Service shocker

[P_G]

And was that non Audi service done when you were the owner and did you buy the car from Audi?

No the previous owner must have had it done and I did'nt purchase it from an Audi garage, so not sounding to good for me.......

It shouldn't matter where you bought it and if you were not the owner shame on your dealer for holding you to ransom on it. Are they saying you should have bought a car with FASH and from them? That's a monopoly.

[sonny]

When the light is on, do you find a rev limiter at 7k rpm instead of 8250? Almost like it is misfiring?

If the engine is misfiring the EML will flash. What was the problem with yours PG?

Kenny is the car still withing the recommended service schedule, is so, you could ask them to pay 50% good will gesture.

Sonny,

Its within the schedule but the dealers have informed me that one of the services was not carried out by Audi so I would'nt get any good will!!!!

That goes for the DRC also

Kenny


These are the fault codes
Fault ECU 18265

2 faults, MAF sensor 000257
System to rich at idle 008584

Do these make any sense to anyone?

Well that sucks. shame, so they would have gave you 50% good will if it was serviced by Audi.

[pippyrips]

Spoke to the workshop manager today and he tells me that there is 2 plastic arms that operate flaps inside the manifold and that they get worn, apperently this is quite common??? and they cannot be replaced on there own!!!
I can only think that if the flaps are not opening all way it sends a fault code? I havent noticed any drop off in performance.
I think I might purchase a couple of gaskets and remove the manifold myself and have a look, i find it hard to believe the plastic arms cant be removed and replaced.
The cooler and front shocks are not required to be replaced straight away, there is only a light misting round the connections, so that is better news.

Kenny

Thought as much, before you start taking things apart (it's very easy to break clips when taking the manifold off) you should call MRC. They have lots of experience with the B7 manifold and should know if the plastic can be replaced.

[PetrolDave]

Its within the schedule but the dealers have informed me that one of the services was not carried out by Audi so I would'nt get any good will!!!!

That goes for the DRC also

Tell them to go back and try again to get the "tight" answer.

On my July 2006 RS4 Avant I had the front 2 shock absorbers and DRC valve replaced at no cost to me under warranty in July this year by Portsmouth Audi - and I don't have FASH either.

The precedent has been set - you do NOT need FASH to get DRC replacement under warranty.

[P_G]

Spoke to the workshop manager today and he tells me that there is 2 plastic arms that operate flaps inside the manifold and that they get worn, apperently this is quite common??? and they cannot be replaced on there own!!!
I can only think that if the flaps are not opening all way it sends a fault code? I havent noticed any drop off in performance.
Kenny

Kenny, the manager is right in that two plastic arms operate the the manifold. You can see these on the outside of the engine at the front if you look into the engine bay. You are right, if there is a fault registering flap movement fault codes are anywhere between P2014 to P2023 (18446 to 18455).

That said you can set up VCDS to show how much angle the flaps on each bank open (0-99%) when you push the control arms using a screwdriver. I would ask the see the results of this first hand because if Audi Roadside can do it they can. First I have heard of worn flap control arms. But he is right in one respect, they cannot be replaced as they are integral to the manifold.


The codes you mentioned don't correspond with the VCDS codes I have access to so can't help you there. 18265 is load signal error message from the ECU.

[Dom81]

Its within the schedule but the dealers have informed me that one of the services was not carried out by Audi so I would'nt get any good will!!!!

That goes for the DRC also

Tell them to go back and try again to get the "tight" answer.

On my July 2006 RS4 Avant I had the front 2 shock absorbers and DRC valve replaced at no cost to me under warranty in July this year by Portsmouth Audi - and I don't have FASH either.

The precedent has been set - you do NOT need FASH to get DRC replacement under warranty.

Agreed. What's more, Jeremy Hicks' letter to many of us didn't make this stipulation, so not only has a precedent been set, but it's in writing

[Steve_C]

The precedent has been set - you do NOT need FASH to get DRC replacement under warranty.

Agreed. What's more, Jeremy Hicks' letter to many of us didn't make this stipulation, so not only has a precedent been set, but it's in writing

I hope you're right but if I play the devil's advocate:

My understanding is that the Hicks letter was only sent out to named pesonnel offering an extended DRC warranty to them and not issued generally. In that case non-recipients of the letter can try to infer that the warrany covers them but they have nothing in writing to back this up.

Also, if this is a goodwill gesture what's to stop Audi UK clarifying their offer to non-recipients of the letter by stating that FASH is required? Or changing any future offer completely due to new facts becoming available?

To balance this out, I would also point out that the fact the Hicks letter is silent on the above points and that the offer was not made 'on a without prejudice basis', coupled with the practice of repairing cars without FASH and owned by non-recipients of the letter is very helpful. But it would be dangerous to infer too much.

[P_G]

The solution would be simple then; fpr a sake of a phone call to Mr. Hicks or his PA get a copy of the letter specifically referring to you and ask them to either fax or E-mail it to the dealer in question to speed the process.

[Steve_C]

Yes, or better still ask Mr Hicks to confirm in writing that the offer applies to all RS4 owners and irrespective of FASH.

[MB2]

Yes, or better still ask Mr Hicks to confirm in writing that the offer applies to all RS4 owners and irrespective of FASH.

I am not sure how good an idea that would be now...most of the cars are getting near 5 years...not many on Audi forecourts now so not really a problem for Audi sales like it would have been at the time so probably better "chancing it" rather than push Mr Hicks to a decision that only costs his company money & achieves little for it now.

[Steve_C]

The fact that the cars are getting near to 5 yrs old helps the point - there is less cost at risk for Audi as each month ticks by and each car gets nearer the 5yr/75k miles threshold. If your car get refused the DRC warranty you've got to do something otherwise you have to pay for the repair yourself.

[MB2]

What I meant was as people have a failure they are probably better off tyring to get Audi to help out on a case by case basis - pushing Jeremy Hicks to make a decision on all the RS4s out there will runs the risk that he thinks again & either says no or set some firmer rules.

[adsgreen]

Surely the full recall in the US helps the case over here in the UK?

[caldy]

Spoke to the workshop manager today and he tells me that there is 2 plastic arms that operate flaps inside the manifold and that they get worn, apperently this is quite common??? and they cannot be replaced on there own!!!
I can only think that if the flaps are not opening all way it sends a fault code? I havent noticed any drop off in performance.
I think I might purchase a couple of gaskets and remove the manifold myself and have a look, i find it hard to believe the plastic arms cant be removed and replaced.
The cooler and front shocks are not required to be replaced straight away, there is only a light misting round the connections, so that is better news.

Kenny

The plastic arms are in fact part of a vacuum actuator and can be replaced - but at a cost. IIRC they're around £200 each and the manifold needs to be removed. I had a similar problem in that I snapped one of the arms whilst refitting the manifold and I was horrified at the cost of replacement. I ended up buying a complete s/h manifold from EBay Germany which included both actuators.



If you're competent at spannering then you'll be able to replace these yourself. It is very fiddly coz you need to remove the shafts to dismantle the actuator arm and to do that you have to knock out the 16 core plugs that cover the screws holding the vanes to the shaft. There are seals involved so be careful not to split them. At least it'll give you a chance to de-carbon the inlet manifold!

[Steve_C]

What I meant was as people have a failure they are probably better off tyring to get Audi to help out on a case by case basis - pushing Jeremy Hicks to make a decision on all the RS4s out there will runs the risk that he thinks again & either says no or set some firmer rules.

I agree that is the better option - if your garage says yes there's no point in rocking the boat. But if the answer comes back as no, contacting Mr Hicks may be your only option although, as you note, there is a risk then of a backward step for others.