Audi A5 3.2 Reliability and maintenance.

[brilliant_black]

Hey all. A friend of mine wants a 328i. The cars he is looking at are in the 10-12k range and have over 100k miles.
Now based on my own readings it seems that Audi cars are generally more reliable than BMW.

2009 A5 3.2 cars are in that range as well with 90k+ miles. I was thinking of the 3.2 V6 since it doesn't have turbos
or other fancy shit. The 2.0T well, yeah we all know the numerous problems with that.

At that mileage what should one look for? Is a high mileage 3.2 A5 generally a safe buy?

Please respond
Thanks

[tomhorn]

If you are buying one with that kind of age/mileage, try to find a private party sale with a complete service history. Get a private mechanic to inspect.

I'm about to turn 100k miles on my 2009 A5 sLine. Just replaced brake vacuum pump, water pump, coolant flange and spark plugs. Would check on all of those for sure. Essentially, check the engine bay for leaks. I would also be aware of vibrations starting at 60MPH on the test drive. Could be the control arm issue, or a bent wheel (Audi OEM wheels are notoriously easy to bend).

Other things to look for are the operation of the power windows, and the door locking sensors. There are common faults with both.

[NuVega]

211,700 miles as of today, bought pre-owned at 47K miles, 2009. I think I answered few of your questions on IG...only issues I've had were a faulty MAP sensor(easy replace), a coil pack(easy), my brake booster started leaking oil, pretty simple replacement, three screws, off with old in with new...my coolant flange gasket, literally just replaced the gasket with the same part....and finally my transmission ECU plug O-rings started leaking, which actually required a trip to the dealer, which was my costliest repair so far. Those were the actual problematic issues, but everything else like suspension, brakes, belts, spark plugs, coolant, etc...I routinely do those. As far as carbon build up, I don't know, I guess I have some, but it must be minor, of all the S5 posts that I've seen where carbon build up causes misfires and CEL as early as 40K miles, I haven't had a single stutter. Even got the car dyno'ed at this old age and it still runs great. I'd say it's a pretty good car to jump into.

Dyno video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAR7_yaFvXY

[shyamvenky]

I can also speak positively about my 2008 A5 3.2 experience. I bought one early this year and have added ~5000 miles (91k miles currently).
Mine is a 6MT as well, so if you're looking for those you might need to think about the state of the clutch as well - they're about ~$3000 to replace at a shop.
Good service history is a confidence booster, an inspection would be one step better.

I bought mine from a non-Audi dealer across the country - so there wasn't any scope for an inspection. But it did have a good service history with the Audi dealership.
Upon receiving the car, the fuel pump died and was leaking petrol all over the place. The water pump and the hose were going as well - big leaks under the car.
I consider these as better than usual for wear items (especially considering water pump horror stories in other audis and Porsches).
At that mileage and age, you should check for suspension, engine mounts wear as well, besides the usual. I haven't had any carbon buildup issues.

Take a good look at the options as well - I wanted a 3.2 V6, 6MT car, with the MMI+Nav and Audi Advanced Key => only a few cars were available in this config when I was looking.
Overall I'm happy with the car. It is a much better engine sound than the 2.0T engines :)

[weaudi]

I got the same car with 125k I’ve a coolant leak problem. I change the thermostat but the coolant flange began to leak. I was wondering what hoses did u replace?


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[Audi_2NR]

I have 2009 s line 3.2 wit 6 Mr.

I think the engine holds up pretty well it's the shit around it that are suspect.

I had thermostat leak, clutch slave cylinder ( made out of plastic) , I need motor mounts. Rough idle and rough gear shifts 1 through 3. If you get the S line, watch out for water damage to the amp.

Bought it at 80k miles and about to hit 110k soon.

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[weaudi]

How difficult was it to replace the coolant flange


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[Sinrule]

I have 2009 s line 3.2 wit 6 Mr.

I think the engine holds up pretty well it's the shit around it that are suspect.

I had thermostat leak, clutch slave cylinder ( made out of plastic) , I need motor mounts. Rough idle and rough gear shifts 1 through 3. If you get the S line, watch out for water damage to the amp.

Bought it at 80k miles and about to hit 110k soon.

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Damn, did I buy your car? Haha, I bought my car at 112k miles, '09 monza silver S Line 6MT.

Had all those problems, still have rough shift to 1 through 3 and clutch slave cylinder issues.

The car has been great, just maintenance and wear items that need to be replaced which add up since all of them are going at the same time.

Did carbon cleaning, upper control arms (lowers need to be replaced still), motor mounts, front pads and rotors, rear diff. Service, tranny service, and spark plugs. Got most of the big ticket items.

Things that are not mechanically related, but failed:

- window regulators are bad, windows squeak going down
- audi convenience key does not work, think the door sensors are out
- side mirror hearing elements do not work
- drivers side door lock actuator died, I have to unlock and lock the car manually with the key, super annoying
- I dented the drivers side door and the bumpers/side mirrors have terrible scratched paint


I could spend 6 to 10k dollars and still not resolve all the issues in this car, but I love driving it so much.

She needs new tires and lower control arms soon, however. She vibrates terribly.


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[NuVega]

How difficult was it to replace the coolant flange


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Moderately challenging but not too difficult. You have to remove the clips on both sides of the radiator to pull it forward, then I used a 90 degree pivot screwdriver with the bolt head size for the bolts to remove them, after that a good amount of coolant comes out(btw, I drained the coolant first), I couldn't actually get the entire part off so I simply removed the old gasket.

[RockJGC]

..... The 2.0T well, yeah we all know the numerous problems with that....

Another puzzling comment....what are all these "problems" with the 2.0T? Early models had oil consumption issues due to bad rings and also had timing chain tensioner issues. What else? And what issues are on the newer 2.0T? I'm asking because I don't know of any at all.

[Sazexa]

Damn, did I buy your car? Haha, I bought my car at 112k miles, '09 monza silver S Line 6MT.

Had all those problems, still have rough shift to 1 through 3 and clutch slave cylinder issues.

The car has been great, just maintenance and wear items that need to be replaced which add up since all of them are going at the same time.

Did carbon cleaning, upper control arms (lowers need to be replaced still), motor mounts, front pads and rotors, rear diff. Service, tranny service, and spark plugs. Got most of the big ticket items.

Things that are not mechanically related, but failed:

- window regulators are bad, windows squeak going down
- audi convenience key does not work, think the door sensors are out
- side mirror hearing elements do not work
- drivers side door lock actuator died, I have to unlock and lock the car manually with the key, super annoying
- I dented the drivers side door and the bumpers/side mirrors have terrible scratched paint


I could spend 6 to 10k dollars and still not resolve all the issues in this car, but I love driving it so much.

She needs new tires and lower control arms soon, however. She vibrates terribly.

A lot of these aren't problems for the 3.2L alone. I've got an '09 S5 (4.2L V8, currently at 96K); similarities include...

- Replaced control arms at 90K (034Motorsport Density Line, ~$500)
- Some syncrho "grinding" shifting into third at times, I suspect needs a transmission flush
- Could use a carbon cleaning
- Could use some plugs
- Window regulator is fine, but I too have squeeky windows some times. It's temperature dependent
- My driver door lock actuator is also dead, started intermittently not working, then completely failed (I plan to replace it, but I don't know if coding is necessary)

If you have some tools and some know how, you can likely fix all of that (aside from maybe the paint and key) for under $1,000. You just gotta be able to do it/willing to.

[Sinrule]

Yeah, I can fix the internal stuff like door sensors and door lock, but I know someone who can help me with the lower control arms.

I was planning on replacing Lowers when I get new tires and do the transmission mount, this way I can knock out a steering alignment at the same time and the car should then be pretty good to go.

On the topic, I’m currently on BFGoodrich Comp 2s, any recommendations for different tires? I was thinking maybe some Michelin sport cup tires or pirellis. However, I feel as if the Michelin tires may be overkill for the car, might not be necessary. Which tires have the lowest tire vibration on the B8 platform?


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[jschrauwen]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3541...0108008061714/

[A6sport]

I can also speak positively about my 2008 A5 3.2 experience. I bought one early this year and have added ~5000 miles (91k miles currently).
Mine is a 6MT as well, so if you're looking for those you might need to think about the state of the clutch as well - they're about ~$3000 to replace at a shop.
Good service history is a confidence booster, an inspection would be one step better.

I bought mine from a non-Audi dealer across the country - so there wasn't any scope for an inspection. But it did have a good service history with the Audi dealership.
Upon receiving the car, the fuel pump died and was leaking petrol all over the place. The water pump and the hose were going as well - big leaks under the car.
I consider these as better than usual for wear items (especially considering water pump horror stories in other audis and Porsches).
At that mileage and age, you should check for suspension, engine mounts wear as well, besides the usual. I haven't had any carbon buildup issues.

Take a good look at the options as well - I wanted a 3.2 V6, 6MT car, with the MMI+Nav and Audi Advanced Key => only a few cars were available in this config when I was looking.
Overall I'm happy with the car. It is a much better engine sound than the 2.0T engines :)

Yes, better sound from the 3.2, but a tuned 2.0t is a scream! Just got mine, a few weeks ago. 2.0t prestige S line, APR stage I 93

[jschrauwen]

I'm coming up to 3 years ownership of my 08 A5 3.2L. Although being the 3rd owner in 7 years had me a bit concerned until I got a thorough background/history of the car. It was a Miami dealership demo and as such was loaded to the very top. Even though it wasn't an S-Line, I believe the dealership was trying to promote a slight misrepresentation of what a base model was. I was hoping to find an S-Line model but only after a few months ownership did I realize I was far better off with what I got.
My shopping list included that it must be naturally aspirated and not a standard. I owned a fully loaded B5 A4 for for 7 years which had the 2.8L NA engine and Tiptronic transmission. I was so impressed with the performance, reliability and operating costs that I endeavoured to find the same sort of setup in an A5. I have a 600whp twin turbo weekend fun car so I'm fully aware of the added expenses and upkeep required for forced induction and I wasn't going to have a forced induction car as a daily driver. Hence, my 3.2L Tiptronic. So far, I couldn't be happier with it's performance and reliability.
I even get better gas mileage then my 2.8L. But I must admit, my 2000 b5 A4 definitely had better bones then my current A5. That 18 year A4 with 276,000kms still has better carpeting today then my A5. For me, the 3.2L Tiptronic is the perfect recipe for the country winter driving I have to do.

[skarasen]

I had the comp 2s for a few months and I just switched to Nitto nt555 g2s and the vibration is completely gone.

[superbondbond]

I have an 2009 3.2. Bought it three years ago with 47K, and have put about 20K on it since then. I have had zero issues with the engine, and the car as a whole.