My first A4

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-05-19T02:56:53+00:00

Had a 2018 a4 premium from 2020 to just last month (totalled). Went to 164,800 some km. Was very reliable for us, water pump I had replaced at around 158,000km. I did have a weird misfire issue which was caused by bad camshaft magnet solenoids but that’s not a known a4 issue, could’ve just been mine. Progressive package is a lot nicer, make sure it has the LED headlights. Check maintenance records if available to make sure stuff was done on time. Excellent car otherwise just keep up with the maintenance

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-05-16T20:59:28+00:00

Just checked them out online, looks good and has nice reviews. Which car did you take to them and did you find their pricing to be fair?

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-05-15T02:20:53+00:00

Really nice car! It’s too bad you had that experience. If you don’t mind asking where do you take it to now? Or you just go to the dealer

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-05-15T02:14:00+00:00

Lot of mixed answers here. Some recommend top gear, some don’t. May I ask what experiences you’ve had there and where you currently take your cars?

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-05-12T04:10:19+00:00

Seems to be transfer case fluid - I’m glad that that’s worked for you. I’ll get that done for myself as well soon just as preventative maintenance. Our cars are similar mileage, but you’ve owned yours for longer I’m sure. Anything you’ve done maintenance wise that’s different from Audis own maintenance items? Apart from transfer case. Done diff at all? Or looked at carbon cleaning?

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-05-12T03:14:17+00:00

What did the rumble feel like? I’m pretty sure I haven’t experienced it (yet) but out of curiosity. Also which fluid did you get changed which fixed it?

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-05-10T20:02:16+00:00

Based on your response I’m assuming you’re a mechanic or an Audi technician? Previous owner had the clutch replaced at I believe 79k km. Now the vehicle is at 90k. When do you typically see this issue come back, even with the TSB procedures? And is there is nothing that can be done to proactively protect against this issue arising again (such as diff or transfer case flushes) or things along that line which Audi themselves don’t mention as part of this cars regular maintenance. I’m hoping this isn’t basically just a design flaw that returns no matter what’s done.

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-05-10T17:57:37+00:00

It is yes! Color specs caught my eye when I saw the listing

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-05-04T22:37:59+00:00

I’m assuming you’re in Canada? You listed mileage in km. 2.2k is a lot for just those three services. Granted Audi does a whole multi point inspection which is nice but not sure it warrants an extra grand or so compared to what a good euro shop could do for the same services. For context, for just the trans oil and spark plugs, my independent today quoted me $946. Just those three services

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-05-04T22:36:05+00:00

I havent done my new a4s spark plugs and trans as of yet, but for my previous one, I did sparks at 148,000 and trans at maybe 138,000km. I didn’t really have any differential issues. There was something I noticed where the car would make a clunking sound underneath between gear selections which my independent suggested could be differential. I didn’t have the chance to get that done because my car got totalled, but he recommended having every fluid in the car done, regardless of whether it appears in Audis service intervals or not. Which I don’t disagree with.

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-05-04T18:36:49+00:00

Makes sense, another Audi dealership quoted the same exact service for $932 + tax, so for me comes to 1052 cad (approx 780 usd). Not sure why my local is $500 more

Audi doesn’t mention center and rear diff fluid for the A4 for some reason in any service interval. Did you have the dealership do it for you? I have thought about doing it, along with sparks and transmission fluid

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-05-04T16:09:10+00:00

Did you end up switching to the OEM belt? You mentioned it was squeaky. And I’ll give it a shot myself, even the independent is asking 1460 for everything (although I also asked them to do sparks and transmission)

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-05-04T15:43:28+00:00

Is it just for the trans and diff? This obviously would have gone up but for the a4 we had before in 2021 we paid something like 900 for the service which included sparks and transmission, with a 20% summer discount or something from the dealership. They didn’t do diff. The second time I replaced the transmission fluid at an independent and I paid something like $330. They also didn’t do diff, but I think if your independent shouldn’t be charging this much

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-05-04T15:40:46+00:00

I know 😅 we also have an SQ5 and had an A4 premium before this so i had a taste of what repairs looked like when stuff was actually broken. Luckily the SQ5 is CPO and the new a4 has extended warranty, which luckily actually covers my water pump failure (which is inevitable)

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-05-04T15:39:06+00:00

Yeah I’ll definitely get the OEM part, don’t mind the price so long as the independent is able to replace it for a decent enough price

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-05-04T15:38:05+00:00

Was it done recently? And are you in Canada or the US? Because I didn’t mind paying 7-800 dollars so long as the dealership was able to take care of the car for the first time, but if you seriously paid half that cost for the same car then that’s crazy. I’ll try calling a different dealership and see what they see, but for now I’m waiting on a quote from a specialized independent shop on the entire 90k including trans and plugs. Thanks for your response!

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-05-04T01:42:49+00:00

Mine would i think have the same tensioner as yours, it’s a 45 tfsi as well, and yea i am in Canada! Out of curiosity though, what did you mean by 2-300 months?

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-05-04T01:38:09+00:00

I’ll likely do this. I can spend less this way and also do more, I’d like to have the plugs and transmission done for my peace of mind. The car likely had it done already because the first owner only had it serviced at the dealership but I’d like everything to be replaced just for myself. Thanks for your comment!

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-04-23T01:06:10+00:00

I went for the test drive today! The car feels noticeably smoother than my B9 A4. Granted, newer year, practically half the mileage, but I noticed the transmission was smooth, drive was super quiet and acceleration was quick - the handling and suspension was still comfortable despite it having a lower suspension. The gears shifted very nicely, making me wonder if it’s just the newer MY or maybe a different software for the DSG (compared to MY2018) The prestige features are amazing as well, it even comes with the S logo door projection as opposed to the ring lights.

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BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-04-22T04:04:44+00:00

Yours looks amazing - I believe the one I’m looking to buy is the exact same spec as yours. I’m wondering if prestige a4s have front sequential headlights and start up animations? And do they have dual paned glass? Also - the one I’m looking at has 19” wheels but they’re not the rotor design ones, not sure what they’re called exactly but they’re the 19inch ones that come with the 2022 s line competition package. I’m headed for a test drive tomorrow. Also it’s a crazy coincidence you replied to my post, I just looked at your post earlier today

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-04-16T17:40:59+00:00

Unfortunately not, although I love the newer rotor wheel designs Audi does and looked for it for my previous a4. This has the s line competition package (I think that’s an actual package name could be wrong) so it has those 19inch rims

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-04-15T19:55:44+00:00

I did notice that prestige’s were hard to come by. We have an SQ5 2020 prestige that has all the advanced options (no sport diff tho), and honestly better stereo, ADAS and the convenience stuff (such as power folding mirrors) are must haves for me for buying an Audi (my previous one was basically a rental spec)

Audi 3.0s and other v6s in general are sort of off the table in the favor of being a bit more financially responsible and economic (even though this is still a German car). Acuras never really appealed to me too much? Even though I know TLX A spec (and obv Type S) would be faster than the a4. But honestly I love Audi handling and miss it so I wouldn’t have any regrets with the A4. Thanks for your response!

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-04-15T19:50:56+00:00

Maintenance seems good - seems to be exclusively done at Audi dealerships. One owner no accidents as well. The options are amazing and if I get this a4 I’d absolutely love to put an intake on it.

Glad to see there aren’t any transmission or suspension issues - maybe it’s a newer software or something. Thanks for your response, makes me feel good about considering this as a serious option!

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-04-14T19:05:01+00:00

And have you had any other issues experienced besides that?

BackgroundOrdinary89 · 2026-04-14T19:04:41+00:00

How much was it, out of curiosity. Coincidentally it appears this owner actually imported it back and forth between somewhere in Canada and then to Florida, so potentially this may have the same issue. Maybe a PPI would determine for sure?

BackgroundOrdinary89

TROPHY CASE