keep a lemon?
 

I have a 2006 2.0 A3 with 35,000 miles and steadily been having more problems with it. So far:
- replaced regulator on 3 of the windows that were clicking when they closed
- replaced low fuel pressure sensor
- replaced gas cap
- found small leaks in evap system
- replaced washer nozzles repaired a leak in the washer line
- replaced cam shaft
- replaced fuel pump
- replaced headlight module and bulb

The last 5 were done during my 35,000 mile service. 4 days after servicing, my air conditioner stops working and it sounds like the compressor needs to be replaced.

Is this typical of Audis or did I just get a lemon. Half of me wants to ditch this car after the warranty is up and the other half is thinking, what else could possibly go wrong?

Should I get rid of this car or take my chances after the warranty is up?

Thanks for the advice.

Sounds like a lemon to me. In my 4 years of ownership of my 2006 A3, I've only taken it in for regular maintenance.

My 2007 with 32000 has had the AC replaced and the passenger side seat belt latch replaced. That's all. Your list looks excessive.

well

- replaced regulator on 3 of the windows that were clicking when they closed
- replaced low fuel pressure sensor
- replaced gas cap
- found small leaks in evap system
- replaced washer nozzles repaired a leak in the washer line

these 5 issues are small IMO, and very common for German cars in general., the EVAP system which i assume you mean PCV is a known problem which they fixed, the fuel pressure sensor again is a known problem that was fixed, same with the air con system. these parts minus the PCV are all outsourced to other companies which had a few bad runs...

The only two major concerns In my opinion is the cam lobe wear issue (which i have had happen to me) and the AC but both should be solved now.

small leaks or little issues are problems in cars in general and as long as audi has clearly made a note of the other issues and have fixes for them. i would not call it a lemon, people do not understand unlike most car companies audi does rolling revisions all year on there models, and they do .5 year updates as well. So allot of these issues tou see have been replaced on newer models, hence why people do not see these issues on there cars. This is what a warranty is for as long as its still good and the problems go away i would not worry.

Things like the windows is a common VAG car trait that might not get better lol

otherwise you have a case iron engine which is a thousand times better then aluminum engines, you have solid power plant and chassis... things may break and fall off it though... like i said its a VAG and its a car ;)

thanks for the advice
 

It turns out it wasn't the air conditioner's compressor that was the problem, it was the blower.

Thanks for the advice. I guess I got one of the early A3s. That thought occurred to me when I bought it, but I was comforted by the dealer's assurance that the A3's had been in europe for years. Sure enough, when i visited Italy they were much more common than here in the US.

I'm just worried about my car being the shop so much after the warranty is up. I'm just glad I didn't chip it. I'd have always worried that I caused all these problems and who knows if Audi would have honored my warranty.

i am chipped and my only major problem (cam lobe damage) was caused before chipping, the chip itself on our cars does not max it out and wear the life that much more, not to mention even if the chip is active, if you are driving the car normally there will be no difference from stock. The chip basically just ups the boost and timing... its complex to that but thats what it is doing. As for the dealer finding it, In APR's case as long as you put the car back in stock and lock the program out they will not find it. If something major happens and you have a massive failure... then they may look deep enough to find the chip software. Another important thing is our cars are based off the MkV platform, so they are basically the same as a GTI, GLI, jetta, rabbit (minus engine). So the platform is in use in other cars, Also the 2.0T engine is in allot of audi's / seat's / vw's same for the DSG and 6MT tranny. So i would not be worried about our cars being rare so issues do not get solved. The only major thing i would worry about after warranty would be the cam lobe issue since it has not been solved even with the newest revisions in parts.

Otherwise you are driving a car, so you can only be so careful/lucky... frankly things will break, the most important thing you can do is keep up on reg maintenance, do not follow audi's intervals they are wayyy too long, for instance the oil should be changed in half the time they recommend.

You keep good care of the car and you can at least minimize issues due to lack of care.

Out of curiosity, how did you guys know your cam shaft needed to be replaced? Did they do just one? Which one was it? I am taking mine in for the 35k service next week. I also had my AC compressor replaced around 25k and the seat belt latch. Other than that no other problems at all.

car went into limp mode, many CEL's that were interment for a week or so, but at either point there its too late, if your out of warranty is going to cost a whole heck of allot!

cam shaft
 

I had a couple of incidents on the highway where the power would all of the sudden cut out. It only lasted for a couple of seconds each time, but it was kind of scary. The check engine light never came on. I mentioned this to the dealership at my 35,000 mile service and apparently they called Audi with that story and with whatever error messages they saw and Audi recommended changing the cam shaft. It was a surprise to me.

Now that the blower is replaced, it seems as though my air conditioning doesn't get as cold as it used to....but I may be imagining it. does this make sense?