2003 Audi A4 Engine
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
Crank case ventilation hose breaks and engine runs poorly part#06C103235B
The contact owns a 2003 Audi A4. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle decelerated, lost motive power and stalled without warning. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart and there was steam coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the residence where an independent mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the vehicle had experienced a similar failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14E007000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted and notified of the failure. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the VIN was necessary to check for recalls. The failure mileage was 100,000. The VIN was not available.
GASKET LEAKAGE, IN TWO SEPARATE AREAS IN UPPER GASKET, PER MECHANIC. CAR IS NOW IN REPAIRS. BASED UPON READING THE ONLINE RECALLS ON THE OFFICIAL NHTSA PAGE, THIS IS PART OF THE RECALL FOR AUDI A4 2000-2006. UNITED STATES
ON 8/1/07 I PURCHASED A 2003 AUDI A4 WITH A 1.8T ENGINE FROM A LOCAL USED CAR DEALERSHIP. IN MAY, 2008, THE OIL LIGHT CAME ON, WE HAD A QUALIFIED MECHANIC CHECK THE VEHICLE THOROUGHLY AND NO PROBLEMS WERE FOUND. 2 DAYS LATER, THE ENGINE COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN AND THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN INOPERABLE SINCE THAT TIME. I HAVE CONTACTED AUDI IN REGARD TO THIS SINCE IT IS DUE TO A MANUFACTURING DEFECT THAT CAUSES SLUDGE IN THE OIL PAN TO RECIRCULATE THROUGH THE ENGINE, WHICH IS WHAT LED TO THE ENGINE FAILURE. THE OIL RETURN PORTS WERE NOT MADE LARGE ENOUGH TO RECIRCULATE THE OIL PROPERLY. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT SINCE I PURCHASED IT AS A USED VEHICLE, "AS IS", THERE IS NOTHING THAT THEY WILL DO TO ASSIST ME IN THIS SITUATION. I WAS NEVER MADE AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM WHATSOEVER PRIOR TO THE ENGINE FAILURE AND REPLACING THE ENGINE WILL COST IN EXCESS OF $5000. THEY HAVE NEVER ISSUED A RECALL ON THESE VEHICLES, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THEY OFF AN "EXTENDED WARRANTY", BUT TO QUALIFY THE VEHICLE OWNER MUST PROVE THAT ALL SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE ON THE VEHICLE WAS PERFORMED BY AUDI CERTIFIED MECHANICS. AS A 2ND OWNER, I HAVE NO PRIOR RECORDS FROM 8/1/07 AND PREVIOUS. THE "EXTENDED WARRANTY" COVERS 200-2004 A4 MODELS WITH THE 1.8T ENGINES, SO OBVIOUSLY THEY ARE AWARE OF THE DEFECT, BUT THEY HAVE NEVER RECALLED THEM. DO I HAVE ANY OTHER RECOURSE OTHER THAN TO FILE SUIT AGAINST THEM? *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 AUDI A4. WHILE DRIVING 38 MPH, THE CHECK ENGINE SOON LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE ENTIRE VEHICLE BEGAN SHAKING. THE VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE DEALER, BUT HAS NOT YET BEEN DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT ALSO NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. HE CHECKED THE VEHICLE AND DISCOVERED AN ENGINE LEAK. HE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND THEY INFORMED HIM THAT THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN REPAIRED; HOWEVER, THE CONTACT DOES NOT BELIEVE THAT ANYTHING WAS DONE TO THE VEHICLE. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC STATED THAT THE SHAKING WAS DUE TO THE MOTOR MOUNT. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 35,600.
COOLING STARTED TO LEAK INTO A SPARKPLUG, NO OVERHEATING OCCURRED AND CAR WAS TAKING TO DEALER, TO FIND OUT THE ENGINE WAS CRACKED. *TR
TL- THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 AUDI A4. WHILE DRIVING 60MPH, THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO STALL AND THE SPEED DECREASED TO 20MPH AND RESULTED IN A LOSS OF POWER. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED AND THE DEALER STATED THAT THE INGITION COILS FAILED. THE CONTACT SPOKE WITH AUDI WHO INFORMED HIM THAT THEY WOULD NOT PAY FOR THE REPAIRS BASED ON A RECALL.
I PURCHASED AN 2003 AUDI A4 1.8 T PRE-OWNED AT 26K MILES IN OCT 2004. I HAVE BROUGHT THE VEHICLE IN FOR REGULAR SCHEDULE MAINTENANCE AT 30, 40 AND 50K AT ROGER BEASLEY AUDI IN AUSTIN, TX. ON JAN 16, 2006 , AT 55450 MILES, ENGINE STARTED KNOCKING AND OIL WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALERSHIP WHICH TURNED OUT TO BE SLUDGE PROBLEM AND ESTIMATE FOR REPAIR IS $2500. I WAS MADE AWARE ABOUT THE EXTENDED WARRANTY OF 8 YRS FOR SLUDGE ISSUE AUDI AND VW HAD ISSUE BACK IN 2004 BUT DEALER WOULD NOT REPAIR THE ISSUE UNDER WARRANTY SINCE THERE'S NO RECORD OF OIL CHANGE AT 20K. SINCE I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE PRE-OWNED, I'M UNABLE TO PROVIDE ANY OIL CHANGE DOCUMENTATION FOR 20K SERVICE. TO SUM THIS ALL UP, THERE'S A RECORD OF OIL CHANGES DURING 10K (PREVIOUS OWNER GOT SERVICE DONE AT A DEALERSHIP), 30K, 40K AND 50K MAINTENANCE. I HAVE CONTACTED AUDI CUSTOMER RELATION DEPT W/O ANY SUCCESS. IF I PAY THIS REPAIR OUT OF POCKET, I'M AFRAID THERE MIGHT BE OTHER ISSUE RELATING TO THIS AFTER ENGINE IS CLEAN OUT OF ALL SLUDGE. WITH MANY CONSUMERS OUT THERE WITH THE SAME DILEMMA, I THINK AUDI SHOULD STEP UP AND TAKE CARE OF THE REPAIR. ANY HELP IN THIS MATTER WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. *NM
THE ENGINE OIL LIGHT ILLUMINATED WHILE DRIVING. THE ENGINE WAS INSPECTED, AND IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THERE WAS HEAVY OIL SLUDGE. THE OIL PUMP HAD TO BE REPLACED. THE CAR HAD ONLY 26,000 MILES AT THE TIME OF THE REPAIR. AUDI RECOMMENDS OIL CHANGES EVERY 10,000 MILES WITH SYNTHETIC OIL. I HAD THE CAR SERVICED BEFORE THE 10000 AND 20000 MILE SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE, AT AUDI DEALERSHIPS. AUDI HAS NOT REIMBURSED THE COST OF REPAIRING THE ENGINE, DESPITE THEIR WARRANTY EXTENSION TO COVER THE COST OF OIL SLUDGE DAMAGE.*AK
AIR CONDITIONING UNIT BURST SPRAYING FREON ALL OVER ENGINE COMPARTMENT. REPAIRS WERE ATTEMPTED FOUR TIMES AND AFTER THE FOURTH TIME, I NOW HAVE WATER FROM THE AIRCONDITIONING SYSTEM DRAINING INTO THE CAR ON THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE, JUST BELOW THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT.
WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED AN EXPLOSION AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THERE WERE LOUD NOISES COMING FROM UNDER THE VEHICLE AND PARTS OF THE VEHICLE WERE ON THE GROUND. THE CAR THEN WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP, AND THEY CLAIMED THE VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN SOME TYPE OF IMPACT WHICH CAUSED THE EXPLOSION TO OCCUR, AND AUDI WAS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGES. THE DEALERSHIP FAILED TO FIND THE PROPER REASON FOR EXPLOSION. THE CONSUMER HAD TO PURCHASE A RENTAL CAR AT HER OWN EXPENSE TO HAVE A VEHICLE. *MR *CB *JB
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Quick Summary
The 2003 Audi A4 has 11 Engine complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.