Update on the S4 Recently Purchased

[alex_baker]

Hi all, I thought I'd update the forum on my experience with the S4 I bought a couple of weeks ago.

Settling into my first Audi and coming from BMW's, I'm really enjoying the refinement and general build quality of the B8 S4 Avant. It's a lot of car for what I paid (£9.6k). It's on 117k miles with high spec (drive select, sports diff, electric tailgate, red & black sports seats, electric heated folding mirrors, pano roof, sun blinds, B&O sound system, nav, heated electric seats up front, garage door opener, adaptive xenons, etc).

I got £1200 off the asking price of the car because the seller (who hadn't had the car long at all and buys / sells cars as a semi-retirement hobby) and I agreed that after toothcombing the service history, things weren't done that probably needed doing. E.g. there was no record of the control arms ever being replaced, and the gearbox was only recorded as having had one service at around 110k miles. It was also due a major service and hadn't been used regularly in a year or so.

Test driving before I bought didn't reveal any clunks from the front end, or any gearbox issues whatsoever. As is tradition though, as soon as I got the car home and started using it I noticed clunking on full lock at the front end, as well as a few gremlins with the gearbox (judder on a hill start once, sometimes hesitates going from P or N to D). Otherwise the S-Tronic worked perfectly on manual mode and with the kickdown, etc, with no clunks when put under load. I also noticed a slight hesitation or misfire on cold start first time of the day. Only does it once a day if used every day.

I took it into Euro Performance in South Wales last week to have a major service done. I took the tech out to a nearby hill to try and replicate the S-Tronic hill start judder which we couldn't replicate, so that was a good sign ref clutch wear. When I left though, he experienced a gearbox fault message on the dash (not done that since I've had it).

Here's what's wrong with the car and needs doing:

-Gearbox: they read the fault codes and saw U010100 - Lost Comms with TCM (passive / sporadic), P174000 - Clutch Temp Monitoring (passive / sporadic) - along with a few other non-gearbox related past faults in the car's memory.
-Suspension: As suspected, upper and lower control arms could all do with replacing up-front. Brake reaction arm bushes are fine for now, although one is starting to show very early signs of perishing
-Engine: They noted 1 non-genuine no-name coil pack which could be the reason for the misfire. The power steering pump is also leaking, which was noted from a £6k bill I have for the car when it had the timing chains / guides and other things replaced at Volksmaster. They fitted a new PS hose but the pump itself seems to be leaking
-Other stuff: Slight oil leak from the diff output seal, but very slight weep - not major. Both rear coil springs corroded but not impacted structurally

So far to replace control arms, carry out a major service (with brake fluid change) and investigate the gearbox faults I'm the best part of £2.5k deep in repair costs!

Not the most ideal start to S4 ownership, but I really do hope the gearbox issue is not a major wallet killer. So far I have to say that Euro Performance have been fantastic.

Oh and PS: When I dropped the Audi off at EP, my partner followed me in my E46 and on the way home, the throttle position sensor decided to die on us, so I'm currently without a car until my £308 throttle assembly from BMW arrives and I can fit that....

 

[Ajwhite]

Hey Alex, welcome!

I too am fairly new to S4 ownership, coming up to a year almost!

c£9k for an S4 seems very good! But reading this forum amongst others does highlight that preventative maintenance is key and 110k before the gearbox was done could mean some future headaches .

£12k all in for having it repaired and put right seems like a worthwhile investment. Depends how long you are wanting it for?

I had mine serviced recently, major service and brake fluid was about £430 & it needs a new pcv so that's another £450. So best part of £1000 and nothing is really wrong with it but worth it imo, it's great to drive

Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[Dippy]

Whilst the hill start judder does point to clutchpack wear, the P174000 implies an issue with the sensor and/or wiring rather than overheating. The dates of the DTCs are relevant - sometimes they can be old and so not necessarily indicative of a current issue. But at 117K miles with only one ATF change at 110K those clutchpacks might be in poor shape. Time will tell.

 

[alex_baker]

Hey Alex, welcome!

I too am fairly new to S4 ownership, coming up to a year almost!

c£9k for an S4 seems very good! But reading this forum amongst others does highlight that preventative maintenance is key and 110k before the gearbox was done could mean some future headaches .

£12k all in for having it repaired and put right seems like a worthwhile investment. Depends how long you are wanting it for?

I had mine serviced recently, major service and brake fluid was about £430 & it needs a new pcv so that's another £450. So best part of £1000 and nothing is really wrong with it but worth it imo, it's great to drive

Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk

I'm planning on keeping it for quite a while, providing it doesn't present me with any seriously major gearbox related bills! I bought the car because we're expecting our first baby in September, so needed something with a big boot. I love the way it drives and it's a very capable car. I sometimes get so obsessed with getting a car right, that I forget how much money I'm ploughing into it to make it perfect, but I do agree - it's still a hell of a lot of car for the money. If you look at the equivalent age of BMW on offer with similar spec, there's no comparison when it comes to value for money with an S4!

 

[alex_baker]

Whilst the hill start judder does point to clutchpack wear, the P174000 implies an issue with the sensor and/or wiring rather than overheating. The dates of the DTCs are relevant - sometimes they can be old and so not necessarily indicative of a current issue. But at 117K miles with only one ATF change at 110K those clutchpacks might be in poor shape. Time will tell.

Yes I think that stacks up. The clutch temp code only came up in the fault history once, and isn't an active fault. The "Lost Comms with TCM" fault has come up numerous times, so that points to a potentially ongoing issue that needs resolving more imminently. I just hope it doesn't point to a mechatronics replacement as I could do without the financial headache so soon into ownership!

 

[Dippy]

As you may have seen there's lots to be found about this gearbox on the web. This is worth reading:

2012 Audi A6 3.0TDI (C7) TCM No Communication

Hi, I am looking for some advice on my current situation As you can probably tell from the title, it's a worrying time and im looking for some reassurance from all you knowledgeable people out there :) I will start by giving a background story to my woes; -One day my car decided to throw up a...

forums.ross-tech.com

 

[alex_baker]

As you may have seen there's lots to be found about this gearbox on the web. This is worth reading:

2012 Audi A6 3.0TDI (C7) TCM No Communication

Hi, I am looking for some advice on my current situation As you can probably tell from the title, it's a worrying time and im looking for some reassurance from all you knowledgeable people out there :) I will start by giving a background story to my woes; -One day my car decided to throw up a...

forums.ross-tech.com

Thanks very much for this. Well worth reading indeed! I'm expecting a call from the specialist this afternoon with their update on the gearbox diagnosis.

 

[alex_baker]

Quick update on this. I've had a comprehensive video explanation back from the specialist today mainly regarding the gearbox diagnosis. Their opinion is not good, and that it requires a new mechatronics unit. I'm going to visit them tomorrow and discuss cost, as in addition to the front control arms and a major service, they also found one short-circuited engine mount and a power steering leak (which from an old service record I knew about, advising the then owner that the pump itself was leaking).

They reached this conclusion on the gearbox by checking fault codes against Audi service bulletins, including a symptom-specific software update. That's been eliminated as my car already has the software update meant to fix some similar gremlins. That leaves them with a list of symptoms that point to a new mech unit.

I'm not looking forward to discussing cost with them, that's for sure. At this stage I'm leaning towards going ahead with as much as I can afford, gearbox included, because of the high and very rare spec on the car. If stacked up against the cost of lesser specified S4s of similar mileage and age, I'd make a loss selling this with a gearbox fault, leaving me with less cash to put towards one without as many issues (and even that's not guaranteed with a pre 2013 S4 gearbox).

I'm seeing it as a once and done list of jobs, for me to finally enjoy the car for what it is.

 

[Dippy]

Is this a 2009-2011 car? The early gearboxes did suffer from mechatronics problems. There is a mechatronic repair kit available.
But did I misread something? I thought that your problems were TCU comms and a possible clutchpack slip.
Mechatronics is all about gearchanges.

 

[alex_baker]

Is this a 2009-2011 car? The early gearboxes did suffer from mechatronics problems. There is a mechatronic repair kit available.
But did I misread something? I thought that your problems were TCU comms and a possible clutchpack slip.
Mechatronics is all about gearchanges.

Thanks. So there are a few things here that I experienced - and yes, it's a 2010 car, in the catchment of those with known 0B5 gremlins:

1) Hesitation or delay when selecting reverse or drive, either from one another when manoeuvring as well as selecting either reverse or drive from neutral / park when stationary. On 1 or 2 occasions related to this, it felt like the car failed to select what I was asking it to the first time, or hesitated at the very least.
2) Only once did I experience what I'd describe as a 'judder' when I was in stop start traffic up a slight incline, when exiting an underground car park. The car had the auto hill hold on if that helps add context. I wasn't letting it creep and was applying revs.

On point 2, I sat in the car with one of the technicians and we drove to an incline to try and replicate the judder and we couldn't. The car crept up the hill with no revs fine, and when I applied revs there was no judder.

At no point did any warning appear on the DIS for me when experiencing these issues. However, since being with the specialist the DIS has shown the "transmission fault..... can continue to drive...etc" message once of twice when they'd been trying to replicate my issue. I also don't recall any slippages with the clutch when changing gear or slowing down either in auto or manual. The revs seem fine and there are no jerks. If I'm being picky, in slow moving traffic when changing up or down from 1-2 2-1 in auto mode, the car did feel a bit slow to react, but there were no nasty clunks or slippages to my knowledge.

The transmission has the latest software update (8K1927156J 0013) and the Technical Service Bulletin the garage initially used to conclude on a new mech unit was 2039534/12.

The car's memory stored:

1315 - TCM no signal / communication intermittent - I think this was stored roughly 3 times
6088 U010100 Lost Communication with TCM (passive / sporadic)
7980 P072600 Engine speed inp. circ. range / performance (passive / sporadic)
8031 P174000 Clutch temperature monitoring (passive sporadic) - only stored once
18011 P187B00 Gear selector 2 engaging process not successful (active / static)

Since talking to the indie about a new mech, they've come back and said they've found that my car's symptoms aren't perhaps the most severe, and would instead recommend repairing the mechatronics unit, test driving it and making sure that solves the problem. That's about £1500 for that job, including new oil / filter.

I also spoke to another gearbox specialist and they quoted £3600 all-in for a new clutch pack and mechatronics repair. Option 1 (just the mech repair with the specialist) seems like my best option for now.

 

[Dippy]

If you can spare the time, go over to Audizine and read about 0B5 transmission experiences there. There are plenty of reports of problems and a few about the mechatronics repair kit. Maybe you'll get a better idea about how bad yours is and how urgent it is to take action.

 

[Ajwhite]

The Indi I use is Dialynx in Wiltshire, when I took it in they did mention mech units can be repaired rather than new, as I have heard horror stories of 7k bills for a new unit.

Could be worth a phone call, at least it's another price to factor in?

Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[alex_baker]

The Indi I use is Dialynx in Wiltshire, when I took it in they did mention mech units can be repaired rather than new, as I have heard horror stories of 7k bills for a new unit.

Could be worth a phone call, at least it's another price to factor in?

Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the pointer. I spoke to a close friend who is an independent BMW specialist, but knows his Audis very well. He put me in touch with a gearbox specialist who focus on VAG DSG units most of the time. They gave a second opinion and said 99% of my problems would be solved with a mech repair kit and new clutch pack. Both are usually done at the same time, or at least should be, to ensure the old clutch isn't put under any stress by the repaired mech unit. I've asked the specialist my car is in with to carry out both the clutch replacement & mech repair. It's in combination with suspension work and a major service, so am trying to negotiate cost at the moment, as it's a big bill!