2015 S4 Reliability

[stormrider]

I've had my 2015 MT S4 since new. My lease is up in a couple of months and I'm unsure what to do.
I love my car, and can't find another MT to replace it with that can be a DD for all seasons here in NY.
I was thinking of purchasing it, and getting the audi warranty of 10yr / 120kmi, but that is almost $10k, totally out of the questions.

So I guess my question is, how reliable are these cars going out another 5yrs... after the 3 I've already had it for.
Car has 45,000 mi on it already.

My company picks up the monthly payment of the car, but not maintaining it. So a new car w/ a warranty ends up being cheaper for me, than shelling out money to maintain mine.

Thanks for the replies.

[ofspecialk]

well the biggest thing is the DSG but your MT so that's good, besides that you have the thermostat and the timing chain issues.

Its a solid car and tons of fun!

[The Fat Kid]

You can DD pretty much anything in LI with a set of snow tires; PM "Jaymac" to ask him about his Cayman in New England

I would look for something new if your company is paying for it.

[onlyaudis]

last few years, consumer reports has Audi up near the top in reliability across the entire line. no car is perfect, but the current Audis are nothing like their cars from 10 to 15 years ago.

[sacandagaD]

I've had my 2015 MT S4 since new. My lease is up in a couple of months and I'm unsure what to do.
I love my car, and can't find another MT to replace it with that can be a DD for all seasons here in NY.
I was thinking of purchasing it, and getting the audi warranty of 10yr / 120kmi, but that is almost $10k, totally out of the questions.

So I guess my question is, how reliable are these cars going out another 5yrs... after the 3 I've already had it for.
Car has 45,000 mi on it already.

My company picks up the monthly payment of the car, but not maintaining it. So a new car w/ a warranty ends up being cheaper for me, than shelling out money to maintain mine.

Thanks for the replies.

Can you negotiate the purchase of the car and have them just CPO it? That way you can keep it until 2021 and/or up to 100k.

[14S4GWM]

well the biggest thing is the DSG but your MT so that's good, besides that you have the thermostat and the timing chain issues.

Its a solid car and tons of fun!

After all of the BS Ive seen with new clutches over the last year I think I would rather have DSG at this point.

[waxxonMTL]

very solid. nothing to worry about.

i prefer DSG, more solid. it take a DP tune better than a MT where a clutch needs to be upgraded. and as times goes.. its easier to find replacement in junkyard and such at much lower cost than the retail price.

[stormrider]

Can you negotiate the purchase of the car and have them just CPO it? That way you can keep it until 2021 and/or up to 100k.

Thanks.... that's a good idea.

[mungie]

Don't keep it for another 5 years. Keep it for 3 or less. Your maintenance is going to cost you more than repairs.

BTW I could be wrong, but there is no "Audi warranty" that goes out that far. 10k sounds like someone wants to bend you over.

The extended warranty backed by Audi is standard CPO which goes to total 6 years/ 100k miles, whichever happens first. This CPO is generally considered to cost $2.2k or so

[Dr GP]

78k on my original clutch. I'm the third owner(with all service records) . So I really have no idea how the previous owners drove the car. I do know the 2nd owner was a young girl who commuted to college. So yes, I expect that I will eventually need a new clutch, but not expecting to have to do it soon. So as long as you have not abused the clutch, you should be great. I expect all T stats to fail at sometime. I'm on borrowed time.

[icutrauma1]

well the biggest thing is the DSG but your MT so that's good, besides that you have the thermostat and the timing chain issues.

Its a solid car and tons of fun!

The B8 2015s are having timing chain issues like the B6 & B7 of the past?

[sacandagaD]

Don't keep it for another 5 years. Keep it for 3 or less. Your maintenance is going to cost you more than repairs.

BTW I could be wrong, but there is no "Audi warranty" that goes out that far. 10k sounds like someone wants to bend you over.

The extended warranty backed by Audi is standard CPO which goes to total 6 years/ 100k miles, whichever happens first. This CPO is generally considered to cost $2.2k or so

With MT, only big item at dealer would be plugs at 55k, but could always buy extended Audicare ( Plus/Select? ).

[AllroadCorbin]

The 3.0T motor is just shy of bomb proof. Seriously. The entire B8.5 A4, S4 lineup is very reliable as long as they are maintained properly. As long as they aren’t treated like corollas (oil change every 10k and literally nothing else), then you’ll be fine. The majority of reliability issues you see on any 8.5 model (A4 or S4), are the fault of the owner. The B8 S4 was fine too. The B8 A4 not so much.


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[S4Sanity]

The B8 2015s are having timing chain issues like the B6 & B7 of the past?

There's a new thread (incorrectly placed into the classifieds, check it out) anyways he's referring to to the timing chain rattle. Doesn't seem to be causing much issues apart from the rattle however that new thread could be pointing to a much less common issue

[Ryan_B8]

The 3.0T motor is just shy of bomb proof. Seriously. The entire B8.5 A4, S4 lineup is very reliable as long as they are maintained properly. As long as they aren’t treated like corollas (oil change every 10k and literally nothing else), then you’ll be fine. The majority of reliability issues you see on any 8.5 model (A4 or S4), are the fault of the owner. The B8 S4 was fine too. The B8 A4 not so much.


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explain what you mean by fault of owner? some broad assumptions here

[E.Anderson]

103k on my 11 S4, had the car since 36k. I've changed the oil every 6-7k miles and the only item i've had replaced was a wheel bearing. Same stock clutch, 1 Tstat was replaced before i bought the car. This car has been very reliable.

[bayonet14]

Of the 3 S4s - all w/DSG the only issue I had w/any was the 2010 - but it was driven hard even before I took delivery as second owner and drove it harder as a APR stage 1 (did have DSG issue mechtronic) but contribute that to APR 'not' having a DSG flash at that time

[KRp220]

I've had my 2015 MT S4 since new. My lease is up in a couple of months and I'm unsure what to do.
I love my car, and can't find another MT to replace it with that can be a DD for all seasons here in NY.
I was thinking of purchasing it, and getting the audi warranty of 10yr / 120kmi, but that is almost $10k, totally out of the questions.

So I guess my question is, how reliable are these cars going out another 5yrs... after the 3 I've already had it for.
Car has 45,000 mi on it already.

My company picks up the monthly payment of the car, but not maintaining it. So a new car w/ a warranty ends up being cheaper for me, than shelling out money to maintain mine.

Thanks for the replies.

i bet you can get a 36 mo/15k a year warranty for $3000.

the thermostat issue was mostly solved by 2012/2013 i believe

my 2010 stage 2 s4 clutch was fine at 80k when i sold it, but my '13's clutch started to go with just stage 1. pervious owner's driving habits will obv have a huge impact on lcuth life, but thankfully you don't have to deal with that

if i were you, i'd buy it, stash the $3000 warranty money for repairs if you need it.

[switchedstance]

I'm in the same boat as you, docked at the same Island. LOL! Currently in a lease where a B9 S4 will be $200 more a month and I can't get it in a stick shift. Pretty set on buying my 2015 off my lease and driving it through the extended warranty. If I could find a comparable car for $600 a month lease (1st mo, TTL down), I'd consider it, but since Audi essentially discontinued the stick shift in all their performance models, it looks like I don't have many options. My residual is significantly lower than BB and I was just quoted $2250 for a 36 month, max 100k mile warranty extension. My car has been incredibly reliable over the last 3 years and I'm confident since we have a late model b8.5, that most of the early hiccups were taken care of with parts revisions. My previous Stage 2 A5 made it to 92k miles with little (pcv failed) to no issues. I don't "launch" or race my car, so I'm not concerned about the clutch during my ownership, I know of more than one b8 s4 with over 100k miles on their stock clutch.

[seandon_792]

Really it comes down to how much do you like the car, have you maintained it properly and not abused it? Depending on the answers to these you’ll have your decision. Just because a car is new doesn’t make it better, you’ve owned this car since new and haven’t had any noteworthy issues so why not keep it and continue to care for it. You take care of your appliances and they will take care of you.


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[RecklessactN]

I won't add to speculation, here is just my experience.

Original owner, 90k miles, APR STG2 since 12k miles - No major mechanical issues and still on original clutch. I am going to keep this car forever because you will never see a MT in a new S4 platform again.

It is how you drive it and maintain it.

[stoked_S4]

I have a 2014 DSG with 26K with warranty about to expire in 3 weeks and decided to keep it instead of a B9(test drove one). Recent CR15 and AK upgrades and the car drives much better. Considered buying an extended warranty but decided to self-insure myself due to good reliability of these cars to save myself $3K. DSG maint done past summer w/audicare I bought few years back. Changed oil once a year due to low yearly mileage. Only thing that failed is backup camera which has a TSB for. Other than few damaged tires from potholes and wheel alignment nothing was done. Probably will need a battery by next year.

Found a great local Indy shop that specializes on Audi, Merc and Bimmers in case of any problems. The shop owner told me major issues if any will start after 50-60K mark. Will keep it for 3-4 more years and will sell/trade until big maintenance bills start. They do DSG oil change for $500; if anyone in NYC area is interested PM me.

Hoping for an RS4 or maybe RS5 SB to brought here by then with a couple of years to work out new car issues but if not will look at other options at that time.

[AcBc]

2011 S4. I'm the original owner. My miles are light (70k), but the majority of those miles are tough city miles. Didn't have a single issue until a month ago when a cooling fan and T stat failed. I just did APR stage 1 last week and I'm on the original clutch. I was getting tired of the car and cooling fan and T stat was expensive, so i briefly thought about getting out of it and getting something new. But financially, it's way better for me to maintain/repair this than get into another car. To get me over my 7 year itch with the car i did a stage 1 tune, added exhaust and short shifter. Gave new life to the car and i'm in love with it again. Hopefully, it'll last me another 7 years at least.

[Ernie1060]

I'm sure this is a given and maybe even mentioned already but, find a trusted Indie shop... it takes time but having a good relationship with a mechanic is priceless.

I was in the same boat a little over a year ago. My 2013 lease came up, there was nothing else I wanted in the same price point as my residual, and I wasn't going to drop 91k on an F80 M3 (that I didn't like more than my car.)

I'm at 50k miles and only issue I've had is the thermostat at around 30k and a condenser for the AC (?) at the same time. Audi covered all of it and, knock on wood, has been issue free.