[BiturboS4] 2001 S4 Mechanical Issues

[Nicholas Mistry]

.. 2001 S4, loaded, no nav here..  ~20k miles on the car right now and
here has been my service history, and unless otherwise noted, covered by
the warranty:

0.  21 miles, Requested that they inspect the Throttle Body Boot before
driving off the lot.  I did not want to drive off w/ a part that was known
to be defective.  They noticed a slight tear and replaced it.  The tear
was not the "usual" failure modes.  The tech said that it seemed as if the
boot was not properly installed.

1.  ~5k, 9k, 12k,  Welts on the sidewall of my Stock Pirelli P6000's.
Replacement was either covered by my warranty, or by the city of boston.
Last winter we had SOOOOOO many potholes.

2a.  ~7k -  Replaced both Eletrochromatic side view mirrors.  They were
not defrosting like they were suposed to.

2b.  ~7k - Shimmed the sunroof rails.  The sunroof would rattle while
driving when in the "tilted up" mode.  Now its much more quiet.

3.  ~15k - Replaced Battery.   Car would not hold a charge for more than 2
days. (i travel lots)  Dealer suspected my Valentine V1 to have some
current draw while off, but after removing it from the car completely, it
still sustained the same problems.  After the new battery, i dont have any
problems.

4.  ~18k - Symphony Radio shuts off for 1/2 second then back on again
intermittently.  I noticed this happening since i bought the car, but
shrugged it off as being an illusion b/c there was never any interuption
to the audio.   Finally i was playing a cd, in the in dash cd player, and
after the flicker it would jump back to the beginning of the cd.  The
dealer is STILL trying to fix this ....  I have brought it in 3 times for
this problem, and every time i drive out w/ the same head unit b/c the
replacement is worse than what i have.   Go figure..

All in all, not that bad.  I am definitely happy with the service
requirements up till now!

-Nick











> H folks,
>
> I'm brand new to the Audi list here and I haven't been a participant on
> a list in several years. I have a 01 S4 Sedan (nav, 6-speed, loaded) all
> stock except for the Pole Positions and the short shift. I have 36,000
> miles on the car and drove it off the lot in March of 2001.
>
> In that time I have had the following work done on the car under
> warranty. I have the fluids replaced and all service with red line and
> love the difference.
>
> 7,000 miles - windshield wiper pump stopped working after it developed a
> leak, took three refills to notice. Haven't had a problem since.
>
> 11,000 miles - Remote entry/alarm stopped responding to remote signals,
> replaced the receiver and some other bits, still causes problems.
>
> 18,000 miles - developed shimmy and squeak on braking, replaced the
> front 8 brake pads as two were crumbling along the edges.
>
> 31,125 miles - replaced all brake pads, rotors after discovering 11
> different visible (with wheels on the car, in dim light) cracks in the
> rotors for all four wheels. The car had just come back from a major
> inspection the day before.
>
> 36,000 - Ignition column is having to be replaced due to a short that
> drains the battery over the course of two days or so. This had been
> causing problems with starting, I assumed it was just cold as the
> temperature dropped. I'm also having to replace the cam shaft position
> sensor, which has been the culprit for rough idling and vibration in the
> shaft during deceleration scenarios. Been a real pain in the butt to
> diagnose - until the check engine light finally came on.
>
> All in all, I'm very unhappy with the maintenance requirements for the
> car. I drive it hard, but... I think it should have been built with
> better parts, or with higher tolerances. I don't really know very much
> about the parts, but I base this on my 10 years of BMW ownership and
> that my 2001 330i has needed nothing but basic service in 30,000 miles
> and is driven just as hard.
>
> I'd like to hear some open minded opinions, other people's input and
> experiences with the late model S4's. My plan is to ride it through
> warranty and then begin modifying the car with top quality parts. No
> plans on racing yet, just in improving performance and learning.
>
> Thanks very much for your input and hello to the community.
>
>
> Yours,
>
> Erik Engstrom
> Point Richmond, CA, USA
>
> ps. I have a New England nav system CD I'd love to trade for a
> California CD.
>
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