New Owner looking for a manual

[darlo968]

Hi Everyone,

I have just bought a used 2008 S4 in a rather sudden move, but the drive home put a big smile on my face and I am certain it is my sort of car.

The major downer is that non of the books were with it - and I am completely lost with a lot of the controls. I fiddled a bit when sat in traffic and managed to get an annoying bleep every time I pulled away after that, with a red circle with MPH and a one next to it on the MFD. Stuff like that is going to drive me insane. The nav also seems to be a bit counter intuitive, and there are clearly a number of other things I can play with, but currently I have no idea what I am doing.

I have hunted the web looking for a manual to download but to no avail. Any help anyone can give there? Is an Audi dealer likely to be able to help? I bought the car from a BMW dealer, and am a Brit based in Houston, Texas.

Thanks for any help - looking forward to searching the forum and learning more about these cars!

Cheers,
Dave

[verysideways]

Can't help with the manual, but welcome!
Nice car

[neckarsulm]

You can order these from UK Audi dealers so I am sure you can do it in the States too.
Failing that keep looking at ebay

[darlo968]

Thanks chaps. I will head down to the Audi dealer this week - hopefully they can print off the service records too. The OBC reckons it doesn't need servicing for 229 days or 4357 miles, but I might get it in just for them to give it the once over. Learning a bit more about it today. It turns out it has cheap aftermarket alloys (but they look so good I thought they were OEM!) and cheap Sumitomo tyres (that seem to get good reviews anyway). The tyres will probably need replacing by the end of the year, so no major worries there - they seem to be OK for road noise but I am getting a mild grating vibration back through the accelerator pedal when cruising. Nothing sinister I don't think. As for handling, well, they aren't big on bends around here, but the tyres certainly hung in there today on a sweeping on-ramp. Will I ever get tired of the sound this thing makes? Quite impressed with the MPG so far too - not as horrific as I imagined...

[neckarsulm]

Will I ever get tired of the sound this thing makes? Quite impressed with the MPG so far too - not as horrific as I imagined...

My first impressions were the same.
As for the MPG, there seems to be a big difference if you drive it gently, I got 30mpg driving at 60mph on a motorway
The sound is great, you don't have to rev it to get the noise, under load from tickover is enough, though it sounds awesome when revved too, as Evo magazine said, at the top of rev range it sounds like a helicopter taking off!
I wonder if the later 4 pipe system is more tuneful than the 2 piper on the B6?

[Vorsprung_Durch_Technik]

I would check out the vibration through the throttle pedal. I had a similar thing with mine and it turned out that the alternator was slack!!!! Could have been interesting if it had fallen off! Only found it when the aux belt was changed! Glad you are enjoying the car though

[marv]

I think that if you press and hold the SET button, this will cancel the speed warning.

You could try this site for your manual, but not sure how good it is - I stumbled across it by accident:
http://safemanuals.com/user-guide-instr ... AUDI/S4-_E

I will head down to the Audi dealer this week - hopefully they can print off the service records too.

The dealers should be able to provide you with/sell you a service book too. A mate of mine just bought an Audi without a service book, so his dealership got a new book, and posted it to all of the dealerships that had serviced the car. I guess this is only possible if it's been serviced by Audi.

I wonder if the later 4 pipe system is more tuneful than the 2 piper on the B6?

I've read that it is, yeah.

[darlo968]

It definitely sounds like an aero engine when gently pressing the throttle from cruising speeds. I haven't really had the room to rev it too much to be honest - very scared of plod in these parts. Radar detector may be on the shopping list soon! Not having to rev it to have fun is one of the reasons I bought it though. Mine has the Tiptronic box which is perfect for Houston. I considered spending more $$$ on a 2008 M3 Manual, but it just felt underpowered unless you really gave it some throttle. I know it is a much faster car (and a very lovely piece of engineering & design too) but I think I would have found it frustrating to drive around town.

Marv - that link is to the new S4 brochure, but from there I found a Quick Ref Guide to the B7 - very useful, thanks! The lack of service book isn't as big a deal here in the US, as nobody looks after their cars and nobody seems to give a monkeys' about service history. The standard of cars offered on a main dealer used lot is appalling compared to the UK. If I can get a print out from the Audi dealer of the history, it will be as good as a book full of stamps. It has probably only needed one service in its life, and it seems to have had it.

Thanks for all the advice!

[neckarsulm]

Some yank tanks go 100,000 miles before their first service, mind you they probably out out 200bhp from 6 litres and have oilways the size of the Suez Canal!

[darlo968]

Yep, they have a long way to go with Engine technology, but big understressed engines coupled with changing the oil every other month (as people seem to do in these parts) does get a lot of trouble free miles of motoring.

Booked it in for a 15k mile service at the Audi dealer tomorrow. They were able to show me the in-service date (I have more warranty left than I thought), service history (one service, 14 months ago), a bunch of TSB items done, and new front discs and suspension bushes at some point in the first few months of its life. 15k mile service is about $310 which seems reasonable. It includes all standard service items, plus an engine flush and a couple of other things. They are also trying to find a manual for me, but they might have to order it in ($$$ I assume!).