2002_oooo_s4

A nice weekend road trip in my beautiful Santorin Blue 2002 S4 6spd (60,000 miles) turned ugly as the car lost power while accelerating up to about 45 mph. Luckily, I was able to steer it off to the side of the road, but it wouldn't restart. Long story short, I had it towed to a local high-end European mechanic, who gave me the bad news today: The timing belt had rotted and the teeth were stripped off. No compression. Bent values. Damaged heads. Not good.

Up until now, I've always taken the car to my Audi dealer for all service, including regularly scheduled maintenance, oil changes, etc. I even put $5000 into the car last November for repairs they found during the "Audi 70,000 mile maintenance". It's been well maintained.

Researching the internet, I have now learned about the Timing Belt Settlement that impacted other cars of this era, such as the 2002 Audi A4 1.8T. I'm haven't been able to learn why the 2002 S4 2.7T wasn't included in the settlement, but there seem to be plenty of S4 owners whose timing belts broke (and caused serious engine damage) well before the 105,000-mile standard replacement. Audi timing belts break before they reach their replacement mileage.

So, because Audi knows they have such a big problem with timing belts on 2002 Audi A4 turbos (and other years/models) that they have to have a settlement, wouldn't Audi service technicians be extra diligent about other turbos from the same era when it came to inspecting timing belts? Seems like a broken timing belt occuring in dangerous traffic or narrow mountain roads could result in a horrific accident that could be avoided by inspecting the timing belt during regular maintenance.

Tomorrow I get the quote for the repair -- if it's even repairable. Options seem to be to get it repaired, scrap it, or yell at Audi. Ideally, because the Audi part failed, and Audi Service didn't identify the risk of failure, I would want Audi to pay for the damage. However, I realize that this is not a high probability event. Any one have any suggestions on options? Many thanks in advance.

Chris's S4

First off, I'm sorry this happened. It's what we all fear in our S4's. Repairs aren't going to be favorable. Man you must've babied this car if ya only got 60,000 miles on it. What kind of area do you live in? A rotted timing belt is a random thing I've ever heard of happening to such a young car. I'm guessing the car sits for long periods of time without being driven.

Honestly... if repairs aren't too much, keep the car and repair the mnotor. If the cost are too high, I'd say check out ebay for some decent motors. you'll find plenty on there with fairly lower prices than the probable cost of your rebuild. Then just have your mechanic take a look at the new motor, replace any seals that may leak and throw it back in the car. Maybe sell of keep the other motor and rebuild it over time. Just a few ideas.. if it were me... (as I've done this before) I'd buy another motor, prepare it, and put it in the my car. Then take that other motor and rebuild it, then set it aside for any rainy day type of deal. I did this with my street bike motor due to kawasaki's ****ty building at a tranny. Blew out my third gear within my first yr warrenty, they didn't care. So three years later I found a motor and trans set in great shape for 300 bucks. lol threw in the back on my honda accord and drove home content as hell. hahaha then swapped it out and rebuilt my other motor's tranny. oh ya found the tranny for less than a 100 bucks. NICE!!!

Anyways, good luck and hope it all works out better than worse.
Let us knw what your plans are, maybe we can help with a few other things.

Chris

donromani

The motor is definitely reparable but it will be expensive. I had the tensioner bolt fail after a timing belt job (possibly due to the bolt being tightened beyond spec) and the parts alone topped 3 grand. In my case, the shop covered it.

It's a tough call, but with only 60k on a Santorin...I'd have trouble letting that car go. As far as the settlement: can't hurt to file a claim if you find that you're eligible, but as far as I know, that class action does not cover our cars.

DHS

Ditto on the condolences. I have always felt that the whole timing belt thing was too much of a crap shoot, especially when the damage is so catastrophic. As far as I am concerned you did not even get to play timing belt roulette. I had twice your mileage when I did my first one. And my car is in the shop even as we speak, for my second one - at 232,000 miles. I second the advise already given. Go on Ebay and see what engines are available. I checked a couple weeks ago and there were several offerings. If you love the car, figure out the best way to keep it. I am shooting for 300k. Other than ball joints, brakes some seals and a fuel pump, I have spent little on my Nogaro/silver leather baby. Original clutch, tranny, turbos and pretty much everything else. It is a car that still turns heads, and makes me happy. That timing belt tragedy just ain't its fault or yours.
Good luck, bud.
David

2002_oooo_s4

Yes, I have definitely babied her. Low mileage mostly due to only a 5-mile weekday urban commute. Some weekends she sits in the garage, but at least once a month we take a road trip for several hundred miles. Overall, probably average 500-600 miles a month.

Thanks for the condolences and the suggestion to consider buying a used motor on ebay. Looks like they are running $1400-4000 with most in the $2000-$3000 range.

2002_oooo_s4

Thanks! I believe the settlement was only for 1.8L turbo engines. Maybe there weren't enough 2.7L turbos to reach critical mass...

Chris's S4

Whats on your mind about the motor? What are thinking of doing/contemplating?

WalterBleser

I have a 2002 S4 that has been babied its entire life. Purchased it from a friend with 56k miles in October of 2009 and it just had its 70k service done the 2nd week of July. On my way home from vacation this week the car overheated so I took the off ramp, and as i pulled off the entire car shut down on me losing power brakes, steering, etc. Had the car towed about 100 miles home and I have found out the timing belt broke and have been quoted $6k-$8k to fix the car. This is insane considering the manual says 105k to change the belt. I was planning on changing it at 80k based on what I have read and what my mechanic said. I am headed to the local Audi dealership in the next hour to see what can be done. If anything I will post it here. This is a real bummer, my car easily had another 100k left in her.

ryan_qttro

There is also a time by years to recommend T belts for older cars with low mileage. Just because it's low mileage , the belt and teeth on belt are aging

WalterBleser

I agree about the age, however Audi/VW settled their class action on the 1.8T based on prescribed maintenance in miles....