mxschwartz

Hey Audi Enthusiasts!

Here's my tale and a couple of questions.

2005 Audi A4 2.0T FWD

Get a 2181 "check engine code" and take car to local garage that claims it does European cars. They replace the thermostat and coolant temperature sensor. I also have them do rear brakes and change oil.

I pick up car. The emergency brake is totally detached and doesn't work. They tell me that it must have been like that when I brought it in. Sigh. I am annoyed and leave.

Check engine light comes back on. I take it back a couple weeks later. They tell me it takes time for code to clear out of system, so I should just keep driving it and it won't come back on.

Check Engine Light comes back on next day. Note: car is not overheating--if anything, the temperature gauge seems to be going up slower than usual. They offer to fix e-brake for 1/2 off labor (4 hours) and I accept. When I pick up car, they tell me that the coolant temperature sensor was faulty and they re-replaced it under warranty. I notice that the metal trim surrounding the transmission is bent and not correctly flush. They say they did the best they could. Ummm....really? It looks half-detached. Anyway, at least the car is fixed.

Check engine light comes back on the next day. They keep car for the day and tell me that a 30amp fuse had blown. All fixed. Good to go.

You can guess, right? Check engine light comes back on! I leave car for a couple days while I go out of town. They call me at the end of the second day to tell me they spent hours looking over the car and it needs a new water pump assembly due to faulty circulation. And, I should do the timing belt.

OK. Now I'm annoyed. I had these repairs done at a different garage already last year. So, I do what I should have done all along. Find an Audi specialist and stop dealing with these people. Audi garage checks out car and says I need a new thermostat. He suggests I go back to the first garage and have them replace it under warranty. I don't trust these people anymore so I have him do it and just play the money.

He shows me thermostat: it is very rusty. He also tells me the coolant he pulled out what sludgy and full of rust despite them supposedly flushing the system six weeks ago when they did the first repair. Guess what? Car is fixed now. Gauge now shows temperature at straight up the middle basically all the time now.

So, here are my questions for those in the know!

--Is it possible for a brake cable to the emergency brake to disengage while doing a rear brake drive, or are these things totally unrelated as claimed by the garage?

--How hard is it to repair/replace the trim around the auto trans handle on the dash? They seem to have bent the one I had. Can I buy a new one and do it myself?

--Do you think I was scammed and the first garage never replaced the thermostat? It seems unlikely to me since they kept begging me to come back if the light came back on. I'm leaning toward incompetent. But, could rust build up in the coolant/thermostat so quickly to kill a replacement one? Audi mechanic said it was possible for rust to get in the coolant that quickly, but very unlikely.

--Is there any way to look at the thermostat and know when it was manufactured? It is covered with numbers and codes--do any of them allow me to know if this is an original part or a six week old replacement?

Anyway, I've learned the lesson to go to the Audi garage instead of my local garage for anything beyond a brake job.

Thanks for listening!

Michael

Just Me

Many issues here. I will stick to the topic of this forum, brakes.

Note: around 2005 many audi models moved from a manual to an electronic e-brake/hand brake. I don't know which you have. I have not seen the newer system first hand.

However, either way there is a cable connecting the hand brake or electronic servo/motor to the rear caliper. It is absolutely possible to dislodge it - although on the older models a competent mechanic wont. Its not very sensitive. I would assume they did hit it.

Also, on the older models, and i believe yours too, the self-adjusting brake mechanism must be screwed in while it is pressed in with a special tool (not very complicated, cheap on the internet). But many people force it, and damage the mechanism - which, i believe, is also the hand-brake mechanism. They may have done this. in any event it is NOT "totally unrelated" - at the end of the day they apply pressure to the same pads in the same caliper. They just don't use the normal hydraulics - they use a cable.

I cant comment on the other stuff, but, as usual, you need to use a mechanic that has earned trust. The closest, cheapest etc is a bad way to pick mechanics. Find a good one that others use for year after year. treat hiom well and he will do the same to you.

Grant