2012 B8 A4 with 163K Miles - Replacing parts to prevent being left sitting somewhere

[hk1]

I have a B8 Audi A4, 2012, 2.0T. It's actually served me quite well and been one of the most reliable cars I've ever owned, not something you often hear about Audi's or about turbocharged engines.

If I'm going to keep this car for much longer (not convinced I will), then I want to make sure it's maintained well enough that I hopefully won't be left sitting somewhere. I keep up with oil changes and major engine failure actually isn't my concern right now. It will be going in to the shop for its first turbo replacement in January. The timing chain and timing chain tensioner was done around 72K miles. The water pump and thermostat have been done twice, the last time was about 1 year ago.

My question is, if I'm just going to start replacing parts preemptively, is that a dumb idea and what would I start replacing?

My idea is that I would replace hoses and belts, coils, starter, alternator, fuel pump, sway bar links, control arm bushings, struts/shocks, and O2 and MAF sensors. But then what about fuel injectors? Not to mention the air conditioning and cooling systems are aging now too. If I replaced everything I'm mentioning here, I suspect it could cost as much as the current value of the car, possibly a lot more.

So does it make any sense to replace common failure items to prevent future problems, even though it tends to get quite costly?

[audrobotic]

Some of those things are not going to ever leave you stranded. Bushings, shocks, sensors. I would only replace things that start to show signs of failure.
Things like alternator and starter, fuel pump - eh - only if youre doing the work self. Its doesnt make sense to throw money at a car that basically past its useful life cycle. And the problem with that is say you spend $2000 in things that “could” go wrong, but then a few things do go wrong to the tune of 2 or 3 grand, then your car is basically totaled and you wasted all the money before.

But a few coolant hoses is probably not a bad idea. Just keep vigilant for coolant smells, unusual noises and take care of things promptly. have roadside assistance on your car insurance plan too.

Edit - I just noticed the part where you said you dont really think you’ll keep the car much longer. So yeah def dont put much money into the car. Just regular maintenance and address any problems as inexpensively as you can, just to keep it on the road.

[hk1]

Well, I'm debating that part of selling it or keeping it. And if I keep it I don't want it to leave me sitting.

[AudiTLC]

I like your thought process here. The other post is reasonable.

IMO, this is what I would do:
-increase inspection frequency.
I don't mean every week- Maybe every 6 mo or year if your usual is "never-until there's a problem".

-in my experience, the weak spot w/ Audi is the cheap plastic. Coolant hoses/ connections, ps hoses and connectors.. they can go bad on any car but those are things you could replace without breaking the bank. If the hoses are hard, or connectors weeping.. getting on that would be a priority.

-inspect your wiring harness and all your wiring, maybe treat them to some heat wrap over the turbo/exhaust area.

-really, if you have battery, coolant, electrical and your fluids are staying put- you've minimized getting stranded.

mechanicals may cost more than the value of your car, but I always think about it this way:
does the repair cost more than replacing the vehicle with a comparable one?
At some point the car may be more hassle than it's worth but if it's running reliable and you like it, at this point, run it till you want to sell.

great job getting it to 163k! impressive.

[eyab689]

Personally I'd have the fluids flashed like coolant and brake fluid. I have 09 with 133k on it. I just replaced the starter and alternator. Oh and with them you have to replace the alternator with a Bosch one. Other than that I'd wait till stuff starts to show wear. Shocks and struts are a given. But I haven't replaced any of my suspension parts except struts and shocks oh and springs. The fuel pump on then usually lasts the lifetime of the car. Also the transmission fluid and filter can be changed on them. I've done mine at like 90k.

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[jjvwg]

I’d do coolant and brake fluid flushes. Transmission flush and filter if you can do it yourself otherwise that cost may not be worth it to you. Air filter/cabin filter and plugs and coils as well. Would be beneficial to do a carbon cleaning and injectors as well. Probably best to do a water pump/thermostat at that time also. All of that minus the transmission service is less than $750 for parts and would make the car pretty solid. Would look good if you went to sell it as well. At that mileage it’d be good to have a look at engine mounts as well and check your cam phase adaptation again. With 90k miles since the last chain, your probably about due again.


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[old guy]

Replace the PCV. Relatively inexpensive part that can cause fairly expensive damage when it fails. I replace mine every 50k miles.

[Theiceman]

as far as leaving you stranded I would not replace any of what you mentioned.. build a war chest Instead.. I would however replace your timing gear again as it has almost 100 k on it.
I'd be checking cam phase adaption

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[MongoMcG]

Water pump, coolant line o-rings, PCV, diverter valve, vacuum pump gasket; only the first two might strand you, but the last three are known failure points.

If you don't know the history of the fluids then flush and start fresh: power steering is easy; for coolant fill the vacuum suck up thing/tool helps a bunch; transmission fluid is a frustrating gig; the rear diff is quite probably just dandy for the life of the car. Brake fluid is liquid hell. I hate the stuff and go to the pros for brake fluid flushes.

I've used a ceramic additive in all three Audi's since new with Castrol 5W-40 (edited) (although I did just change the B8 to Liqui-Moly Leichtlauf High Tech 5W-40 (edited)). I just pulled the cams on the B8 (136K miles) and the cam, journal and bearing surfaces look perfect.

[hk1]

@MongoMcG Why do you use 5w-30? Is the the right oil for a B8 2.0T? I've been using 0W-40 or 5W-40 marketed as European Car Oil.

[audrobotic]

@MongoMcG Why do you use 5w-30? Is the the right oil for a B8 2.0T? I've been using 0W-40 or 5W-40 marketed as European Car Oil.

VW 502 00
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...33344-9999.pdf

[MongoMcG]

Doh! You're right. It's 5W-40. My brain could use a fluid flush about now.

[audrobotic]

Doh! You're right. It's 5W-40. My brain could use a fluid flush about now.

No, what I meant by that is that as long as the oil meets the 502 spec the weight doesn't matter. There’s 5w-40 and 5w-30 and others that meet the spec.

[AudiTLC]

here's a list of oils
https://oilsadvisor.com/vw-50200-approved-oil-list/

[Theiceman]

oil type is important, but I think history has taught us OCI is far more important. I have always felt turbos are hard AF on oils. and any turbo should have far more frequent oil changes than there NA cousins..
you only have to see a turbo glow red once to realize this ..

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