Litany of problems! Am I doing it right???
 

I have a long list of stuff I've piled up, and since the ODO just crossed 80,000 I figure it's time to get going on it.

If anyone has suggestions for good mechanics/shops in HOUSTON, that would be awesome.

Here's the list of things, and basically what I've been able to figure out from searching and stuff. Please help me out and let me know if I'm right or wrong about what I've researched. Any little bit helps, so if you only know the answer to one of my problems that's great, too.

The extent of my ability thus far is changing tires and changing oil. So I'd rather have someone with experience handle this stuff...

2001.5 A4 1.8TQMS at 81,000mi

• 80,000 mi service interval
• Fuel gauge drops from 50% down to zero and stays there (corroded wire and corroded contacts in fuel tank sending unit?)
• CV joints (according to the shop that just mounted new tires. not sure if it’s just the cover or the actual joint. no grinding, so I'm guessing it's just the cover)
• Timing belt (needs inspection… tensioner probably getting pretty old…)
• Rearview mirror fluid leak (get a replacement directly from Magna mirrors?) photo
• Driver side interior door handle is loose and wonky (tech article write up for this)
• Rubber door trim coming off (Driver front and passenger rear) photo 1 photo 2
• Rubber gasket/surround for center AC vents (Can I just push that back in with a paperclip or something?) photo
• Main driver display screen (top section of screen looks like it's dying, getting faded in areas)
• Rear license plate light bulb problem (new bulbs don’t work, replaced fuse, they still don't work. Both sides out, not sure what's up there…)
• Speakers (BOSE): Driver side front and passenger rear deck blown. Apparently for the front I can buy any 5.25" & 1" component system, so long as it's shallow enough to fit in the door? Rear speaker I'm not so sure about. I'm guessing it's a good idea to replace these in pairs from another brand since they're crappy speakers to begin with. Any suggestions? photo 1 photo 2
• Upholstery: driver seat splitting at seams (no idea what to do about this) photo

I imagine the stealership will bleed me dry for fixing and checking all this stuff. So if you guys know of the best places to order any of the parts I need, or have any recommendations for any shops in Houston that can do any of the above work, that would be supremely awesome.

Thanks a bunch!!

Your timing belt does not need an inspection.
 

It needs TO BE REPLACED NOW!!! It was due 21k miles ago and will fail any day now. You are on very borrowed time.

ouch, thanks, that's what i want to hear. glad i checked here first...

Read on...
 

* 80,000 mi service interval
- Doesn't really exist beyond checking things out. I don't follow any routine other than on oil.

* Fuel gauge drops from 50% down to zero and stays there (corroded wire and corroded contacts in fuel tank sending unit?)
-That or faulty cluster.

* CV joints (according to the shop that just mounted new tires. not sure if it’s just the cover or the actual joint. no grinding, so I'm guessing it's just the cover)
-Get new axles from Raxles.com. So much less work, time, and mess.

* Timing belt (needs inspection… tensioner probably getting pretty old…)
-Already told you...

* Rearview mirror fluid leak (get a replacement directly from Magna mirrors?)
-Can be rebuilt for $200 or so. Can't remember where though.

* Driver side interior door handle is loose and wonky (tech article write up for this)
-Replace it instead. Much easier and the new one looks great.

* Rubber door trim coming off (Driver front and passenger rear)
-Very common, again replace all four.

* Rubber gasket/surround for center AC vents (Can I just push that back in with a paperclip or something?)
-Just pry/pull the vent out and adjust it. Nothing secures the vent in.

* Main driver display screen (top section of screen looks like it's dying, getting faded in areas)
-Again, send it off to be repaired by Module Masters. They did mine, stand behind their work for a full five years and use superior parts.

* Rear license plate light bulb problem (new bulbs don’t work, replaced fuse, they still don't work. Both sides out, not sure what's up there…)
-Common failure. See this link to repair and use superior parts so you never have to do it again. I did do the writeup on both my cars and it's completely worth it.

* Speakers (BOSE): Driver side front and passenger rear deck blown. Apparently for the front I can buy any 5.25" & 1" component system, so long as it's shallow enough to fit in the door? Rear speaker I'm not so sure about. I'm guessing it's a good idea to replace these in pairs from another brand since they're crappy speakers to begin with. Any suggestions?
-I don't deal with audio, but you can get the speakers cheap directly from Bose IIRC.

* Upholstery: driver seat splitting at seams (no idea what to do about this)
-Mine has this badly and the passenger's is starting. Any upholstery shop worth it's muster can fix that. Otherwise, those covers are around $300 new from the dealer.

Well that covers just about everything, except the speakers. thanks a ton, Nate

Anyone got a quick answer for dealing with the blown speakers? Replace em all with a diff. brand (and what sizes would fit?), or try to get OEMs from BOSE or dealer, or what?

I'm replying to the things that have affected me.


* Timing belt (needs inspection… tensioner probably getting pretty old…)
-Same year as you.... replaced timing belt, waterpump, thermostat all at 99k. The timing belt was still in good shape (I don't think timing belt issues are as dangerous as they were on early model B5s). But if you go through the hassle to inspect, well you might as well replace it. I know I'm gonna get flamed for this one.


* Driver side interior door handle is loose and wonky (tech article write up for this)
-Replace it instead. Much easier and the new one looks great.
-Had same issue replaced unit.


* Rubber door trim coming off (Driver front and passenger rear)
-Very common, again replace all four.
-Had same issue replaced all four I think for about 150 in parts from the dealership. Remember that they slide on not click or snap on.


* Main driver display screen (top section of screen looks like it's dying, getting faded in areas)
-Again, send it off to be repaired by Module Masters. They did mine, stand behind their work for a full five years and use superior parts.
-How much was the work for? This issues sucks but wouldnt spend the 900 dollars to replace with a new cluster with the same issue down the line.


* Upholstery: driver seat splitting at seams (no idea what to do about this)
-Mine has this badly and the passenger's is starting. Any upholstery shop worth it's muster can fix that. Otherwise, those covers are around $300 new from the dealer.
-Same, got to love the dealership. Live with it? Your car has character ;)


Good luck!

Called some dealerships today, looking at about $4800 for these repairs. Holy crap.

Who knows some good places to take it in Houston?

You could buy another car for that amount. Find a good indy shop that doesn't mind working on German cars and I bet they do it for about half that amount.

For anyone who might find this thread later, I took it to LG Automotive (kinda near the Richmond/Fondren intersection).

Apparently they specialize in Audi/VW. When I got there, the only cars they had in the shop were Audis.

Anyway, the customer service was great (Victor is the man in charge; he stayed in touch over the phone and walked me through everything that he was going to do, ahead of time) and they did all the major work for less than half what the dealer wanted.

Highly recommended.

Sweet! I've got to take my TT in for a bunch of stuff including the timing belt and I just talked to Victor about a half hour ago. I was a little concerned with the quality of work for whats he estimated me. (so I started googling and found your post) That's great news!