I picked up a 3.0 liter 2004 A4 in Octof 2006 w/ 20K miles from a dealer in northern california. Aftergoing in and out of the shop for a bad fuel pumpand then bad gas gauge (took them 3 times to fix it), I went in last mon because theidle was all over the placeand check engine light was on. They said it was the coils. You'd think Audi would get that right by now!Nonetheless they replaceall4coils and clear out the check engine light. The next morning after a cold start I notice the idle is still not fixed and it smells like coolant now. Sweet.

I start it up thismorning and this MONSTERcloud of smoke comes out ofthe exhaust. I feltlike I hit the smoke screen buttonin spy hunter. So I drive right back to my guy at the dealer.After calling him to follow up at 4 PM(god forbid he would call me back) he tells me the head gasket is blown. I'm no mechanic but I know that could be a really bad thing. Anyway - what should I askhim tomorrow? What would the impact be on the rest of the car? It never overheated as far as I can tell.

I have a feeling this car is going to drive me insane. The love hate relationship continues. Any advice would be really appreciated. Thanks!

 

burn it

 

Hopefully, since your car is a six cyl, they changed 6 coil packs.

Car is under warranty. Their problem to fix. Get them to give you a really nice loaner.

 

Hi....
Did you get resolution on this. I have the same story on my A6 2004 3.0 L. only 40,000 miles

The car has been in 4 times with a rough idle on start up. They keep clearing misfire codes and have replaced one coil and the ignition module as well as a spark plug.
I suggested the crank sensor, but they did not listen.
Last week I had a morning with the same smoke you had. A really odd smell, like an electrical burn and smoke everywhere. Again they looked perplexed and disbelieving.

They now tell me it is the head gasket or a crack in the head. They have sent the head out for analysis!
Should I believe them?.
I really believe that they have no idea what they are doing. I even helped them interpret the codes. This is a case where the counter guy knows nothing about cars and assigns the work to a new technician each time. (No kidding, that is what he told me) It is in the shop for the 5th long term stay in emergency care!!!

Yea they gave me a loaner, an A4 2.0 T. but I would prefer to have my baby back. I have nurtured this one from new.
Happy motoring

 

why even care? its under warranty and your gona get it fixed for free. but yeah sounds like you blew your head gasket. they dont have to send the head out for analysis tho. if the oil has coolant in it, you blew the head gasket, and need a new one.

 

i think ur car is rly messed up lol. i also think they should give u a new car cuz considering the situation now, they're gona have to pay more for repair than just give u a new car. least that's wut i think they should do hehe. one thing to do is demand a new though for sure. if they say no then ask them wut they're gonna do about the constant repairs that waste ur time. ur last resort would be to call up audi of america and ask for advice.

 

Update - I've driven another 15K miles and the same problem has come back. Part of me thinks I should drive it until the combustion chamber fills with coolant and quits, therebyforcing them to give me a new motor. Technician hasn't called me back in 2 days. I suspect he is trying to patch it up and get it back to me. Does anyone think the motor is not compromised after two blown head gaskets in the first 45K miles of this cars life?

 

something is not right here... i would demand a new motor

 

Sorry to kinda take it off topic for a bit, but I got a 2000 1.8t and the head gasket and valves are the only things I worry about blowing. Changing a gasket is a pain in the a$$ even in my old civic.. so you guys know any people that have blown a gasket on a 1.8t?

-If I were you, I would just drive it till it fully dies and they will have to replace the engine.