Audis For Saudis

Annual auto reliability survey

2010 Cadillac SRX AWD
Originally uploaded by homeychan

Consumer Reports released the results of its annual auto reliability survey on Tuesday and made special note of the improvement in General Motors vehicles.
“While some G.M. nameplates had been among the least reliable brands in past years, they now
rank above some major European competitors such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz,” said Consumer Reports in a news release.
Out of all the G.M. brands, Cadillac improved the most, moving up seven places from last year’s ranking to 19 (out of 27 brands). At 17, Chevrolet ranked the highest of all G.M. brands. Still, G.M. models have not yet reached the level of most reliable, where Honda and Toyota dominate.
Conducted in the spring, the 2010 Annual Car Reliability Survey covers 1.3 million 2001-10 model year vehicles leased or owned by Consumer Reports subscribers. The results apply to the predicted reliability of new cars, and vehicles are rated on a scale of Much Better Than Average, Better Than Average, Average, Worse Than Average and Much Worse Than Average.
Over all, Japanese automakers had the most reliable vehicles, occupying five of the top six slots. The top brand was Scion, surprisingly followed by Porsche, which jumped six spots since last year. In fact, all of Porsche’s cars and S.U.V.’s were rated Average or Better.
The Porsche Boxster also had the best predicted reliability score in the survey, but it was based on one year of data. The other German automakers were among the bottom six automakers in terms of reliability. Consumer Reports slapped the Not Recommended label on three Audis — the A3, the A6 with the 3-liter supercharged engine and the Q5.
(from NYT blog)

The Audi Kool-Aid

B8 A4
Originally uploaded by homeychan

Every now and then I post on the Audi forums to somebody who has oil consumption issues, people take this personally it seems. Seems like many just want to deny the problem because it didn't happen to them. My reply to one is below including the link to the thread on audizine.

Originally Posted by Retsujou
You do realise that at full RPM the pistons in the RS4 move faster than the ones in a Formula One engine. Don't you think that will burn some oil?

Originally Posted by homeychan
So your RS4 pistons move at over 16,000RPMs, are you saying the stroke is so short in the 4.2 it spins faster than an F1 car? Either way I'm sorry a F1 engine and our engines don't compare, pneumatic valves and an engine designed to run pinned for a few races is a lot different than a car designed to drive around on public roads. Guys don't get me wrong, I am not saying the cars suck, and I love my car when it runs. Let’s be reasonable, with a little bit of research these cars use oil, Audi says 1/2 litre every 1500km's is acceptable, but many burn more than that including mine. All I want is for Audi to acknowledge and fix the cars that do have a problem. Is that unreasonable? My car used a litre every 1200kms, the cylinders were fouled with oil and it had low compression because of the continuous excessive oil leak. It was a manufacturing fault; my problem started well within warranty but was denied in the end because Audi and the dealer had clerical issues. This a recurring issue why does everybody get so offended when it comes up?

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/300719-RS4-Low-OIL-again?p=5789396#post5789396

Audi B6 S4

Audi B6 S4
Originally uploaded by homeychan

I received the following request from someone on Audizine, funny in the thread another guy responded that S4's do not have an oil consumption issue, not sure how he can legitimately say that. Have a read and follow the link for the entire thread.

Dear homeychan,

styleew1 has just replied to a thread you have subscribed to entitled - RS4 Low OIL again - in the B6/B7 S4/RS4 forum of Audizine Forums.

This thread is located at:
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/300719-RS4-Low-OIL-again?goto=n
ewpost

Here is the message that has just been posted:
***************
HOMEYCHAN,

I have the exact same problem you are describing above with my B7 AUDI RS4.
My car is now two months past the warranty period. I just had the oil consumption test performed. In the last 5 months my car has been in the shop for an engine light. The car also broke down on me on the highway two months later. The oil light has come on twice. I have had to add two quarts of oil every 1500 miles. I just had the oil consumption test performed yesterday after noticing the inside of my tailpipes were coated with wet oil. Audi wants me to drive the car an additional 600 miles before going any further. They also said my car will most likely need to have an engine rebuild or an new engine!!!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?! The car has been babied and has never been modified, redlined, or tracked. How did you make out with the lawyer? I am debating about getting an M3 and trading this car away. 2007 with only 32000 miles and needs a new engine? Audi was also kind enough to let me know the car is out of warranty by 2 months.
Terrible product and service for such a rare car. This is my third and last AUDI.
***************


There may also be other replies, but you will not receive any more notifications until you visit the forum again.

All the best,
Audizine Forums

Something Positive

SRP-Sept-2010
Originally uploaded by homeychan

Well at least the attached picture was a positive part of my trip to Spokane, because the car certainly wasn’t. Just as I left Calgary the oil light came on and I had to add a litre of oil, and then as we drove through the rain the car developed a terrible vibration, it was so bad the radar detector looked like it was going to fall off the windshield. On my gas stop in Cranbrook the vibration went away and the car was smooth again, I have no idea why when I was driving in the rain the car vibrated so badly. The oil light has come back on again but it is probably within Audi spec. Every time I think this car is fixed something else goes wrong…