engine knocking sound
 

2003 A4 3.0 quattro. recently i start hearing a very light knocking noise coming out of engine.i figured it,s either a valve or hydro lifter.i took it to audi dealer for a doagnostic thinking that they could tell me for sure what it is.after paying $125 they told me that it is a lifter "possibly" they wasn,t sure certified mechanics LOL they suggested to pay $440 to open up the valve cover and said that might not give an answer yet!!!so i told them to go ahead and do an oil change and nothing else,after that the knocking got little lighter but still there.2 days after a warning light:check: came on the display is not showing when the next service is due it only shows ----------.dashes.does anyone have an idea about the knocking sound or if the warning light to come on because of not showing the next service if they didn,t reset it or disconnected something.THANK,S everyone in advance for any help or advice. pic is attached!

Well, you got a light on so check it out and read the code then post. The lifter issue might be wear and tear, How many miles on the car? Try using a thicker oil.

engine knocking sound
 

it only has 62 000 miles.where i can get one of those code reading devices and what,s the price.should i use 10/30 oil instead of 5/30.should i use 10/30 oil instead of 5/30

Try 5W40 mobil full sinthetic euro formula. Is low mileage so it could very well be a mechanical problem like the dealer said, or it might not. Also when you took it to the dealer they should have ran a scanner through it, that's why they charged you that money, see if you can get the code they pulled out of your car and post it here. If not, just go to Autozone, they used to pull codes for free, maybe they still do it.

well i believe they didn,t run any scan probably they just guessed by listening the knock where it comes from ,same as i did.before i took it to dealer it wasn,t showing the check light.it occured 2 days after they done an oil change since then it is not showing anything when you press the service button.it is a good idea to read the code with autozone and i will go in couple days and post the code.thank,s a lot

DAN1969 the warning light went off itself weird!but the knocking is getting worst feels like i drive a diesel engine is it normal for lifter or valve to go bad at 62 000mi?

The code might still be there, read the codes, any scanner would be fine to retrieve codes. If the noise is getting worse it could be your engine developing sludge and having poor oil circulation to the top, so a thicker oil might not be a good idea after all. I'd say let the dealer inspect it. You might have more than you think on your plate. No, I'd say is not normal for a lifter or valve to go bad that early in the life of these engines.

yeah i was thinking of removing the valve cover myself to see how the lifters.anyway i,m not for thicker oil anyway it,s going to do worst if i have a stuck lifter.so the next think i,m going to do is inspect the lifters and probably i,ll go ahead and change them so i don,t get this problem every now and then?let me now what do you think of that and is it pain to do those lifters.thx for the reply!

One thing I heard on the 3.0 engine from the 2002 model is that the camlobes start chipping away, causing similar issues. I don't think yours has it though, it was severely restricted to 2002 models. I don know about the lifters. When you open the valve covers you're not going to see lifters there, they're well below the cover. Here's a site that might help you a bit on your quest: www.vagcat.com
You need to register but once you're in is like ETKA online, you can see the breakdown of everything in your car in there.

thank,s for the website you gave me.i will see what i,m going to learn from there and i,ll keep you posted.