Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with audi

No more wires please.

Jon-o — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:29:04 -0800

Apple AirPort Express wireless music question. I know iTunes has an option to play music via the speaker-output port on the AirPort Express base station. How do I route all of my computer's audio output through that?

Need reliable Audi Mechanic

jeffamaphone — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:21:39 -0800

Bay Area: Peninsula: Please recommend an independant Audi mechanic. I have a '07 Q7 and I'm looking for an independent mechanic so I don't have to pay dealer prices for oil changes, etc. The qualities I'm looking for, in order of desirablity, are:

1) Does Quality work.
2) Is honest and reliable.
3) Good value for the money.

I.e., I'll pay slightly more for someone I can trust and rely on. I'm not purely looking to minimize cost.

Thanks!

Audi Ur-Quattro Down Under?

obiwanwasabi — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:05:43 -0800

Was the Audi Ur-Quattro ever sold in Australia? If not, is anybody importing them today?

Do I own a car that truly cannot be repaired?

starscream — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:23:05 -0800

Is my Audi unrepairable? I have a 2003 Audi A4 1.8T with a CVT (GGT) transmission that's messed up. When driving, the transmission 'slips' and occasionally freaks out and pushes the engine to 7k rpm's. Sometimes it drives fine, but when it freaks out... it freaks out and therefore it's unreliable and undrivable. My Audi dealership replaced the Transmission Control Module and this behavior still happens, so they say that the whole transmission needs to be replaced. I called Aamco and they also told me that it needs replacement as there are not parts made for my transmission. A call to an independent shop netted similar info.

Is my Audi's transmission truly unrepairable? Or am I getting the wrong information? Is there anyone in the greater Los Angeles area that can repair it? Do I have any other option than just waiting to pay it off before getting rid of it?

The transmission replacement price is $6500, and it seems absurd that a major car company would build and sell something that can't be repaired.

I wish I could simply sell it or scrap it, but I still owe three years payments on it...

Wet Audis and the Bills they Cause

rileyray3000 — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 13:13:10 -0800

My 2006 Audi A4 is having ignition coil problems. And the dealer is saying because it's water damage related, it's not covered under warranty. I have NOT had the engine cleaned. I have NOT driven into a lake and I live in California where rain is minimal. Help me to not be screwed. So here's the short story for car people. For non-car people it tends to read a little longer:

I drive a 2006 Audi A4 2.0 quattro

1) had an accident where I rear ended someone. VERY minor. Cosmetic damage and the compressor for the AC. Took the car in two days later to an insurance company approved body shop.

2) Got the car back. Drove fine for one day. Then next day I start the car and it cranks but won't turn over. Have it towed to the body shop. They discover it's an ignition coil and possibly the left passenger side housing of said coil. According to Audi, cannot possibly be related to crash. Get it towed to the dealer. Says it's under warranty, should be fine

3) Got call the next day from the dealer saying it's water damage related. That rust has gotten on the interior of one of the ignition coils and that water damage is NOT covered by warranty.

4) Now I'm being told to pay 675 bucks.

The service tech says that they see a lot of that from pressure washing engines. I called the body shop. They say there's dust on the engine and that they clearly didn't pressure wash it. And they also say the hood was never off the car.

I have NEVER cleaned under this hood. I park the car in covered parking. So i guess my main question is how did this happen and what do I do about it?

But then there are the minor questions related to it:

-Can anything else LOOK like rust and maybe my dealer is mistaking it?
-Are there any known issues with ignition coils and rust?
-I park next to a constantly leaking pipe in my covered parking. Could the excess moisture just get in the car over time?
-Who do I go after here? Is the body shop guy full of crap or is the dealer? Or do I go after my landlord?

Is Audi being funny or are they saying I can technically use jet fuel?

rileyray3000 — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:01:40 -0800

What's 95 octane gas and where do I buy it? I've got an Audi A4 and it says the minimum gas rating I can use is 91. Which is premium. And which I use. But the max is octane 95. Which I don't use because I haven't seen it. Lord knows I'd love whatever extra performance I might get out of it with the higher octane but do any places SELL that kind of gas? In Southern California?

When gas goes above 4 bucks a gallon, it's the premium cars who hurt the most...

rileyray3000 — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:39:11 -0800

I want to use cheap gas in my 2006 Audi A4. Will this void my warranty? Basically with gas so high, filling up on premium is more of a pain than it used to be. I'm looking for any savings I can 30 cents a gallon difference in California wouldn't be bad. That said, I OWN the car and don't lease it so I don't want to ruin it. I plan on giving the car to my nephew when the warranty runs out in 2010 to be a cool uncle.

That said I would need to know

1) if it really hurts the car in any real way

2) If I DO use cheap gas, is there a computer or sensor doohickey that will tell the Audi people when I bring it in for scheduled maintenance

3) If they CAN tell somehow, will this void my warranty?

Any automotive or Audi experience will be appreciated.

Music is Beautiful

longdaysjourney — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 12:55:46 -0800

Anyone know the name of the music that plays in this Audi commerical?

My German car is ruining my perfect American Date

rileyray3000 — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:18:59 -0800

I would like to go to the drive in on a date in my Audi. The problem? The persistent beep that happens with the key engaged and the seatbelt unfastened. Help me conquer this inconvenience so I can get lucky in one of the classic American dating pastimes. So I have a 2006 Audi A4 2.0T. I love it. Especially that sport gear. You drop it into S and you've got the thrust of the space shuttle. In fact there is only one way in one situation that I don't love my car. And this is it.

I want to go to the drive in over in City of Industry. It's great. It's accessible. They even make fresh churros. And, ideally, for my 7 dollar admission price, I'd like to watch the first movie, then, during the second film, I'd like to make the moves on the girl in the passenger seat like George McFly in Back to the Future.

Only one problem

The advanced machine that the Audi is, when you're seated in the car, and the key is engaged (as it will need to be for the stereo system to play the movie sounds) the car can sense it. And when you or your front seat passenger unbuckle with the key engaged you get a beep. An annoying beep that kicks in about once every 30 seconds.

I know. It's a profoundly useful safety feature. But for our purposes, if we are both wearing the belts, that is SERIOUSLY going to cut into my ability to slip her the arm. And NOT wearing the belts, you get the beep. Which, unless I can find some way to profoundly deafen my date, will eventually take her out of the moment I am trying to create.

So how do I hack this **ckblocking german car?

Here's what I have considered so far. None of these are ideal scenarios but I don't want anyone duplicating the effort.

1) Connect the belts and sit on top of them - I did this. It is not comfortable.

2) Sit in the back seat and move the front seats ALL the way forward and tilt the seat tops all the way back - This works, but doing so has made more than one female friend of mine question why I was trying to get her into the back seat when I ran it by her. I'm guessing it might take her more out of the moment than the beep. Plus no access to the cupholders.

3) Take a rental car - No guarantee that the beep won't happen in the new car. Plus, not as comfy as the audi.

4) Take a boombox stereo to play from the back seat - Kind of a clunky solution given that it essentially kills the great audio from the audi. And it rules out the impulse jump to the backseat should that happen entirely on its own.

Right now, #4 is the best solution but it's not a good one. So if anyone has any idea how to kill the bells and whistles on a car with lots of bells and whistles, I'm open to the idea.

Audi and newer ipods

lovejones — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 21:16:05 -0800

Will a 2007 Audi A3 2.0T ipod connector work with the current generation ipods? The car has the fixed slot (not loose wire) to place the ipod in the glovebox, and has been working fine with my now dead 5.5 G ipod. But I know the apple bastards changed something in the connectors that rendered all the older ipod jacks incompatible with the newer ipods (a la the touch, classic, fat nano), correct? I don't have access to any here to test it out. Does this apply to the Audi connector as well? If so, is this an easy swap at the dealership, or do I have to stick with older ipods? Unfortunately, no aux in on the factory head unit. Did a lot of searching but can't find anything that mentions this specific issue. Thanks.

Finding Audi's "Safety" Commercial Online

Work to Live — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:42:41 -0800

Google-fu Filter: Hope me find the Audi commercial that aired during the Oscars! During the Oscar broadcast (or its pre-show) on Sunday, Audi ran a commercial that featured a bunch of people saying things directly to the camera like "Today I'm going to be hit by a speeding car" and "I'll be involved in a three-car pileup on my way to work."

It was a very arresting spot that I'd love to see again. I've searched everywhere for it with no luck -- except for one site that wanted me to pay a lot of money. (From there, I learned that the spot is entitled "Safety.")

You'd think an advertiser would want people to be able to see their commercials online, but it seems that Audi is determined to protect this one from repeat viewings. Or maybe it's just me.

Does anyone know where I can see this spot -- preferably free of cost and/or registration? Thanks!

Helpe me make lemonade from this lemon.

Lillitatiana — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 18:12:31 -0800

My practically-new car is having serious problems, but the dealers don't believe me. What can I do to get the car fixed once and for all, or else get out of my lease? My 16-month old car (2006 Audi A4 automatic coupe) is experiencing some heady mechanical issues. A few months ago it started stalling on me in the middle of traffic; I would press the accelerator and the RPMs would be going through the roof, but nothing would happen. I'd be stuck. This happens intermittently (at least once a week), but when the problem begins, it continues until I park it awhile and let it rest. The point is, I took it in to a dealership and they said it was fine. Since they couldn't replicate the issue, they said there was nothing they could do. I continued to drive it a few weeks, and then the problem reoccurred, this time in rush-hour traffic on the 101 freeway (I was nearly rear-ended). This time I had it towed to the dealership where I leased it from, but the service manager, in addition to not giving me a loaner car, told me there was nothing they could do if they tested it and it came out fine. My question is, what are my rights in this situation? If this second dealership tells me they found nothing wrong with my car, I'm afraid to drive it for fear of encountering the problem again! Am I stuck with this faulty vehicle for the remainder of my lease just because two dealerships couldn't "replicate the issue"? Can I withhold payments? If not, how else can I fight this? I only want to contact a lawyer when I've exhausted all other avenues. (My payments are being made to Audi Financial and my lease is up in July, 2009.) Thanks so much to anyone who has any suggestions/similar experiences/advice...

Do the Ride Thing

rileyray3000 — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 23:44:07 -0800

And it comes down to this: my car shopping has reached the finalist round. I have three cars left to choose from. Help me pick one. What did I want? Leather seats, a luxury or near luxury car, good quality, some cache and a foreign car. Plus a few other things. After weeks of searching and researching I got it down to three cars.

1) A used 2006 Certified Pre-owned Audi A4. 11K miles and $25,000. I'll get at least a 1K rebate on that and 3.9% financing on the deal with my very good credit score.

2) An end of year clearance deal on a NEW 2007 Saab 9-3. With national and local rebates it's about $24,500 with 3.9% financing (possible 2.9% but that's up in the air right now)

3) A nissan Altima, semi loaded, for about 25K.

Of these, which one would you be looking at the hardest? Audi has the best warranty, Nissan has some great resale value. And the Saab is pretty sporty. So which way folks? Any thoughts?

Do I want a BMW or an Audi?

Peecabu — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 21:29:36 -0800

I want to trade in my SUV for a station wagon. I think I've narrowed it down to the BMW 328i and the Audi A4. Can those of you who've driven those cars (or anything from from a similar line; any bmw 3 series, any Audi A4 or TT) share your experiences with me? Both are incredibly safe, seem to have a fairly low depreciation, and have won various awards. They're within a few thousand dollars of each other, price wise. I like the performance of the BWM better, but I like some of the Audi features better.

I've no idea how much an Audi is to maintain, but it's my understanding that BMW is crazy expensive.

Share your experiences, give me your opinions, help me make a decision. (And yes, I realize that buying either car kicks me out of the "art" crowd into the "yuppie scum" crowd. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make for a 5 star crash rating, rear airbags and a center LATCH for the kidlet seat. )

Why the engine so far forward?

clevershark — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 13:06:59 -0800

AutomobileFilter: I was looking at a few cars in the office parking lot and I couldn't help wondering -- why are Audis and Subarus designed with the engine so far forward? I've heard that both these brands of cars generally have the engine placed in front of the front wheels. Is there a technical reason for this, or does it come down to legacy engineering?

Options for terminating a car lease early?

lazywhinerkid — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 13:59:38 -0800

Does anyone have any advice about terminating a car lease early? I recently moved back to the US from the UK and intended on staying for a few years but as it turns out I'm going to be transferring back to the UK soon (next few months). When I moved back, I got a great deal on a lease for a new 2006 Audi A4 from Audi Financial Services and went for it. It's a sweet ride but unfortunately I can't take it with...

The options from Audi are limited: sell it outright and pay it off or sell it to a dealer and pay any 'loss' on the car. So I've decided to go a different route and list it on swapalease.com and see what happens, any other suggestions / advice? Many thanks!

Your views on the Audi A6

jonthegeologist — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 12:27:56 -0800

Hi - any views on the Audi A6? I'm about to place an order and I need to hear what you think.