HELP PLEASE

[tom2]

Hi,

Really need some advice, I purchased an 04 plate A4 1.8t Quattro (190) from a dealer in november. After the test drive (which was fine) i insisted on the car being left to tick over whilst having a second look around it. After around ten minutes it developed a very slight squeaking noise from the engine. The dealer agreed to have a garage look at it so i gave a deposit and returned 2 days later to collect it. The dealer provided a labour reciept from the garage and explained that the guys at the garage couldn't get the car to make the noise but they thought it was a dry pulley bearing and so they had greased the pulleys and that should be that. I took the car for a second test drive and again left it to tick over for about twenty minutes and there was no sign of any noises and so i took the car on the condition that if the noise returned the dealer would sort it at his expense, and that he upped the warranty from 6 to 12 months. To which he agreed.

The car was great for about three weeks but then the sqeak returned, I phoned the dealer straight away and arranged for the car to go in 3 days later. In the meantime i tried not to use the car but being on-call at work ment it was inevitable. The day before the car was due to go in the sqeak developed into a harsh sqealing noise, which further developed (after about 4miles) into a scarily rough idle and an even scarier engine management light. I pulled the fault codes from the car that night and it only showed P0171, looked into it and found out it was probably a split hose or valve. I explained all this to the guys at the garage the next day and it turned out to be a plastic valve at the back of the block which had cracked, they replaced it, and once again the car was great no problems whatsoever.

Over the last few days though the sqeak returned and last night it started running like a pig and the engine management light is back, along with the HUGE sqealing. The fault codes this time again shows p0171 but worryingly it also shows p0301 and 302 which translates to a misfire in cylinders 1 and 2.

I emailed the dealer last night to explain and asked him to book it in, but i don't know how to go about things because i have lost all faith in the car. The sqeak and idle problem must be related and the fact the problem has occured twice in two months leads me to believe there could be a serious underlying problem. I will call the dealer in a bit to have a chat but i don't know whether to just demand a refund or give the car the benefit of the doubt and risk giving it a third chance. This is the first time i've bought from a dealer and could do with some advice on my options and any technical advice that may be out there.

Thanks for reading
Any help very gratefully received,
Tom.

 

[quattrojames]

I'd familiarise yourself with your rights under the sale of goods act etc. If you're not happy with the car then I'd give strong consideration to returning it for a refund if you can.

 

[Mike B]

I would say that you have given them ample time to fix the problem and would ask for a refund on the basis that the car is not fit for purpose.How much did you pay?

 

[simon.m]

id want my money back or a difront car if pos as already said they have had time to sort it

 

[tom2]

Thanks for replies, i paid £4995, 80k on the clock with all the bells and whistles, its going in to the garage tomorrow. Just hope their courtesy car has been taxed this time.

 

[tom2]

This is the diagnostic.

 

[Mike B]

Does it have a good service history?There is an oil pick up pipe problem with this engine if its not frequently serviced and I wonder if this is relevent to your car.If you dont get 100% satisfaction you can take your case to the Small Claims Court and you may need them to know this if they dont fix it pronto.Hope its sorted

 

[tom2]

Car has full audi service history, every 12 months from new, and due another in 62 days.

 

[CMD]

Did the dealer offer / supply a warranty with the car.. I think you have a strong case so I would ask for my money back a buy another.

 

[murran]

id be taking it to a good independant audi specialist for a second opinion on whats wrong with it.
sounds like the guys the car dealer is taking it to are muppets.

 

[tom2]

The dealer supplied a 12month RAC 'gold' warranty. The garage are suspecting coil packs are faulty(from what i've told them), I know that Audi have a workshop campaign to replace the faulty ones and they will check them for free, if they fall within the known dodgy batch numbers they will replace them for free too. They strongly advised against driving the car if the coil packs are faulty due to the unburnt fuel in the cylinder(s) which can apparantly do a lot of harm. But its due in at the dealers garage tomorrow so i'm tempted to tell the dealers garage to come and tow/lift it, i don't think they would though. Is the dealer obliged to arrange the car to be transported if audi have told me its not safe to drive it in this state ? and would broken coil packs relate in any way to the sqealing noise?

 

[CMD]

You could replace the coil packs yourself (easy job) All audi a4 1.8t's were recalled so you should get your ones changed and yes they are all FREE..

 

[tom2]

Trying to get the aa to tow it down to the garage (15miles away) the dealer says its not his responsibily to get it there, got a quote from a local company for £120 to tow it. Not sure what to do if they won't, can't risk driving it there because i don't want to be liable for anymore damage.. i'm not paying to have it transported because between me and the missus we have already paid £180 in taxi's over the past 3 days, becoming more trouble than its worth now. The dealer isn't refusing to fix the car (said he will cover all repair costs) but he is refusing to help us get it to the garage.. so its a pointless offer really, its like saying i'll give you £1million if you can walk to the moon....

 

[CMD]

MOFO dealers i hate them , once you get it down there i would stay there until the car is fixed. I hate see people getting ripped off

 

[Mike B]

Just warn him that you will sue for money back expenses and costs.He can have the car back but he will have to collect

 

[Rhencullen1989]

The misfire on cylinders 1 and 2 is probably down to the coil packs packing up, it would also throw up an engine management light. This would not cause the squeeling that you describe, i have exactly the same car as yours, and similar mileage, i have had several coil packs go down, i carry spare ones in the glove box, although i had the recall and the ones on there are fine.

My alternator one way clutch pulley seized up last august, this caused the alternator belt to flap about a lot, especially on tick over or when pulling away and letting the engine labour a bit, like when doing a hill start. although it did not slip and squeel, this could well be the problem you describe.

Don't give up on the car yet, all Audi's seem to have some silly little problem with them, that is what these forums are for, helping each other out. I f you like the rest of the car and are happy with it when it's sorted out, it will be a great motor.

 

[tom2]

thanks for your replies, The AA took the car down to the garage on the back of a truck.. the AA patrol guy who came first suspected coil packs too, he had two spares on his van and tried them, made no difference, they all seem to be working because when he pulled them out slightly with the engine running the sparking could be heard, he deleted the codes after to get rid of the faults that came up from removing the coil packs, after this he turned the car off and restarted it, as the engine fired there was a huge, and i mean huge, crack!! and the car barely runs at all now, switched it off pretty much straight away and sent it off.... GUTTED

 

[hartey]

Damn mate feel for you, hope you get it sorted!

 

[Turkster]

is the car in at Audi main dealer now ?

 

[tom2]

no not a main dealer, we had to take it back to the independent garage the dealer uses because they could give us a courtesy car, which we really needed... don't know where we stand for getting a refund because even though the car seems to be knackered the dealer is offering to get it put right, but after the last couple of days i will never feel i can depend on the car again, i will just be driving with the radio off listening out for the next noise... I'm also quite worried that the guys at the garage will just jump in the car and start it to get it on the ramps etc, and after the noises it was making last night i think that would blow the final whistle for the car, I did leave a note in the car with brief explanation and included that AA and Audi had insisted the car was not to be driven in that state, No doubt they will though... and even if they do manage to fix the immediate problem who knows what damage has been done already in places they can't see... was talking to a mate at work last night and he used to have a 53plate 1.8 passat and it had an oil pressure problem, but because it was an intermitent fault if was never enought to trigger any alarms, eventually it was enough to crack the con rod bearings in one cylinder and finally crack the con rod itself, along with god knows what else, he had it repaired but the engine block cracked three weeks later while driving down the M5,, so i'm praying now.....

 

[pauldazzle]

Stop panicking Tom. VAG engines are pretty bullet proof if serviced at the right intervals with the correct parts & fluids, which Audi would obviously do.
You seem to have a good warranty, & the dealer will have to sort the problems out. Even if it means you get a new engine.
I'd be amazed if the dealer gave you a refund.
My guess is that the alternator or one of the pulleys has seized up hence the squeeking/screeching. The misfire could be caused by a number of things. The most common source of misfires are coilpacks, & faulty coolant temp sensor, which causes the ECU to fuel incorrectly. CTS failure lead to VAG revising the part as it was so prone to failure. This is often missed as the CTS only causes the ECU to throw a code if it goes open circuit or intermittent. Ask the dealer to check if it has the revised green CTS.
I certainly wouldn't put much faith in the AA diagnosis as in my experience AA staff usually have a pretty limited knowledge of mechanics!
As for your work mates Passat the most common cause of oil pressure problems on VAG engines is a blocked oil pick up strainer, which is often caused by a lack of servicing, & or the use of cheap aftermarket parts/oil.
Try not to lose faith in the car as Audi's are extremely well built.

 

[marktdisport]

agree with paul m8 chill out anythink can be fixed in the right hands, what about cam belt tensioners/pulleys, power steering belts, for thw squeling and get a set of plugs and coilpacks m8 id be amazed if this dont cure the missfiring, there will be lots of unburnt fuel around the exhaust side of things so a large bang/ crack could just be a back fire with the unburnt fuel, id also be thinking of better people to use to fix it as the coilpacks are a known fact on vw and the first place to start....

 

[Turkster]

Id ask for it to be sent to the Main Dealer and let Audi fix the Audi!

 

[jutlis 3.0]

Yeah you would think that wouldn't you but sadly not always the case