bwilsongs

Hey Everyone,

Been checking the forums for awhile, but only recently joined. It's been great to see all the knowledge assembled here.

I have a 2004 A8. Purchased almost two years ago and the CPO warranty is about to expire in 2,000 miles or 2 months. It has been a bit of a problem child. I have gotten a lot of value from my warranty, and my local Audi dealer has been great. I didn't know how great until I was out of town for the holidays and needed some work done. It took me 18 days to get my car back considering they had to ship it back to me.

I make mention of the other dealer not to vent, but because they ended up replacing the fuel pump. I had it back for 2 days and in that time I noticed a clicking coming from the passenger's side rear seat. Then on the 5th day I noticed a constant buzzing sound. I drove it straight to the dealer so that there wouldn't be an issue with "we couldn't reproduce the problem" I had googled the issue and read that it could be the fuel filter or the pump. The technician who usually works on my car and who has proven along the way on multiple fronts to be great, said it sounded like the fuel pump. I couldn't leave my car right then, so I dropped it off the next night.

The technician I mentioned ended up calling in sick. So they had another technician look at it. He said it didn't seem to be the fuel pump, but a leveling pump. I had read something about an LD pump before, but I'm not familiar with it. Is this what he's speaking of? The technician mentioned that this pump will buzz more when it's cold. Now it has been a bit colder here, but my recent trip was to PA where the fuel pump was replaced. I didn't notice any buzzing there, where it was much colder.

Anyway, I asked the service advisor to have the other technician look at it when he returns. I think it's the fuel pump, but don't know how hard I should push this. Has anyone here had a similar experience, similar symptoms? Has anyone had problems with the leveling pump they mentioned? And has anyone had a leveling pump buzz more in the cold? The being cold part of the answer is what bothers me. Any thoughts, opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

s4master1

In a way they both are right.
the fuel dampener in the filter has failed, (fuel filter) but now it already damaged the pump, you can replace just the filter but the pump will fail earlier than normal.
while this is happening the fuel been returned to the tank has a flow that is not uniform causing the level pump to buzz.
however replacing that pump is not the problem is the end result of the filter dampener failure.
replace the filter and the pump as the first tech advised.
on another note: smart choice on the extended warranty, never own one without unless it will not hurt you financially to keep up with the repairs.
ask any mechanic and the thing we hate the most is customers crying about the cost of repairs.

bwilsongs

s4master1 - thanks so much for the reply. Helps me in knowing how to respond and push for the right fix.

I really do appreciate you taking the time to reply.

s4master1

remember is the filter and the main pump not the level pump, since they replace it recently and you can't prove it will fail earlier they will not change it anyway.
good luck