2013 Audi A3 Sportback 2.0 TDI with Quattro longevity

[AudiDriver8265]

Hi all,

I have an 2013 Audi A3 Sportback 2.0 TDI with Quattro and have owned it from new. I absolutely love the car and it is coming up on 100K miles. 

I’ve had every service done at my local Audi dealership where I bought the care, and any issues with the car have been addressed rapidly with them. Unfortunately, in the recent years the service level quality has really gone downhill. I have found a local Audi specialist who is well regarded, have been great for the recent work I have needed done and I am looking to use them moving forward.

I am looking for some thoughts/guidance based on the current state of the car as I am looking to keep it as long as I can. 

So, with that in mind, there are three concern points I have observed over the years:
1. The coolant, very rarely completely disappears - I’m talking two to three times in the time I have had it. It seems to be after it’s been sitting after driving on a very hot for the UK day. I’ve had the coolant system pressure tested by both the Audi dealership + the Audi specialist for a second opinion and they both said the system was holding pressure and they could not see no leaks. I carry a bottle of premixed G13 in the boot just in case.
2. About once, perhaps twice a month I briefly get the following message appear on the information screen in the little screen to the left of the speedo: “Vehicle electronics: Shift to P before leaving vehicle. Please contact workshop” and the warning triangle lights up. I’m not doing anything special at the time and it goes as quickly as it comes (for a second or two). I took it to be looked at with an exact time of when it happened and a picture of the message - they couldn’t find anything in the fault logs. As it is shift to P, something to do with the parking break?
3. When I go over road humps there is a creak from somewhere in the car. I can’t work out the cause, and bouncing the car doesn’t replicate it but at some point, during going over and coming down the hump, I’ll get a creak 60% of the time. The Audi dealership dealt with a similar (the same?) issue about 5 or so years back and said it was something to do with the engine mount and replaced a buffer (maybe a bushing) and it has been fine until now. Is it likely to be the same thing?

So that’s it. Items 1 and 2 are weird but the service providers can’t find a fault, and 3 just feels like wear and tear. So with those in mind:

1. Are these things any of you have heard of?
2. I’m not looking to change the car any time soon (the price of cars is bonkers nowadays) and was wondering what I should be aware of/looking out for/doing for a car of this age, and this level of mileage?

Thanks!

[AudiDriver8265]

3 hours ago, AudiDriver8265 said:

I’ve had every service done at my local Audi dealership where I bought the care

I bought the car, not care… oops. I shouldn’t write in the middle of the night!

[cliffcoggin]

Petrol or diesel engine?

You definitely have a coolant leak. That your Audi dealership can not find it suggests you need to find a more competant garage, preferably an independant VAG specialist.

In three years of running a 2 litre diesel A3 I only topped up the coolant once with perhaps a quarter litre to make up evaporation losses.

[AudiDriver8265]

Thanks cliffcoggin. That is what I thought. I’ve taken it to two, the dealership and a specialist, both of which pressure tested the coolant system and they said they couldn’t find anything. It has happened 3 times in the 11 years I have owned it.

It is a 2.0 litre Diesel.

[Magnet]

Hello Adam and Cliff,

Apologies for jumping in on this, particularly since my suggestion may not be valid:-

Are you sure the reservoir cap is always fully tightened? 
If so, it might be worth investing in a new one, since the system would have been pressure tested without your cap- so a faulty cap would have been excluded from the equation. 
Just a thought.

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[cliffcoggin]

14 minutes ago, Magnet said:

 would have been pressure tested without your cap- so a faulty cap would have been excluded from the equation. 

Good point Gareth. A new cap should not cost the earth.

[AudiDriver8265]

That’s a good point! I will check that out. Thank you Gareth.

[Guest]

On 8/29/2024 at 2:41 AM, AudiDriver8265 said:

Hi all,

I have an 2013 Audi A3 Sportback 2.0 TDI with Quattro and have owned it from new. I absolutely love the car and it is coming up on 100K miles. 

I’ve had every service done at my local Audi dealership where I bought the care, and any issues with the car have been addressed rapidly with them. Unfortunately, in the recent years the service level quality has really gone downhill. I have found a local Audi specialist who is well regarded, have been great for the recent work I have needed done and I am looking to use them moving forward.

I am looking for some thoughts/guidance based on the current state of the car as I am looking to keep it as long as I can. 

So, with that in mind, there are three concern points I have observed over the years:
1. The coolant, very rarely completely disappears - I’m talking two to three times in the time I have had it. It seems to be after it’s been sitting after driving on a very hot for the UK day. I’ve had the coolant system pressure tested by both the Audi dealership + the Audi specialist for a second opinion and they both said the system was holding pressure and they could not see no leaks. I carry a bottle of premixed G13 in the boot just in case.
2. About once, perhaps twice a month I briefly get the following message appear on the information screen in the little screen to the left of the speedo: “Vehicle electronics: Shift to P before leaving vehicle. Please contact workshop” and the warning triangle lights up. I’m not doing anything special at the time and it goes as quickly as it comes (for a second or two). I took it to be looked at with an exact time of when it happened and a picture of the message - they couldn’t find anything in the fault logs. As it is shift to P, something to do with the parking break?
3. When I go over road humps there is a creak from somewhere in the car. I can’t work out the cause, and bouncing the car doesn’t replicate it but at some point, during going over and coming down the hump, I’ll get a creak 60% of the time. The Audi dealership dealt with a similar (the same?) issue about 5 or so years back and said it was something to do with the engine mount and replaced a buffer (maybe a bushing) and it has been fine until now. Is it likely to be the same thing?

So that’s it. Items 1 and 2 are weird but the service providers can’t find a fault, and 3 just feels like wear and tear. So with those in mind:

1. Are these things any of you have heard of?
2. I’m not looking to change the car any time soon (the price of cars is bonkers nowadays) and was wondering what I should be aware of/looking out for/doing for a car of this age, and this level of mileage?

Thanks!

1.  U need to tell how fast it goes empty on one trip ? or week ? If u have coolant leak it can be leaking from many places. I had pierced rubber hose pipe and was slowly leaking from under car in the middle  behind fans..  Check front in the middle  middle behind  fans.. I had leak there bcos audi put wire harness meatal bracket with plastic insert and it is pushing against rubber hose.. As hose expands when hot it pushing against that metal bracket and when cold it shrinks and repeating over and over cutting through the hose.. I had this problem and I cut the rubber hose where was pierced, made straight cut and reattached it onto the metal coolant pipe . AT LAST my coolant leak problem solved... ALso u need to check matrix heater in cabin.. might be blocked over years... 

2. I have google this as I never had this and it is apparently this :  

Copied from internet

This is a common fault on the DSG/S-Tronic gearbox and affects Audi VW Skoda etc.
It is a failure of a microswitch in the gear selector mechanism. The good news is there is a retrofit part that can be fitted from inside the car in around 30 minutes and costs less than £100 and is not too difficult if you are of average mechanical competence. There are two versions which are Black and White which will match the colour of your gear selector housing. The white one is around £100 and the black version around £60. I fitted the white version to my wife’s 6 speed DSG on her 2016 Golf 2.0 tdi and has been faultless ever since.

3. U reall yneed VCDS and do your diags by yourself...