B8 S4 Ownership

[MattS5]

Including the proper plug in harness (not a generic scotch block into the wiring loom affair) and 13 pin electrics, with coding was £525 inc VAT.

[Dr_Rick]

Dr_Rick said:

Latest escapades of a 2009 S4 S-Tronic:

- Mechatronic playing fair after an Adaption reset - £80 vs £200 for replacement
- Needs a new bearing on the NSF as it's droning quite badly and has been diagnosed - £140 vs£350 for a different Indie to change it
- Just changed the front discs / pads myself - £140 vs £455 for Audi to do it. The previous ones were warped, probably by the following....
- Identified the lower guide pins on the calipers are pretty tight so will get some replacement / refurbished calipers fitted while it's in for the bearing - £180 plus labour vs £700 for Audi to do it.
- May need to replace rear discs / pads as I can feel a shimmy at motorway speeds, through the seats and not under braking - no idea yet as I'm dealing with the front end.

I will beat this car into submission!!

So the garage managed to get the bearing changed, the two lower guide pins serviced and the rear wheels rebalanced for less than £200 and the car now runs really smoothly. No need for rear brakes, no need for new calipers and no need for a new hub to go with the bearing. Happy bunny.

[fastgerman]

Around 6 months in on my 2015 S4 Avant, ramblings here - http://fastgerman.com/forum/

Anyone else experienced rattling MMI/NAV screen surround?

Mine has been back 3 times now and doing it again, only 'thing I hate'.

Everything else is wonderful :-)

[FUBAR]

I 'think' mine is coming from the speaker behind on the dash, and is only occasional. Ive assumed its the speaker as thats what I thump to make it stop

There are definitely more squeaks and rattles in this B8.5 than were in my B8. Quality slip?

[Dr G]

We've replaced a few centre dash speakers on B&O cars for crackly/buzzy noises. Only about 20 quid from memory and 5 minutes to pop it in.

[FUBAR]

You make it sound so easy

[Adrian E]

Our Sportback has had intermittent flickering between 20-80mph markings on speedo, which graduated recently to total lights out in the same area when driving down the motorway one evening recently. I'd flagged it at the last service and was presented with a quote not far off a grand to fix it!

Had conformation yesterday after following up with Audi uk that my local dealer will cover 90% of the cost to replace, leaving us with a bill under £100 which I'm fairly happy with. Still think it's wrong that a design that doesn't allow bulb
Replacement means a new cluster after 4-5 years!

Thought I'd post in case anyone else experiences similar

[PeterGadsby]

fastgerman said:

Around 6 months in on my 2015 S4 Avant, ramblings here - http://fastgerman.com/forum/

Anyone else experienced rattling MMI/NAV screen surround?

Mine has been back 3 times now and doing it again, only 'thing I hate'.

Everything else is wonderful :-)

Hi

Re; Rattling yes we have experienced it, we got Audi to replace the surround under warranty (Audi in Camberley). It's now better but still rattles occasionally.

I would get them to replace it.

Cheers

- Pete

[silentbrown]

fastgerman said:

Around 6 months in on my 2015 S4 Avant, ramblings here - http://fastgerman.com/forum/

Anyone else experienced rattling MMI/NAV screen surround?

No rattles from there on mine ('15 plate avant) but a few niggling squeaks from around the B pillar, which my B8 never suffered from at 60K. Will try and get them looked at when it's in for first oil service in a month or so at 9500.

[bungle]

bungle said:

£1100 is a lot, but compared to potential costs these cars can incur, I will be paying it.

Bit sad quoting myself, but there you go...

As I went to pay the £1100 warranty renewal, I just thought "wow, that's a lot of money..., do I really want to pay that?", and so haven't pulled the trigger yet. Especially as it came back from its service and MOT with not a single thing noted wrong with it. (the service guy said "a proper car with a proper box"; it's manual).

Part of me says pay it, as so much has gone wrong over the last couple of years (over £10k worth), and I wouldn't have wanted to pay for that. But then part of me says that all the expensive things have already gone wrong (eg. gearbox, sports diff), so the car's in pretty good shape now and I'm just throwing good money away with the warranty.

Not sure which way to jump... but need to decide soon! Thoughts?

[MattS5]

Bite the bullet and do it.
I'll be extending mine when it expires in 22 months time.

Factor the grand into the depreciation, but use it as peace of mind, equivalent to having a new car with no worries but far less depreciation hit.
If that makes sense!

[bungle]

MattS5 said:

Bite the bullet and do it.
I'll be extending mine when it expires in 22 months time.

Factor the grand into the depreciation, but use it as peace of mind, equivalent to having a new car with no worries but far less depreciation hit.
If that makes sense!

Yeah, swaying to doing it again.

Cheaper if I have an excess (but still covers the "big ticket" items if they go):

No excess: £1033
£100 excess: £842
£250 excess: £651

All plus £67 for RAC cover.

[Flat6]

DTB77 said:

how the hell is the mpg in the B8.5 S4 so far off its 'official' figures?
do you think it is specific only to the S4?

Interesting to hear. I'd say no, it's definitely not specific to the S4!

I recently changed my M135i for an A4 Avant 2.0TDI 170 figuring the BMW was wasted on my 140 mile motorway commute and I might as well get something comfortable and "economical". Net result is disappointing 3-5 mpg increase, with the A4 averaging 40 at best. Forum searches after the event suggest this is entirely normal for the 170 TDI

Previous BMW's and other VAG cars I've had always come pretty close to the published figures so I'm a bit miffed.. I've gained a bit of comfort and space but the loss of 150hp (and a lot of fun) is hard to swallow when there's not the difference I expected at the fuel pumps.

I'm now considering changing cars again and admit the S4's published figures grabbed my attention. If the consumption is as bad as you suggest then it sounds like you might just have saved me from having to read this lengthy ownership thread from the beginning

[MattS5]

I can't seem to do better than 23 mpg with my S5, that's after a weekend 200 mile trip at speeds between 50-60 mph on mostly single carriageway in steady traffic.
I was chuffed to beat my previous 2 month average consumption of 19 mpg though.

[daveydees]

Flat6 said:

DTB77 said:

how the hell is the mpg in the B8.5 S4 so far off its 'official' figures?
do you think it is specific only to the S4?

Interesting to hear. I'd say no, it's definitely not specific to the S4!

I recently changed my M135i for an A4 Avant 2.0TDI 170 figuring the BMW was wasted on my 140 mile motorway commute and I might as well get something comfortable and "economical". Net result is disappointing 3-5 mpg increase, with the A4 averaging 40 at best. Forum searches after the event suggest this is entirely normal for the 170 TDI

Previous BMW's and other VAG cars I've had always come pretty close to the published figures so I'm a bit miffed.. I've gained a bit of comfort and space but the loss of 150hp (and a lot of fun) is hard to swallow when there's not the difference I expected at the fuel pumps.

I'm now considering changing cars again and admit the S4's published figures grabbed my attention. If the consumption is as bad as you suggest then it sounds like you might just have saved me from having to read this lengthy ownership thread from the beginning

That sounds poor. My commute is also 140 miles (round trip) which I used to regularly get 42-44mpg from my 3.0tdi A4. That's generally sitting at around 80mph most of the way with a few blasts between roundabouts. S4, I'm lucky to get 25mpg on the same trip, hence why I drive my wife's 1.6tdi Leon most of the time. That has a claimed 57mpg average which I regularly see around 45...

[Dr G]

FUBAR said:

You make it sound so easy

As long as you don't trash the very flimsy speaker cover it is...

[mrdanbartlett]

Hi chaps,

How hard is it to remove the backbox?

So I still have this thing about the exhaust not being 100%$ perfect in terms of getting it back to its original shine. It was not in good shape when I bought the car and I spent time with a drill and some polishing extensions working it over, it looks much better now but there are parts I still can't really reach properly.
If I could get it off I could really bring it up like new.

As for MPG - remember the car is supercharged which is always going to be less efficient that if it was turbo-charged, the benefit is of course no real lag and power everywhere. Turbos have got better to be fair and hence the new S4 is a turbo, but for me the SC is just brilliant and given the performance and engine characteristics I'm more than pleased with 25mpg - we shouldn't forget this car is quicker than alot of 'sports saloons' like Imprezas and such. the only thing I've been slower than was a remapped...........s4 b8.

Also I must tell you about this......so you may recall I mentioned I had that slightly odd flutter noise after blipping the throttle at idle, well I took it to my local garage and they put it on the ramp and said it seems to be a a rusted bracket, we agreed they would order the proper bracket in from Audi and fit it later in the week. Well I drove a few miles into town and as I entered a car park I heard the car getting much louder, then the dreaded noise of the exhaust dragging along with my car sounding like a nascar.

Moved into a space ASAP and looked under the car, the central bracket had sheared, slide along and the exhaust had totally separated. Not ideal with the good lady being overdue our baby at the time - but greenflag came out (good service) and the guy used some glue to get the bracket back on and the exhaust connected together again. Got the bracket fitted a few days later after not driving the car. I still have the flutter noise which is annoying, I'll have it checked out next time I'm at a garage on a ramp.

Just a warning to maybe check your brackets!

[mrdanbartlett]

Hi all,

I've bought 4 genuine 19" wheels with tyres to replace my standard 18's, do you think I transport them in the S4? I'm thinking one in the front passenger seat, then back seat down and they should just about fit? Need to measure but I'm at work without the car.

[s4tronic]

mrdanbartlett said:

Hi all,

I've bought 4 genuine 19" wheels with tyres to replace my standard 18's, do you think I transport them in the S4? I'm thinking one in the front passenger seat, then back seat down and they should just about fit? Need to measure but I'm at work without the car.

yes you can fit 4 19" wheels with tyres in S4. Don't remember how I did it but its doable.

[silentbrown]

mrdanbartlett said:

Hi all,
I've bought 4 genuine 19" wheels with tyres to replace my standard 18's, do you think I transport them in the S4? I'm thinking one in the front passenger seat, then back seat down and they should just about fit? Need to measure but I'm at work without the car.

One in the front footwell sounds optimistic. If its an Avant they'll all easily fit in the back with the seats down.

PM me if you're looking to get rid of the 18's. I'm after a set to put winter tyres on...