Bruny43

Hi everyone,

I'm starting this thread for advice on how to make an Audi last strongly. I'm sure a lot of this will be repeats and answered before but I believe this will help others out too.

Let me just inform you about my car. I have an '04 Ultrasport 1.8T 6SP. I bought it about two years ago at 100,000 miles exactly and now it's at about 120k. When I bought it the previous owner had the timing belt, waterpump and all those replaced as recommended as well as the clutch. Since I've had it I replaced the coilpacks which failed (nothing big) and the coolant reservoir, flange, CTS sensor and one of the coolant hoses that was cracked and about to fail according to the Audi service shop which replaced the flange. Before the flange began leaking I had an all around $500 inspection done by Audi and they said everything was holding up well. There are a few things I'm slightly concerned about. First, ever since I bought the car the steering wheel has been offset a tiny bit which hasn't been a problem but is slightly annoying (I'm OCD about my car). Can't I just have my alignment done to fix this? and would Audi Service have caught this during the inspection? Secondly, my car has slight shuttering which definitely sounds like the wheels, especially when I slightly turn at about 45-60 mph. I do have aftermarket ASA GT1 rims installed but I had tire rack and discount tire (who installed them) make sure they were balanced and didn't need spacers. Lastly, when I lightly break at 70mph especially downhill, the steering wheel shakes. This doesn't happen at slower speeds and I've heard it most likely means worn rotors. Does anyone have experience with this and know how much it could cost to replace them?

Sorry for such a long post but I want to make sure I have it all down. The reason is that I'm only 17 years old and since I've been a kid I've always wanted an Audi and after 8 years of saving up every penny for my car I want it to last. You can probably imagine how hard it is to afford this car in high school!

Thanks all in advance for you're help!

Gingerbread man

Turning on 45-60: might be suspension or tires related. Also check that the wheels are bolted down (have seen that happen more than once to people) and take a peek at the suspension. Try jerking the wheel while it's off the ground. It's shouldn't give. Tug on the control arm and rods, there shouldn't be any play. Suspension on these cars isn't for offroading (and is expensive) so try not hit potholes @100 mph.

Breaking on 70: warped rotors. Get the rotors off the car and take them to a shop, they'll machine them cheaply (~$20).

All the failures you describe are relatively normal for that age and mileage. If you want your rubber to last, get a $5 can of silicone grease and grease up all rubber on the car (including door, trunk and hood seals, around windshield and rear window and all the rubber hoses in the engine bay). I've been doing that every 2 years since the car was new and all the rubber looks like new.

Most important thing is to change oil frequently (5000 miles max). It's not too difficult to do so do that yourself. Get the coolant reservoir out of the way, one screw holding it down, so you can have easy access to the oil filter. Use proper VW certified synthetic oil only. Don't go looking to save $5 on this.

I'm not sure about the steering wheel.