Hy Octane

Well, The latest is simply that Audi is like any other company we deal with when it comes to customer support. If you have ever called in for tech support for your computer or Internet provider you will know that there are several people who answer your complaint and each has his/her own level of knowledge about the product. Some know and some guess. Thus has it been at Audi.They have a panel of "tech experten" that Audi mechanics call for advice when they are stumped. And just like other tech support lines some know and some guess. Finally, after going thru all their ideas they have reached an agreement. Last Friday my service manager calls and gives me Audi's official plan. They are now convinced that the problem is a dropped valve. They stripped down the engine block and removed the #4 piston. It is perfect. So they put it back together and the problem is still there. The only thing left that could be causing this is a valve that is not 'seating' properly. So, today they will send the heads out again this time to have the valves reseated and checked again. They are confident this will fix it. This will address the misfire. They also have let the cat outta the bag about the ticking sound I was hearing. It turns out to be a problem Audi doesnt want to admit to the masses yet. There have been alot of complaints about 'dry starts'.. a ticking sound at startup that goes away after a few seconds but that came back and stayed in mine and many others. Audi has identified this problem as a faulty #1 engine bearing that had to be remanufactured to a higher tolerance to fix the ticking. This can only be fixed by removing and tearing down the motors, so they dont want to admit this until they have to. Since my engine is out and open, they will be replacing this bearing in my motor with the beefed up replacement. Now, the cool thing is I told them that I will give them one chance to get it fixed.. My service manager told me that while he was trying to speed things up for me he was told by Audi not to sweat it since it is obviously going to be a buy back car. So, if it breaks again its theirs.

Should have it back sometime this week.

And thats the latest!

DoubleB

When you get a car bought back, do you get what you paid for it or does it depreciate??? Good Luck!

Hy Octane

Its a straight swap. They take back the bad one and give me a new one. Just have to remove the mods..

dimitristx

Have you talked to a lawyer? Your case is pretty clear and they ought to buy it back next time.

Potomac-Greg

Great report. I'm surprised the valve problem was not diagnosed with a compression test.

April

I am glad to hear that plans are in place to correct the situation one way or another.

bostoned

If it were me, I would sabotage my car.. lol drop some filings in a spark plug hole..

screwynewy

A lot of people here, including myself, would have reacted much differently if put in your shoes. Glad to see that there are still some reasonable out there that are willing to exercise some self restaint and not immediatly loose it. Hopefully your dealership recongnizes this too and will make sure that you are taken car of. Good luck.

Dutch4.2

Only for a few seconds though and then it goes away. Now I am starting to get nervous as well. I have only 1700 mls on my 04 4.2 .I do remember having heard this sound on many of my previous cars and technicians would always tell me that this is because of a certain build in valve tolerance on mmodern engines and it is nothing to be concerned about. And indeed , I have never had any problems with my previous cars. Some had it more then others but it never got worse.
Have the 4.2 engines changed over the last 2 years? Is this something specific with 03 and 04 engines?

Potomac-Greg

My current Audi and my prior one have always had a rattle at start up, unless the oil was very fresh, or if the car had been recently run. I think that is the valve lifters clacking until the oil fills them up. (I'm way over my head here mechanically, so I'll just stop now.)