[Kelvin]

Ok, sadness has entered my life. Was driving home from friends two nights ago & racing down the freeway at a slightly illegal speed when I started to loose power and slow down. The engine was misfiring badly and so I limped the short distance back home. First thing the next morning I slow paced it straight to the Audi service center.
:angry:
When they finally got around to my car (single dealer with only one service center for the whole country) they found two spark plugs burned out. Since new plugs had been replaced at the last service, less than 2 months back the first assessment was faulty plugs. One I could understand but two seemed a bit much. They replaced the plugs & sure enough, still problems. I had been suspecting dirty fuel line all along (previous post). Next in line, a compression test. Cylinder three failed and so they asked permission to open the head - like what option did I have?
:huh:
It seems that I have a burned valve, not sure which yet. I urgently need to get some feedback on this so that I can speak with a little confidence when I go see these guys.
What might have caused this and could it have been faulty spark plugs?
They will obviously try lay the blame where it costs me and not them. If somehow it was my doing, fair enough. However if not, I want to be able to talk them down.

Any feedback much appreciated!

 

[bhb399mm]

does your TT have engine modifications at all?

If not, theres no way its your fault at all. Thats not to say they can't charge you though. If your car isnt under warentee anymore, you'll pay wether or not you think its your fault.. haha.

as for the bad plug - i would bet that it could have caused the problem, but then again, it might not have.

Regardless, there isnt any way it could have been your fault, unless you've done engine modifications or something similar. Audi's are made to go fast. Even running at top speed for hours shouldnt cause such a problem - i kno from experence. Audis can run very long distances at speeds of 110mph+ without even breaking a sweat

 

[Kelvin]

Hi Brad,

Thanks for the feedback.

No mods on the car, it is pretty much stock standard engine wise. I am thinking of putting in a K&N air filter but not yet done that and that should have no negative impact that I am aware of.

I spoke with the technician today who filled me in a bit more. Says that could be carbon build up on the valve port leading to loss of compression and localised hotspots. Could also be that there is a fault with some hydraulic device that drives the valves. Either way I am surprised that after only 60 000km I am having such a problem. This is my major concern, it does not bode well for the future.

For a high performance car, I dont expect to have failure on critical components because of a design or manufacture flaw and then because it is outside of the warrenty, it becomes my problem. Reasonable wear is understandable but I am finding it hard to reconcile this problem with reasonable wear.

 

[bhb399mm]

the reason i was asking about mods was because whenever you mod an engine, it puts out more horsepower than it normally does. thats not to say that audi engiens can handle the added HP, but whenever altering something like that you run the risk of a problem.

In your case, with a stock engine, there shouldnt have been anything you did to cause that type of malfunction. I've never heard of anything that big happening to a new, non-modified audi, so i'm sure it was just a fluke.

As far what audi is going to tell you - i'm sure if your car is no longer covered, you'll have to pay for it no matter who's fault it is. If its the garages fault, the should pay the bill. Thats a case where it'll be pretty hard to place the blame on anyone. If i were you, i wouldnt let them blame me at all.

Also, even if the dealer you're going to says they wont cover it, you can deal directly with audi. If you can find the right person to talk to, they're very helpful.

good luck keep us posted

 

[bhb399mm]

Kelvin... any word on who will be picking up the tab? :huh:

 

[Kelvin]

<_<
Nope, not yet. We just had three days holiday out here in the Gulf so nothing done on the car but I did finally get a look into the engine & see what is wrong. It is way worse than just the valves. The pistons & valves are burned on number 1 & 2 cylinders. I have been told that the engine will need to be replaced!
:angry:
You can bet I am not impressed. They still dont know why. I will be going in to see the service manager today to have a little chat with the man.

I want to contact Audi Germany directly as well. Do you know how I can get hold of them out there? I was planning to go to their site and see if that helped but that is not always the most efficient way.

I have fully comprehensive insurance so I am hoping that my policy will cover this if Audi do not pull through. Will check up on that today.

 

[Kelvin]

OMG just got back from the service center. We looking at about US$5 000 repairs, this being AFTER the factory discount on major parts like the cylinder head, small engine etc.

The service manager gave me a rundown of what he thinks went wrong. He is guessing that the hydraulic valve lifters on cylinders 2 & 3 got stuck, allowing hot exhaust air from cylinders 1 & 4 to cross over. This caused superheated ignition which slowly burned the exhaust valves and exhaust valve side of the pistons. Its a gradual process, the first effect being loss of power then failure as the valve clearance became too big to support compression. I been under the impression that it was a dirty fuel system. That was the first thing they also checked but injectors were clean.
<_<
The local agent is going to try for 100% replacement of parts from Audi, which I think is completely justified. This should no way happen to this car after only 60 000km. I must say, this is not doing much for my confidence in the car, even though I know this is probably just a once off thing.

Will keep you posted

 

[Kelvin]

OMG just got back from the service center. We looking at about US$5 000 repairs, this being AFTER the factory discount on major parts like the cylinder head, small engine etc.

The service manager gave me a rundown of what he thinks went wrong. He is guessing that the hydraulic valve lifters on cylinders 2 & 3 got stuck, allowing hot exhaust air from cylinders 1 & 4 to cross over. This caused superheated ignition which slowly burned the exhaust valves and exhaust valve side of the pistons. Its a gradual process, the first effect being loss of power then failure as the valve clearance became too big to support compression. I been under the impression that it was a dirty fuel system. That was the first thing they also checked but injectors were clean.
<_<
The local agent is going to try for 100% replacement of parts from Audi, which I think is completely justified. This should no way happen to this car after only 60 000km. I must say, this is not doing much for my confidence in the car, even though I know this is probably just a once off thing.

Will keep you posted

 

[bhb399mm]

unreal... i've never heard of that..

call Audi Germany and 'request' a 3.2V6

 

[Kelvin]

Well the upside of all of this is that I will have a brand new engine! Maybe I should be more demanding, that 3.2 sounds appealing!

 

[bhb399mm]

it is... very appealing... i had the chance to drive the TT3.2 a few weeks ago when i was at my dealer for service time for my allroad. The salesman was trying to talk me into buying one so we tooka test drive. Theres something magicial about a V6 in that small of a car... only problem is Audi only gives us the DSG auto transmission (not tiptronic.. better) with the 3.2... no cluch with that beautiful V6 :mellow: