi

The 2.0Tdi early engines - with cylinder head numbers v330 v320 v125 v130. The heads crack, and its seen with a loss of coolant. Replacement head needed

 This is really for the B7- 2005 - 2008 2.0 CR Tdi. BLB engine code

Heard of this common problem, chain seems to break and wrap itself around the cam pulley and stopping the engine

1.9 & 2.0 Tdi

TDI's with overly slow pick-ups when cold, rough idle, har to keep it going - EGR valve clogged.  Take it off (really hard to get to the 3rd allen key bolt) brake cleaner/degreaser, a toothbrush, lots of rags and old clothes(!)  Don't forget a new O ring when replacing or you'll get oil all over the engine bay - like me.

Recently there has been a increase in forum members having a vibration on idle and throughout the rev range. If the noise varies when the clutch is up or down, there is a good chance that the clutch release bearing and or the Flywheel is at fault. The cost of changing a clutch and flywheel is huge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX4m2fiDq9U&feature=related Example of this

Thermostat stuck open - Poor mpg due to engine taking ages to warm up and struggling to get to or hold at 90 degrees C

Maf - Poor power and MPG

Engine temperature sensor - low mpg

Slipping clutch - When in a higher gear and full throttle the revs shoot up without the car speeding up - seen here in this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dej9Red8GJc

Tdi needs full service history with Vw spec oil - Vw/ Audi longlife has to graded 507, and fixed interval 505.01

An example:

2.0Tfsi engine faults

High pressure fuel pump cam follower on the 2.0 TFSI needs regular changing.

Diverter valve diaphragm splitting on the 2.0 TFSI engines

Suspension / bodywork

Suspension arm bushing wear, the rubber bushing at the end wears and the Entire arm must be replaced. They are quite expensive too. Worth checking them visually and then for noises on rough roads.

Electrical Faults

Saloon rear number plate lights get rusty and won' come out when you need to change the bulb - no solution, I'll et you know when I find one.

Saloon - poor radio reception - aerial amplifier needs replacing (most of the time, check out the obvious things first before replacing!)

Saloon - heated rear window - if inoperative, check screw behind rear offside C pillar - the screw that makes the connection can vibrate itself loose

Faulty Aircon - This will be seen by the Econ light staying on even when pressed. This indicates a fault in the HVAC system, which may be as simple as low gas in the system or a pressure sensor, to a leaking compressor.

Beeping from rear of car - alarm battery needs replacing.

Drivers / passenger door wiring breaks down and results in faulty locking / E windows not working etc.

Airbag light as a result of bad connection under front seats

Further Buying Advice

Always ensure that the service history is legitimate. There are fake service manuals circulating so ring the dealership to check on its history.

Always perform checks with companies that check with the DVLA.

With the Tdi inspect the colour of exhaust smoke. A small amount of black is normal. Excess black = normally a boost leak.  Blue / White = worn turbo bearings.

 Fsi  High pressure pump Faults

http://uk-audis.net/forums/p/3151/23960.aspx#23960

 fantastic mate thanks alot will help me with my quest to buy an A4 over the next month or so

p.s love the signature totaly true ha ha

thanks

mark

Here is abit more info for the 2.0 Tdi PD engines.

https://sites.google.com/site/1810martin/siemens-pd-piezo-injectors

Seems the Siemens Piezo injectors shoot themselves and damage the DPF on the way too.

Heard of quite a few with this problem, so heads up!

^ Another reason to skip the 2.0TDI and get a 3.0 V6!

 There seems all the reasons in the world not to get the 2.0! was abit of a bad idea!

3.0 ftw

the 1.9 pd engines have a comon problem with the fuel pump on the back of the head causng them to be slugggish to start also the 130 pd turbos on the mk4 golf tdi were weak so would asume there the same on the a4

benji...

as far as im concerned buying anything bigger than a 2.0l tdi 140 or 170 is just pissing money up against the wall unless you have a very big caravan or towing a masive trailer and need the extra horse, im not saying i wouldnt like to have a thursty, over powered, costly car to run back and for to work in but think id rather save the cash on the likes of fuel, tax and insurance that i dont have to use compaired to what a person would have to spend with a larger engined vehicals, this is why i wouldnt go for a 3.0l tdi this also gose for having an automatic or a quattro both awsome bits of tech but is it realy nessasery? ok an auto is great iv had a few but iv ALWAYS had more fun in a manual and been more hapy when it comes to fill up time aswell MPG in an auto is pants compaired to manual ad tax cost is unreal my 2.0l tdi 170 manual is £155pa to tax an auto of the same car same engine is £250pa!!!! and the quattro add mor weight to the car uses more fuel again coosts more tto insure costs more to tax  gose through tires faster more things to go wrong only advantage would be in snow but for two to three months of the year i think ill stuggle by with a front wheel drive??

thanks

mark

Each to their own and all that eh?  The 3.0 TDI I have my eye on is attached to the A5 and the combined mpg for that is 42.8.  On my current car it's 43, so it's roughly as thirsty as my 1.9TDI.  It's also the same car tax, so no weeing money up against the wall there. (apart from the 350 yards/gallon extra I get with the current car)

Insurance is a different matter.  It's about £80 extra per year - but by the time I buy one (unless I change my mind again) I think my financial state will be such that I can take that hit.

Auto - totally agree.  Don't like it.  Had it on a Merc S Class and it couldn't decide if it was coming or going.

Quattro - having had a car with (true) quattro for 2.5yrs, I won't go back to 2wd if I can help it.  The mpg you lose because of it is worth it in my opinion as it's got me out of a few scrapes.  Take a corner too fast, back/front goes, put your foot down a bit, car snaps back into place** (I've done it a few times - not deliberately.  It's really good.  Same goes for pulling away in the wet (or dry) in a car with 310Nm torque - no spin, confident, predictable acceleration and handling.  Even just a quick pull away from a junction in the dry.  It's a great system, I suggest you live with it for a while and see what you think - unless you have?  As for the extra tax you have to pay with quattro, it's £25 a year with my current car, so again, I think I can take that hit.  No extra servicing required for cars with torsen quattro.  Tyres are definitely worse, it depends on driving, but they're definitely an extra expense.  Something I am happy to pay. Just out of interest, 1/3 of all Audi vehicles today are sold with quattro, so it can't be that bad a system to live with.

All in all, a 3.0TDI would cost me roughly £100 a year extra to run.  Very happy with that.  All depends on your opinion though, and luckily we're all entitled to our own.

 your 1.9 tdi is no a very enviro engine anyway so going from the 1.9 to the 3.0 tdi you prob wont see much of a differance in cost as you said £100pa where as i had a 1.9tdi 150 golf 2003 and changed to the 2.0l tdi 170 and it dosnt cost me anyy more to run in the long run the 2.0l seems to use its fuel better and seems to be able to deliver a better torque curve than the 1.9 low end i.e  40-50 miles an hour 6t gear i can overtake with ease in the 2.0l plenty of torque wheere as the 1.9 id have to change down a gear?

try a 2.0 170 before going for the 3.0 could be surprised at power delivery fair enough its not going to be the same as the 3.0 but still good its briliant in my A4

p.s A5 most jelous one of them in  red sline kit black leather plus all te toys oh f##k ye!!!!

Yeah, I see what you mean, my 1.9 was a bit sluggish, but luckily I have had it mapped, so it's nice and torquey (when I want it to be.

The 1.9 seemed to be the 'bread and butter' of the vag group for a while, they put it in any car they could find!  Seems the 2.0 has taken over from that now (though they're being more sensible with where they use it. 

I should probably point out that the 1.9TDI quattro does 1mpg better than the 2.0TDI (170) quattro - which means that the B7 is in the next tax band up.  Figures are identical for the 2WD options (except the B6 is in a lower insurance band & has less torque/more 0-60))

i sposeits all to do with what you realy want, if i had the cash id prob still have the same engine but get the 2.0 tdi 170 with a DSG box with the F1 style paddels, with leather trim, winter pack and sat nav but i was a few grand short for that lolol maby next time.

speeking of DSG box's i know they are pritty good in petrols a bit jerky for just calm driving but amazing while hoofing it, im just not sure how it would be with a deisel with its boost dump at every gear change (change gear and there is a slight lag till the turbo spools back up to full boost again) seens these engines dont have an anti-lags system like you get on mitsubishi evo's but maby with the low end torque of these engines without  the turbo bosting fully it would be good???

thanks

mark

I would imagine that if, when you changed up, you stayed above the magic 1.9k/2.0k (depending on your particular engine) you would be fine as DSG removes the drop in revs associated with a traditional gear change.

I like the new Ford Focus ad where the mention their version of DSG and how it's the most advance gearbox they've ever made... and VAG did it 6+ years ago!

 that is why ford are crap ha ha we have them at our work at there a never ending problems lolol

Hi ... I have the 4 beeps from the back of the car...just wondering when you say that the alarm battery needs replacing is it in the key fob (as that only works v intermittently too) or whether there's a separate alarm battery in the car somewhere?

Thanks

Dan

Deeb11:

Hi ... I have the 4 beeps from the back of the car...just wondering when you say that the alarm battery needs replacing is it in the key fob (as that only works v intermittently too) or whether there's a separate alarm battery in the car somewhere?

Thanks

Dan

Hello, Here's a guide.