Head says warranty, heart says Revo!

[MattS5]

so, crunch time, the S5 is out of warranty after April.
Opportunity to extended warranty, no excess, all component cover, for £600.
Sensible head says go with it.

Heart says drop the cash on a Revo stage 1, and let the car stretch it’s legs.
Head then tells me DSG, sports diff and supercharger clutch are all potential issues which might well reap good value from warranty.
DSG worries me less, but for some reason, sports diff issues does. Can see a few cars around 2011 have issues after searching, and the bill to repair not small.....but, would like to think this stuff had been resolved by the time it gets to my 2016 model year.
I’ll probably keep the car another 2 years.

Apologies for posting in S4 forum, but keen for all experiences! Talk me into it, or talk me out of it.

 

[mercules]

I'm on 95k now, 2013 DSG sports diff etc. I've been stage 2 for about 15months and since 75k, Audi warranty expired not a single issue. Personally I wouldn't own a S4 or S5 and have it in stock form for my duration of ownership it's just not exciting enough.

If you do go stage 2 just look after it and spend extra on preventative maintenance such as making sure every single type of oil in the car is replaced and maintenance schedule is on point and you should be trouble free.

As you have warranty I'm sure any issues that have come already have been fixed.

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[Dippy]

Unfortunately I can't say the same. One headlight washer jet replaced just inside warranty, the other just outside, and not I have to get the first one replaced again!

I bought my car new with the intention of tuning it. I would have done it sooner if not for the time it took for the SIMOS16 ECU to be cracked. However I do understand your sentiment and it really comes down to two questions:
1) How often and how much do you think about getting it tuned? For comparison I would think about mine probably at least once a day - dreaming of how good it would be to have 480PS and being rather peeved that it was only 333PS.
2) How sick to the stomach do you get at the thought of having to shell out a few thousand quid to repair a major component?

The balance of the feelings from those two questions should give you your decision.

With regard to the items in question, I feel fairly confident that the post 2013 gearbox is good - as long as it is serviced regularly (my transmission fluid was changed at 3 years 13K, and I shall have it changed again, along with the gear oil at 6 years). I too am unsure about the sports diff, but again I think maintenance plays a part. I shall have both oils changed on mine at 5 or 6 years. As to the supercharger clutch its not too expensive an item to replace, and I'm not convinced it is as weak a component as I first thought.

I'll be keeping my stage 2 S5 for many years. It's faster than I need (I rarely drive it at full performance) and it is the best car I have owned so far.

 

[MuPPeT_ON_TouR]

Heart says drop the cash on a Revo stage 1, and let the car stretch it’s legs.

You mean MRC tune...

It was the best thing I did to the car. Do I still worry that my gearbox will explode and the supercharger will die and my sports diff will crack wide open and spew its internal components all over the road? Yes I do. But without a tune you are only driving half of what these cars should be.

 

[MattS5]

Frequented fortunes for over 17 years, still don’t know how to multi quote, so here goes !

@mercules and @Dippy having owned a B8 for 2 years prior to this one, mechanically it was bang on, so really I shouldn’t overly worry, but the sports diff is the one part which seem rather expensive.

@Dippy my previous S5 was Stage 1+ and I loved having that performance, but didn’t use it constantly, so would be driving this one just as sympatheticly.
Constantly thinking about remapping the current one, especially now I’m near end of warranty.
Whilst I wouldn’t want a big bill, I could manage one if it arose.
I also have rather an immense level of dissatisfaction with my local Audi dealer for service work, and that sways in the favour of moving out of warranty too. Sure, I could use my local independent and keep a used warranty, but I reckon that’s a grind if I need to claim.

@MUPPET, appreciate MRC can work magic on these, but I’m 5 hrs away from them, and for me, with a trusted Revo tuner just 15 mins from my house, whom I’ve used for the past 18 years, it’s a no brainer for peace of mind and after care, if it should arise.

I’ve got to hold off until 3rd week in March as the car is in for a service then, any issues can be covered under the remaining warranty, and then it’s decision time........

 

[HTB]

My 2016 S5 is out of warranty next week. Going in next Wednesday for an MRC stage 2. Had a Revo stage 1 about 15 months ago and naively thought that would be enough; haha! Sadly, Revo don't do anything beyond stage 1 for the CREC engine so I'm paying for much more than an upgrade beyond stage 1 would cost, but I was fully aware of that at the time of buying Revo.

Been getting advice from @Dippy and been following his car as a testbed so I'm fairly relaxed about going to 480hp after a while at 430hp without issues.

I did have a water pump changed for free by Audi under warranty a year ago, even though they detected the remap.

By way of preventative maintenance I've just changed the DSG hypoid ATF and filters, DSG transfer box MTF, along with the sports diff ATF and MTF at 3 years/13k.

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[MuPPeT_ON_TouR]

By way of preventative maintenance I've just changed the DSG hypoid ATF and filters, DSG transfer box MTF, along with the sports diff ATF and MTF at 3 years/13k.

I have had my standard gearbox service done and it's going in for an oil change in the next week.

I have a sports diff..

Can somebody explain in some plain English all the fluids and thier hiding location that can be changed on these cars because I have to admit I thought I knew what could be/needs to be serviced.... But I don't.

Thanks in advance.

 

[MattS5]

@HTB how did you find Revo, much noticeable to stock?
Be interesting to hear your thoughts on MRC stage 2 once done as well.
Satisfying to hear Audi did the waterpump, despite the car being flagged as remapped (did they discover it had been mapped or did you tell them?)
@MUPPET, agree about the various fluids etc, engine and DSG are easy to find info on, but I have no idea about the rest mentioned.
Hopefully someone can list what is required and when it’s required

 

[HTB]

@HTB how did you find Revo, much noticeable to stock?

Satisfying to hear Audi did the waterpump, despite the car being flagged as remapped (did they discover it had been mapped or did you tell them?)

The change from stock to Revo stage 1 was about a 30% increase in power so massively satisfying. I'm not at all unhappy with it: I'm only going for the stage 2 because I can.

The dealer picked up a TD1 flag, that indicates a remap, from the ECU scan they are required to do before carrying out any warranty work. They then have to contact Audi for authorisation. A remap will only exclude engine and power train snags under warranty. Of course, these would be expensive so it is a risk.


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[MattS5]

I thought that would be the case (dealer picking it up), my previous car flagged the same, which made for an interesting conversation with sales dept who’d sold it to me a few months previous......it got resolved ok in the end.

 

[HTB]

I have had my standard gearbox service done and it's going in for an oil change in the next week.

I have a sports diff..

Can somebody explain in some plain English all the fluids and thier hiding location that can be changed on these cars because I have to admit I thought I knew what could be/needs to be serviced.... But I don't.

Thanks in advance.

The S5 main gear box (DSG, DL501, OB5) has two different oil chambers. The mechatronics chamber takes 7 litres of ATF fluid of spec VAG G 052 529 A2. There are two replaceable filters in this chamber, external and internal. The second chamber is the transfer box and this takes 5 litres of MTF fluid of spec VAG G 055 532 A2 but no filters.

The ATF side is in the S5 maintenance schedule for oil change every 38k miles. Audi dealers change the external filter with the oil but not the internal. There is no S5 maintenance interval for the MTF side but in the RS (same gearbox) it's oil change after 15k miles then every 20k.

The sports diff (OBF) also has an ATF and MTF chamber. The ATF side, active hydraulics/clutch packs, takes 750 ml of spec VAG G 055 515 A2, no filter. The MTF side,ring and pinion gears, takes 900 ml of spec VAG G 052 145 S2.

There is no maintenance schedule for sports diff oil changes for the S5 but for the RS it's done at 35k.

Since a remap is putting similar power/torque through the powertrain it makes sense to follow the RS maintenance schedule.

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[Dippy]

Better reply than I would have done HTB so good that you got there first.

If the OP wants to go REVO then it is worth contacting them about stage 1+. Although AFAIK they never formally offered it for the CREC engine, based on the comments they made on a forum (I can't remember which) it seemed that they might be open to the idea if customers asked for it.

 

[MattS5]

The S5 main gear box (DSG, DL501, OB5) has two different oil chambers. The mechatronics chamber takes 7 litres of ATF fluid of spec VAG G 052 529 A2. There are two replaceable filters in this chamber, external and internal. The second chamber is the transfer box and this takes 5 litres of MTF fluid of spec VAG G 055 532 A2 but no filters.

The ATF side is in the S5 maintenance schedule for oil change every 38k miles. Audi dealers change the external filter with the oil but not the internal. There is no S5 maintenance interval for the MTF side but in the RS (same gearbox) it's oil change after 15k miles then every 20k.

The sports diff (OBF) also has an ATF and MTF chamber. The ATF side, active hydraulics/clutch packs, takes 750 ml of spec VAG G 055 515 A2, no filter. The MTF side,ring and pinion gears, takes 900 ml of spec VAG G 052 145 S2.

There is no maintenance schedule for sports diff oil changes for the S5 but for the RS it's done at 35k.

Since a remap is putting similar power/torque through the powertrain it makes sense to follow the RS maintenance schedule.

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Thanks for the above, very helpful.

So the DSG box has 2 filters on the ATF side (which should be replaced), but Audi only replcase one. Can you get both filters as Part or do they not list?

 

[MuPPeT_ON_TouR]

One is a filter the other is a strainer and sits inside the box. If you do the strainer that's not strictly necessary but will do no harm then its a sump off job and a new gasket will be required. You will of course get a better change by taking the sump off so might as well do the strainer.

Video will explain all..

 

[HTB]

One is a filter the other is a strainer and sits inside the box.

If you take the 'strainer' apart it's actually a paper filter. There's also a debris magnet inside the pan that's worth cleaning.

 

[HTB]

Can somebody explain in some plain English all the fluids...

FWIW on my car I used Liqui-Moly 8100 for the main gear box ATF (7 litres), Red Line MT-90 for the main gear box MTF (5 litres), Ravenol TF-0870 for the sports diff ATF (750 ml) and Motul Gear 300 for the sports diff MTF (900 ml).

Butt dyno tells me the gear shifts feel much slicker whilst motoring along. After starting the car, moving from P to R and D is unbelievably less clunky.

 

[HTB]

If the OP wants to go REVO then it is worth contacting them about stage 1+. Although AFAIK they never formally offered it for the CREC engine, based on the comments they made on a forum.

See Revo Stage 1

Checked Revo website and they still only offer Stage 1 for CREC.

 

[HTB]

@MattS5, the video only shows the 7 litres of main gear box ATF being changed.

As mentioned earlier, the S5 doesn't have a maintenance schedule for the main gear box MTF side, so personal choice as to whether worth doing for preventative maintenance.

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[GarethS4]

I wouldn’t spend the money on going stage 1 tbh .if your going to tune it ,you might as well do it the first time and not pay again for the extra of going stage 1+ or 2 depending who you go with .

 

[MattS5]

@MattS5, the video only shows the 7 litres of main gear box ATF being changed.

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Yep, I literally re read your post and it made sense, so I deleted my reply....just not fast enough though!
Cheers for confirming

 

[MattS5]

I wouldn’t spend the money on going stage 1 tbh .if your going to tune it ,you might as well do it the first time and not pay again for the extra of going stage 1+ or 2 depending who you go with .

Yep, but as I posted in the thread a little higher, I don’t want to go to stage 2, MRC are too far away for potential issues.
Of course there shouldn’t be any issues, but you can guarantee if I’m 5 hours away, I’ll need to go back!

 

[HTB]

There's an excellent and very detailed post about the DSG gearbox and sports diff oils (types, quantities, part nos) with photos/video guides on changing. It's for RS5 but it's the same hardware in the S5. Link

 

[MuPPeT_ON_TouR]

That is some awesome information... And makes me worried that any of the places I take my car to will not bother to do any of that properly to the car!!

We really should do a forum members day out at one of the places that let you hire a car ramp. Group buy discount on oil, fluids, pumps, plugs, filters the works. Get 5 or 10 cars fully serviced.... And serviced how we all think they should be.

Even with travel down fuel costs and a hotel. I think you could still save a couple hundred pounds and would be a great weekend.

http://ssgarage.uk/self-service Manchester area

https://www.u-service.co.uk/workshop-hire-prices/ Newcastle area


Better than standing in a field or supermarket carpark just looking at cars...

Anybody else up for this?? Not sure where I would post this??

 

[fast-ferret]

That is some awesome information... And makes me worried that any of the places I take my car to will not bother to do any of that properly to the car!!

We really should do a forum members day out at one of the places that let you hire a car ramp. Group buy discount on oil, fluids, pumps, plugs, filters the works. Get 5 or 10 cars fully serviced.... And serviced how we all think they should be.

Even with travel down fuel costs and a hotel. I think you could still save a couple hundred pounds and would be a great weekend.

http://ssgarage.uk/self-service Manchester area

https://www.u-service.co.uk/workshop-hire-prices/ Newcastle area


Better than standing in a field or supermarket carpark just looking at cars...

Anybody else up for this?? Not sure where I would post this??

I’d possibly be up for it! I want do the DSG and sports diff anyhow. Not sure I could stay over as I’ve got young kids and would feel a bit bad on the wife! But if it was do-able in a day I’d be up for it.

Alternatively if anyone in the Nottingham area wants to pair up to help each other out I have a quickjack. Not a full lift but easier than jack stands and whatnot.


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[Dippy]

Although a 2016 S5 should be OK for a while, don't forget that the OEM crank pulley is a failure risk - there have been enough confirmed reports now. One of the extra reasons to go stage 2.

 

[MattS5]

Although a 2016 S5 should be OK for a while, don't forget that the OEM crank pulley is a failure risk - there have been enough confirmed reports now. One of the extra reasons to go stage 2.

Aarrgghh....another potential issue to put on the list

I’m currently , swaying towards the life of no surprises, and stick with a warrantied car.
I did a 460 mile trip in it yesterday, and on a couple of occasions found myself gathering fair speed during overtakes, then having to filter back into slower moving traffic....it reminded me of the previous Stage 1+ car I had, where on many occasions I found scrubbing the gained speed prior to pulling back into a line of traffic was pretty hectic!
It’s very nice to have that additional grunt, but I didn’t really find the standard car lacking, at any point, during the 10 hours I was in it.

Sticking with what I’ve got for another year might just be the best option for me at this time. Pains me to say it, as I know what I’m missing, but real world, I’m not really sure I actually need that much more performance, let alone get a chance to use it often enough to sacrifice the peace of mind the warranty can provide.

No doubt I’ll change my mind again by the weekend....****** cars!

 

[Dippy]

Yes, its a bit of a joke around where I live. I go out, select ADS dynamic ready to have fun, but soon put the gearbox back to D when I realise there's no way for me through the traffic. Then I finish my journey and realise I might as well have selected ADS economy!