1997 Audi A4 2.8 Quattro from North America - Comments

'97 a6 Quattro. 75K miles.

I like the handling, the look, but not the car. Plastic parts break all the time. Germans don't seem to get it. My Porsche had the same problem... dashboard looked like the Grand Canyon.

CD player is shot. Hardly ever used. Radio won't let me in now either. It's protecting me from myself. Maybe it hates music.

Rubber bushings are shot over the entire suspension and need replacing... literally disintegrating. OK, at 75K some rubber parts goes bad, but not all at the same time! This reminds me of US car syndrome; where life expectancy was 75K for any car.

None of this is as disturbing as going to the Audi dealer in Schaumburg, Illinois, after someone rear ended the car, and having the agent lie that the fiberglass drive shaft needed replacement, $2K, as a "matter of regular maintenance". Btw, the shaft is steel, and the engine light came on right after the accident and the shaft started making strange noises thereafter. He said it never happened ... right after his technician tells me that the air-bag light needed resetting for some reason. Somehow collisions are now considered regular maintenance events.

After I paid for an engine diagnostic, the agent gave me another car's diag sheet. He also told the insurance agent that the newly leaking trans seal (1000 miles old, btw) was a maintenance item and that a rear-end collision cannot possibly effect transmissions, drive shafts or engines on a 4 wheel drive vehicle. Hello-o-o... where do they find these guys? ... oh, they *look* for them?

I had to tow the car from the dealer. Insurance wouldn't cover the drivetrain repairs, and the agent left the dealership with a smile after my dealer nixed repairs. No way would I leave it with them after that kind of treatment. Today I heard that Audi has sent someone from another area to check them out. Rumors ...

Oh, and to replace the cooling thermostat... you have to take off the entire front end?! ... and serpentine belt! This is a fact according to the repair manual.

I don't think I want to buy another Audi, Porsche or VW again... honestly. Too costly to operate, and no fun to DIY.

I finally dumped my 1997 Audi A4 today. It was definitely a Love-Hate relationship. The car was very fun to drive, but it was in the shop pretty much every 3-4 months. During the 7 years I owned this car I spent $6,755 in repairs. This doesn't include normal maintenance, which I was very faithful.

I just replaced it with a Volvo and will likely never buy another Audi.

I have a 97 2.8 quattro. Bought it with 67k and it now has 73k. So far, I haven't had any problems except my oil light flashes (the word oil by the odometer, not the symbol of an oil can) when I turn the car on and will flash until I get going over 30mph. I am using full synthetic oil and have looked at the inside of my oil cap for signs of sludge, but can't see anything out of the ordinary. Somebody said that I may need to clean the oil pick up screen. Does anyone know anything about this? Is this just a faulty dummy light that should be ignored? Is sludge an issue with the 2.8 v6? All I've seen online regarding the issue seems to pertain to the 1.8 turbo models. Also, I hear a clicking noise coming from the front left of the car, perhaps a bad control arm? All of these reviews are making me nervous,, maybe I should sell mine before something major goes wrong???

Should I have the transmission flushed and cleaned already at 73k? Any advice would be appreciated. Please write me at Chadfsr@yahoo.com

P.S. I like the car, but it seems to be slow to accelerate compared to other v6 cars I've owned. It's about as quick as my 4 cylinder Acura Integra...

I've owned several Audi's over my life, and continue to do so. But, Audi's just like every other manufacturer out there, has their little quirks and stuff to be aware of.

Their engines are among the most reliable out there! But they demand regular maintenance, not neglect!!! The manual transmissions also are super reliable.

It seems the automatic transmissions (supplied by ZF) seem to have a keen sensitivity, and can be fragile if NELGLECTED FROM COMPLETE AND THOUROUGH SERVICING. some people say they are maintenance free but they are not... and in all honesty they should be serviced twice as frequently as the owners manual recommends.

It seems like almost all the problems listed on here are either the transmission or front control arms. Id have to put the transmission failures up to neglect.

Every Audi I will ever own will be manual transmission, but seems like everyone wants convienence and lasiness... then MAINTAIN YOUR TRANSMISSIONS AND USE HIGHLY TRAINED AUDI SERVICE SHOPS.. REGULAR MECHANICS LIKE TO INCREASE THE COST OF REPAIRS THROUGH CHEATING, AND ARE VERY IGNORANT OF SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EUROPEAN CARS.

I personally do all the work on my cars, as I have been doing this all my life, I realise many of you do not do that. That's why I stress to make sure you maintain your car, and have it maintained by properly educated skilled people.

Remember : It's a MACHINE, NOT AN APPLIANCE, IT NEEDS TO BE SERVICED REGULARLY OR IT WILL BREAK.

I am a Volvo owner and am looking to buy another car for our family. The problem is our budget and we need to spend under $5,000. I'm looking at buying a 97 A4 Quattro from a private dealer. It has 190,000 miles and he wants $5,000. I took it into my mechanic and he quoted $1,100 in work. (Crack in Exhaust Manifold, Cracks in front brake lines, Water pump replacement). I asked the seller if he knew when the timing belt was replaced and he said that it looked brand new when he was replacing the head gasket. Which gave me a scare when he said "he" replaced the head gasket. I know Audi's are finicky. I know that's a tough job. My mechanic was worried when he heard that but hasn't told me that it's a bad investment. What do you think?

The flashing OIL light on the odometer is the oil service reminder (usually 1 year or 10,000 miles) it can be switched off easily, the instructions are in the handbook.

One thing you must remember is people are more likely to write in these forums if they have issues with their vehicle. The people with no problems don't see a reason to rant and rave about their car.

Hi. I am thinking of buying an A4 quattro, but on a test drive there seems to be a dry whining noise coming from the drive train, and I am not quite sure what it could be. Do you think this could be a major fault? Would appreciate your comments.

Gaz.

10/21/09.

I have a 1997 Audi A4 2.8L Quattro. It has 72k miles. Fortunately, I don't drive my car aggressively as most Audi *A4* owners do.

While it is not surprising that, due to my conservative driving discipline, I have not encountered countless transmission and heating problems with the car (not to mention saved hundreds in gas) ; I DID have one major problem -- the front suspension coil snapped while I was driving due to rust. I was lucky the force of the coil didn't rip through the body of my car and take out my passenger's entire leg. This problem was a severe health/safety risk and I am lucky that no major damage was done. Cost to repair: ~$500. You need to replace both right and left suspension coils or the car will noticeably sit lop-sided, and you will risk breaking the remaining coil due to weight imbalances.