Patrick Seymour

Hello. Hoping might be able help me consider an A3 for my daughter. I am looking at an 09 A3 Quattro with 2.0 TSFI motor. The carfax shows that the water pump was changed at 60k, 75k and then again at 85k. They can now has 93k and I'm wondering why the water pumps are going so quickly. The current owner replaced the RMS, valve cover gasket and intake manifold... he didn't know why it needed a new intake (which was odd by itself). Thoughts? Move on? Dig deeper or roll the dice? I'm selling my p-car now due to medical bills and I can't afford to have this fail on the kid. Thanks in advance for any advice.

findalex

The gasket leaks oil down to where the water pump is. The oil swells up the water pump gasket, which in turn expands and cracks the plastic water pump housing. Do a google search on why VW/Audi 2.0 water pumps fail and you'll probably find several youtubes that explains it better. Check for oil leaks in the front of the engine and if you still see leaks, then the gasket was not replaced correctly and you will need to replace the water pump again sometime in the future. Alternatives, shopdap.com sells water pumps made with metal housing now, so that should be better if you need to get a new one.

The intake manifold had a recall on it because the intake flap/flap motor had a problem. I never had a problem with mine but got it replaced free by the recall.

I have a '09 A3 2.0 TSI (it says TFSI on the badgets, but Audi really calls it a TSI engine) with about 70K on it and my biggest gripe is how the DSG stutters from a dead stop after some stop-n-go driving. Make sure you can find some maintenance record of the DSG fluids being changed every 30/40K. If it hasn't been maintained for 93K, then I'd avoid that car.

Other than that, the biggest thing you need to worry about is the timing chain tensioner. If it hasn't been replaced, you should seriously consider doing it. If that thing fails, you'll need to spend quite a few thousand dollars to fix the engine. Google it. It's not a difficult job, but a few hundred dollars at least. It's a problem with all VW/Audi 2.0 TSI/TFSI engines up to 2013 I believe. Some people also say the timing chains stretch, so I'd check for that on a car with 93K miles as well. (You'll need a VCDS/VAG-COM)

Oh, there is also the airbag recall that Audi has been telling me to do because I might die from the exploding air bag, but the local dealership won't even take appointments for it because they don't have the parts for it. It's been about 6 months. This is the same airbag defects that affects just about every car maker. (https://www.consumerreports.org/car-...o-know/#brands) It's only slightly less scary than the recall I had on my A5 which Audi says I shouldn't park in my garage because it might burn my house down.

If you want something that's reliable and doesn't require a lot of maintenance, get a Toyota/Lexus that's not a hybrid (batteries wear out and expensive to replace). Not even Honda's with auto-transmissions and especially not the ones with turbos. And don't even think about Nissan/Infinity, especially the ones with CVT transmissions.

tmurphy

Our A3 with 22k miles just had the water pump go. what a mess. what should I ensure they replace the faulty pump with?
Thanks,
terry

Patrick Seymour

@findalex Thank you for that detailed post on the 2.0 motor. You have saved my countless dollars and hours of research and/or aggravation. This forum is excellent because of folks like you.