Thermostat replacement cost?
 

A couple of days ago, I noticed that my car was running hot. (The fan was running high speed...in Chicago...in the winter). Fortunately, I caught the needle before it reached the "H" and I was able to turn the heat on full blast and return the needle to the midpoint long enough to get home. Suspecting the thermostat, I brought it to the dealer this morning. I just got a call from the dealer confirming the thermostat as the issue and quoting me $2450 to replace it (along with the timing belt). Pricewise, does this sound about right? Is this too complicated a procedure for a non-dealer mechanic to handle?

Does $2450 sound high?
 

Let's see, sounds like your car is out of warranty.....so it's probably an 04 or maybe an 05.

The Bently states that you have to removed the "toothed" belt which is the timing belt. To change a timing belt, water pump and thermostat, it should be around $1200 or less on a D2 A8. $2450 sound ridiculously high to me.

They say you have to removed the toothed belt on the D2 40v motors to change the thermostat, however somebody just posted today that they did it by just removing the tension off the timing belt. Don't know if that's possible or not. <a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/a8/msgs/153814.phtml">Here is the thread</a>.

I would contact Al at Chicago Performance and Tuning if the car is out of warranty. He's an ex Audi mechanic that works on performance and Audi cars. Total attention to detail, goes above the call of duty and if anything ever goes wrong or isn't right, he will make it right, you just let him know. Check out the Chicago forum for references to CPT. There price is probably half the cost, or maybe they can do it without taking the timing belt off.

Here's one picture of the outside of CPT, he does do a lot of B5 S4 work.....

<img src="http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x237/zubab/100_0921.jpg"><ul><li><a href="http://www.gocpt.com">Call Al, tell him Paul Waterloo sent you</a></li></ul>

Re: Thermostat replacement cost?
 

Go to a private trusted Audi repair place and it should cost $1500.00. That's what mine cost.

Paul, Thanks!

thing with our A8 now is I hear the fan alot during parking, but needle is always normal...
 

also, coolant when left overnight always appears to be below the min level even after topping it twice...what gives? low coolant level or leak or something fishy here...

Re: Does $2450 sound high?
 

This happen to me too and fortunately, it was still in warranty. They said the thermostate was in the " stuck " position and my temp gauge went crazy. The price does sound too high, I would look into getting prices from shops that specializes in German cars.

Sorry, but in plain English let me say, $2450 is absurd!

Love this post by the way--great AW help right down to the city!

Re: Thermostat replacement cost?
 

I didn't pay for mine, but the work order showed removal of quite a few parts to get at the thermostat and the car was there for two days. I would also recommend an independent shop. This is one of the things that causes poor resale value for used and out of warranty Audis.

Re: Thermostat replacement cost?
 

Anything over $800 is extremely high!!! I had mine replaced about 6 months ago down in florida (on a family vacation) The part itself it less than one hundred dollars, the labor it what eats you up. But if your car is aproaching 100k, a timing belt is always reccommend. That particular service is close to $2100 by itself

dre