RS4 Engine Failures - Know of any?
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 2:03 pm
We have seen a few engine failures crop up on both sides of the atlantic lately. Just wanted to get a handle on what is the weak spot in the motor that is causing these failures. As the car gets older we can expect to see this a bit more.
There is no epidemic...let's be clear up front about that. I have personally heard of maybe 10 RS4s getting replacement engines due to failure, either by something mechanically catastrophic, scored cylinder walls thanks to our friend Carbon, or other undiagnosed issues. Out of something like 10,000 Rs4s out there, that's not too bad, but that's all I've heard. There are clearly far more out there but as I said, even then it will be a pretty small number on a percentage basis, especially considering we're 6-7 years past when the RS4 first went on sale.
There was one on here recently that turned into a 15 page thread. Fellow was just cruising along and the motor went kaboom. Anyone remember his username? He was hoping to sell the car, and may have done so already after warranty replacement (I believe it was warranty replaced).
Then there was an RS4 I believe in southern Europe that had a badly scored cylinder wall, I think it was diagnosed as a result of a carbon chunk making it's way into the cylinder and being ground between the piston and the wall. There was another similar story like that in Australia.
Another engine a few years ago failed violently and the oil pan was full of metal debris. There was a great picture of it. Kind of astonishing.
Any others that we know about? If there are any, please post up your recollection. Ideally we should gather the following, but if you only remember a few scraps (like my failing recollections above) post what you remember and maybe other people can fill in the blanks
1. link to the discussion
2. brief description of the failure
3. diagnosis/cause if determined
4. relevant modifications to the car (tuning, forced induction etc however an exhaust isn't going to cause an engine failure)
5. mileage
6. other problems with the car before failure/replcaement of the engine
There is no epidemic...let's be clear up front about that. I have personally heard of maybe 10 RS4s getting replacement engines due to failure, either by something mechanically catastrophic, scored cylinder walls thanks to our friend Carbon, or other undiagnosed issues. Out of something like 10,000 Rs4s out there, that's not too bad, but that's all I've heard. There are clearly far more out there but as I said, even then it will be a pretty small number on a percentage basis, especially considering we're 6-7 years past when the RS4 first went on sale.
There was one on here recently that turned into a 15 page thread. Fellow was just cruising along and the motor went kaboom. Anyone remember his username? He was hoping to sell the car, and may have done so already after warranty replacement (I believe it was warranty replaced).
Then there was an RS4 I believe in southern Europe that had a badly scored cylinder wall, I think it was diagnosed as a result of a carbon chunk making it's way into the cylinder and being ground between the piston and the wall. There was another similar story like that in Australia.
Another engine a few years ago failed violently and the oil pan was full of metal debris. There was a great picture of it. Kind of astonishing.
Any others that we know about? If there are any, please post up your recollection. Ideally we should gather the following, but if you only remember a few scraps (like my failing recollections above) post what you remember and maybe other people can fill in the blanks
1. link to the discussion
2. brief description of the failure
3. diagnosis/cause if determined
4. relevant modifications to the car (tuning, forced induction etc however an exhaust isn't going to cause an engine failure)
5. mileage
6. other problems with the car before failure/replcaement of the engine
