Bought 2013 Audi S4 - need advice PLEASE

[BOFH]

Hi Everyone,

New to this forum and to Audi in general. Been looking for a decent S4 for a while, and finally found what I was looking for so I got rid of my 2008 MB C-class and got a 2013 Audi S4 with 52,000km (~35K miles). White with black/brown interior, B/O audio, NAV, start button, DSG and 19" "rotor" rims. My buddy is a car dealer so it was a really good deal, so even after doing full service and getting new brakes, it is still well under Autotrader prices.

Been driving it for a week now, and been lurking this forum and other Audi forums for a few weeks now for issues to watch out for. After doing a bunch of reading I ran across this thread - http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...rt-V6-3-0-TFSI.

Listening to the engine startups on my S4 it sounds like it has the timing chain tensioner issue described in this thread. The chain rattle is there for about 1 second every time I start the car - doesn't matter cold or warm. Also has a bit of a rough idle when at full stop or just starting to move in Drive without using the accelerator.

Besides those two issues there seems to be nothing else wrong with the car, and I really like the color combination, which will be difficult to find again.

Really curious to know what experienced Audi owners think about this. The TSB for the chain rattle talks about 2-3 second rattles, and mine last about 1 second if not less. The TSB also mentions that no damage is caused by the rattle, even though I understand that this is to be taken with a grain of salt. For the rough idle - found a bunch of threads saying that this is normal, even though there was a TSB for this as well.

I am really hoping that the car will last like this for another year or so, after which I will spend some extra funds on it to get the chain rattle fixed (my mechanic quoted me $3500 to do it right).

Thanks in advance.

[LittleDozer]

1 second upon startup is in spec. If it's doing it for 4+ seconds then you have an issue. Rough idle is completely normal with Audis.


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[mungie]

There is a tsb on it. My dealer refused to fix it, claiming they didn't hear anything abnormal. After much research, it is present on every 2013, and the updated tensioner came out halfway through the 2014 model year. So some 2014s have it, some don't. I'm saving up $$ and frustration to get it fixed out of pocket.

[BrooklynStig]

Interesting. Since i got this car in may i always heard a 1sec or so of a odd rattle when the car starts. I just saw this post. I have 61,xxx on a 2013. Picked it up at 58,xxx.


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[303 Spartan]

I picked up my 2014 S4 3 weeks ago with ~23k miles. It has the same 1 second chain rattle on most startups. Consensus seems to be that you can get it fixed if it annoys you enough. But pretty much everyone agrees that as long as doesn't stick around for more than 1-2 seconds then it's really not something to be concerned about.

Personally, I'm just going to live with it for now. When I hit my 35k mile maintenance interval sometime next year I may have the dealer take a look at it and possibly get it fixed before my warranty expires. But for now I'm not going to worry about it.

[BOFH]

Thanks to everyone who replied. Makes me feel a bit better about it. I absolutely love this car and think that it fits me perfectly. Such an upgrade after the C-class.

Still considering to take it to a dealer to have it checked out. $150 for a total piece of mind. Worth it or a waste of money?

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[303 Spartan]

Do you mean you're paying $150 to have the dealer do a full inspection of the car? If so, it would have been worth it PRIOR to purchasing the car.

Or, are you saying it's $150 just to have them tell you whether the chain tensioner needs to be replaced? If so, that seems like a rip-off.

[BOFH]

Just the tensioner. Seems like the only thing my mechanic cannot diagnose for certain.

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[Sudz]

OP, enjoy your car, don't over think your decision!

[BOFH]

OP, enjoy your car, don't over think your decision!

Thanks Sudz. Based on the replies so far I'm starting to think that it should be good for a while.

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[dave1078]

I have the noise but only on cold starts. It would last 1-2 seconds. The dealership is currently replacing the tensioners (as described by the TSB) with no questions asked. I'm still under warranty too.

If yours occurs on every startup, you could ask the service advisor to listen before handing it over to pay a fee.


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[jnervi3]

Also happens for me every morning, I'm with Sudz enjoy your car and if it gets annoying just add an exhaust setup and let the cold start overpower the quick rattle

[BOFH]

Thanks all. My car is out of warranty already so I'll guess I'll keep checking it and go to take it checked out if it gets any worse. A service adviser will either tell me the same thing my mechanic told me, or he/she will tell me that there is no issue.