Thread for what you hate about your Audi A4 B8 or B8.5. All views and comments welcom

[doublespeeded]

Hi guys,

I thought id open a thread for a friendly discussion. I'm interested to know other members thoughts/views/feedback of owning their Audi A4 B8. Not only doI think many people would find it interesting to read also, but I feel that mentioning some problems to other users, others may be able to provide advice/ideas to overcome whats causing it to be unfavourable.

I've owned my 2012' (facelift) Audi A4 B8 (8.5, sort of) 2.0T TFSI Quattro for about 4 months and have been driving it daily, so I think I have a decent amount of experience of what its like to own one. It has 24,000Miles on the clock so no mechanical mishaps yet (*knock on wood)


What I personally Dislike about my personal car:

• The fact that it is a 2012 model car, it does not even have a USB jack, i have to rely on using bluetooth on my smartphone to listen to music. ive seen other brand cars which have it for 2012'
  
• For a 2012 model car, the fancy steering wheel doesn't have a media/music track toggle button on the steering wheel. I had a 2005 Toyota Yaris (Echo in some countries) even had one and im aware that the later model A4s had left and right arrows on the left side, I assume this is the toggle button?
  
• Audi has installed very poor quality and lacklustre stubby paddle shifters for their line of cars, the A4 is no exception. The awkward thing is that the aftermarket extensions weren't really designed for it, the length of them bump against the levers and cross paths if the wheel turns whilst pulling one of the cruise control & wipers etc.
  
• Being a facelifted model in 2012 (sept 2012) the exterior is 2013+ but the model I purchased still had the CDNC 2.0T TFSI 155kw (where the 2013+ were equipped with CNC 165kw TFSI), this makes it a bit more difficult when buying parts. I have to pretty much search under B8.0 2009+ for engine parts but 2013 + for exterior parts....
  
• I really dislike like the way the Auto HID headlights works, they seem to like turning ON more than staying OFF. Even with plenty of light at say 3:00pm in the afternoon, as soon as theres a touch of shade...it comes ON. Jap cars/manufacturers must have different design rules, theirs don't turn ON that all the time, only when its starting to get dark or in tunnels. This annoys me to the extend I manually leave the AUTO as OFF and turn it ON manually when needed, which defeats the purpose of Automatic light sensing headlights.
  
• The instrument cluster back-light is a bit weird also, with lights OFF, it seems to come on sometimes... It seems to bring it on when its Bright outside... but dims when its dark... it just seem to behave weirdly.
  
• the Stop start function is annoying, its good sometimes when you stop at a set of lights for 5 minutes, but for braking slow moving traffic is irritating. The fact you cant fully turn it off either.
  
• I don't like the fact that Non-S-LINEs are ignored by the market, there are rarely any exterior parts for things like non-S-LINE bumpers (Lips, Diffusers etc)
  
• I do not like the foot rest of this car (on the R/H drive anyway) the left foot is too far back away from the driver. I even went as far as installing the RS pedal set and it needed customisation so I glued the RS footrest to the flat basic OEM one (giving it about an extra inch)... its still too far back and uncomfortable.
  
• The keyless entry is annoying sometimes, when washing the car with the key in your pocket, when water from the hose touches the door handle it locks the car and folds the mirror.
  
• I never liked oil filters facing upwards, its much easier to cause a mess.
  
• Im not sure what went through the designers minds when they decided to remove the oil dipstick and made it only visable in the MMS, which requires the car to be warm etc. Its a pain but its fine and fancy, but they should've left the dipstick there anyways. (I have bought a dispstick which is being delivered from ECS to overcome this issue)
  
• Perhaps this is in the tune and is rectified in either stage I or II... or possibly the way the 7-speed DSG works... The A4 2.0T is fairly torquey it always wants to go higher in gear, Say 60km/hr, the revs are as low as 1,500rpm... I look down at the cluster and find its already up to 7th gear. On windy mountain scenic drives, I find I always have to drop down a gear by pulling the paddle shifter to regulate the rev-range better.
  
• I don't like the OEM glass (the rear windscreen, front and quarter panels) surrounding the sides/edges, its full of a painted dot pattern on the inside.. which doesn't allow the window tint to sit 100% along the edges, and causes it to look lighter and unnatural. (giving away that its tint, rather than Privacy glass)
  
• The Non-Sline sits too high and the wheel gap is huge. I guess to make way for the more exclusive and more desired S-Line... Not only is it tall.. its fairly soft... hard cornering on 19" (5 arm rotor Audi S-line Rims) ive heard the wheel rub against one of the upper control arms (which sits quite close)
  
• im not sure if this one can be a valid argument as this is common in European cars, but I dislike how Audi has made the rotors soft... wearing in with the pads. Apparently this promotes better braking. Ive owned many cars in my life, from Hilux, Hiace, to Yaris & Supra, Subaru WRX to XVs and my other car which is an Evolution IX that I track here and there. Never have I ever had to replace a rotor... as Jap cars are renowned to make harder discs... either way, what Euros have designed and specced, its no good for a consumer's pocket.
  I hope an aftermarket brake disc package Slotted or Drilled... will overcome this.
  
  
  

That's all I can think of for now, there could be more as time comes. But don't get me wrong, I do love my A4, its my first European car and I think its one of the best cars I've owned and hope to enjoy it for years to come. No drive so far ever feels 'too long'...I actually originally typed out the 'LIKE' list, but erased it, it got a bit boring as m sure ALL of us share the same taste in what we like about it. The list was getting too long also, my intention isn't to bore anyone :)

Im interested to know what others feel, all comments welcome.

Cheers

[Smellie]

2012 A4. pretty much base premium with just heated seats and Phantom Black Pearl

1. Can't fold my seats down or even have a trunk tunnel. High $30grand car and it doesnt have a way to easily get to the trunk?!
2. Oil filter facing up sucks.

Honestly, that's all I really don't like about my car haha.

[CONative]

One thing I dislike that you haven't mentioned is the electronic e-brake. Regardless of technology, an e-brake should always be a lever or pedal that one has to physically pull or push respectively. In a worst case scenario I'm not going to think of that dinky switch next to the shift column.


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[earhythmic]

I hate how the B8 got rid of the tiny sun visor above the rear view mirror. My B5 and B6 had it and I thought it was genius. With it gone the sun always seems to be shining right between that gap.

[Tim R.]

2010 A4 P+. This is my 4th Audi and I have seen how the base models have gotten more "base" over the years. My 1990 Coupe Quattro came with every option as standard. Even the trip computer in 1990 was better than the trip computer in the base premium B8.

- Stupid steering wheel control does not scroll through presets
- Upside down oil filter. Does the check valve really keep the nasties from draining back into engine? When I was building race cars we always mounted the filter open side up.
- No dipstick
- No BT audio
- Lousy remote control range
- Seat memory should be a standard on any luxury car with power seats
- Footwell lights look kinda cool but I would gladly give them up for seat memory or properly functional wheel controls.
- B&O system not really that impressive
- Faulty chain tensioner(I replaced mine before it became an issue)
- Oil consumption. Stage two completed and no longer drinks oil.

I should say that what I love about this car far outweighs what I don't.

[petraman]

I wish I bought it new... Monthly payments would be a bit less if I leased, and I'd be able to order the car I wanted. I wish the PO took better care of the paint, the sport seats have some weird wear to them that I haven't seen in other cars and I don't have much faith that he knew how to drive manual properly.

Basically, the car is perfect for me, all the negatives have to do with buying a CPO.

[treginginco]

Tilt wheel adjustment handle down by my feet.

No Bluetooth streaming audio for music on the non-NAV MMI. I have a '13 allroad with a sticker of $46k and that option is available on $20k KIA's.

[audis4culver]

Only thing for me is when the weather gets cool- my door seals seem to make weird rubbing noises.


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[mr2uned]

I cannot stand how the rear windows do not go down all the way.


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[awdconnor]

things i hate.
-no blue tooth audio
-small vibrations within the cabin
- whats the need for front upper control arms...
- axles are 950 dollars..
Thats it.

Things i love,
- The interior, its what sold me on the car.
- how quiet the inside can be (But then you hear the vibrations)
- The sound of the motor inside
- My seats (alcantara)
- The MMI
-Turbo! (my old car was NA)
- The B&O sounds amazing
-trunk space

With that being said, i love this car. all the hates are just nit picky.

[erikke]

The windshield wipers don't move fast enough. Sometimes I nearly have to slow to 25mph so I can see. So annoying!!! New blades and a clean windshield don't help. My 4Runner runs the blades much more quickly an I have no issues in the rain with that vehicle. Guess it doesn't rain as hard in Germany as it does in Hawaii!


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[A4x]

Only thing for me is when the weather gets cool- my door seals seem to make weird rubbing noises.

You can fix this!! I had the same issue that drove me nuts for the better part of a year. The noise is just from the door not being held tightly enough to the car body, it can be fixed by undoing the 2 bolts on the striker plate (little metal hook that is on the car body), and then moving the striker plate slightly inboard, then tighten the bolts. Disclaimer: I did not fix this myself, my dealer did one door for me and charged 15 minutes labor. I think if you loosen the bolts too much, the nut behind the body will fall off....then you're screwed. I'm not sure though. I'd loosen it just enough to nudge it over a touch. Then it will hold the door in tighter and prevent any rubber noises ( also gives a better 'thunk' when closing the door).


Oh, and back on topic:

2011 B8, 65000 mi

I hate no BT audio, same reasons mentioned above (cars half the price have it).

I HATE that I cannot go from S to Manual mode, have to go via D which upshifts (B8.5 and on fixed this problem).

I hate that I bought an automatic (but the ZF8HP is very awesome).

[doublespeeded]

You can fix this!! I had the same issue that drove me nuts for the better part of a year. The noise is just from the door not being held tightly enough to the car body, it can be fixed by undoing the 2 bolts on the striker plate (little metal hook that is on the car body), and then moving the striker plate slightly inboard, then tighten the bolts. Disclaimer: I did not fix this myself, my dealer did one door for me and charged 15 minutes labor. I think if you loosen the bolts too much, the nut behind the body will fall off....then you're screwed. I'm not sure though. I'd loosen it just enough to nudge it over a touch. Then it will hold the door in tighter and prevent any rubber noises ( also gives a better 'thunk' when closing the door).


Oh, and back on topic:

2011 B8, 65000 mi

I hate no BT audio, same reasons mentioned above (cars half the price have it).

I HATE that I cannot go from S to Manual mode, have to go via D which upshifts (B8.5 and on fixed this problem).

I hate that I bought an automatic (but the ZF8HP is very awesome).

Good to see that the comments had lead to something positive. As I mentioned, someone may have found a solution for your issues.


I appreciate all your feedback, at I'm somewhat glad that we feel/have the same reasons for despair.

I filled up petrol on the way to work and thought of something I forgot to mention:

I dislike the fact it does not have a fuel hatch release within the car (or is there?). I'm the type to do two bucket wash methods, use a Metrovac to dry the car.
Having a black pearl LZ9Y, I don't like the idea of wiping the clear coat, even with microfiber cloths.
So it always feels wrong to me, either on a freshly washed car or a dirty/dusty car to touch the paintjob on the hatch to open it.

[doublespeeded]

You can fix this!! I had the same issue that drove me nuts for the better part of a year. The noise is just from the door not being held tightly enough to the car body, it can be fixed by undoing the 2 bolts on the striker plate (little metal hook that is on the car body), and then moving the striker plate slightly inboard, then tighten the bolts. Disclaimer: I did not fix this myself, my dealer did one door for me and charged 15 minutes labor. I think if you loosen the bolts too much, the nut behind the body will fall off....then you're screwed. I'm not sure though. I'd loosen it just enough to nudge it over a touch. Then it will hold the door in tighter and prevent any rubber noises ( also gives a better 'thunk' when closing the door).


Oh, and back on topic:

2011 B8, 65000 mi

I hate no BT audio, same reasons mentioned above (cars half the price have it).

I HATE that I cannot go from S to Manual mode, have to go via D which upshifts (B8.5 and on fixed this problem).

I hate that I bought an automatic (but the ZF8HP is very awesome).

2010 A4 P+. This is my 4th Audi and I have seen how the base models have gotten more "base" over the years. My 1990 Coupe Quattro came with every option as standard. Even the trip computer in 1990 was better than the trip computer in the base premium B8.

- Stupid steering wheel control does not scroll through presets
- Upside down oil filter. Does the check valve really keep the nasties from draining back into engine? When I was building race cars we always mounted the filter open side up.
- No dipstick
- No BT audio
- Lousy remote control range
- Seat memory should be a standard on any luxury car with power seats
- Footwell lights look kinda cool but I would gladly give them up for seat memory or properly functional wheel controls.
- B&O system not really that impressive
- Faulty chain tensioner(I replaced mine before it became an issue)
- Oil consumption. Stage two completed and no longer drinks oil.

I should say that what I love about this car far outweighs what I don't.

Heya Tim,

Firstly, I have a few queries regarding the Eiback springs, ill message you in private.

The steering wheel that lacks the track controls, im glad im not the only one.

the current models have the < and > arrows on the top left... im wondering what it is? is it actual track toggle this time or is it Turn-indicators? (I think ive seen similar looking switches for indicators on the latest model Ferraris)

[BlackAllOver]

-Car is burning a quart of oil every ~400 miles. Audi won't cover even a percentage of stage 2
-Doesn't come with a dipstick
-Doesn't have included BT audio streaming (2011 P+) and my Tune2Air loves to drop or play the same song over and over
-Steering wheel is super thin with pretty bad grip
-Front cupholders size
-Loud engine noise at idle when a/c is on
-Rough idle on startup for ~1-2 mins (>1k RPMS, drops down to ~800 after I let it sit)
-No touchscreen
-No push start/stop or advanced keyless entry (afaik the prestige comes with it, and s models/avant models. Cars from years before came with this)
-I was an idiot and got a CVT so half of the time I either have really bad lag from a full stop or the car pushes way too much
-Battery needs to be coded
-The sunroof mechanism. I like the original that's offered on most other cars where I can push/pull the button to whatever amount of exposure I decide
-DRL drop down in brightness when headlights are on (can be fixed with VAGCOM but of course I don't have one)

That's just a few and I'm finding more every day. Seriously debating moving to BMW after (IF) this car lasts a few more years. Had a loaner 2017 A4 S-line not too long ago and it was great, but dealing with AoA for the past few months has definitely set me back on sticking with the brand.

[Captain Amazing]

Cons:

-Oil consumption issues
-Timing chain tensioner makes my car feel like a ticking time bomb. I'll take care of it later, been super busy so I hope my car doesn't explode before I get to it.
-Cheap plastic parts break like the fog light covers or the sun visor holding thing

Pros:

-It looks great
-Full torque at 1500rpms

[Darksol80]

One thing I dislike that you haven't mentioned is the electronic e-brake. Regardless of technology, an e-brake should always be a lever or pedal that one has to physically pull or push respectively. In a worst case scenario I'm not going to think of that dinky switch next to the shift column.


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Technically it is a parking brake not a emergency brake. Legally no manufacturer calls them emergency brakes any more. That is why you get a "PARK BRAKE" light when it is on and not a "E-BRAKE" light.

To respond to the op, I hate not having BT streaming standard. And now there aren't even easy ways to add it.
There is a buzz in the passenger door/dash area. There is a rattle at certain frequencys in the rear shelf. The door sensors are starting to go out....

[b6Hate4]

Things I hate:

-Our fueling limitations
-No bluetooth streaming

Thats about it. I like my car, it's a great daily driver. Reliable, comfortable, and able to hang with a Dodge SRT8 wagon when in the powerband, with just a few bolt ons.

[doublespeeded]

One last point for now, Im not sure if anyone here ever uses the Sunglass compartment?

Its just way too shallow and small to fit any form of sunglass I have... It probably fits only spectacles?

[ducati]

-Wipers do not move fast enough during downpours
-no BT
-parking camera not standard
-oil consumption for almost 4 years of car 2009- early 2012
-timing tensioner roulette
-fuel filter under seat

[Fastbke170]

Only thing for me is when the weather gets cool- my door seals seem to make weird rubbing noises.


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine mobile app

I went nuts with this the 1st year I had my 2012 CPO, It sounds like a creaking or like your cleaning a window with windex. The Fix was initally to Clean my weather stripping on doors. My absolute Fix was to Use some Lucas Red Tacky grease lightly applied to all Striker plate loops. Problem Gone

[weagle1856]

I hate how the B8 got rid of the tiny sun visor above the rear view mirror. My B5 and B6 had it and I thought it was genius. With it gone the sun always seems to be shining right between that gap.

THIS. Sometimes I use the sunglasses contsiner lol, but it's not as good as the fold down one.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[petraman]

Ever since this thread, I've been endlessly looking for little annoyances... Some I've found:

*There's no accessory mode... Once you turn the car off, nothing charges and only the radio works if you turn it back on
*Curiously, automatic up/down does not work when you turn off the car
*2nd gear syncro can be reluctant at times on downshift.
*BT phone voice commands are useless
*My 2011 Fiesta had more tech in it for a third of the price.
*Automatic wipers come on randomly. Not annoying enough to turn them off.


Just little niggles, but annoyances nonetheless

[TurboNate]

Ever since this thread, I've been endlessly looking for little annoyances... Some I've found:

*There's no accessory mode... Once you turn the car off, nothing charges and only the radio works if you turn it back on
*Curiously, automatic up/down does not work when you turn off the car
*2nd gear syncro can be reluctant at times on downshift.
*BT phone voice commands are useless
*My 2011 Fiesta had more tech in it for a third of the price.
*Automatic wipers come on randomly. Not annoying enough to turn them off.


Just little niggles, but annoyances nonetheless

Accessory mode can be turned on by pushing the key fob in without pressing the brakes.


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[MikeB8.5]

2013 Premium Plus

- Cup holder placement behind gear shift. Audi, you need to fix this shit.
- Laggy electronic throttle (At least I think so anyways)
- Under powered
- Clunky shifting
- No aux port or USB
- No factory dipstick

This one may or may not make much sense to some people but I actually wish the S line front bumper was the non S line front cover. I feel the non S line covers look way sportier than the S line fronts. I also wish 13 and up models came with with the V6 still.

[petraman]

Accessory mode can be turned on by pushing the key fob in without pressing the brakes.


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Not sure about how the automatics work, but doing that just turns it on without starting the engine... IE fans on, etc.

[mr_milo]

One last point for now, Im not sure if anyone here ever uses the Sunglass compartment?

Its just way too shallow and small to fit any form of sunglass I have... It probably fits only spectacles?

You just need to stop wearing your girlfriends sunglasses.
My Oakley Whiskers fit just fine.

[Nano909]

The problem I notice every day is pretty much the same as other's.

No BT radio.
No AUX or USB connections.
Very underpowered for being an expensive German car.

[b6Hate4]

The problem I notice every day is pretty much the same as other's.

No BT radio.
No AUX or USB connections.
Very underpowered for being an expensive German car.

Calling this an "Expensive German car" is a bit much...

They start at like $35k or something. Not cheap, but it is the entry level sedan offering from the Audi brand.

[Nano909]

Calling this an "Expensive German car" is a bit much...

They start at like $35k or something. Not cheap, but it is the entry level sedan offering from the Audi brand.

Let me rephrase:

Very underpowered for an expensive NON-base model German car.

[petraman]

I must have been driving slow cars all my life... The A4 feels just as powerful as my Focus ST did.

[b6Hate4]

Let me rephrase:

Very underpowered for an expensive NON-base model German car.

The cars power is in line with similar offerings from their competition, the 328i and the C300, however the A4 can be made MUCH faster for very cheap! Cant say the same for the other 2.

[Nano909]

The cars power is in line with similar offerings from their competition, the 328i and the C300, however the A4 can be made MUCH faster for very cheap! Cant say the same for the other 2.

Good point. But still, you'd figure it would at least be faster than other 2.0 turbo cars.

[JeriQo]

Voice command is useless. Only thing ive ever got to work is 'cancel navigation' command

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[willski]

[*] Perhaps this is in the tune and is rectified in either stage I or II... or possibly the way the 7-speed DSG works... The A4 2.0T is fairly torquey it always wants to go higher in gear, Say 60km/hr, the revs are as low as 1,500rpm... I look down at the cluster and find its already up to 7th gear. On windy mountain scenic drives, I find I always have to drop down a gear by pulling the paddle shifter to regulate the rev-range better.

Cheers

- This one bugs me the most about my A4 (sounds like we have similar models mine is a late 2012 built, 2013 registered 2.0T (155kw) 7sp s-tronic) but the rest are minor compared to this one. The s-tronic is fine when you are in sport mode and want to drive hard, but in D it wants to shift waaaay to early to keep the revs well under 2000 for cruising. I was wondering if a tune would fix it, but not sure its worth spending money on vs working around it. I also find manual mode to be fairly disastrous - slow to change up or down. ie, 1st gear, full throttle, 6500rpm, pull the paddle - I expect an instant shift into 2ns, but it takes about 1 second which feels like a lifetime. I've read heaps about "how to drive" a DSG and it doesnt help. Better to leave it in Sport mode.

- The only other major annoyance is the rattles in the car - I've got a bad one in the drivers side door which rattles with bass at all volumes >_< would expect more from a modern, heavy, luxury car.

- Oh and lack of turbo spool noise what I miss most from my old turbo cars (my00 WRX and S15 Silvia) is the sweet sound of that turbine spooling

[Nano909]

- This one bugs me the most about my A4 (sounds like we have similar models mine is a late 2012 built, 2013 registered 2.0T (155kw) 7sp s-tronic) but the rest are minor compared to this one. The s-tronic is fine when you are in sport mode and want to drive hard, but in D it wants to shift waaaay to early to keep the revs well under 2000 for cruising. I was wondering if a tune would fix it, but not sure its worth spending money on vs working around it. I also find manual mode to be fairly disastrous - slow to change up or down. ie, 1st gear, full throttle, 6500rpm, pull the paddle - I expect an instant shift into 2ns, but it takes about 1 second which feels like a lifetime. I've read heaps about "how to drive" a DSG and it doesnt help. Better to leave it in Sport mode.

- The only other major annoyance is the rattles in the car - I've got a bad one in the drivers side door which rattles with bass at all volumes >_< would expect more from a modern, heavy, luxury car.

- Oh and lack of turbo spool noise what I miss most from my old turbo cars (my00 WRX and S15 Silvia) is the sweet sound of that turbine spooling

I imagine it shifts early in D mode because it's trying to shift optimally for MPG's.

Get a K&N intake and you'll hear the turbo spool.

[willski]

Get a K&N intake and you'll hear the turbo spool.

along with the horrible weird whistling noises.... :\

[Nano909]

along with the horrible weird whistling noises.... :\

That's the sound of the small turbo. A turbo muffler delete makes it sound way smoother.

[doublespeeded]

Ever since this thread, I've been endlessly looking for little annoyances... Some I've found:

*There's no accessory mode... Once you turn the car off, nothing charges and only the radio works if you turn it back on
*Curiously, automatic up/down does not work when you turn off the car
*2nd gear syncro can be reluctant at times on downshift.
*BT phone voice commands are useless
*My 2011 Fiesta had more tech in it for a third of the price.
*Automatic wipers come on randomly. Not annoying enough to turn them off.


Just little niggles, but annoyances nonetheless

petraman, automatic up down doesn't work when ignition off? is that the power windows?

im not sure if you are expericing a malfunction with auto/rain sensing wipers.. it shouldn't come on randomly at all, unless that's an issue with B8.0?

2013 Premium Plus

- Cup holder placement behind gear shift. Audi, you need to fix this shit.
- Laggy electronic throttle (At least I think so anyways)
- Under powered
- Clunky shifting
- No aux port or USB
- No factory dipstick

This one may or may not make much sense to some people but I actually wish the S line front bumper was the non S line front cover. I feel the non S line covers look way sportier than the S line fronts. I also wish 13 and up models came with with the V6 still.

MikeB8.5, I believe Audi have fixed the cup holder ergonomics on the B9... the cupholders are located in front of the shifter ... with a nice fancy looking LED backlight surrounding the shape of the cup holders (bastards!)

Ive driven only one other electric throttled car, which was the Toyota Hilux.. I did find that it also took a very brief moment for the throttle to respond after pressing the accelerator.
I think this is just the nature of the beast for non-accel cabled cars. So that aspect, combined with some turbo lag, As well as the fact that A4 2.0T wants to shift to a higher gear too early... would give you a very laggy response feel.

Also, regarding the dipstick, I bought one recently which is aluminium (Yes Americans spell 'Aluminum') just so that I don't have run the car unnecessarily for 2 mins before I see that the oil level is 'OK'..
if you do get one, I highly recommend a plastic handled one or a OEM retrofit...

after running the car/a commute, if you touch the Aluminium its hot as f"£$%!, you need a rag to hold it to pull it out.

You just need to stop wearing your girlfriends sunglasses.
My Oakley Whiskers fit just fine.

LOL well you'd think Audi would designed a sunglass compartment to accommodate a wider range of sunglasses... rather than something that's only holds glasses as small as Henerich Himmler's spectacles.

The problem I notice every day is pretty much the same as other's.

No BT radio.
No AUX or USB connections.
Very underpowered for being an expensive German car.

Good point. But still, you'd figure it would at least be faster than other 2.0 turbo cars.

Yeh I do agree with you Nano909... If you compare it against other 2.0T such as EVO, STI, FOCUS, GTI & Mustang 4cyl it is quite slow from factory. The main issue is the weight... its a pretty heavy car. Apparently the B9 Audi managed to shave 100 - 150 KG (220 - 330lbs) off its weight, id imagine that would help with the performance. The other issue is probably the Ko3 being small and under-capable turbo.. my other car which is the EVO IX, the turbo that came stock on them are TD05 and factory tuned to 18psi... its HUGE compared to the Audi's...

- This one bugs me the most about my A4 (sounds like we have similar models mine is a late 2012 built, 2013 registered 2.0T (155kw) 7sp s-tronic) but the rest are minor compared to this one. The s-tronic is fine when you are in sport mode and want to drive hard, but in D it wants to shift waaaay to early to keep the revs well under 2000 for cruising. I was wondering if a tune would fix it, but not sure its worth spending money on vs working around it. I also find manual mode to be fairly disastrous - slow to change up or down. ie, 1st gear, full throttle, 6500rpm, pull the paddle - I expect an instant shift into 2ns, but it takes about 1 second which feels like a lifetime. I've read heaps about "how to drive" a DSG and it doesnt help. Better to leave it in Sport mode.

- The only other major annoyance is the rattles in the car - I've got a bad one in the drivers side door which rattles with bass at all volumes >_< would expect more from a modern, heavy, luxury car.

- Oh and lack of turbo spool noise what I miss most from my old turbo cars (my00 WRX and S15 Silvia) is the sweet sound of that turbine spooling

Heya willski,
yes, sounds like you have the same model, facelift but the older Gen II motor...
Well if you like, keep in touch, ill be getting the stage 2 done shortly and I can let you know if this eliminates/alleviates the laggy, high gear & slow response feel.

Also regarding the spool sound, you probably need a pod filter, which is also arriving soon for me prior to stage II. ill let you know

The turbo muffler is designed to increase the spool sound and apparently helps with the way the turbo spools as well. but the offerings from the device is very minimal .. but id like to do that mod just for the sake of it.
It looks pretty easy, you just need to jack up the car to get to it... it be easier for you in North America to obtain one than me.

[AlphaMale_DD]

I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned already (B8 Avant 2009):

- The control arm bushings with the annoying wheel shimmy.
- Its absurd sensitivity to (aftermarket) wheels and tires.
- Lack of storage compartments
- The rollo lock construction is flimsy. Take a speed bump a bit too fast (or just a dip in the highway) and it unlocks and goes up. Both non-Sline suspension and coilovers, so that's no excuse.