Here's what I finally found out and finally did on my 2006 A4 2.0T

Towed to 30 year VW/Audi mechanic. He found sludge had clogged the oil pump, engine became oil starved and seized, timing belt broke... significant engine damage/pitting resulted (one internal part even started to melt he said) - though I seem to recall that the camshaft could be turned by hand, he said, so it did not fail, causing this.

Options given to me were to rebuild the existing engine ($3500), find a used engine (about 80K on the one found, in this case - $4500 installed - and iffy) or buy a remanufactured engine directly from Audi ($5500 installed).

I was surprised I could get a factory remanufactured engine for (relatively) that little more than the other options - and with much greater peace of mind - and that's what I chose.. When it arrived, the mechanic was almost giddy... He said it appeared new.. not rebuilt/remanf - but literally new... seemingly all new parts.

Not included were an oil pump and timing belt... When done, with those parts installed, I paid just over $7000 for a "new" engine. While parting with $7000 made me sick, the thought that pretty much everything that matters under the hood is new (on a 114K mile car) is a good feeling... I would have spent quite a bit replacing many of these parts in the coming years anyway... Now I feel like I've got a new Audi for $7000... which at least makes me feel like I got a little something positive out of this whole mess...

 

thanks for posting...i will not miss the 115k timing belt change! You just saved me 7k :-)

 

If I still have my Audi when it hits 75,000 miles I will do it then. I do not want to take any chances!

 

This sounds like what happened to my car this past Sunday. My 2006 A4 has just 71,000 miles and has been 100% serviced by my Audi dealer. I have brought it in for every recommended service. They acknowledge I've done everything right to properly maintain my car.

It was not driven after the oil pressure light came on...it died and was towed straight to the dealer.

Just a week before this incident it was there for a $1,000 repair to replace the temp sensor and thermostat. Maybe 6 or 7 weeks before that it was in for another big bill repair to replace the fuel pump and other related things. The check engine light or any of the warning lights make me break into a cold sweat and go quiver-lip as a result of all this.

For my latest oil pressure issue, they say it will cost me over $500 for them to disassemble things enough just to try and diagnose what the problem might be, but they strongly suspect that it will need a new engine which will cost me $10,000.

They have offered me $4,000 for the car.

It makes me very sad because I loved that car. I was a very happy Audi owner until all these problems started happening. I have clearly wasted my money buying this car. It has lived barely half what it's useful life should be.

I don't trust this dealer and their service people. I've made a case with Audi America but I'm not holding much hope they'll step up.

It sounds like this product is a lemon if people who properly care for their cars find catastrophic failure long before the useful life of the car ought to be over.

 

And now it is final. I will never do business with this dealer, Jack Daniels Audi in New Jersey, again.

Sadly, I will never do business with Audi again either. Such a pity.

My "Audi customer experience" has been terribly disappointing in the end.

I have no confidence in their product or this particular dealer.

 

Since that horrible moment my engine shut down/blew apart on Thanksgiving, I spent my time considering options. 1) Audi will install a re manufactured long block engine for 4500 (parts) + 3500 (labor)... which is just shy of my cars KBB resale value after fixing. No dice. 2) Get a salvage with a warranty from somewhere like Shokan, $3100 + labor (which would most likely be half of what the stealership quoted me). or 3) Find a buyer for the car as-is.

LynnMarie, I'm surprised Audi offered you 4k for the car... they offered me $1500 which is the general salvage rate that anyone will give you. Thats just terrible customer service on their part.

I found a used car dealer willing to buy it for $3500 and jumped on the opportunity as my rental costs were piling up. With this lemon off my hands, I wanted a sedan that was the polar opposite of what I had. The unreliability, poor quality, and high maintenance costs of the A4 were the most compelling advertisements for Japanese cars I have ever seen. I have had my new 2013 Honda Accord Coupe for 3 days and I am happy to have the days of car repairs behind me.

No, the accord doesnt feel like your driving an audi, but its not bad. This thing looks nice and is loaded. Not to mention its 0-60 #s are nearly identical to my A4s. I would love to have an Audi over a Honda, but I will never buy an Audi again, period. The brand has lost me forever. I spoke to one of their mechanics and he straight up told me that Audi's parts are not built to last. They are built to last long enough to get out of warranty and then become unreliable. There are too many car options out there today to be taking $18k losses in 3 years on these.

Best of luck to you all!

 

bkenny, I'm happy to hear you have found an alternative that suits you. I am still in the process of figuring out what to do next.

Audi America customer care called me back late yesterday. They won't do anything unless I pay $500 to let the dealer figure out what the problem is. The dealer advised that they expect my only option will be to replace the engine. Audi America said (of course) no guarantee they'd do anything once the diagnostics were done.

What amazed me is that the Audi America rep knew next to nothing about the particulars of my situation. I asked if they considered that the dealer might have inadvertently caused this problem in the course of the two major failures that happened to me in the past 6 weeks. They had no idea that I'd had $2000 in repair costs in the less than two months.

Audi of America customer care was a waste of time. They could not have done less for me other than not bothering to answer the phone.

Jack Daniels Audi dealer management and also the service department are similarly useless.

I test drove a Volvo today but not yet decided what to do.

 

Lynn--here's what you ought to do. Go to an independent foreign car service shop and have them look into the issue--diagnosis should be no more than $125-150. If a new engine is needed--explain you need the following:
1. the three digit engine code eg. BWT
2. the total $$ labor cost to remove and install the new engine.

Go to car-parts.com---enter the info, year, engine code ect. Find an LKQ junkyard. It doesnt matter where they are in the country--they will ship the engine to your local (closest to you) LKQ yard for FREE---even if across the country! Call them and find out how much it will be to deliver the engine to your mechanic from your local LKQ yard.
When delivered, have your mechanic install it.
Get the cheapest one--should be no more than $1500 for the motor and $1500 to install. When they give you a quote for labor---tell them you'll do it for $300 less--otherwise you'll keep looking.
You can then keep the car or sell.
GOod luck!!

 

Thanks very much for some really useful information!!! I had already settled on the first step and have found an independent place that has a good reputation. I haven't made a move to tow the care there yet.

I tried Audi of America customer service one more time and it is truly laughable. I am always pleasant and polite but firm. I don't think being nasty or yelling is a useful. I called two days ago and said I was not satisfied with how my case was handled and requested a supervisor so I could escalate the case. After waiting on hold for a bit I was told none were available but I could give my number (like they don't have it already on the case?) and get a call back. Two days have passed and still no call back.

They should disband the entire customer service charade and put that money into improving their product.

Thanks again for the information!

 

You can find this quite easily by looking at the sticker inside the front cover of your service book (or in the spare wheel well in the trunk). It will be a three-letter code where it says "MOTORKB" or "ENG CODE". Once you have it, you can get an initial idea of what a replacement engine by looking on the car-parts.com website. This should at least give you an idea of worst-case costs.

Good luck Lynn!!

MF.