Do-Over???
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AudiWorld Newcomer
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Do-Over???
Hello Party People! I wanted to give a quick intro, and ask for some general guidance, if y'all would be so kind 😊
I'm a lifelong "car guy" (Ford mostly - hold the 🍅 🤣
and after moving on from my GT500 decided to check out a German car. I loved both my Mercs but Audi was next on my list.
Few months ago, i picked up a 2018 A4 that was a great deal. Gets me everytime... I really like so much of the car, and feel like its so much better than the Mercs in a lot of ways.
Of course nothing is perfect, and what I now know are some more widely known issues for the platform are popping up, so I'm considering going another route. Honestly, it was a total impulse buy and I did zero research.
Question for the group is what are some tried and true Audi platforms? I learned on the GT500 boards, thats the place to get real talk. I like this one so much, I am more than willing to spend more - but looking for value this time and not price tag alone.
Thanks in advance for any and all guidance!
PS- Quattro is just WOW. It iced in Texas recently and I couldn't believe how well it worked. Also, the launch in Sport/Dynamic/No TC was shocking 😲
Thanks, again!
- Papa
I'm a lifelong "car guy" (Ford mostly - hold the 🍅 🤣
and after moving on from my GT500 decided to check out a German car. I loved both my Mercs but Audi was next on my list. Few months ago, i picked up a 2018 A4 that was a great deal. Gets me everytime... I really like so much of the car, and feel like its so much better than the Mercs in a lot of ways.
Of course nothing is perfect, and what I now know are some more widely known issues for the platform are popping up, so I'm considering going another route. Honestly, it was a total impulse buy and I did zero research.
Question for the group is what are some tried and true Audi platforms? I learned on the GT500 boards, thats the place to get real talk. I like this one so much, I am more than willing to spend more - but looking for value this time and not price tag alone.
Thanks in advance for any and all guidance!
PS- Quattro is just WOW. It iced in Texas recently and I couldn't believe how well it worked. Also, the launch in Sport/Dynamic/No TC was shocking 😲
Thanks, again!
- Papa
Thread Starter
AudiWorld Newcomer
Joined: Mar 2026
Posts: 3
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Thank you!
Right now, it appears the water pump needs replaced, and its either using/losing oil somewhere. None on the garage floor, so I'm not sure if its burning a little or if there is a gasket slowly leaking.
The only other observation is a brief loss of power, which seems to always happen when I'm turning oddly enough.
I just figured that i may opt to put any repair money into a more solid option.
AudiWorld Super User
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 13,996
Likes: 3,376
From: Georgia
MY18 A4 2.0T would be the EA888 Gen3 CYMC engine. Yes, it's known for the thermostat housing to fail, and for the thermostat housing and the water pump (referring specifically to the mounting blade with the impeller) to develop leaks. Audi has a warranty extension for both, so look into that if you're experiencing the issues.
Oil leaks, not sure what that might be. Oil consumption and oil pressure issues not uncommon on the EA888 Gen2 engines in the B8 do not seem to be a thing on the CYMC.
VCDS by Ross-Tech, you should want it. I'd autoscan the car with it and see what comes up and work the issues presented. If you're getting codes about the electric wastegate actuator, yeah, that's another not uncommon issue with the Gen3s. But would be easier to know what the ECM thinks of the engine operations first.
Either spend the money fixing the vehicle you like, or spend the money on a vehicle you'd rather have. But spending money thinking you can circumvent having issues, with an Audi, .... Better to fix easy enough, well known issues.
Oil leaks, not sure what that might be. Oil consumption and oil pressure issues not uncommon on the EA888 Gen2 engines in the B8 do not seem to be a thing on the CYMC.
VCDS by Ross-Tech, you should want it. I'd autoscan the car with it and see what comes up and work the issues presented. If you're getting codes about the electric wastegate actuator, yeah, that's another not uncommon issue with the Gen3s. But would be easier to know what the ECM thinks of the engine operations first.
Either spend the money fixing the vehicle you like, or spend the money on a vehicle you'd rather have. But spending money thinking you can circumvent having issues, with an Audi, .... Better to fix easy enough, well known issues.
Thread Starter
AudiWorld Newcomer
Joined: Mar 2026
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
MY18 A4 2.0T would be the EA888 Gen3 CYMC engine. Yes, it's known for the thermostat housing to fail, and for the thermostat housing and the water pump (referring specifically to the mounting blade with the impeller) to develop leaks. Audi has a warranty extension for both, so look into that if you're experiencing the issues.
Oil leaks, not sure what that might be. Oil consumption and oil pressure issues not uncommon on the EA888 Gen2 engines in the B8 do not seem to be a thing on the CYMC.
VCDS by Ross-Tech, you should want it. I'd autoscan the car with it and see what comes up and work the issues presented. If you're getting codes about the electric wastegate actuator, yeah, that's another not uncommon issue with the Gen3s. But would be easier to know what the ECM thinks of the engine operations first.
Either spend the money fixing the vehicle you like, or spend the money on a vehicle you'd rather have. But spending money thinking you can circumvent having issues, with an Audi, .... Better to fix easy enough, well known issues.
Oil leaks, not sure what that might be. Oil consumption and oil pressure issues not uncommon on the EA888 Gen2 engines in the B8 do not seem to be a thing on the CYMC.
VCDS by Ross-Tech, you should want it. I'd autoscan the car with it and see what comes up and work the issues presented. If you're getting codes about the electric wastegate actuator, yeah, that's another not uncommon issue with the Gen3s. But would be easier to know what the ECM thinks of the engine operations first.
Either spend the money fixing the vehicle you like, or spend the money on a vehicle you'd rather have. But spending money thinking you can circumvent having issues, with an Audi, .... Better to fix easy enough, well known issues.
Thank you!
Yeah, I replaced some sort of clamp for the cooling system a couple of months ago - I read on here that's somewhat common.
With the current issue, I add coolant regularly to make sure its close to toppted off and expected it will be the pump now. I take it to a German shop and I've known this guy for a long time. He clued me in on the water pump thing. And thanks for the warranty tip. I will check that out.
I think part of it is also I've only had the car 6mo so it just feels like a lot in a short amount of time. But honestly, if the water pump gets taken care of that may sway me a bit on what to do.
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