Reliability of A4 over Model Years

Thu May 5 10:13:12 PDT 2016

Well this could get long so I'll put the TL;DR up front: I'm happy with the reliability of my 2005.5 A4 (quattro, avant, 2.0T, 6-speed manual).

I bought this car in 2010 with 66k miles, it now has 86k - I mostly ride a bike for my work commute and my wife's Prius gets most of the grocery-shopping miles so I drive it maybe once a week, sometimes not for a couple weeks. My previous cars were a 1988 GTI 16v (owned 1994-2010, 100k-269k mi) and a 1991 200 quattro (owned 1997-2010, 78k-129k). Comparatively the A4 was newer when I got it and has needed less work. I upgraded both older cars to euro headlights and changed out their stereos along with various other upgrades/broken-fixes over time. After doing much of my own work on the older two (oil changes, brake pads, winter/summer wheel swaps) I started going to the dealer for some A4 service (oil changes) due to the handy "service reminder" although I now have VCDS so I could reset that myself. Fine, I'll get a $65 oil change once a year.

I've not been left stranded by any of these cars although there have been some reduced-mobility instances. The A4's was a dealer-botched thermostat change (poor coolant bleeding/filling) where I was able to limp it back to the dealer the next day. The GTI had some transmission rebuild/clutch pressure plate spring issues.

The A4 is a little harder to work on than the older cars due to more-advanced packaging - the HID bulbs are difficult to replace if you happen to have large hands, there's an aero undertray that needs to come off to get to the turbo bypass/diverter valve, etc. Pretty cool to just plug in a Bluetooth module into the back of the RNS-E nav and use VCDS to tell the steering wheel buttons they now have extra functions. I also carry a cheapo OBD2 code reader in the armrest so I can look up codes on my phone. There was an "intake manifold flap motor" code that popped up a month after the most recent oil change which was another dealer service opportunity. It was nice to be alerted to the failing-open thermostat by a code, and the diverter valve which I was able to replace myself. There are supposed to be some carbon-intake-buildup issues with the early direct-injection engines like mine but I haven't experienced that yet.

I'd avoid automatic/tiptronic transmissions on the older A4s because they are getting "older" now. And manuals are just more fun. I looked regionally/nationally for a manual avant 2.0T for several months before happening upon this one that the seller was willing to deliver from 5 hours away because he was coming to my town anyway. Buy as new as you can afford, more service records are better, etc. etc. 

I think that the major engine issues are the sludge on 1.8T and carbon buildup on DI (pre 2012ish when an additional intake tract injector was added). Hopefully the door/trunk/hatch hinge area wiring has been improved from the 200 where I had to splice & solder both front doors and the trunk.

-----Original Message-----
From: quattro [mailto:quattro-bounces at audifans.com] On Behalf Of Dan DiBiase
Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2016 8:25 AM
To: Einhorn Hofmann <einhorn.hofmann at gmail.com>; Quattro List <quattro at audifans.com>
Subject: Re: Reliability of A4 over Model Years

I can certainly comment on the reliability of my 2004 A4 1.8T, which I have owned since new. I've spent almost $14k in maintenance and repairs since Ipicked it up in September of 2003. While it hasn't left me stranded more than once or twice, it HAS been expensive to own and maintain, and considering I haveput very little mileage on it for the past 3 or 4 years, it would probably be worse if I was still driving it 12k or 15k miles a year. I currently have 133k miles on thecar. I am religious about changing the oil every 5k miles.

This also does not include a couple of major warranty items, like replacing first gear in the 6-speed transmission and a new exhaust system from the center mufflerback. And it also needs a new exhaust now, as the center muffler is corroding. I'm also looking at a timing belt (etc) change in about 20k miles, that's a $1k job.

All that said, I love the car and don't ever want to get rid of it. It has everything I want, is still solid as a tank and drives and handles great. It also looks so muchnicer than the new Audi design language with the gargantuan grilles and squared-off lines. My car has the Sport Package, which lowers the car a bit and really givesit a great stance.
The earlier cars with the 1.8T engines ran into sludge issues - although I suspect any car still running has either not had that issue or has been remedied. Personally,I would not buy an older used Audi unless I had the ability to fix most things myself or a large checkbook balance.
Hope this helps.

Dan D'04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6Central NJ USA

      From: Einhorn Hofmann <einhorn.hofmann at gmail.com>
 To: Quattro List <quattro at audifans.com>
 Sent: Thursday, May 5, 2016 8:58 AM
 Subject: Reliability of A4 over Model Years

I'm currently shopping around the city for used audi options to replace my current Audi 100.  I'm wondering if anyone could offer opinions on A4 models across the years.

There's an A4, 2001 for sale, Turbo quattro, 1.8L engine with 5 speed tiptronic transmission for $3600.  The owner has spent close to $6000 on repairs in the past two years.

I can also find an A4 2006 for sale, quattro, but no Turbo.  I'm looking for more details but its listed for $4000.

I have to admit, I haven't followed Audi's beyond the 1980's to very early 90's.  They're so much simpler with less things to worry about, other than the occasional unintended acceleration :-)

MC
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