Just became an RS6 owner - a few questions on stage 0

[JCviggen]

Hello all,

I bought a dark gray RS6 Avant (light brown interior) a few days ago here in Moscow (RU). I'm actually Belgian but live in Russia most of the time for my work. The RS6 seemed like a good choice for the winters they have here. I'm no stranger to cars or modding them, I have a 420bhp volvo 850 T-5R track car that I drive on the Nurburgring regularly. The RS6 was imported into Russia from Germany in 2007, which is nice for me because unlike Russian I can actually understand German.

Anyhoo, before buying I had it checked over at an official audi dealer, they didn't find too much, there were some error codes in the ECU related to the catalytic convertors (or so my girlfriend managed to translate for me) that they said could possibly be related to tired oxygen sensors. There was a slight oil leak from the PS system where it attaches to the cooler (?) and they recommended spark plug, air filter changes and injector cleaning.

I had the oil and filter changed together with the plugs and air filters. They asked a small fortune for injector cleaning and couldn't give me a good explanation why they felt it was necessary. So I decided to see how the car feels first and maybe get them cleaned myself.

The car runs well, taking into account the weight and quattro I think most of the 450 horses are there. The only odd thing in how it runs that I've discovered, is that while idling in N or P it is slightly irregular with a bit of a vibration going through the whole car. Put it in D and it smooths out completely to what I would guess has to be "normal". Accelerating slow, medium or fast the engine is smooth at all revs. Only idle in P or N is strange.

Also earlier during idling in a traffic jam (where I've spent most of my time so far) the CEL came on. I've ordered a cable to be able to run vagcom but I haven't got it yet so can't read the code. I'm guessing it'll be a fuel or emissions related code. I did have to put in some possibly poor fuel the day before because I wasn't confident I could make it to the BP station near my home. I put in half a tank (way too much looking back) of some russian 95 ron of unknown quality, then filled it up for the rest with BP 98 ron "ultimate" which is the biggest brand fuel I can find here.
So I'm not sure if it's complaining about the fuel but it does still run normal and power seems unaffected. My past experience with turbo cars would guess a small vac leak is possible too but I won't presume on that with this thing.

I guess I'm looking at swapping to new MAFs and O2 sensors for a start? Should I only do the pre-cat widebands for a start or all 4 of them? Anything else?

Also while I'm at it, every time I start the car I get a message about the emergency phone dialing being restricted and a large "OK" button. I can turn off the phone in the centre arm rest and then go into the onboard computer menu but I can't for the life of me figure out which button I'd have to press for the "OK" ? (have got an english operation manual on order) slightly annoying. (I have the 3 spoke steering)

Last thing, is it normal that at full lock (or high amounts of steering lock in general) there is a slight shudder in the front of the car almost like a tire rubbing (but it isn't) almost feels like the diff working in some way.

Currently I don't really plan on chipping the car, I'm a little worried how the gearbox would take it. I'll probably get the box serviced too (how much should they be asking me for that?)
If the cats turn out to be junk I'll happily put on catless DP's since the technical inspection around here is easily avoided with a couple hundred $ for the certificate. Of course I imagine I'd have to get a tuner to delete the rear O2's for me.

TIA, I'll post up some decent pics when I make them.

JC

[spurtle]

Welcome.

1. It's definitely a C5 (2002-2005) model?

2. VCDS (Vagcom) is your best bet to start diagnosing uneven idling. You can look at the fuel trims for all lambda sensors to see if they are behaving (as well as timing, MAF readings, etc).

3. Don't swap out the MAFs until you've diagnosed the problem.

4. Intake and PCV leaks / blockages can affect idling, so it might be a good idea to check intakes and vacuum hoses first.

5. I've never seen that 'phone message but the centre console button on the C5 gets prizes for being counter-intuitive. Try pressing the twisty knob itself, then the 'menu' button which is just in front of the twisty knob, then the 'reset' button on the bottom of the right-hand (DIS) stalk.

6. I think the 'straining' that you get on full lock is usual, but check the inner edge of the tyre for rubbing as some tyre shapes aren't compatible with the C5 RS6.

7. Gearbox service should be something like $200-$400 - it needs quite a bit of ATF fluid to flush and replace. Make sure the shop knows what it's doing, as there are many tales on here of insufficient replacement oil / incorrectly re-assembled transmission units.

[JCviggen]

Thanks!

Yep it's definitely a C5 from 10/03.

It has a phone inside the center arm rest, it's asking for a SIM and the only way to get any normal info like MPG displayed on the dash is to turn it off first. I guess I'll put a SIM card in the phone to see if that does anything.

I'll try and get the codes read at the dealer next week and get some new wiper blades while I'm at it.

BTW, when the engine is cold the idle in P/N seems fine. Much better than when warm anyway. It's not actually bad just clearly less smooth.

[RS6Steve]

Reseat the airbox.... May help the lumpy running....

CEL is probably your O2 sensor

[Shoppinit]

Check:

1. MAFs are seated correctly
2. MAFs are fonctioning correctly (you will need vagcom or ODB2 reader capable of reading live engine data. Or if you are feeling flush, get new ones.
3. Check for vacuum leaks. lots of little vacuum hoses under the airbox that perish quickly.

All of the above could cause an CEL and O2 sensor DTC.

[Shoppinit]

PS. I'm loving those russian licence plates.

[RichRS6]

Mine does the rubbing on lock too its the inner arch liner and is a common fault, next time You have the front wheels off You'll be able to see where its rubbing.

The other possibility is the infamous "knobbly bit" on the suspension arm, what tyre sizes are You running ? This can do it check the inner edges of the tyres regularly or take a grinder to the knobble.

[Coxall8395]

Love that interior. Welcome to the club!

[JCviggen]

Thanks for the tips all! I haven't been living here long and have yet to bring over some tools :doh:

PS. I'm loving those russian licence plates.

Cheers
They actually changed now...I grabbed those pics from the website it was advertised on. Since it changed owners the plates changed as well. And it became a heck of a lot dirtier in just 1 rainy day.

Love that interior. Welcome to the club!

Thanks, I liked it too. Only one I found it's usually black (OK for me) or white (oh god please no) and as it happened this one was in superb nick...the paint is like new. It was someone's 4th car and only saw a bit of driving here in summer...downside to that it didn't come with any winter wheels. Having trouble locating appropriate 18" wheels, just replicas and I'm not sure they'd clear the front brakes well. Could go for 19" winter tires but I'd rather not.

what tyre sizes are You running ?

245/35 dunlops.


Actually, one more for you guys : exactly how bad is the ride quality supposed to be over bumps? I wasn't present when it was in the air at the dealer but I always presumed it was on the stock DRC system. Either those 19" with 35 rubber are really bone hard or it has had its suspension replaced with coilovers or something, it's really bloody hard. Which I don't mind I'm used to worse, but I can hardly imagine Audi'd make it like that out of the factory.

[Welky]

Excessively hard ride could well be DRC failure with no oil in the shocks. Any noises from the suspension?

[JCviggen]

No it's pretty quiet really. I heard a very slight squeek going over a bump when it was bone cold this morning, quiet after that. Does the DRC system give any fault codes?

[Shoppinit]

No codes, not necessarily any noises or even visible signs of leaking. Do they have an MOT in Russia? Do they have suspension testing as part of the test?

[amanda1]

Having trouble locating appropriate 18" wheels, just replicas and I'm not sure they'd clear the front brakes well. Could go for 19" winter tires but I'd rather not.

8do601025aa 7.5jx18 9 spoke design
£651.49 each from dealers

225/45 x18 95v between £206-222!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JCviggen]

No codes, not necessarily any noises or even visible signs of leaking. Do they have an MOT in Russia? Do they have suspension testing as part of the test?

No, well they do have MOT but it's a hassle that needs some extensive medical testing so we just paid the car dealer a bit extra to provide us with the necessary docs.

The official audi dealer did check over the car including the suspension and there was no mention of anything being wrong with it (which I found hard to believe LOL)
The checking was fairly thorough otherwise they did a compression test and searched hard to find the slightest leak anywhere.

[JCviggen]

Any chance of an 18x8.0 ET30 fitting? (spacers?)

I found 19x9.0 ET35 (or 33) for the stock wheels? In that case the 8.0x30 wouldn't be very far off. Center hole is 57.1 right?