Hi

[tweek]

Hi All,

Just joined the forum as I have recently purchased a 2004 Noggy Blue S4 saloon, 30k miles. What can I say, love that engine......

Having owned it for 6 weeks, I am now suffering some niggles and was wondering if others have suffered the same?

1. Paint defect in OSR panel, thought it might be RUST but dealer says not.
2. Dodgy gear change 2nd and 3rd.
3. Broke the glovebox!!!
4. Drivers window rattles over rough tarmac.

Must be a Merc in disguise......

Pete

[Pete.S]

My glovebox has broken...twice! Definitely the weakest part of the interior, very un-Audi-like.

[tweek]

Hi Pete.S,

It has broken twice, this is not good. It felt pretty limp when I bought the car but I did not imagine it would break.

Any predictions as to which bit will fall off next? I did ask the dealer but they declined to answer.

Pete

[Pete.S]

Both times it's been the left hinge, must be a weak design.

[tweek]

Curious, mine was the latch mechanism. It is a pain to have the remove the left dash trim and break-in.

[spikey]

My drivers door has started to rattle as well, but i think its just where the rubber has dried out a bit - any ideas what the treat the rubber with ?

[Scotty]

Halfords do a can of Rubber Lubricant. I used it mainly on the TT (unframed doors) and it works very well.

[spikey]

Thanks Scotty - will give it a go

[Mike_K]

2. Dodgy gear change 2nd and 3rd.
Pete

yep. Think there are a few posts on the forum. I found that just slowing down the change makes a difference. I also only notice it when changing up; so maybe its a sort of synchromesh issue.

To be clear though, it isnt at all bad on my car, I only noticed it after a few days when I got used to the car a bit. Maybe yours is worse ?

[tweek]

Hi All,

Thoroughly sick of the problems with this S4......to add insult to injury, they resprayed the OSR quarter panel as the paint was falling off and what a sXXt job they did.

Regarding the dodgy 2nd and 3rd, you are correct that slowing down the gearchange does (sometimes) help but this is a car capable of 0-60 in 5.6 sec, does this exclude the gearchange time needed to avoid crunching.

As for the window rattle, they used the fancy silicon lubricant - I now have an orchestra in my right ear - very successful me doth think!!

So the real question is... do I take the refund offered or persevere with trying to get things fixed.

One seriously pissed off S4 owner.....

Pete

[BlingBling]

Looks like you have a Friday car. Is it a full refund? If so, take it and go get another. I have not had any of the problems you mentioned in two years of ownership. Although gear changes can be a bit jerky when the engine/gearbox are cold. Could be more ot do with me and mornings not being a good combination..... Nonetheless they are solidly put together, unless it was built on a Friday.

[Mike_K]

I agree; my gear change 'problem' is almost unnoticeable and for me not such a problem - so I think you have a bad example. I am seriously HAPPY with my car as a stealth fighter bomber that can also carry the family and 2 tons of childrens-stuff over 1000km and go easily up snow-covered mountains to ski resorts in comfort....

.. I love it

[tweek]

The refund offered is for the amount paid for the car i.e. cash plus the trade-in value of the old car, basically will end up minimum £2k out of pocket if I replace my old car, does this qualify as a full refund?

I have searched for a replacement S4 but cannot find one in the noggy blue that is same age/mileage, can find other colours but the noggy blue was part of the attraction.....along with the 4 door stealth fighter bomber performance. I have looked at other cars and don't really like anything else out there.

The dealer has suggested another look at the gearbox and is prepared to fix the window and the paint.

Any suggestions welcome....

Pete

[tweek]

Hi All,

Thought I would give you an update on the problems I've been suffering with the S4. Car went back into the dealer (same group, different department) and they agreed there was a fault (yippe I'm not going mad...)

So they have replaced the clutch, the gearbox input shaft had some corrosion on it and this was causing the clutch to stick sometimes, hence the intermittant problems. Must admit, that problem has not re-appeared yet so looks hopeful.

They also agreed that the respray was bad and are going to sort that and the window out. Overall looks promising and I really do like the car.

On a separate note, I do seem to have some difficulty with smooth gear changes, cannot seem to match the engine rpm to vehicle speed. Suspect I just have not got used to the very light throttle. Any suggestions apart from driving properly, I'm more used to a throttle cable and so a much heavier throttle.

Cheers

Pete

[BlingBling]

I find that at first gearchanges can be a bit jerky but as the car gets warmer and I tune more into the the way the car drives it gets better. Thisis after 2yrs ownership.