2013 RS5: Impressions after 2.5 years and 50,000 miles of daily driving and commuting

[essfour]

Hit the 50k mile mark and have to report that my car has never once experienced an issue - it has been the most reliable car that i have owned thus far - not even once throwing an engine light/

This car is my year round commuter and I live downtown Boston and drive north to my office 5 days a week for a combined 60 mile round trip commute. On weekends this car has hauled my wife and I back and forth to the ski mountains in the biggest of storms and in the Spring/Fall/.Summer I routinely confuse the shit out of people when they see me pull up to the local mountain bike parks and pull my downhill bike out of the trunk.

I did a the motoman break in and try to redline the car at least 3-7 times per day. As a result my car burns zero oil in between my 5k intervals and returns sterling reports from Blackstone when I do my UOA's.

I have the car professionally detailed once a month and as a result the paint and leather seem to be holding up and still look factory fresh.

This car also clawed its way up, the steepest hills around Beacon Hill and Bunker Hill this winter despite the 10 feet of snowfall we had.

I did have to tow my father up his drive way in New Hampshire once this past winter because his Range Rover didnt have the traction (blame the tires). So the RS is a pretty decent tow/service vehicle as well....

All in all I love this car. And other than routine service it has been the most trouble free car I have owned throughout owning 7 past Audi's

[Mr. Spectacular]

Glad to hear it's been such a great experience!

[Mops@Nemesis]

Nice thread Nicholas! Glad to here this.

[PEM]

Woo! That's awesome

[RVJ]

Great to hear! Question for you on winter driving. Just got my S5 and I'll be ordering my winter setup soon. I have coilovers and am sitting 26" FTG. Trying to decide if I need to crank it up for the winter or not and would appreciate your input.


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[essfour]

I'd be inclined to say that if you have the option to raise the car up a bit then go for it (just not too high). It'll just make life easier but it isnt necessary. My car is fairly low with the H&R Springs and this past winter didnt cause me too much trouble but it would have been nice to have an extra inch of ground clearance at times when I was driving before the snow plows got a chance to clear.

Long story short, these cars are great in snow as long as you set the expectation that they are not suv's so no matter what there will be ground clearance issues - it just comes with the territory.

[Racedoc11]

How the brakes are holding up? few of us had the rotors and pads changed few times.

[fasteddie9]

I'd be inclined to say that if you have the option to raise the car up a bit then go for it (just not too high). It'll just make life easier but it isnt necessary. My car is fairly low with the H&R Springs and this past winter didnt cause me too much trouble but it would have been nice to have an extra inch of ground clearance at times when I was driving before the snow plows got a chance to clear.

Long story short, these cars are great in snow as long as you set the expectation that they are not suv's so no matter what there will be ground clearance issues - it just comes with the territory.

As someone living in Boston and driving my s5 thru last winter, I can agree with the above. Amazing car in the worst of snow without a hiccup. Just hope this coming winter is more forgiving.

[jkownz]

How the brakes are holding up? few of us had the rotors and pads changed few times.

+1 curious to know

[velodb]

Hasn't thrown a check engine light in 50k miles? Does it even come on when you just turn the ignition on? I am thinking they didn't put the bulb. Also, by bragging about it you mocked the Audi gods and I bet within a week it throws a light!!!

All seriousness glad it has been reliable for you.

[zhclvn]

My RS5 has popped up engine misfire twice :(

[superswiss]

Nice. I can't really complain about reliability, either. I did have a few warranty items, though. Leaking transmission early in the lifecycle, squeaky control arms and replaced MMI head unit, but compared to the original unit, I'm glad it got replaced and I'm now able to use the faster AT&T instead of crappy T-Mobile and the latest firmware is also much better and I scored a free map update in the process. I did have the check engine light flashing which ultimately turned out to be a failing fuel pump. That was the last repair. I had some issues caused by the Alu Kreuz, so I can't really blame anybody else but me for that. I do burn some oil between 5k oil changes, but it doesn't bother me at all. I've had the car a little over 2 years and my 35k service is coming up in about 2000 miles. I'm also very happy with my aftermarket brakes, even though the OE brakes held up just fine.

Compared to my previous cars, this car does need more maintenance, though. Tires and brakes mostly, but I do drive this car harder than I did any of my previous cars. It's just such a blast to drive it and at the same time it's an awesome comfortable DD and road trip car.

[Dfw007]

What was the problem the Alu kruez caused?

[Brozee]

Nice. I can't really complain about reliability, either. I did have a few warranty items, though. Leaking transmission early in the lifecycle, squeaky control arms and replaced MMI head unit, but compared to the original unit, I'm glad it got replaced and I'm now able to use the faster AT&T instead of crappy T-Mobile and the latest firmware is also much better and I scored a free map update in the process. I did have the check engine light flashing which ultimately turned out to be a failing fuel pump. That was the last repair. I had some issues caused by the Alu Kreuz, so I can't really blame anybody else but me for that. I do burn some oil between 5k oil changes, but it doesn't bother me at all. I've had the car a little over 2 years and my 35k service is coming up in about 2000 miles. I'm also very happy with my aftermarket brakes, even though the OE brakes held up just fine.

Compared to my previous cars, this car does need more maintenance, though. Tires and brakes mostly, but I do drive this car harder than I did any of my previous cars. It's just such a blast to drive it and at the same time it's an awesome comfortable DD and road trip car.

you can't complain about reliability? Sounds like your car is/was a turd.

[superswiss]

What was the problem the Alu kruez caused?

The Alu Kreuz is thicker than the OE braces, so as my suspension settled the belly pan started to creak and pop. Had to get it reinstalled and they also put some anti seize pads between the bolts and the belly pan. It's fine now.

you can't complain about reliability? Sounds like your car is/was a turd.

Not at all. These were all known flaws that had redesigned parts. I'd rather get those redesigned parts early while the car is still under warranty than battle Audi later if these things fail. The transmission leak was due to a flawed design of the oil pan. The squeaky control arms was a flawed design as well. Same for the MMI, it has a known hardware flaw that will surface eventually. There's a piece of insulation between the A/C and the MMI head unit that gets knocked loose over time and starts screwing with the GPS. The fuel pump was a bad production batch, so that was bad luck.

I'm pretty happy that given my car is 2 years old it has the latest MMI 3G+ hardware, firmware and 2015 map and all the other redesigned mechanical parts.

[AirmattRS5]

Other than a CEL for the fuel pump and a bad batch of brakes that *almost* everyone was getting, it's been a trouble-free year for me as well.

[15DGR V6]

Great to hear. I had my 2009 S5 for 119,200 miles with very few problems. Hopefully my 2016 S5 will be just as reliable.

[15DGR V6]

I'd be inclined to say that if you have the option to raise the car up a bit then go for it (just not too high). It'll just make life easier but it isnt necessary. My car is fairly low with the H&R Springs and this past winter didnt cause me too much trouble but it would have been nice to have an extra inch of ground clearance at times when I was driving before the snow plows got a chance to clear.

Long story short, these cars are great in snow as long as you set the expectation that they are not suv's so no matter what there will be ground clearance issues - it just comes with the territory.

I size my snow tires with a higher aspect ratio than stock, which gives additional ground clearance in the winter. Currently running 245/40-19's on my S5.

[essfour]

They held up great - upon delivery the tech told me my car had the warped rotor issue but it was resovled before i took possession. I drive spiritedly but havent tracked the car and my front pads and rotors made it without issue to 35,000 miles. My rears were changed at 45k.

[evilgabbie]

OP - Why the 3-7 times redline per day ? What does that do for the car ?

[jrabakker]

OP - Why the 3-7 times redline per day ? What does that do for the car ?

To remind it of it's awesomeness :)

[adbender]

Thanks for the long-term update...

[essfour]

Other than keeping the carbon build up at bay it helps remind me that this car was money well spent because the smile it puts on my face is pretty worth it

[ICU2]

Other than keeping the carbon build up at bay it helps remind me that this car was money well spent because the smile it puts on my face is pretty worth it

Glad to hear so trouble free having just picked up mine as a CPO w/less than 10000 miles. And to quote/borrow a phrase from a Q7 owner "More smiles per gallon" than any other Audi I've ever owned as well.

[JimWB]

To remind it of it's awesomeness :)

Now that is funny!

[AUDIMAN33]

Nice!

[evilgabbie]

Other than keeping the carbon build up at bay it helps remind me that this car was money well spent because the smile it puts on my face is pretty worth it

LMAFO. Been doing that for the past few days now myself... noticed MPG went down slightly but the smile is definitely worth it !

[delz05]

Just to add my 2 cents... a friend who is a mechanic at one of the local Audi dealers (12 years plus) told me to run the 4.2L engine at red line at least once a week. I was looking at a 2012 S5 Coupe that had about 22k miles on it but had never been to the dealer for service (passed on it). He had stated it was the best way to keep the carbon from building up. Too many of the 4.2L engines end up with city miles resulting in the carbon troubles. He smiled as he said "These cars need to be driven hard, thats what they were built for!"

[zhclvn]

Just to add my 2 cents... a friend who is a mechanic at one of the local Audi dealers (12 years plus) told me to run the 4.2L engine at red line at least once a week. I was looking at a 2012 S5 Coupe that had about 22k miles on it but had never been to the dealer for service (passed on it). He had stated it was the best way to keep the carbon from building up. Too many of the 4.2L engines end up with city miles resulting in the carbon troubles. He smiled as he said "These cars need to be driven hard, thats what they were built for!"

Welp. More of a reason to PUSH IT MORE AND MORE AND MORE

[S5CooP]

I can't recall ever getting in my car without redlining it... 2013, - 27k, a few track events, numerous mtn. Runs, a few photo shoots :) and runs like a dream. Cheers!


RS5COOP

[Nanozic]

I also live and Boston and drive my cars year round. Just have to throw a good set of snow tires on and you're good to go. Last winter was insane with regards to the amount of snow, but I had no issues with the S6 fitted with snow tires. I'll be driving the RS this winter as well, so I just have to grab a winter set of wheels/tires.

Cheers to another Boston commuter.

[adbender]

Just to add my 2 cents... a friend who is a mechanic at one of the local Audi dealers (12 years plus) told me to run the 4.2L engine at red line at least once a week. I was looking at a 2012 S5 Coupe that had about 22k miles on it but had never been to the dealer for service (passed on it). He had stated it was the best way to keep the carbon from building up. Too many of the 4.2L engines end up with city miles resulting in the carbon troubles. He smiled as he said "These cars need to be driven hard, thats what they were built for!"

Exactly...these engines need to scream and not just purr. Driving around the city in comfort barely gets the tach above 2k. Recipe for carbon build up for sure.

Coming from a lifetime if MTs, I find the paddle shifters keep me engaged and much more likely keep the tach lively. Hope it keeps my new lady clean

[ParadigmTony]

Everyone is all like "yay good for you, happy to hear it" Im over here like 50k RS5s exist? Hallelujah almost in my price range.... You should definitely trade that car in, and uhh well tell me what dealership too..

But seriously congrats, nice to hear happy stories, instead of all the horror stories.

[dseag2]

Great story, and very inspiring for us S5/RS5 owners!