Here I was thinking Audi vehicles were built with performance and reliable as their pillars. I was so wrong. My Audi A4 TDI with 150k on the clock recently developed the dreaded "FLASHING PRNDS". That simply means the gearbox selection shown on the dash has a red flashing bar over the top. Personally never heard of it so I typed it into the internet and up comes hundreds of threads about it! Clearly this is a big problem all around the world for Audi vehicles. Seems more common for B6 & B7 models as they have multitronic transmission (CVT). The...Read more

I am looking to changeover to a Q5 as my A4, just over 3 years old is back in the Alto Group garage! After servicing my car recently ( $2000 including two new tyres) it started blowing smoke and stalling in reverse turned out it needed 4 new fuel injectors ($3000) two weeks later after all diagnostics showed the car was clear of any further problems it's doing the same thing again. Alto service are hostile and defensive and can't put it on the diagnostics for a few days. I am a hostage and feel the only way out is to buy a new car from the upst...Read more

We purchased this car as a demonstrator in November 2013. It is a beautiful car, has MMI - multi media interface which allows you to control everything throughout the car - does not have memory seats which is disappointing. It has GPS, Sports mode, Sun roof and drives beautifully on long runs and is very economical, travelling from Melbourne to Adelaide on 3/4 a tank, BUT - I absolutely hate the Multi-tronic transmission. This car has a lag period from when you push your foot on the accelerator to when the clutch engages. I have had the car c...Read more

I have a 2014 Audi A4 Avant 1.8T with the CVT transmission, purchased as a demonstrator in March 2014 with 4000km on the clock and has now done just over 30,000 km.

This is my 7th Audi over 20 years - so I am very keen on the brand, especially the build quality and safety - but I absolutely hate the CVT transmission in this car. The transmission lags on takeoff - particularly on hills, where it does a very good impression of 'riding the clutch' on a manual transmission, and the car rolls backwards before the transmission engages (it nearly ...Read more

Have a 1.8T A4 bought new in 2014. Wonderful car to drive and to look at, though I mostly use it for urban driving (work, school pickup/dropoff). The CVT Multitronic transmission is nearly faultless, but with some lag on hard acceleration from stop. Cruises at 100 km/h on 1,500 rpm and huge reserves of power which I never really been able to (legally) tap. Responsive steering, the Pirelli tyres are just beautiful - not looking forward to when they wear out as will be expensive to replace and may be forced on to a lesser tyre. Ride is a bit stif...Read more

Having owned a lot of Japanese sports cars, and one mercedes benz, was quite happy to find my 2004 audi a4 avant turbo quattro for a good price. But only after purchasing did I discover the wonderful world of "oil sludge" affecting the Audi 1.8 turbo engine. Had the car off the road for 6 weeks until it was fixed by an independent audi specialist in Oakleigh who are fantastic!

A very comfortable luxury daily driver, beautiful interior design still better than most cars 6 years later. Lots of load space in the wagon, and 4WD for snow trips. G...Read more

I've had my car since 2012 & from the cars I had driven before that, nothing spelt "comfort/safety" on the road like this car has. It's a 2001 model A4 2ltr auto. The car itself feels quite solid on the road, yet light and dynamic. It gets you from A-B and still maintains its classic look (that I feel - still has not aged).

Unfortunately however, the cost to upkeep this car (service) and god for bid something goes wrong, I cannot justify it. My issue was, I took it to one mechanic who claimed to be good with Audi's and the problems just went...Read more

I have recently purchased 2000 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro manual transmission and it is a very reliable, powerful and comfortable car. Been driving it for a while now and never had problems, besides the rear door is not working. Mechanically the car is doing good, didn't have major problems from the previous owner. I bought the car with 170,000km on odometer and EuroClass did a major service to it and many things were replaced, like timing belt, cv joints and so on but it is completely normal for this things to get replaced at this age.

I strongly...Read more

I bought a 2006 model Audi A4 Avant it had less then 100 000 km on the clock. I bought it from Audi centre Perth it drove well for a year I went for my first service at a time when everything was fine they replaced some parts under warranty after that my engine warning light came up and I went back to the Audi service to try and fix the problem, they fixed it then the next day the light came on again for 10 months I have been back to the Audi service 9 times and the problem hasn't been fixed. My warranty is expiring soon and I will be stuck wi...Read more

I owned a 2005 Audi A4 Quattro B7 (2.0 litre not 1.8) with the Tiptronic auto. Test drove the BMW 3 series and C-Class and felt this car was the best choice for me, as the A4 is in-between the 3 series and 5 series in size and offered a more sporty feel thanks to the turbo power delivery and all wheel drive grip.

Great steering feel (always felt solid and safe), suspension was tight, silent and a near perfect set up between comfort and performance. I believe this is only the Quattro suspension though and cannot comment on the regular A4s.
...Read more

We bought a 2007 1.8 turbo S-line second hand from a dealer with 40,000 on the clock. Within 2 months the transmission failed and it needed to be towed to get fixed. Apparently something went wrong with computer and it was fixed under warranty. We then had another problem when the coil pack needed replacing ($500). Also had to replace the front discs and braked pads and our car has done less than 70,000kms ($600). These repairs were not done at Audi as they are biggest crooks when it comes to service or repairs.
The car is very smooth to drive...Read more

We had this car since 2006 and in the first year after warranty expired the car had been taken to dealership for repair at least 6 times! The repair bill was way over $5,000 and the car was only worth about $15,000 if you are lucky.

Most issues are associated with the brilliantly unreliable CVT transmission box. We had a trip to the snowy mountains and the transmission gave up just past Jindabyne. Audi simply "reset" the computer to "fix" the problem and did nothing else. A few months later after a regular service the car started to jolt whi...Read more

I would have loved to buy another Audi but was so disappointed in the mechanicals that it turned me off Audis, VW and Skodas as they use the same motors. Do not buy a CVT as it will fail (this is why there are so many on the market at around the 70-100,000km mark). If you DO want one, listen for 'clunks' in the gearbox, hesitation to engage drive or reverse. Also check the service manual - if these CVTs do not have the fluid changed at the appropriate intervals, it shortens their life even more. GOOD LUCK!
Build quality very very high. The look...Read more

Audi is a great manufacturer and even after an issue with our A4s CVT gearbox, we went straight back to Audi for our next car (an A3) but this time for a manual. The CVT is rubbish and I read on the web that the newer DSG is just as bad. The issue is they break mechanically and/or te computer. Ours started playing up due to a computer issue where the computer could not work out what geat the lever was in so assumed we were in neutral. Thankfully this was never an issue while driving, only when reversing but the dealer said other customer had ha...Read more