Audi S4 2.7T reliability?

[Kremlin]

Hi there, new member.

I currently drive a 2002 Acura RSX and a 1991 Mazda Miata. I'm debating selling them both for a ~2000-2002 Audi S4 2.7T. I know it's a VW board, but I figure VW and Audi are closely knit enough there will be some Audi folks on here.

My main concern at the moment is reliability. I'm really not trying to start a Honda vs. VW vs. Audi war here, but I think Honda's reliability has probably spoiled me and I'm a little worried about how much I could count on the Audi. Does anybody own one or know anything about their reliability? I'd appreciate any input.

Thanks

[R_Ethug]

Re: Audi S4 2.7T reliability?

audis are tight i think the 2.7 is prone to turbo failure if not taken care of but thats more of an excuse to drop in dual k04s for the RS4 spec 420HP!!

[Kor]

Re: Audi S4 2.7T reliability?

You can't compare an S4 to something like a Honda civic or accord. The cars have very little in common. Being built to a very specific level of performance and with very different goals is going to mean less emphasis was put on other factors in the S4's production and design (in my opinion).

The 2.7T is not known to be the most reliable engine Audi has ever used, I also have read that they have replaced a lot of turbos.

However, the "rest" of the car would probably be very solid with reknown "german car" Audi quality.

I am also sure that the vast majority of 2.7T owners have had no problems. But I won't lie and say that there have not been problems...

Audi backs the cars a little better than VW in terms of service and warranty, or so I have heard. Also as Ryan mentioned, I think often people think of "reliability" as an excuse to mistreat cars. Get regular service! Change your damned oil! There are people who go years and years without chaning their oil, this confounds me.

In any case if you asked me for my advice I would say go for it and buy an S4, I know I would and I would have no regrets.

As for how much you can "count on" the car, that just seems silly. What are you imagining? I would imagine a "worst case" is that you have ONE problem over the long LIFE of the car, and you leave the car at at a dealership for a day or two. If you are thinking about a used car then most any problems will already have been shaken out (recalled items, etc). Saying you can't "count on it" to me makes me think of cars where there was a definite chance on any given day that it wouldn't start and I would be taking the bus... this is an Audi here!

[B5]

Re: Audi S4 2.7T reliability?

I guess it is very hard to find a good used one that the previous owner do baby it or what not. Even a good one exist then the bigger question is can you keep up with the maintenance cost. If the meaning of reliability to you is to spend minimum amount of money on maintenance then the straight answer to tell you is the S4 is a car that you cannot cheap out on. Since the S4 2.7t you’re looking for isn’t new anymore I suggest you read up the AudiWorld. Probably you will come across on some headaches that people’s been through once you taken up the ownership of an S4.

[BadKenny]

Re: Audi S4 2.7T reliability?

audis are tight i think the 2.7 is prone to turbo failure if not taken care of but thats more of an excuse to drop in dual k04s for the RS4 spec 420HP!!

Sadly as are the 1.8T models prone to turbo failure....(ps. K04-15's are no more reliable than the K03's) Stupid 4mm impeller shaft or something like that which both models have in common (K04 has dif blade pitch and larger compressor housing but that's about it). Audiworld will have your answers, there some basic hose issues as well as cooling, etc. (if you've ever seen the engine bay of a B5 S4 before you'll understand...that thing is jam packed tight full of stuff). Like all VAG products, Audi's can be painful on the wallet for maintenance. Having owned Acura's and Toyota's before, even their econo cars can be considered more problem free than ours but the pain is worth the pleasure


EDIT: Does anyone know why (not just the Audis) but most of VAG's turbo engines run such stupid compression? Even the S4's, TT's, etc. all run ridiculously high compression for turbo'd engines...that's why we're in danger of detonation when upping the boost moreso than say....my friend's old Mk3 Supra which runs something like 8.x : 1 compression....even my Toyota Tercel ran lower compression than my A4!

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: Audi S4 2.7T reliability?

Our family has a 2001 Allroad, which is no S4 but does have the 2.7T engine. By no means am I saying this car can compare with an S4 but we have had no engine issues at all with our vehicle. I think the key would be to decide what kind of mods you plan and also try and get as new as possible to retain some of Audi's 4 year warranty.

[Kor]

Re: Audi S4 2.7T reliability?

Sadly as are the 1.8T models prone to turbo failure....(ps. K04-15's are no more reliable than the K03's) Stupid 4mm impeller shaft or something like that which both models have in common (K04 has dif blade pitch and larger compressor housing but that's about it).

The K03 turbos on 1.8T's are actually fairly robust I think, consider how many people run them ragged with chips and boost controllers and yet they still very rarely cause problems. The 2.7T is known to be much less reliable than the 1.8T.

EDIT: Does anyone know why (not just the Audis) but most of VAG's turbo engines run such stupid compression? Even the S4's, TT's, etc. all run ridiculously high compression for turbo'd engines...

Compression == Power

Especially at low RPM's, which is the aim of VW, basically to build a turbo 4cyl that has as flat a torque curve as possible, with little to no turbo lag.

[Bighead]

Re: Audi S4 2.7T reliability?

There's a survey somewhere on Audiworld that talks about this topic.

Basically, the early 2.7Ts, when chipped, are much less reliable than newer 2.7Ts, chipped or not.

Find a late model S4 (i.e. 2002) and you should be fine.

[James]

Re: Audi S4 2.7T reliability?

RSX to S4 eh? Damn...I am so envyous..but are you sure you're prepared for more that 110 ft/lbs?! haha

[BadKenny]

Re: Audi S4 2.7T reliability?

The K03 turbos on 1.8T's are actually fairly robust I think, consider how many people run them ragged with chips and boost controllers and yet they still very rarely cause problems. The 2.7T is known to be much less reliable than the 1.8T.

Compression == Power

Especially at low RPM's, which is the aim of VW, basically to build a turbo 4cyl that has as flat a torque curve as possible, with little to no turbo lag.

Ah I see....according to the press, VW basically used the turbos just to boost low to midrange torque as opposed to mad top end.....which makes sense now...

The problems with the (earlier) 2.7t's turbo failures (given they are the same exact make, model and even series k03-12? 14? something like that) is probably more linked to higher stock boost (0.8bar IIRC), and some oil/cooling issues...the s4's are notoriously hot under the bonnet as it were.

(EDIT: in regards to the stock K03 reliability)
Mind you, I've been chipped for about 30,000km and no issues here, stock K03 turbo with 153,000km on her....

[BadKenny]

Re: Audi S4 2.7T reliability?

RSX to S4 eh? Damn...I am so envyous..but are you sure you're prepared for more that 110 ft/lbs?! haha

Hahahaa... while they may not make very much peak tq, almost every honda dyno I've seen has a pretty flat tq curve (like ours, just lower on the graph as it were)....and mad top end!!

But last year I saw a slightly (chipped and exhaust only) silver S4 that ran 14.0 flat at our altitude....not too shabby!

[kuhli]

Re: Audi S4 2.7T reliability?

I'm not sure about the question, in my mind the reliability of all modern cars is very, very high. Failure has more to do with the operator and maintenance than it does to do with the engineering.

But that's just my un-humble opinion.

[Kremlin]

Re: Audi S4 2.7T reliability?

Thanks for all the replies folks

I don't think I could see an S4 being one of those cars that never seems to be running, but I could definitely see it being like my Miata where it never seems to be running 100%.. Always something quirky about it. I hate that. I also don't want huge running costs. Anybody have an idea on a ballpark figure as to what I can expect to pay per year in maintenance? I know it won't be like my RSX, but I'm hoping it won't be too bad.

I'll check out AudiWorld.com as well, thanks.

I would definitely be modding it a fair bit. Chip/exhaust is the absolute least I could see myself doing. K04s is definitely a possibility.

Hehe, RSX is definitely a different animal than the VW/Audi turbo cars Very high strung and needs revs to make its power, I'm sure peak torque at close to 2k RPM will feel very foreign to me. Don't underestimate the RSX though, they're very respectable cars. It's just time to move on for me.

I guess I'm going to start hunting for a 2001.5 S4 and make sure the owner has all service records. If it's 30 pages of repairs, I'll reconsider the S4.

Thanks for all your help.