S4 Newbie Questions

Scott.T

Scott.T

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Hi all
Thanks for all you help regarding choosing 'The Silver One'. Well I picked it up Thursday and 48 hours later I am in North Wales enjoying a family holiday and a few interesting roads.

The 'Horseshoe Pass' was fun in Dynamic/Manual mode, and I seem to of found the sweet spot for farty noises and downshift auto blips.
I needed about 4 runs up the pass to be sure though ;).

If I may, I have a couple of questions I would like to ask an experienced owner.
1st gear (auto box) seems to have a slight whine. It's difficult to spot/hear as only noticeable with very low ambient noise. Plus the box changes to 2nd quite quick and the noise goes straight away. It almost sounds like it is a straight cut box.
Is this normal ?

Slow manoeuvres (sports diff) when for example entering a car park. Initial turning/steering feels as if the differential is running quite a tight setup and feels like it is pushing the front and groaning a touch. Not clicking or clunking, just a groan. I have experienced this before in one of my old subaru that had an Active/Adjustable diff.
That would even click or drag a wheel an inch or 2 (noticeable on gravel or grass) and this was considered normal.
Is this normal on the Audi ?

The car was from an Audi dealer so has 12 months warranty. But they are 45 mins from me so could do without the hassle if it sounds normal to you.
Car has only clocked 27500 miles.

I appreciate your thoughts and/or if you have any links to known problems.

Many thanks
 
Last edited:
Scotty,I've trimmed your opening post as you managed to include a whole load of unnecessary stuff in it.
 
jdp1962 said:
Scotty,I've trimmed your opening post as you managed to include a whole load of unnecessary stuff in it.
Click to expand...
Cheers
I thought I had trimmed everything but currently only using phone on a very poor Welsh Internet connection, so thanks for sorting........off to find some EVO magazine roads today ;)
 
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1) you sure it's not the supercharger?

2) Mine groans and feels bumpy during slow tight manoeuvres
 
Hey pal, your up in gods country i see. Being local i can recommend a lot of roads around there especially the road past bala lake if your venturing a little further.... Its worth it.

Although, be aware!! The police are all over this area on a sunday, i know a little late so hope youve got on ok today but just a little local knowledge.
 
2. Its the Quattro system
They all do that sir :)

Nice choice ya made
 
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Coming out of my driveway and onto the road i basically have a 180 degress turn on full lock. I have learnt to just let the car roll its way round, and not to touch the accellerator untill i begin to straighten up. Was worried when i first got it due to the groaning, but seen plenty comments across various forums to put my mind at rest.

Enjoy the car :)
 
Point 2 is diff scrub, its a Quattro thing, is made worse by bigger wheels, and seems even worse on the front axle in reverse.

My B6 S4 with 18's was bad, fresh oil helped, my B8 RS4 isn't as bad even though it has 20's I'd put that down less worn parts and improved design.

The wifes X5 suffers a bit with it too and she has 21's, so its not an Audi thing but a 4wd thing.

I'd check when the front and rear diff oil's were replaced as this may help. I insisted on mine being done at every major service and I will with the RS4 even though Audi state longer intervals.
 
Sharrison14 said:
Hey pal, your up in gods country i see. Being local i can recommend a lot of roads around there especially the road past bala lake if your venturing a little further.... Its worth it.

Although, be aware!! The police are all over this area on a sunday, i know a little late so hope youve got on ok today but just a little local knowledge.
Click to expand...
Cheers mate.
Yes went down past Bala today as well. Saw 2 mobile setups, one where the B3941 joins the main 'A' road back to Bala and one on the run from the A5 to the top end of the Horseshoe pass. I'm just glad he wasn't there Saturday evening ;).

Thanks for everyone's replies. Definitely a Quattro thing then !
Strange that.....I've been driving Subaru (and still do) for 15 years and only the 2007 STI with DCCD (electronic diff) i had a couple of years ago did something similar. The earlier models don't do it.
 
Does the S4 have a wider track then the A4.
It looks to have a wider stance when viewed from the rear despite my previous A4 B8.5 BE sitting on 8.5x19's as well.
I have checked for spacers, although the rear disk hubs do appear to have an additional step in them which I don't recall the A4 having when I repainted them. Will have to look back through some photo's.
 
A4 dim
S4 dim
 
Scott.T said:
1st gear (auto box) seems to have a slight whine. It's difficult to spot/hear as only noticeable with very low ambient noise. Plus the box changes to 2nd quite quick and the noise goes straight away. It almost sounds like it is a straight cut box.
Is this normal
Click to expand...

Sorry to drag this back to the top but I would appreciate more feedback on the gearbox point quoted above.

Since posting the above I took the car along to my local dealer and demostrated the noise.

When all warmed up there is a noticeable whine in 1st gear between 1200-1800rpm. As soon as 2nd is selected this noise drops to around 10% it's previous level and does not become any more audible for the same rev range.

The noise get more noticeable in stop/start traffic. But only up to a certain level.

If 'N' is selected whilst in stop/start traffic between each 'D' period the noise level drops down to the same slightly less audible level prior to entering the start/stop situation.

This was demonstrated to the master tech who then wanted it booked in.
After 2 days all they can report is that "yes" they can hear it, there are no errors logged and they would like to compare it to another S4.

Does any of the above ring any bells with you guys ?
 
Last edited:
Scott.T said:
Sorry to drag this back to the top but I would appreciate more feedback on the gearbox point quoted above.

Since posting the above I took the car along to my local dealer and demostrated the noise.

When all warmed up there is a noticeable whine in 1st gear between 1200-1800rpm. As soon as 2nd is selected this noise drops to around 10% it's previous level and does not become any more audible for the same rev range.

The noise get more noticeable in stop/start traffic. But only up to a certain level.

If 'N' is selected whilst in stop/start traffic between each 'D' period the noise level drops down to the same slightly less audible level prior to entering the start/stop situation.

This was demonstrated to the master tech who then wanted it booked in.
After 3 days all they can report is that "yes" they can hear it, there are no errors logged and they would like to compare it to another S4.

Does any of the above ring any bells with you guys ?
Click to expand...
I know it's not much help, Scott, but mine doesn't make a similar noise.
 
Not noticed anything on mine either, but both mine and jdp's are facelift cars so perhaps not ideal comparisons as there were subtle updates to the S-Tronic fitted to facelift cars.
 
Thanks for the input guy's.
Perhaps it's worth admin creating a dedicated thread with the above info as it's a bit buried in this one.
 
Any more input from pre-facelift S4 (Auto) owners as I'm off back to the dealers to collect tomorrow and it would be good to say "it's not normal" if they say "they all do it sir"
 
Scott.T said:
Sorry to drag this back to the top but I would appreciate more feedback on the gearbox point quoted above.

Since posting the above I took the car along to my local dealer and demostrated the noise.

When all warmed up there is a noticeable whine in 1st gear between 1200-1800rpm. As soon as 2nd is selected this noise drops to around 10% it's previous level and does not become any more audible for the same rev range.

The noise get more noticeable in stop/start traffic. But only up to a certain level.

If 'N' is selected whilst in stop/start traffic between each 'D' period the noise level drops down to the same slightly less audible level prior to entering the start/stop situation.

This was demonstrated to the master tech who then wanted it booked in.
After 2 days all they can report is that "yes" they can hear it, there are no errors logged and they would like to compare it to another S4.

Does any of the above ring any bells with you guys ?
Click to expand...

Dealer update.....'New Gearbox required'.
They just need to sort out whether Crawley Audi (the supplying, with fault dealer) or Eastbourne Audi (the diagnosing dealer) do the change.
 
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Scott.T said:
Dealer update.....'New Gearbox required'.
They just need to sort out whether Crawley Audi (the supplying, with fault dealer) or Eastbourne Audi (the diagnosing dealer) do the change.
Click to expand...
Ouchy. Thank goodness for warranty.
 
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Great that you are getting it sorted Scott. What year is your car?
 
Thanks - at that mileage I was concerned that it might be a newer model. I hate to be selfish about it but I'd like to feel confident that these failures are only hitting the earlier models and that Audi have made the later ones more reliable!
 
Had a good chat with Audi UK warranty today as they had a few questions on the hand-over condition of the gearbox when I purchased the car on 5th August.
They wanted to know more about how long it took me to suspect an issue and the process to dealer diagnosis.
It was a nice grown up discussion and the guy was very pleasant.
I then had a call from my local dealer confirming they had been given the green light to order a new gearbox at £6900+VAT plus fitting (covered under warranty) and that I wouldn't have the hassle of having to go through it all again with the supplying dealer.

Just waiting for it to be shipped from Germany now.

Before the old one comes out I will try and get a recording for reference.
 
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razza1 said:
Lucky for the Audi warranty, the benefit of buying one of these from a dealer.
Big weight off your mind to avoid that bill...
Click to expand...
Yes a bit of a relief but it's an issue that could of been lived with to some extent as it doesnt seem any worse after 1700 miles including some famous welsh roads. It may well of been there for some time if not from new.
Let's hope the noise goes otherwise Audi will of wasted 10K and still have an issue to fix.
 
After market warranty cover dsg too
 
Fctaff said:
After market warranty cover dsg too
Click to expand...
I wouldn't trust one after experience I had with a cosworth 15 years ago.
They don't cover :
Wear and tear
Faulty fitting
Parts deemed faulty from manufacture

So it doesn't leave a lot of scope for what is covered !!
 
Warranty direct cover dsg and wear and tear after three months
 
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Fctaff said:
Warranty direct cover dsg and wear and tear after three months
Click to expand...
That's not what the guy told me, I went through the quote process until I found the small print saying it wasn't covered so quit it. Got a call from them offering me a better price, so I questioned if they covered DSGs, and the answer was no sorry they don't....
 
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They 100% do, no idea why you were told that.
 
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That's all good to know re warranty direct. I'm thinking of getting a c6 rs6 but the oil ring issue, alternator and vacuum pump all seem common. I'm struggling to find a decent low mile car but this time looking to modify
 
razza1 said:
Have checked with them and they do cover it, obviously got a newbie last time I asked...
Click to expand...
That's good to know.
I'm going to call a local gearbox specialist that gets work from all over the region to see what his thoughts are on the ££££ required to repair a DSG/S-Tronic for a little piece of mind (I hope) if there are any out of warranty issues..
In my case I can't believe it's a box swap issue, it sounds like a bearing on 1st gear which can't be that expensive to sort but Audi do not carry any spares for 1st, so they tell me.
 
Tricky situation, I want the stupid quarter mile times and the 750bhp but tbh I can't afford the engine out cost to change a 50 pence 0 ring... I wish there was a solution... If you buy one with the fault knowingly you could get these jobs done at once with updated parts and it'll save on the cost for mods too but I'm not sure which ones. Stuff like bigger intercoolers, changing hoses is a minor thing, and fuel pumps aren't even located here. Well step one is to sell b8.
One thing at a time....
 
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