2006 Audi A4 2.0 Turbo 45k miles

All the extended warranty/recalls have been done, five in all. I had two done at the dealership... Cam shaft and fuel system issues. The rest were done by the previous owner.

I have a known issue with the temperature gauge that the dealership found and said would cost around $600. I did get an CEH code # P0089 fuel pressure performance ... confirmed.

I bought the car with 42,000 miles on it. The inspection paperwork noted both front and rear brakes at 50%. When I got the work done at the dealership they changed the oil. At 45,000 I wanted a referred non dealership mechanic to check the CEH P0089 code, change the oil, and tell me what he thought of the car.

He called wanting to replace the front brakes (pads and rotors) at a cost $535. I was skepical. The guy said it needed to be done right away and should not be driven (very far). I'm in sales and it sounded like he was trying to create a false sense of urgency. When I called him back he said that I should sit down for the bad news. I found that strange.

I remembered the 50% front brake from the paperwork when I bought it. The dealership made no mention of the brakes being a problem and I thought an error message or squeeking sound would alert me to brake issues.

Anyway I after initially telling to go ahead with the work I called back and said after checking my bank account and with a tax bill due I would not be able to afford it now and that I would if needed bus around until my next paycheck. He offered to fix it now and I could pay him later which made me feel even worse.

I got the car back and the rotors look great and I could feel what seemed to me a substantial amount of break pad with my finger. I will take the tire off later and look at closer in the next few days. I realize I don't know much about fixing cars and everything he said could be right on but I am curious to see what people think here about my story and my car. I used to valet cars for many years so I know cars just not how to fix them yet...

thanks for any help!!

 

Good chance the mechanic was snowing you (what mechanic offers for you to pay later by the way, unless it is on a credit account).

Pull the wheel and check both the front and rear side of the rotor pads. Sometimes the backside wears faster than the front side.

These cars do have a warning light that should some on. I don't think you should wait until that happens though. When I changed mine I was probably a few hundres miles form the light coming on. Also, depending on the condition of the rotor you might be able to get away with pads only. If you have basic tools and a little knowledge they are very easy to replace yourself.

There is a You Tube video on how to replace the pads. Watch it you might find that you are comfortable doing the work yourself (if needed).

As a side note I bought my car with 69k on it and didn't replace the pads until 110k. In my opinion those were the factory pads, but I really cannot be sure. I have read on here that others did bet 90k+ out of their pads.

 

I have heard of them lasting that long, rhodes, and I did have a Mustang (5-spd) that lasted until 90k before needing brakes, but I would be suspicious that those were factory pads. I had my front brakes done somewhere around 50-60k miles. 77k on the car now and the rears are still original or replaced at <34k when I got the car.

Gunther, now for the bad news. If you've had the fuel system customer service action done (low pressure fuel sensor, intake manifold runner motor, PCV, etc) and you're still seeing P0089, you are probably looking at anywhere between $500-1100 to replace the low pressure fuel pump/sending unit which is in the tank. I just had to have this done last fall. I give such a broad range because I literally was quoted just over $1000 to have it done at the stealership, but took it to an independent German auto mechanic and they did it for somewhere between $500 and $600 (final bill was a little more because one of the fuel lines fell apart in their hand when they disconnected it, so that cost me $160 extra). They can diagnose it by testing the pump. The duty cycle is supposed to be around 50% and mine was running well north of 90% to deliver the fuel to the front (HPFP). It was just wearing out, but not quite completely shot (which would leave you on the side of the road).

I would find a different shop, though. Anyone that tells me the problem makes the car unsafe to even drive away from their shop is just a red flag.

 

Thanks for responding... I actually have watched a few youtube videos on it and I am interested in trying to do stuff like this myself. I haven't taken the tires of yet... The lesson learned is that this something really easy to know yourself... I live in Minneapolis and it has been a really cold winter and real condusive to working on a car. I do have a heated garage at my apartment building but its chilly, dirty and dark.

 

I'm not sure how important this is but CEL light goes off for long periods of time and then goes back on with regards to error message P0089 and the one that relates to the temp gauge. Maybe not such a big problem??

Regarding the this mechanic... I had this car at the dealership less than 2000 miles ago and they did not mention the brakes or the air filter or the cabin filter. The mechanic said both the filters needed to be replaced.... and after reading several reviews of auto mechanics on Yelp I'm pretty wary and well downright scared : )

Wouldn't the dealership have looked into the brakes and filters??

 

Sounds just like mine. For a while, it would trade off and on time, but after a few months, it would only go off for a day and then it would stay on for a while. I didn't want to get left on the side of the road with no fuel pump, so I got it fixed.

Air filter and cabin air filter are both easy. I usually just have to pay for the part when I'm having other service done (or I do it myself).

Some dealerships would check it, some wouldn't. They usually inspect the brakes (when I take mine in, they give me a real number on the paperwork as to the thickness of the pads on front and back--not just a vague, "almost need replaced" comment).

Oh, and to answer a question of yours I saw in another thread, you can get away with just pads sometimes, but these rotors are so soft and the ceramic pads are pretty rough on them, you'll probably need pads and rotors. A good shop will check the thickness and tell you if they can still be turned down based on that, but if you truly need pads, I can almost count on you needing rotors too (at least on the front). You can get a set online shipped to your house and bring them with you if you want. I did that with my local mechanic because his supplier's parts prices were obscene for my car. $400 just for the pads and rotors for the front. I think I ended up paying about half that.

 

thanks for your input... this is fun and I love driving my audi !!