QueenStella

Hi! I have a 2014 Q5 and I absolutely love it! But my boyfriend is being a pain and wants me to take it to a mechanic to get things checked. Here's what he said:

"It has a water pump leak. You need to take it to a mechanic to check for other issues so you can get them fixed together. Ask the mechanic to specifically check issues with the timing chain, rear main seal, turbocharger, and any other leaks."

So I googled my car and found out that the older Q5s had these issues but in 2012 they were fixed. Aside from leaking water from the water pump, is my car going to be ok?

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/vin...LFAFP9EA104214



Here she is in all her beauty!

A6Gary

Welcome. Yes, your boyfriend is right. If you have the 2.0L TFSI engine, then you should have the timing chain angle checked, which requires VAG-COM Diagnostic System (VCDS) or other OEM-type scan tool. If the reading of that angle is about -5 degrees or greater (more negative), then the timing chain has "stretched" (worn) to the point that the timing chain maintenance service should be performed. This repair runs about $2.0K for parts/labor at an independent auto shop (more at an Audi dealer). We also have a '14 Q5 with this 2.0L engine and it is showing a similar "stretched" timing chain after ~65k miles, even though the oil/filter maintenance followed the recommended Audi oil service from the day we purchased it new. If you search this forum, you will find a number of postings re: the timing chain wearing on this engine.

Maple79

The spec for a good timing chain is -1 to -4. If it's above this the your chain is stretched and needs replacing. If your vehicle jumps time u run the risk of having a piston hit the head of the motor destroying the valves. If this happens a 2000 dollar job jumps to over 6 thousand for a new head and replacement. As for the leaky water pump trust me when I say no one wants to have their car overheat on them.

simplesez

Sometimes the "queen" needs to listen to the "king"

Yeah it is good advice. if you have coolant (water pump) leaking you can have a serious problem if not fixed promptly.

Steppenaudi

I just had the timing chain changed on my 2013 Q5 Hybrid at 58K miles after I used my VCDS to find the chain timing at -5.6 degrees. The chain tensioner was completely out of adjustment range when it was replaced. I thought the chain stretch issue was resolved in 2012. Not so, apparently. Definitely get your vehicle checked for a stretched timing chain ASAP, and get the water pump done as well.

S4'ed

The chain stretch issue was not ever fully resolved....

QueenStella

Proud boyfriend here, I purchased VCDS for her car and ran a scan. There were a few errors which I cleared to see if they pop up again (have them saved in a log file). A few of them only occurred once so hopefully they were related to sensors not being reset when it was getting repaired. Some related to ABS (same day the pads/rotors were done), door actuator, etc

This is a good sign for the timing chain, right? I'd need to get some kind of mirror to see the actual tensioner in there. I have a suspicion it was replaced before she owned it since the car has over 100k. A,qssuming the chain itself is ok regardless according to these numbers:
Camshaft adaptation intake bank 1hase position
-0.90degrees

Camshaft adjustment intake bank 1:activation
6.250%

Camshaft position deviation from reference position
-0.09degrees

Need to check what the normal range is for the battery. This is data while at idle:
Battery
14.70V
1.9A-2.5A

She definitely needs the water pump fixed, the coolant level drops when driving it only 10 miles. From what I'm reading the plastic ones will just break and it's a frequently broken component on this engine. Any idea on where to get a quality metal one rather than a genuine Audi plastic one? Rockauto has questionable Chinese parts, not sure if they're to be trusted.

Also, what are some reasonable ways to take care of the carbon build up? I see lots of very thorough cleanings owners do in this forum which require a lot of engine out procedures which seem excessive since she doesn't have any repairs that would need to be completed with the engine out.

Maple79

The one to pay attention to is phase position. If it's above -4 then u have some chain stretching going on

312TDI

Your boyfriend is right. Specially the timing chain tensioner. The timing chain tensioner on my Q7 was off (defective) at 44K miles. Caused the chain to jump, then at that point everything went bad. Audi determined the damage was too severe to repair. Car was still covered under warranty.

Maple79

If the chain phase position is at .9 it's recently been done. For audi is a chain between -1 and -4 is within spec. As for the engine cleaning the only real way to fix oil consumption is to bus upgraded pistons and rods. The rings on the older pistons get Carboned up and cause the consumption issue. I have been an audi technician for about 7 years and still have not found anything that helps. For the fun of it I even tried seafoam. So it's all going to depend on whether or not u feel the consumption is worth the time and money to fix.