I made a post on Audizine about catastrophic motor issues with the B6 and B7 S4. I’m looking to do the same with the RS4 and I wanted to start here first.
Very recently there was a thread where a RS4 owner experienced some motor damage. There seemed to be a few members that were “concerned” however there “concern” didn’t seem to show up in any of the other motor damage threads I’ve seen. It seems to me some people are looking to spread what can be looked at as false “concern” with the intent of driving members to think a tune would cause a mechanical failure. While I’m sure over spinning the already high RPM V8 could be one issues knowing companys like JHM extend the oem rev limit. I don’t see this being an issue.
We need to be aware of what can and can’t happen and we do need to be very alert. Also we should know that RS4 motor issues are more common then apparently the “concerned” people took to investigate.
What seem to be the two major issues with the RS4 motors are.
scored cylinder walls W carbon
Cylinder head failure
lessor concerns seem to be but Still a concern
oil consumption
Transmission 3rd gear syncros
lets get some facts out there.
1st. A stock RS4 will have pinging issues if you have enough carbon or you get the temps up. While it might not be as noticeable it happens and it is an issue. most recently an AR member made a post about how he was having pinging issues only to have them fixed by changing his spark plugs and doing maintenance.
2nd. below you fill find a large collection of motor failures. Almost NONE of them were modified.
So far in my short time of looking I have found.
14 cases of failed cylinder head related issues ALL ON STOCK MOTORS. At this time one of the major reasons for selling damaged motors was for faulty or failed cylinder heads in the valves or springs. Dealer reports I was able to get show most cylinder heads have some sort of valve guide failure on almost all heads.
16 cases of failed motors due to a number of issues below are going to be a collection of found information. please please add as you see fit or add if you know of an issue so we can add to this list. I would like to get a good collection of data so I can make a bigger post later.
:-[ 14 motor replacement. For both carbon and cylinder head failures
[QUOTE=Jetwash;8058014]2007 RS 4, purchased 5/07 new. Fast forward to 4/11 weird vibrations felt thru the steering wheel and pedals at 34k.
Initially diagnosed as a possible bad flywheel, upon replacement of flywheel and clutch assembly…not the problem.
Dealership ran oil sample, had various metal particles suspended in the oil.
Repair: Complete long block, flush oil cooler and lines. Replace engine mounts as well.
On one occasion dealership oil fill mechanism overfilled engine oil by 1 quart. On one occasion low oil light came on, drove approximately 1 mile and topped up. Was this what caused it? Never will really know.
Car had Audi Care, all service work performed at Audi dealerships, majority of the time had 5k oil changes instead of waiting the 10k intervals recommended.
Audi stepped up to the plate and covered it, when I received the car after they extended the power train warranty 12k/12 months.
There was a new long block somewhere in Wisconsin, and the flywheel & clutch assembly was shipped from Germany.
The car was gone approximately a month. Currently had 47k, traded in for another current RS car
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[QUOTE=s4ck;8008947]Last night I was driving down the high way and felt something tapping in the motor. I assumed a valve moved and it was the valve tapping against the piston. I brought it to my local dealer and they are starting to diagnose. They found lots of copper shavings in the oil pan and are under the impression it’s a crankshaft bearing. The dealer said Audi recommends an entire short block for this but the only thing available of course is a long block. They also said Audi doesn’t sell the crankshaft assembly separately?! Long story short, the dealership wants me to buy a new motor for the car. What should I do?
The car has 50k miles.
DP’s, exhaust, revo
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[QUOTE=SAFE4NOW;8367964]2007 Rs4 , 60,xxx miles. Car is 100% stock , Scheduled Maintence has been followed to a " T " with in-between Mobil 1 oil changes performed, w/ OEM filters.
Carbon Service performed at 30k
Second Carbon service performed just after 60k and it looked as bad as it did @ 30k , with a common denominator that the valve stems themselves looked wet when the intake was removed both times.
Here’s the rub: After the second carbon service the engine oil level light came on and I added 1 qt oil. ( After checking the dipstick cold it showed under the minimum mark ) I went on a 18 hour road trip , mostly highway miles @ higwhay speeds. During those 1500 miles, I had to add another 5 quarts of oil, each time as the oil level light came on, checked level, added a full quart.
After car sat over the weekend, not being started or driven, the engine started ok, but is idling poorly. After a few miles of driving, the yellow CEL started flashing, and I went home. Checked codes to show misfire cylinder 1.
Checked all electrical connections and chose to remove the spark plug cylinder 1, to find it wet with oil. I’d perform a compression test, but there is enough oil in cylinder 1 that I don’t think it would be accurate.
A quick call into the Dealership , gave me the reply that they’d want to remove the cylinder head for inspection of damage.
RESULTS OF THAT WORK
Updated Last Night:
The shope foreman had me come by and take a look inside cylinder #1 with a digital borascope.
He showed me an example of what the bore should look like and then showed me what the bore in cylinder #1 looked like.
Cylinder #1 looked " etched " even pitted almost.
S
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[quote] Panther53 Panther53 is offline
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Default RS4 Engine Woes
I have had a horrible time with my 07 RS4. It has about 20K miles on it.
First off, in the begining of July, my suspension failed, and they had to replace it. I had to wait two weeks for the parts arrival and installation.
I drove my car for about 1 1/2 weeks and my check engine light came on. I dropped it off on July 25th. It took the service about two weeks to figure out what was wrong and stated I needed a new short block.
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[quote]2008 Audi RS4 4dr Sedan
420-horsepower 4.2L V8 6-speed manual AWDAudi RS4 in California, United States
MonthYearOdometer
(in miles)CostProblem/Repair DescriptionJun201154000
*First odometer entryJul201156000100Engine Replaced Due to Cylinder Wall Scoring
Sep201163000Most recent odometer entry
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[quote]2007 Audi RS4 4dr Wagon
420-horsepower 4.2L V8 6-speed manual AWDAudi RS4 in Great Britain
MonthYearOdometer(in miles)
CostProblem/Repair Description
Mar20080DRC suspension failure.
Eventually successful repair when dealer replaced most of the suspension components.
*Apr20080Paint on the wheel valves had flakes, replaced them.
*May20080Intermittent hesitation when setting off in first gear. Design flaw, no repair.
*Jul20080Carbon build up in engine due to incompatibility between the engine and recommended oil. Car sent to an independent specialist with a rolling road. Car was not producing anywhere near specified BHP. Found that a problem with many RS4s.
Oct2008Most recent odometer entry
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[QUOTE=2manytoys;5012526]As some may know, I’ve been suffering from Carbon Build-up. See here for pictures and details:
During the whole process, back and forward with Audi, the car began to ping (knock/detonate). It become very bad, pinging multiple times. Audi claimed that the car has in-built protection against this. I agree, the timing can be pulled back, and yes, we saw this on the logs, but it can only go back so far.
Below you’ll see a video of a good piston (yes some small marks but nothing major) and then you’ll see my piston. This looks bad!
WARNING - If you notice your car pinging stop driving it (mine was noticed initally by driving in 2nd gear at 5000 rpm, then pressing 100% throttle. Later it was easy to re-create with gentle throttle in light traffic)
I’ve also got some video from the same bore scope of some major carbon build-up. This is not my car. I drove the car in the next video no more than 500m, and as sad as it is, I can immediately feel if an RS4 suffers from Carbon Build-up. I got out of the car and said to the owner that this car has carbon build-up 100%. This is what we found:
PS: I’d like to thank Franck from Gosford European Car Services for going out of his way to help with all of this. http://www.europeancarservices.com
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R8 motor
[quote]My R8 had low mileage on it when this issue occurred. Just 10000 kms / 6000 miles and then out the blue a faint clanging noise coming from the engine. The best way I could think to describe the noise was two pieces of large metal slapping together continuously. It sped up as I revved the engine so I assumed pistons/cylinder problems.
Anyways, it happened about 2 weeks ago on a perfectly clear and sunny Sunday. I had just washed the car and was driving it around when I heard the sound. I called Audi South Africa and they sent someone around to see if they could solve it without having to bring it into the dealer’s workshop. The guy couldn’t solve it so he recommended they flatbed it to the dealer.
The dealer then started the investigation which took 1.5 weeks to find the problem. They said they found metal filings in cylinder 4. They had to insert an endoscope into the engine to finally get to the potential fault.
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R8 motor 2 of them
[QUOTE=biggie27;36626]well about a year ago my R8 was having white smoke comming out of the tail pipe, the computer never threw any codes but the performance of the car was lacking, when i took it to the dealers it turned out that cylinder number 8 had oil leaking into the chamber and the engine needed to be replaced, the car had 14,000 kilometers at the time…reluctantly I accepted the engine change as long as they warrentied it as a new engine and they accpeted…well last night while i was driving home, i heard a realy faint knocking sound, at first i thought it was the heat shield from the stasis exhuast could have loosend up…but by the time i got home the knocking became loud and had a pattern to it, well took it to the dealers this morning and the machanic told me looks like i have a blown engine and it sounds like one of the pistons is shot…the car has 28,000 kilometers and never had its first service done since the first service is done at 15,000 kilometers…so basicly in 1 years i blew 2 engines…needles to say im not accepting a new engine this time, either a new car or they buy out my old car ad use it as a deposit for the v10…do u guys think i have a case here ?
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[QUOTE=szinkuti;4789832] complete motor failure. We are not sure what went wrong.
Long block is on its way…something like 17k…and yes its warranty…we do not “know” exactly what happened…it looks like a hand grenade went off in the block…
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Ihave several links to motors for sale on Ebay and euro sites. A mistake I make is not knowing how to use Ebay and that they take information down after listings are gone. So some information is hard to share
Here is a motor that had cylinder head failure. I have 2 more cylinder head failure motors that euro had for sale but Im trying to get the information from the original sellers.
[quote] NewQ7Ownr NewQ7Ownr is offline
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Default Q7 Engine replacement after 5k miles
My new Audi Q7 is requiring an engine replacement after only ~5k miles. I am told several thousand thousand Q7’s had the same oil pressure issue as mine. Has anyone been through this? Can the vehicle be trusted after such a major repair? In my case the dealer has had my car two weeks and projecting another two before I get it back. A total pain that takes the fun out of this vehicle.
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[quote]I am in the middle of experiencing the exact same problem. Only difference is that it took about 3 weeks total to get my new engine. I got the Q7 back yesterday and today my oil pressure light went on again!!! Very concerning! The dealer told me to bring it back in and that it probably just needs a quart of oil. Or they said I could put the oil in myself and it should be fine. I have major doubts that the problem is solved.
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Also some links to motors having issues non tuned
This is one mans finding and I have more to add to this from Euro sites. Please add any information or if you or someone you know had motor or cylinder head issues. Seems this is much more common and it doesn’t take a tune to cause these issues.
One was very recently in the UK. Guy bought a cpo rs4 and the motor grenades violently. Don’t know why… I will grab his thread.
There was another in France where the guy had oil consumption on his rs4 cab and it turned out to be a single cylinder badly scored . Carbon chunk fell in according to audi. He got a new motor.
Bensti was exactly the same as that one. He just happened to be tuned . Even though audi told Ben it was a foreign object causing cylinder wall scoring and gave him a new motor as it was their fault, Ben later lied to the forums saying it was his tune that caused his problem. He offered no explanation of that… Other than ‘my friend self tuned his e46 3 series and afr was way too lean and a piston grenaded causing loss of compression in one cylinder’. Hardly a rational comparison, to use a mistake made by a self tuning 17 year old who was experimenting and assume the most successful audi tuner on earth would make the same mistake. Why did he say this, well after his motor was replaced and well after audi gave a totally different explanation? It is important to note that at this precise time of bens story changing, he was starting a business that competed directly with his tuner who he was now blaming, including ripping off their exhaust design. The other company owner has since FIRED Ben amid a cloud of mystery.
Here’s the guy from a couple of months ago in the UK
Bought at Audi Dealer
CPO with full Audi warranty
No mods
Not crazy mileage
Motor blew up out of the blue while he was cruising on the highway at 70 MPH
If that guy had a JHM tune, you know flying tomato would be going mental. We should post that RS4Martin did indeed have the JHM tune, and see what happens…I bet we’ll hear from Tomato that the JHM tuner clearly had checked off the box in the ECU code that says “Snap Gudgeon Pin on Cyl 8 at some random date”
I’m new to this but thought I’d put a post up and hopefully get some feedback.
I was driving my rs4 last night and all of a sudden I heard a noise, then the engine died and I noticed a lot of smoke in the rear view mirror. So I managed to roll into a lay-by and parked up, got out and noticed lots of smoke coming from under the car. I popped the bonnet but couldn’t see anything, so had a look under the engine and all the engine oil was on the floor .
Managed to have the car recovered to my local Audi dealer but not expecting to hear much from them till Wednesday/Thursday. I’m no mechanic but I’m pretty certain it’s gonna be something serious, just hoping my warranty covers it. Anyone else had something similar to this happen or have any ideas what might have caused this? Would be much appreciated, thanks
I was driving at about 60-65 when it happened and by the time I pulled over the oil was completely covered on the underside of the car and on the rear bumper, the puddle was so big it was hard to say where exactly it has come from, with it being bout 10 o’clock last nite its impossible to see anything from the top or the underneath of the car. I never knew about the oil cooler pipes until today so ill be checking them out ASAP, I’m hoping that the engine cutting out when it happened may have saved it but more realistically it could’ve seized from the lack of oil. My fingers are tightly crossed for a positive outcome.
I had no warning of it at all just a noise like something fell off and the engine cutting out straight away. There was so much smoke I actually thought it was on fire but yes very lucky it wasn’t. I checked the oil level 2 days ago and it was about 3 quarters and it was serviced about 3000 miles ago so I know the engine has been running good. The thing I don’t understand is the engine cutting out and won’t even ‘turn over’ now? Is this something the ecu would do?
So I’ve just looked through some paperwork for the car and it had a 145 point check when I bought it in August including ‘check all hoses for air and fluid leaks’ this could get very interesting when I get some news about the fault
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[QUOTE]Five oaks Audi is where I bought the car from in August, it was pretty expensive but came with a brand new service, the 145 point check I mentioned earlier, a years mot and 6 months tax and a very clean example for the year. It also came with a comprehensive warranty which I’m hoping covers me for whatever the outcome is.
For anyone that’s taking a interest in my story I’ve just had a call from Audi and they have told me after a quick look on there ramp a conrod has gone through the bottom of the engine I am beyond gutted right now. They’re doing some further investigation to see exactly what’s damaged but it’s looking very likely I’m going to need a new engine. He hasn’t said whether my warranty covers it or not but has said if its mechanical failure then it will. Happy new year to me lol
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[QUOTE]Ok guys and girls, quick update. The engine has arrived after only 4 working days and is now on its way into my engine bay. A quick email to the dealer this afternoon has confirmed that everything from block, heads and all internals are to be replaced as my old engine is so badly damaged. The dealer has confirmed that they still don’t know the cause of failure due to the extent of the damage. Managed to get a pic…
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[QUOTE]Went to the dealers this morn to have a look at progress, old engine, new engine etc. the new engine looks amazing! The old engine, not so good. Got to see no. 8 piston, the crown was all intact but the rest of it was in a pretty bad way, 3 of the valves were also bent on cylinder no. 8 as was the conrod as posted earlier. So all the damage was to this area but they are no closer to knowing the cause which is a shame. All things going well I should have the car back on Thursday with a brand spanking engine and all the old oil from underside and rear of car cleaned off and the rest of car cleaned thanks Audi this week is going to go real slow…
Think I’m going to ask for the damaged piston as a souvenir.
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Here are the pictures the dealer sent him…
Rod in cylinder 6 gave up.
No explanation as to why it happened, guess it was some kind of manufacturing defect but at 90.000 miles ? . Audi installed a new engine as a gesture of goodwill.
No modifications/tuning.
Old engine drank oil, 1 liter/1000 miles. Now 1l/6-7.000 miles. I followed Audi’s engine run in instructions on the new engine, and I’m thinking that may be the difference. I did’nt own the car from new, so I have no idea how the old engine was driven for the first 20.000 miles.
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I need to change my fuel filter. I had a misfire code once about 3 months ago. Cleared it and it never came back, but I’ve since logged misfires to compare for someone who was modified and had a bunch of little misfires.
