Audi A4 2006 1.6 Petrol 55K Miles common problems

alsiet2011

Hi All,

I'm thinking of upgrading my current car (Audi A4 1.9 TDI 194KMiles 2002) to a petrol 1.6 A4 2006 with 55K miles on it. This particlar car is well looked after, nct'd till 2014 and is immac condition.

As my TDI has been very reliable for the 4 years that I've had it, I'm just wondering what sort of common problems should I be expecting for the 1.6 Petrol A4 and what should I look for when buying?

I hear the TDI engines are known to be more reliable and was wondering is the upgrade a good investment or is a TDI really the only way to go these days?

Any advice would be great thanks all!

Al

George Dalton

The main problem with the 1.6 petrol A4 is that they are painfully slow. If you buy one with low mileage that has been well looked after and if you keep on top of oil changes and maintenance they are a pretty reliable engine.

alsiet2011

George Dalton wrote: »

The main problem with the 1.6 petrol A4 is that they are painfully slow. If you buy one with low mileage that has been well looked after and if you keep on top of oil changes and maintenance they are a pretty reliable engine.

Yeah its a very well maintained car in fairness. It happens to be in the family already so i know its looked after. This is why Im considering it. Just one thing incidentally, a new Catylitic converter was put in a few weeks ago because that failed but other than that its been problem free.

The thing Im wondering is, since the car is already 55K are there many items that need replacing around this mileage? Its just had a full service anyway so im sure its good to go but also the TB..... on my A4 diesel the intervals is every 60K so if thats the case on the petrol ill have to get that done. Would I be correct in saying in the region of 500 euro should get the tb done?

ballooba

I drive a 2006 1.8T A4 but previously I had a 2002 Passat 1.6 Petrol. The 1.6 is a chore to drive. If it's a family car you could borrow it for a while to try it out? I could never go back to a 1.6.

lingmina

If you buy one with low mileage that has been well looked after and if you keep on top of oil changes and maintenance they are a pretty reliable engine.

alsiet2011

ballooba wrote: »

I drive a 2006 1.8T A4 but previously I had a 2002 Passat 1.6 Petrol. The 1.6 is a chore to drive. If it's a family car you could borrow it for a while to try it out? I could never go back to a 1.6.

you mean a chore being underpowered? I did drive it already and its perfect. really smooth and sound. but i have to say coming from the 1.9 tdi engine i do notice power decrease and higher revs at crusing speed from the petrol. im not too bothered about the power tbh as i dont race around, i like to drive them well to keep them in good shape.

would you think the underpowered engine would bring its own set of problems down the line? ie. would this engine fail sooner than a bigger engine cause its under more load?

ballooba

I just mean that it is underpowered, but that's a matter of personal preference. I wouldn't be qualified to comment on the relative life expectancy or fuel economy.

Leonard Hofstadter

alsiet2011 wrote: »

you mean a chore being underpowered? I did drive it already and its perfect. really smooth and sound. but i have to say coming from the 1.9 tdi engine i do notice power decrease and higher revs at crusing speed from the petrol. im not too bothered about the power tbh as i dont race around, i like to drive them well to keep them in good shape.

It's not about 'racing around'. It's about having enough power so that if for example you're stuck behind a tractor or a slow moving vehicle (like a Corolla driver doing 60 kph in a 100 kph zone) you can overtake such vehicles swiftly and don't be thinking 'I can't overtake him in that gap' or when you start overtaking having an 'oh s***' moment because the car hasn't enough power.

Power means control and control means safety, not about 'racing around'.

For what it's worth I have driven similar sized cars with the same power output as a 1.6 A4, and I found it dangerously underpowered. Also a 1.6 A4 being a very old engine design will probably guzzle the stuff as well due to insufficient power.

keithclancy

captainspeed wrote: »

It's not about 'racing around'. It's about having enough power so that if for example you're stuck behind a tractor or a slow moving vehicle (like a Corolla driver doing 60 kph in a 100 kph zone) you can overtake such vehicles swiftly and don't be thinking 'I can't overtake him in that gap' or when you start overtaking having an 'oh s***' moment because the car hasn't enough power.

Power means control and control means safety, not about 'racing around'.

For what it's worth I have driven similar sized cars with the same power output as a 1.6 A4, and I found it dangerously underpowered. Also a 1.6 A4 being a very old engine design will probably guzzle the stuff as well due to insufficient power.

Stay further away from the car in front of you, if your having problems overtaking a car doing 60 in a 100 then your doing something wrong.

L-M

captainspeed wrote: »

It's not about 'racing around'. It's about having enough power so that if for example you're stuck behind a tractor or a slow moving vehicle (like a Corolla driver doing 60 kph in a 100 kph zone) you can overtake such vehicles swiftly and don't be thinking 'I can't overtake him in that gap' or when you start overtaking having an 'oh s***' moment because the car hasn't enough power.

Power means control and control means safety, not about 'racing around'.

For what it's worth I have driven similar sized cars with the same power output as a 1.6 A4, and I found it dangerously underpowered. Also a 1.6 A4 being a very old engine design will probably guzzle the stuff as well due to insufficient power.

it will, will it?

Also that power argument is bollox. i had a 1.4 Golf, i did a lot of back road driving for 3 years and 30k miles and never once felted i needed more power to complete maneuvers safely. it shouldn't be down to power, it should be down to an ample gap in the road and ample space and time to do so.

Leonard Hofstadter

Limerick man wrote: »

it will, will it?

Also that power argument is bollox. i had a 1.4 Golf, i did a lot of back road driving for 3 years and 30k miles and never once felted i needed more power to complete manoeuvres safely. it shouldn't be down to power, it should be down to an ample gap in the road and ample space and time to do so.

Well if you've got more power, then you don't need such a large 'gap' to overtake anyone, and therefore you're making it easier for the people behind you to overtake when the opportunity presents itself as well.

It is a statement of the blindingly obvious that the more powerful a car you have, the quicker you can overtake, which means you're safer because you're spending less time on the wrong side of the road. The 'gap' you need is smaller, the time you need is less, what's so controversial about saying that more powerful cars are easier to do routine tasks such as overtaking?

All I can say is that I have more confidence overtaking someone in a car with more power, and I don't see what is so controversial about that at all to be honest.

ballooba

captainspeed wrote: »

It's not about 'racing around'.

Your username doesn't help the argument , but I'd agree with that. Overtaking and pulling out/off among other maneuvers. Power is not necessarily for speed. I've even seen Micras break the limit on a motorway before.

L-M

captainspeed wrote: »

Well if you've got more power, then you don't need such a large 'gap' to overtake anyone, and therefore you're making it easier for the people behind you to overtake when the opportunity presents itself as well.

It is a statement of the blindingly obvious that the more powerful a car you have, the quicker you can overtake, which means you're safer because you're spending less time on the wrong side of the road. The 'gap' you need is smaller, the time you need is less, what's so controversial about saying that more powerful cars are easier to do routine tasks such as overtaking?

All I can say is that I have more confidence overtaking someone in a car with more power, and I don't see what is so controversial about that at all to be honest.

it's simple, if there is a car coming or a bend up ahead you don't overtake.

i have plenty of torque for over taking but i still wouldn't overtake in any smaller of a gap that i would have it i was driving the Golf.

keithclancy

captainspeed wrote: »

Well if you've got more power, then you don't need such a large 'gap' to overtake anyone, and therefore you're making it easier for the people behind you to overtake when the opportunity presents itself as well.

It is a statement of the blindingly obvious that the more powerful a car you have, the quicker you can overtake, which means you're safer because you're spending less time on the wrong side of the road. The 'gap' you need is smaller, the time you need is less, what's so controversial about saying that more powerful cars are easier to do routine tasks such as overtaking?

All I can say is that I have more confidence overtaking someone in a car with more power, and I don't see what is so controversial about that at all to be honest.

I've never had any hassle driving various 1 liter cars, you just drive within the limits of the car and overtake when its safe to do so, if its not safe then you don't overtake.

I don't think i've driven anything that would have issues overtaking a car thats doing 60km/h in a 100km/h zone, if your having problems it means your driving too close to the car in front of you.

If you position yourself far enough away so that you can reach 100km/h before you reach the car your overtaking theres no difference.

If your just pulling out while 8-10 meters behind the car in front and hitting the ol 'warp speed' your just wasting fuel.

ballooba

Limerick man wrote: »

it's simple, if there is a car coming or a bend up ahead you don't overtake.

i have plenty of torque for over taking but i still wouldn't overtake in any smaller of a gap that i would have it i was driving the Golf.

If you take that argument to extremes, which is what you have done to an extent, there is always a bend ahead somewhere or an oncoming car somewhere on the road network. Having more power just reduces the space required to maneuver. There's nothing wrong with safely using the resources available to you.

L-M

ballooba wrote: »

If you take that argument to extremes, which is what you have done to an extent, there is always a bend ahead somewhere or an oncoming car somewhere on the road network. Having more power just reduces the space required to maneuver. There's nothing wrong with safely using the resources available to you.

i don't agree with that, as you can never tell the speed of a car coming towards you, or what's behind it. You're not allowing for something to go wrong, which is what should be allowed for on a national (crap) road in ireland.

pippip

Yes a safe gap is a safe gap but at the end of the day being in a car that can, if needed, preform the move quicker is always the safer option.

ballooba

Limerick man wrote: »

i don't agree with that, as you can never tell the speed of a car coming towards you, or what's behind it. You're not allowing for something to go wrong, which is what should be allowed for on a national (crap) road in ireland.

How about when pulling out of side roads? By extension of that argument you should never pull out unless you can see to the horizon on either side and the road is clear to the horizon. Driving involves the exercise of judgement, having power at your disposal just allows you maneuver more quickly. I respectfully disagree with your statements in the same way that I disagree with the 'Speed Kills' slogans, purely because it's just an argument for not moving

keithclancy

pippip wrote: »

Yes a safe gap is a safe gap but at the end of the day being in a car that can, if needed, preform the move quicker is always the safer option.

Nah, disagree with you there, drive lots of different cars on a regular basis, bigger car/engine = more comfort.

Sure the national speed limit is only 100km/h in Ireland, Motorway is 120km/h.

All cars equal to or greater than 1 Liter should be capable of that, you shouldn't be breaking the speed limit when overtaking anyway.

Totally possible to reach the speed limit in a smaller engined car, unless theres something wrong with it, or your not using the gears correctly.

You shouldn't be trying to judge if you'll make it, it should be clear ahead, if its not then its not safe.

No matter how powerful your car you don't know what speed the guy coming the other way is doing.

keithclancy

ballooba wrote: »

How about when pulling out of side roads? By extension of that argument you should never pull out unless you can see to the horizon on either side and the road is clear to the horizon. Driving involves the exercise of judgement, having power at your disposal just allows you maneuver more quickly. I respectfully disagree with your statements in the same way that I disagree with the 'Speed Kills' slogans, purely because it's just an argument for not moving

Thats a bit easier to judge since your going from stationary to moving away from them, rather than increasing your speed and driving towards them.

ballooba

keithclancy wrote: »

All cars equal to or greater than 1 Liter should be capable of that, you shouldn't be breaking the speed limit when overtaking anyway.

You don't need to be speeding. Certain vehicles are speed restricted to for instance 80kmph, so if you're overtaking them on a national route you have scope to accelerate by 20kmph to overtake them within the bounds of legality (with respect to speed limits).

keithclancy

ballooba wrote: »

You don't need to be speeding. Certain vehicles are speed restricted to for instance 80kmph, so if you're overtaking them on a national route you have scope to accelerate by 20kmph to overtake them within the bounds of legality (with respect to speed limits).

I was referring to Captainspeeds 60 in a 100 example.

But yeh, I agree with you.

pippip

keithclancy wrote: »

Nah, disagree with you there, drive lots of different cars on a regular basis, bigger car/engine = more comfort.

Sure the national speed limit is only 100km/h in Ireland, Motorway is 120km/h.

All cars equal to or greater than 1 Liter should be capable of that, you shouldn't be breaking the speed limit when overtaking anyway.

Totally possible to reach the speed limit in a smaller engined car, unless theres something wrong with it, or your not using the gears correctly.
You shouldn't be trying to judge if you'll make it, it should be clear ahead, if its not then its not safe.

No matter how powerful your car you don't know what speed the guy coming the other way is doing.

But a faster car can do this quicker, and this the safer bit.
I know we should all stay within the speed limits when overtaking but in unforeseen circumstances you have more of a chance of getting out of the way in a faster car.

keithclancy

pippip wrote: »

But a faster car can do this quicker, and this the safer bit.
I know we should all stay within the speed limits when overtaking but in unforeseen circumstances you have more of a chance of getting out of the way in a faster car.

Or you could just slow down and pull back in most cars are faster at decreasing their speed than increasing it right ?

pippip

keithclancy wrote: »

Or you could just slow down and pull back in most cars are faster at decreasing their speed than increasing it right ?

In most cases yes, but what if the person behind you had closed the gap as they are about to preform the same overtake or worse and they have already pulled out themselves to follow you.

keithclancy

pippip wrote: »

In most cases yes, but what if the person behind you had closed the gap as they are about to preform the same overtake or worse and they have already pulled out themselves to follow you.

If your overtaking and you can't see the road ahead then you're already taking a chance, if you continue to overtake with a car tailgating you while you increase speed to perform an overtake then thats just down right stupid.

You should never get yourself into a situation that you cannot get yourself out of.

While 'more power' could get you out of the situation, your just moving the goalposts because now that you have 'more power' thats the norm and in your own head you need less of a gap to overtake.

Its not just about the cars in front of you, its about the cars behind you as well.

pippip

keithclancy wrote: »

If your overtaking and you can't see the road ahead then you're already taking a chance, if you continue to overtake with a car tailgating you while you increase speed to perform an overtake then thats just down right stupid.

You should never get yourself into a situation that you cannot get yourself out of.

While 'more power' could get you out of the situation, your just moving the goalposts because now that you have 'more power' thats the norm and in your own head you need less of a gap to overtake.

Its not just about the cars in front of you, its about the cars behind you as well.

Thats all i was saying in my original post and you disagreed

You have no control over the person behind you so I don't see how getting into that situation is your own fault unless you see them indicating.

ballooba

A lot of this discussion seems to be revolving around perception of risk and appetite for risk. Two important things to remember in that regard are a) that you cannot eliminate risk and b) that risk is not always obvious (safer to travel in convoy than overtake?).

It's clear that there are divergent opinions on the matter, but it doesn't really help the OP. I've stated my preference for a higher power to weight ratio for the reasons I've outlined, the OP may have different preferences.

There may also be fuel economy and maintenance issues to be considered. The timing belt change is a consideration.

keithclancy

pippip wrote: »

Thats all i was saying in my original post and you disagreed

You have no control over the person behind you so I don't see how getting into that situation is your own fault unless you see them indicating.

No, your saying 'more power' is safer.

I'm saying having an exit strategy is safer.

If you accelerate and the car behind you tailgates you then its a good bet he's going to close the gap as soon as your half way through your overtake.

If thats the case let him overtake you, because its just not safe (Idiots are Idiots unfortunately)

In that case, you have no exit strategy, bearing in mind you've just made this overtake on the basis of knowing the capabilities of your own car then your buggered.

If by some chance you do it anyway and the guy behind you is a total moron and follows you while overtaking, if you just 'boot it' to save yourself, its a good bet you'll cause the oncoming car and the moron behind you to run into each other because they won't see each other until you move out of the way.

pippip

Forget about exit strategies, your changing the original argument.

My point, at the start, was that in certain circumstances being able to accelerate faster is safer and you disagreed.

keithclancy

pippip wrote: »

Forget about exit strategies, your changing the original argument.

My point, at the start, was that in certain circumstances being able to accelerate faster is safer and you disagreed.

But only when you've used poor judgment for getting yourself into that situation in the first place.

And you made that decision based on the abilities of the car you are driving now, so the 'faster' car thing is irrelevant.

pippip

keithclancy wrote: »

But only when you've used poor judgment for getting yourself into that situation in the first place.

And you made that decision based on the abilities of the car you are driving now, so the 'faster' car thing is irrelevant.

No i said originally "if needed" followed by "in unforseen circumstances", nothing to do with poor judgements or choosing a safe gap based on the power of the car.

keithclancy

pippip wrote: »

No i said originally "if needed" followed by "in unforseen circumstances", nothing to do with poor judgements or choosing a safe gap based on the power of the car.

The scenario you pointed out:

In most cases yes, but what if the person behind you had closed the gap as they are about to preform the same overtake or worse and they have already pulled out themselves to follow you.

Is completely forseeable.

pippip

Are you really trying to claim its completely forseeable to anticpate what someone else will stupidly do?:rolleyes:

You already said yourself "While 'more power' could get you out of the situation" yet you still keep trying to disagree with my stance that the potential to go faster is safer.

All I'll say is if things turn bad during an overtaking maneuver I'd prefer more power as an added option to getting out alive.

ballooba

pippip wrote: »

Are you really trying to claim its completely forseeable to anticpate what someone else will stupidly do?:rolleyes:

That essentially amounts to complete information in the context of risk avoidance. It's not possible and hence risk cannot be zero. There is always uncertainty.

L-M

On most roads in ireland it's fairly unsafe to overtake.

Coming back home the other night i had to overtake a tractor, the road is through a bog so it's straight, caught sight of a clear road ahead, pulled out and began to overtake. The tractor swerved a little to avoid something in the ditch thus making me swerve.

i was overtaking without haste but i wasn't speeding. i had perfectly ample time to complete the maneuver as i could see ahead of me and see what was/wasn't coming.

i'll never overtake if i can see a car coming, should anything go wrong with the car/obstacles etc. i want to be able to get myself out of the situation i put myself in.

keithclancy

pippip wrote: »

Are you really trying to claim its completely forseeable to anticpate what someone else will stupidly do?:rolleyes:

You already said yourself "While 'more power' could get you out of the situation" yet you still keep trying to disagree with my stance that the potential to go faster is safer.

All I'll say is if things turn bad during an overtaking maneuver I'd prefer more power as an added option to getting out alive.

Its called recognizing a hazard, I thought this was taught when learning to drive ?

http://www.betterdrive.ie/rules-of-the-road.php

Overtaking

Do not overtake unless you can do so without risk to yourself or to others. You should be able to see that the road is clear for a sufficient distance to enable you to overtake. Be particularly careful of hills or dips in the road, bends, bridges, road narrowing or pedestrian crossings. Note also the rules regarding roadway markings (continuous and broken, single and double white lines). You must also check your mirror to ensure that another vehicle is not approaching from behind intending to overtake too.
Where zigzag markings are provided on the approaches to Pelican or Zebra Crossings or Pedestrian Lights you must not overtake within that areas marked by these lines.
Before overtaking check that the way is clear, check in your mirror to ensure another vehicle is not approaching from behind, give your signal in good time, move out when it is safe to do so, accelerate and overtake with the minimum of delay. When you are well past, signal and gradually move in again making sure not to cut across the vehicle you have passed.

I thought this was common sense, if someones driving up your ass you have nowhere to go back to.

Its nothing to do with vehicle power, I can overtake just as safely in a 60PS Opel Corsa than I can in a 136PS Volvo V50 because i'm not driving up the back of another car.

If you overtake while just looking ahead you need your head examined or some training imo.

Getting yourself into the situation in the first place is bad, but then trying to correct the situation by going faster when you weren't sure if it was safe to do so in the first place is crazy.

The situation you pointed out is completely preventable, if you can't see ahead then don't go, if someones tailgating you then don't overtake, simple. You don't need to fix it by having more power, both cars in my example can overtake at the speed limit if you allow enough distance between you and the car you are overtaking.

P.S. When I said 'more power could get you out of a situation' I meant, what about the ass clown thats behind you, the car coming towards you won't see them until you pull in at the very last second, at least if you hit the brakes the guy behind you can see that and react.

You could end up with a completely innocent person injured / dead and a moron behind you the same, or you could just not overtake when you can't see ahead in the first place, or when the person behind you is driving too close.

Pottler

soo, them 1.6 audis, any good are they?:)

alsiet2011

Pottler wrote: »

soo, them 1.6 audis, any good are they?:)

Hah yeah that's what I wanna know .