Hi Folks

First post of many more I'm sure. Sorry for the length.

The car is a 2002 S4, 39k miles, 6-speed, silver, bone stock. Purchased it about 2 months ago from Carmax. Bought the extended warranty too, it is an Audi afterall.

Here are my "issues". A few days after I got the car I wasn't happy with what I can only describe as a "clunky" drivetrain. As much as I try to shift smoothly it feels like something is flexing or bouncing when I engage the clutch. Carmax has this 30 day "fix anything" warranty with all their cars so I took it back (twice) and they replaced the engine mounts, trans mounts, and rear differential mounts. No improvement. I also installed a transmission stabilizer bar and it didn't help.

Now after living with it for a couple more weeks I have noticed a couple more items.
1. Reverse is really loud, trash truck loud, in my opinion, maybe getting louder, maybe.
2. When I am cruising on the highway I can hear whining (from the gears not me). The whining is not real loud but is most noticable if I gently lift and press the gas.
3. The shifter moves back and forth about 1/4" when I lift or press the gas.

I took the car to the dealer yesterday and they came back and said that it all seems normal. I am going for a drive with the dealer service techician tomorrow to argue my point. Have I set my standards to high or should I expect more from an Audi S4? Is this really normal?

Your thoughts are appreciated.

Andrew

P.S. I might post this on some of the other Audi forums so my appologies in advance for the double posts if you frequent other forums.




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#3 is fairly normal - (though fixable with drivetrain stabalizer &/or snub mount...)

Sounds like your flywheel is perhaps warped or seriously scortched...though I'm not an expert...it may also just not be mounted right - in any event will need to be replaced. Get it checked out though before taking my advice..lol

Welcome to the S4 and our (friendly) forum...

 

Roadhawk,

Flywheel? I hadn't considered that. But I'm beginning to get the feeling that the PO might have beat on this S4 pretty hard. A warped or scortched flywheel is definitely something to consider. Especially since all the mounts have been replaced and a drivetrain stabilizer installed with little improvement. I'll mention the flywheel when I talk to the wrench tomorrow.

Thanks,
Andrew

 

In your knowlegde has it ever been in a wreck? If the flywheel is in bad condition so are alot of other parts. Sounds like Audi going to be putting a new tranny in it!
Good Luck With your Fight.

Scott

 

Scott

There is no indication that the car was in any accidents. Carfax was clean too. It was serviced at a dealer in Houston and the records only show normal maintanence. With all the mounts having been replaced and the DTS installed with no real improvement, I've got to believe something is not right though.

Thanks,
Andrew

 

I bought my S4 when it had less then 20K miles on it...within 1K (less even) I had to replace my clutch & flywheel - the latter was scortched to hell...obviously my PO used to drag this car (& it was already lowered, chipped, and otherwise modded...dealer said it was a boulavard cruiser modded mostly for looks that had been well cared for...lol) or else the kid who owned it just diodn't knwo how to use a clutch...somehow I suspect the former...when I recently replaced/upgraded the clutch/flywheel and after 50K miles on it it actually looked to be in great shape - and I wailed on it too...makes me wonder just what kind of power launches or such my PO was pulling...

 

#1 reverse sould be somewhat loud, i know mine is. but keep in mind, reverse is straight cut gears with no synchros. ive never really heard of anyone having issues with reverse gears (in any type of car as far as i can remember) unless they had tried shifting into reverse while moving too fast.

#2 ive heard this whine before i think but im not sure what it is. i also hear a whine/wind noise from my d/s mirror i think, however i cant hear it when im on the throttle.

#3 completely normal, just slack in the gears and drive train. every VAG product does this from jettas to passats to s4.

this is all i can say