[BiturboS4] Blown Turbos (Non-Chipped S4) - Update

[j y]

To The List,

Thanks for ALL the replies - even those I've had
political battles with ;-) on the board(we've agreed
to disagree offline - that's the beauty of FREE
societies - all over this planet - enuf politics).

Anyway, I am the FIRST owner - took the car with 200
mi on the odometer (it was driven from another Audi
dealer to the Dealer who sold it to me - Dealer
Trade). No, it has NEVER been CHIPPED - I should know
- the $$$$ would come out of my pocket.

The TBB (throttle body boot) was replaced at 7k mi
(yes - the infamous tear) by the same Audi Dealer I
will probably battle now (also the dealer who sold me
the car).

I replaced the Bosch DVs with Stratmoshpere DVs about
7k mi ago. I would not be surprised if Audi tries to
blame the blown turbo(s) on aftermkt DVs.

I just replaced the OEM TBB (the one that replaced the
original at 7k mi) with a SAMCO TBB today (that's one
of the reasons why i went to AWE - they would be more
agreeable to checking out my real problem - the
turbo(s) - if I spent some $ with them - it worked -
they did a VAG SCAN and street test - confirmed my
hunch).

Well...I am ready to do battle with Audi USA...this
happened to close to the warranty expiration for me
NOT to fight them. Plus, the S4 TURBO PROBLEM is WELL
documented. Like an AudiWorld poster said "Audi should
own up like BMW did...when they put inferior engines
in the USA version of the E46 M3..and had many
customers bombarding dealers with complaints/claims."

Most S4 cars that have experienced blown turbos were
chipped - thus having boost levels - above stock
tolerances - in theory - making the turbos work
harder, thus stressing them, and causing premature
wear.

As far I am concerned, I put no excessive boost stress
on my engine for the turbo(s) to fail at 52k mi.

Like I said before, I chipped my 951 Porsche at 120k
mi (currently has 126k mi) and have been running at
stock boost (8 PSI) and above stock (12-13 PSI) with
no outward signs of turbo failure. You would think
that tired old turbo (17 yrs old - I am the 2nd owner)
would show signs of boost stress immediately.

jy



--- Scott <stiles_s at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Sorry to hear about your problems. Were you the
> first owner? Are you *sure*
> it's never been chipped? I'm sure they'll do
> everything they can to ferret
> out whether it's been modded in any way. RS4 shift
> knob? Turbo warranties
> voided (kidding).
>
> Even more reason why my wife's 2000 S4 (with 20k
> miles) is getting an
> extended warranty this weekend. Her warranty runs
> out next month...
>
> Good luck,
> Scott.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: biturbos4-admin at audifans.com
> [mailto:biturbos4-admin at audifans.com] On
> Behalf Of j y
> Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2003 1:52 PM
> To: biturbos4
> Subject: [BiturboS4] Blown Turbos (Non-Chipped S4) -
> Update
>
> Well Folks,
>
> My worst fear was confirmed today. Before taking my
> beloved Y2K Imola S4 to the Audi dealer - I opted to
> get an INDEPENDENT opinion - first.
>
> While doing some other work (at 52.9k mi - it's out
> of
> warranty) on my S4, I asked AWE (reputable Audi
> Tuner
> that is well known) to confirm my suspicions about
> the
> HIGH pitched siren like whine coming from my engine
> compartment when acclerating (becomes very
> noticeable
> at 2k RPMs and above).
>
> Their professional opinion - Your S4 didn't throw
> any
> VAG codes BUT - IT HAS NO BOOST TO SPEAK OF - PLUS
> THE
> HIGH PITCHED WHINE - Buddy - We think you blew your
> turbo(s)- Call AUDI - since you are so close to the
> warranty expiration and you've NEVER CHIPPED the
> car.
>
> I called the Audi dealer who sold me the car and has
> serviced it from the beginning. Their response -
> "YOU
> ARE THE FIRST 2.7 to REPORT THIS PROBLEM TO US. CAN
> WE
> CALL YOU BACK?"
>
> Approximately 1/2 later, I receive a call from the
> Service Rep (the one who took my call originally).
> Again, the conversation goes like this:
>
> AUDI: "SIR - AGAIN, WE'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED THIS
> PROBLEM WITH 2.7 ENGINES."
>
> ME: Yeah..well Audi World.com is littered with
> emails
> from 2.7 engine owners who have blown turbos and
> it's
> well documented. It's been traced to oil inlet and
> other associated problems.
>
> AUDI: "CAN U HOLD FOR A MINUTE?"
>
> ME: Sure.
>
> AUDI: "HOW DO YOU KNOW IT'S A BLOWN TURBO?"
>
> ME: I had an inpendent shop look at the car. AWE.
> You
> know them (this dealer and AWE have done some work
> in
> the past).
>
> AUDI: "WELL..CAN U BRING THE CAR TO US ON APRIL 16th
> FOR DIAGNOSIS?"
>
> ME: Only..if I get a loaner car
>
> AUDI: "OK..IF IT IS A BLOWN TURBO..THE BEST WE CAN
> DO
> IS 50% ON PARTS/LABOR" - Note: They have NOT even
> seen
> the car at this point - but they did pull my
> maintenance history up on their computer.
>
> ME: ok...April 16th..Loaner Car....I AM NOT
> ACCEPTING
> A 50/50 DEAL...YOU COMPLETE YOUR DIAGNOSIS ON APRIL
> 16th...THEN WE TALK ABOUT RESPONSIBILITY...THIS CAR
> "NEVER" HAS BEEN CHIPPED or HAD THE BOOST INCREASED.
> THERE ARE MANY POSTINGS ON AUDI WORLD ABOUT S4 TURBO
> FAILURE. I AM ONLY 2k MI OUT OF WARRANTY. I FOLLOWED
> "ALL" AUDI RECOMMEDED MAINTENANCE - AT YOUR
> DEALERSHIP. I DO NOT FEEL ANY LIABILITY HERE."
>
> AUDI: "SEE YOU ON APRIL 16th."
>
> Stay tuned boyz and gurlz.
>
> jy
> 00 S4 Aggressive Imola
> 86 951 Porsche
>
>
>
>
>
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