Still won't start

2010 LA Car Show, a photo by homeychan on Flickr.

Still having issues with car not starting, 3 starters later and we can’t solve the problem. All the starters are refurbs from Audi and either they have quality control issues or something is wrong with the car to cook the starters. All it takes is about 3 weeks of driving time before it starts to fail. Dealer thought maybe heat shield is missing after the engine was re-installed, they are going to wait and look at another S4. Since the rebuild some cables were not routed to same location and tabs were broken, no wonder that mechanic got fired, too bad he worked on my car. The new mechanics are awesome; they just came along after most of the damage was done.

Service, Service, Service

Service, a photo by homeychan on Flickr.

Once again I got the car back from service, they found a relay under the ECU that works with the starter, and this $40 part could have been the cause all along. After driving the car for a week it doesn’t start again, I have no idea when or how they can fix this. 2 starters, relays, batteries and the problem persists, I am scratching my head, so is the dealer, so is Audi. I dunno what to do anymore; I am pretty disheartened by all this, I just want a car that starts and runs.

Car Fail!

Audi-reverse forward, a photo by homeychan on Flickr.

Well the car is back again for service, I hate this car most of the times because it rarely runs without some type of failure. This should be the most reliable 2005 S4 since so many of the parts have been replaced, new engine, starter, battery, solenoids, relays, and so much more but it continues to fail. Do I want a car payment again or do I want to work through this in hopes this is the last time? I cannot say enough about my dealer, they have really taken good care of me, but man this car is driving me mental.
Still won’t start randomly and I have to bump it or just keep trying the switch till it starts, thinks it’s in reverse when driving forward. The last one makes traffic clear away from behind me in traffic, kinda funny.

Starter Problems

Car-2007, a photo by homeychan on Flickr.

My Car is broken again, still intermittently won’t start. The starter has been replaced, the crank sensor, ignition switch. Still leaves me randomly stranded, but at least if I turn the switch consistently it will eventually start. It is back in the shop again.

Right on Schedule

2010 LA Car Show, a photo by homeychan on Flickr.

Had the ignition switch replaced and the car ran for over a month, but now it’s back to not starting regularly. Stranded me last night after I washed it, would not start for about 10 minutes, nothing happens it does not turn over. It has been in the Audi dealer, no codes, they kept car and drove it home, could not replicate. Seems to happen after car gets wet and I stop for 15+ minutes at a grocery store or something. It will restart every morning, starts if it stalls, but if I leave it for 15 it won’t start.

It never ends with this car!

Towing S4 Again, a photo by homeychan on Flickr.

I haven’t posted for a while; I think I have just become accustomed to the car not working, seems to be on schedule that something breaks, every 3 weeks. The attached photo is a result of a flat that occurred while taking my daughter to school. One of my continental sport contact 3’s went flat and I guess that line is discontinued so I had to buy all 4. In the last few months since my last post the car needed a new crank sensor, as a result it would randomly not start. 3 weeks after that was fixed it needed a new ignition switch, again the result the car would not start. It would just leave me stranded for about 15 minutes then restart. Then just over 2 weeks later it got a flat tire. This car is possessed maybe I need an exorcist! On the positive side my dealer has been fantastic, I feel like a celebrity whenever I go to in. They have been doing there best to help me minimize some of the costs. I can’t fault them and if Audi was actually nice perhaps I would buy another one, but for now I am leaning towards a GTR – MBA or GTR, tough decision.

These cars are perfect

LED DRLs
Originally uploaded by homeychan

For all those people that say this problem is'nt real, why are there so many posts with people having short blocks replaced?

"My short block was replaced a couple of months ago under CPO warranty.

Cost me $100 deductible...they said it was a ~$20k job.

I was always kind of sceptical about extended warranties. Not any more!"

Read the extended blog here: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/319856-Oil-Consumption?p=5857971#post5857971