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I recently upgraded from my B6 A4 3.0 to a B6 S4 convertible with 82k on the clock. The car is in fantastic condition barring the high (ish) mileage.

Since bringing the car home I have identified 2 issues. The first is an intermittent airbag light (which I'm quite annoyed about as the car had an advisory on the recent mot but still passed as it was an intermittent error. Despite starting the car a number of times a the garage I couldn't get the light to come on yet as soon as I take it home it lights up!) Question is- is it 99% likely that the issue is with the wiring under on the of the front seats? Plus if I take it to a garage and they plug in to the on board diagnostics will it identify where abouts the fault lies, I.e. under which seat has the fault?

Second problem is the smell of burning oil from the engine bay after driving it. There is no smoke and the car doesn't seem to be using/losing oil and there is no smoke -just quite a strong smell coming from the side of the left bank of cylinders as you look at the engine front of the front of the car. Logically I would think its the rocker cover gasket as there's nowhere else above the exhaust that would drop oil? Can someone confirm this is likely to be the case?

This aside I am loving the car so far....

Thanks guys.

Simon

Welcome to the club!

I don't know about the airbag but leaking valve cover gaskets are a common issue. Run your finger under the ridge around the edge and you might find a bit of sludge.

Alternatively, throw a torchlight between the engine and the radiator and see if you can spot any patches on the lower components.

There are DIYs for the job so you can do it yourself. I did and it was a right pain. I think it books at 1.5 hours per side for a pro (took me and my dad (a former mechanic) about a day to do both).

or if you're really enlucky like me, it might be one of the circular seals around one of the colipack holes in the valve cover.. these cannot be replaced like the valve cover gaskets, you have to get a complete new valve cover as the coilpack seals are mounted into the underside of the cover itself

goose

oh and welcome, get some piccies up.. and enjoy befriending the local Shell staff!

goose

Hi,

I just had the same problem with the Airbag light.
Vag-Com identified it as the passenger side airbag.
It's a well known problem as the connection goes bad on the airbag plug and socket under the seat. The plug isn't the one on the floor - it's part of the seat harness.
I cut the plug and socket off and soldered the wires and haven't had a problem since.
There is an AUDI service article about it. I searched on Google when it first happened and got a tutorial with photos.
It's really simple to do and the hardest part is lifting that heavy seat out.

Regards, Chris.

Thanks guys, yes the valve cover looks a bit of a nightmare as there are also what looks like high pressure fuel lines to disconnect. I spoke to a local Audi specialist who is going to give me a quote. He says getting the dam things to seal again is a big of a nightmare, also that the gasket itself is pretty pricey. Can anyone remember how much the gasket was?

On the bright side he said he'll sort out the airbag issue for fifty quid which I thought was quite reasonable considering Audi want £250...

Simon

It's not difficult - it just took us ages to get the bolts off and fish the bits/tools we kept dropping in the engine bay.

Here's the DIY. I think the two kits were about £80 in total.