Had the s4 one day, check engine light and funny smell...

[CliveH]

Yes, I forgot to mention that too - looks superb.

[mikeyquattro]

Nice car!
I don't like the way the warranty information is written.
Hope you can get it sorted

[ChipHazzard]

Very nice looking car and looks like an early b6 judging by the 4.2 engine

[mikeyquattro]

4.2

[CliveH]

Well I didnt want to say anything...but how many have you had Chip?!

[ChipHazzard]

DOH looked at the mileage wasnt concentrating properlly due to sprog climbing all over me

[Dippy]

I agree, it LOOKS like a very tidy car. To answer yours and Clive's question, I believe that the tiptronic was only available in NA, although of course I'm not sure about the rest or Europe or ROW. However since most of the people here are from the UK which did not, I'm afraid you're not going to get many third opinions on tiptronic failures. Maybe you can check on Audiworld.

I'm guessing a bit, but the 16826 P0442 035 and 17831 P1423 035 could be related to camcover gasket failure(s). I think 18032 P1624 035 is something to do with AVS. 17125 P0741 035 is pretty clear that you do have a tranny problem. As for the central locking, you often get codes like that. As long as they clear your OK, except for 01366 035 which worries me. Has the car been repaired after a crash? Maybe why it looks so neat.

I know it hurts to hear it, but I think you need to get a full refund on this car. Even if you get the seller to pay for repairs, what else might be hiding? Do you lemon laws apply to used car sales?

[mikeyquattro]

Dippy,
Have you read the warranty information at the bottom of the ebay link?

[pingdashf]

Even though the warranty is pretty lame the guy who sold it to me seems to be a genuinely good guy who is being just as screwed as I am by the fact a car he sold me was material misrepresented. Ebay has a 20,000 USD protection policy and it very clearly covers material misrepresentations of the condition of the transmission.

It appears to me that the dealer has offered me, in a round about way, to take the car back for a full refund. I am still working out the details with him to that effect.

I did have the codes cleared and the torque-converter code came back within 30 minutes. The tranny is clearly hosed and I have no choice but to view this as a misrepresentation (whether intentional or not). Oh well, at least I had my dream car for a week. I'll keep updating this post with how it works out just in case anyone is interested. And I will stick around to learn more about these cars so my next purchase can be better. I sure have learend a lot from this process. I will get an S4 again, it just may take a while.

[DavidT]

Sounds like it will work out for you, which is good Best of luck with it and yes, please do keep us informed.

[mikeyquattro]

Cool. It's nice to know there are still some decent and honest people about. Good luck

[CliveH]

I'm glad you seem to have got a good result - please keep us informed.

I'm sure you will soon find your dream car, and there's plenty of pre-purchasing (free) advice on here of course.

[pingdashf]

I'm guessing a bit, but the 16826 P0442 035 and 17831 P1423 035 could be related to camcover gasket failure(s). I think 18032 P1624 035 is something to do with AVS. 17125 P0741 035 is pretty clear that you do have a tranny problem. As for the central locking, you often get codes like that. As long as they clear your OK, except for 01366 035 which worries me. Has the car been repaired after a crash? Maybe why it looks so neat.

There is indeed a cam seal issue. 17125 P0741 is the biggy, but it seems it also would come on for something as simple as low trans fluid. There is a trans seal leak, which would thusly explain why the trans fluid might be low. To fix the trans leak it's like $30 (usd) part and $420 in labor! I guess this stuff is hard to get to. I am going to have it topped off and reset again on Monday. If it comes back with a full tranny then I'm in serious trouble.

What is 01366 035? Why would that appear after a crash? The car has a clear title, but it was also a repo. If something happened to the car (say, a hurricane flooded it) and the owner said "I'm gonna quit paying for it since it's not driveable" and the lein holder said "fine then I'll repo it" the lein holder could have easily just had it fixed without ever claiming insurance on it (and therefore keeping the title clean). There is nothing visible when it comes to signs it may have been damaged though. What does this code mean?

[pingdashf]

There is no way for me to check the trans fluid on this car is there?

[KayGee]

16826 is small leak in EVAP circuit. Probably a hose. No big deal.

17831 is sec air injection leak, check the small vacuum hoses running down the back of the engine, 1 or more off them will be split. Quite common hoses become brittle and snap. No big deal.

01366 035 means doors were unlocked due to crash signal, however this can also occur with flat battery. Should be able to clear it and it not return. This ties in with the other codes about the alarm system being triggered. Again no big deal.

If it returns something up with alarm or central locking circuits. This is then a dealer fix.

17125 is transmission clutch circuit. However this is the one I'd be worried about.

I'd get the first three fixed, dealer should be able to fix these as it requires not much skill (remove pipe, check it, replace it ) but lots of patience.

If after these are done and transmission fliud is replaced you still get the DTC thrown I'd return the car.