Broken Again! Are Audis Too Complex For Their Own Good?

This 2011 Audi A4 was overheating. I perform the repairs and consider whether Germans overthink their designs.
Audi A4 water pump, thermostat, water pump belt service

[@plumber802]

Fellow Vermonter here. I have had a few A4 Audi's and a Q5. The only sensible way to own one is to buy it new and sell it when the warranty runs out. Otherwise you WILL go broke from all the insanely expensive FREQUENT repairs. Good to have you back bruv.

[@victorbaird8220]

Guess who’s back back again He is back ARV is back 😊

[@joopsmit6910]

I had an Audi A4 TDi 2.0 sold it still going strong at 350000km. Loved it. But yes German cars are not engineered to be worked on much. But the satisfaction of getting a Deutchland Auto fixed though...priceless. 😊 Replacing the broken part: 10 minutes. Getting to that part: 10 hours.

[@bmw803]

TDIs can last forever. The gas ones. Depends!!!

[@deionhughes6867]

02:23 Although there is no oil dispstick, luckily on that engine you can actually add an aftermarket oil disptick.. Right next to the left of the oil filter is a plastic plug that covers a tube where a dipstick would normally go, it's right between the oil filter and the vvt cam phaser, I know ECS tuning sells them and a couple other retailers also. Just make sure you provide a vin when ordering it if you choose to but many people add a disptick.

[@dangoodall-williams4200]

Wow, so good to see you back. Well, we didn't see your face, but I hope this is the beginning of more routine videos. That's crazy how much stuff had to be removed to just get to the belt. You're def a first rate mechanic. Thanks for the video.

[@Commentleaver-c6x]

Hopefully he didn’t get another shiner like that time he went to the beach.

[@curtisj2165]

German car manufacturers taking away the dipstick is as stupid as Apple taking away the headphone jack. Why do it?

[@Vacationtime247]

The best KZbinrs are usually the ones who only make video's on occasion, but their content is always top notch. Have half a dozen video's pulled up to watch, this was the first. No need to save the best for last, just made it the first. VT247

[@danbartolini27]

Heavy coat and a beanie hat since it's been in the high 80s too 90s for weeks I think you've been hold this video for months

[@ARuralVermonterQqjmcb182]

You’d be correct

[@Hoovercaden]

i have been rewatching your older videos, because im a huge fan and love what you do! so happy to see some new content, and hope you are doing well!!🙂🙏

[@tommyboy8524]

Good see you out here again. Hope your having a profitable summer

[@MrZimmaframe]

I would say a broken belt isn’t a reliability issue, more a lack of maintenance because they are meant to be changed every 80k miles..

[@bmw803]

90% of car owners use them like a light switch. ON/OFF. Then, we hear "you should have bought a Toyota" As if they're exempt from neglect. Also, latest Toyotas are failing often. One guy in Texas had a warranty denied due to the fact that his engine blew at 85 mph.

[@knobrush]

Reminds me of my old '93 Audi S4. I thought the engineering was good. Timing belt, turbo system hoses, plugs, coils, were all easy to replace. The main problem I had with it was a leaky hydraulic brake assist system. It leaked a lot and I didn't have the cash to have it properly fixed so I kept adding the $20/quart hydraulic fluid when ever it leaked down.

[@santaclause2875]

So good to see you again, RV !!! Dang, we've missed you. That's nuts about the way they drive the water pump, but evidently it went 200K miles, so they got at least something right. Hey, if you don't mind me asking, what's your field of study at university? I got this feeling that whatever you choose to do in life, you are going to super successful !! Don't be so scarce! We miss you and your bud's road trips, too!!! Good luck, best wishes, God bless !!!!

[@ARuralVermonterQqjmcb182]

Thanks! I’m in business

[@alouisschafer7212]

Audis can be the most POS car you will ever own or be the best car you will ever own. Thats the most annoying thing about Audi. Certain drivetrain configurations and models are actually really solid and last a long time and others are basically totaled when they reach 100-150k miles and the problems start to pile up. VAG had their peak in the 90s and early 2000s. Thats when they used to be the best cars you will ever own. The difference between one VAG product and another is crazy I dont think another Automaker has such massive quality and longevity differences in their lineup. Even between model years you may have a car that has various little issues, burns oil and an engine that may not even make it to 200k miles and another model year/generation is completely fine. Like we had two VW Passats in the family both standard FWD 2.0TDI and 6 Speed wet clutch DCT transmissions and those were awesome, both made it to ~100k miles without any issues with the drivetrain or other mechanical problems, they would have gone on for another 100k miles with good maintenance, then there was an newer gen Audi A4 3.0TDI 7 Speed dry clutch DTC and it was a total POS: Transmission had jutter and rought shift issues sometimes, engine was basically done after 100k miles because it burned more and more oil (major issue with certain VAG engines after a certain build date that I cant remeber rn they fucked up the piston ring design completely) and the timing chains were starting get noisy because VAG decided you shall never enjoy the simplicity and ease of maintenance a timing belt provides ever again. Also the car had oil temp issues all the time it ran the oil too hot constantly because at some point in time VAG decided to just not care about oil temps anymore and save money by not fitting oil cooling systems to their cars this is a major engine killer with the 3.0TDI engine and their Vans. So yeah that car was on a 3 year lease luckily and that was the best decision in the world because a complete engine and trans replacement would have been the only way to save that car. I dont think any american should complain about them dang german cars when you have modern day Ford and GM though 😅

[@Btrempe]

I think you meant Chrysler and Ford. I've had no issues out of any gm vehicles I've owned or currently own.

[@thinkabout602]

Nice seeing you back - good job on that Greman car 😀

[@robstruction]

If I wasn’t already convinced that Audi/VOA vehicles were ridiculous this video (busted knuckles) and all would have surely made the case. (Have had one of each - never again)

[@markdugan6231]

Glad to see you.

[@tylergardiner7895]

I can agree that many German vehicles have complicated designs. But that’s not always the reason why they fail. They regularly do over 250k miles when maintained. However, they’re very expensive new, and they depreciate quickly. The first owner generally takes care of it. Trades it in well below 100k miles, second owner gets a somewhat cheap used car, maintains it decent, third owner gets an even cheaper used car, maintains it poorly. Then the cycle continues until they’re thrashed. Heavy duty trucks hold their value and thus they get maintained a bit better. German cars are significantly less resilient when it comes to abuse. But if treated right are some of the best cars on the road for the driving experience. If your car is no more than an appliance to you, buy Japanese.

[@Scooter30FTW]

He'll be cursing if he has to replace that water pump in the future. That's definitely an as long as you're in there situation. As far as I'm concerned anyway.

[@dan19120]

So interesting I think that parking lot is the parking lot of my old dorm when I was in college!

[@ARuralVermonterQqjmcb182]

Probably was haha vcfa

[@dan19120]

@ARuralVermonterQqjmcb182 omg it totally was!!!!!! I noticed in the Volvo video a mark on the wall where my friend crashed he car lol. What a small world

[@alenollstibe]

The only VAG Engine good is 2.5 liters applying on Jetta no critical issues

[@richardthomas1743]

Well personally I would not say over engineered. A lot of things on them are poorly engineered. Water pump , belt and location for example! I hope that all is going good for you!

[@barryburkholder4000]

Good to see you again. I’ve always thought VW was over engineered for their price point. It makes everything do expensive to get fixed when you ate on a VW budget. Porsche owners can afford the dealer repairs. If not, they shouldn’t be buying a Porsche. Audi could go either way. Mercedes and BMW are the same way.

[@terrincesmith9818]

Glad you back. I love your videos

[@speedmachine69]

Plastic water pump housings, plastic thermostat housings, plastic componentry in places that get savaged by heat cycles.....

[@jamespfitz]

Love that when you took it apart you were wearing a jacket and the sun was low, and when you put it back together you were wearing a T-shirt and the sun was high.

[@carltondoorman9145]

In this day and age, I expect any car to give me at least 300,000 miles. My old Grand Caravan had just turned over 350,000 when I replaced it. But I have friends in VT who say you can't buy a vehicle over 10 years old because the undercarriage rots out by then. Geez... that must make it tough to find good cheap used cars...?

[@ARuralVermonterQqjmcb182]

It sure does

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Welcome back man!

[@JayMoney-tw7tg]

Welcome back, rural vermonter. It's been a long time since you made car videos 😊😊😊😊

[@lennywhite6781]

Welcome Back. You have been missed. Car without a dip stick, that is No Bueno for me.

[@hellrecon1980]

German cars sold in Europe seem to be more reliable than those sold in the North American market. I don’t know why but I can guess a few reasons. First of all, cars in the Us come fully loaded, more gadgets more things to go wrong. Another reason is that car models come with a bigger variety of engines . For example this Audi A4 was offered with 8 different engines and 3 different trim levels! Some of them were diesels. We also have the standard manual transmission, which is generally more reliable than any automatic one. They are troublesome if something goes wrong but there’s abundance of spare parts and prices, especially for cars of the VAG group are relative cheap. I live in Greece, rust is never an issue but due to extreme heat and sunshine ovearheated engines is a common problem. Regular maintenance is the key for every vehicle.

[@cinrambrad]

Thanks for posting, your videos get top priority .................

[@jameshacker2059]

He’s back

[@sds433]

I had a 2005 Audi A8. Way to complicated. Great in the snow.

[@juststuffwithwolfe4482]

0:42 2015?! It looks like it been through hell and back with the mount of rust that’s on it

[@ARuralVermonterQqjmcb182]

It has been, work truck all its life

[@juststuffwithwolfe4482]

@@ARuralVermonterQqjmcb182 yeah true it just surprises me hah

[@dadefope80]

One thing about luxury vehicles when they break; Don't skimp on cheap parts and service. It's always gonna cost.

[@MrPaige222]

I'm glad you chose the manual transmission. The automatic transmissions are horrible.

[@organiccold]

Welcome back. I have one of those A4 B8 2.0 tdi 170hp with 290k miles never let me down, great car, but the petrol ones aren't very reliable indeed

[@colinbell896]

It blows my mind when I see cars with200 miles on them that is 320 thousand klms you wouldn't even find a mechanic willing to fix a 320 thousand klm car in Australia they would all just say don't waste your money

[@brandonmorris2513]

Good to see a new video ! Hope all is well.

[@reaganlyle5088]

Nice to see an upload! However, i think this was filmed in the winter

[@Wolverine-ky9gk]

Welcome back Mr Vermonter

[@jeffmac3071]

Hope you are OK. Looks like the video was filmed in cooler weather.

[@Vaino_Hotti]

German cars are a good example of shoving 10 lbs of shit into a 5 lb bag. Overall the maintenance mentality is completely different in euro cars vs american stuff. In many VWs, BMWs and Mercs alot of stuff like cooling system components, belts, lines, mounts and other things have an expected service life and service intervals. Neglect kills an euro car much faster than a hunk of american iron.

[@simes205]

In summary we have tougher rules!

[@samuelsenkowicz7539]

My car makes a brief appearance in this video

[@ARuralVermonterQqjmcb182]

Subie doo the star of the show

[@ardennielsen3761]

would cost $10 to replace the paper head gaskets on the ford 281ci over head camshaft engine, put that doesn't fix the problem... nothing fixes the problem, gasoline engines are the problem. Diesel is made to run very lean from the start. tho when their are so many detergents in gasoline that a 281ci engine gets 2mpg pulling 5000lb at 45mph running lean. they want them all to brake down and be recycled... regulated fuel contamination to shut them down. red diesel isn't taxed because it doesn't have all those thinning agents added to it.

[@LoveBandit1000]

German cars are sophisticated JUNK! They are made to lease for 4 years and then foist all of their endless problems on the poor second owner who thought he got a steal!!

[@organiccold]

German cars ate bad only in the US.

[@christophertoscano2026]

Good to see you posting

[@robertmailhos8159]

Over thinking about is a bad thing to do to a vehicle that you got to work on by yourself

[@donaldwilliams6821]

Re: Dipstick I recall is because of an EU regulation on emissions that forced them to remove the manual dipstick Crazy Or like VW Jetta using a complicated servo motor to bump up the idle speed when you turn on the AC ! That fails over time and your idle goes all over the place.

[@BargainBandit]

You can buy an oil dipstick for this car for under $15. Currently there is a cap on the dipstick tube right next to the oil filter

[@wyattgardner3552]

American cars can be horrid too. First gen ford edge had water pumps behind the timing cover, engine /subframe out to fo it... gm small suvs, traverse, equinox, Acadia, terrain, 4cly & 6cly dying.

[@ARuralVermonterQqjmcb182]

Yep all have their flaws

[@walterdillow8650]

Audi sure does make a beautiful car.

[@IO-zz2xy]

Good to see your channel again buddy. Thought you got married and moved to Antarctica??? LOLS Regards from South Africa

[@leonb2637]

I have seen plenty of YT videos noting the twisted engineering of German vehicles, especially BMW and Audi/VW. Apparently that is a 'stretch' fit belt, no adjustment. You could have used zip ties to get the belt on.

[@jeremyshideler4187]

Good to see you back!!!

[@kirkbanton9181]

Wow, you come forward again.

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

Something tells me you didn't do that job over a weekend, lol. The German automakers just think they are smarter than everyone else. They got caught cheating on emissions. They come up with these "revolutionary" ideas, then use the cheapest materials they can. For the price, Euro cars are cheaply made. They decide that people are too dumb to understand how to use a dipstick(they are, now) and decide to computerize it, which promptly fails. They designed a nice 1.8L turbo 4 cylinder engine for the Passat, but so completely screwed up the oiling system, and then the oil change guidelines, that it's very likely 90% of those cars blew the engine and went to scrap. Again, like the dieselgate scandal, they took NO responsibility for it.

[@alouisschafer7212]

VAG had their peak in the 90s and early 2000s. Thats when they used to be the best cars you will ever own. The difference between one VAG product and another is crazy I dont think another Automaker has such massive quality and longevity differences in their lineup. Even between model years you may have a car that has various little issues, burns oil and an engine that may not even make it to 200k miles and another model year/generation is completely fine.

[@AndreasLarsson95]

Where have you been?

[@nissanpatrol8950]

Thankful my 2018 3.0 tdi still has a physical dipstick

[@gerredstallings465]

Well come back

[@josephstanger873]

The issues with most VW products, especially Audi is mediocre parts quality, especially anything plastic, combine this with complex engineering and you get a nightmare of a car.

[@fichy8079]

Ahhh the 'ol girl has never looked better 😅

[@frankm8533]

I like the look and ride of German vehicles but as far as owning and working on them no thanks i stay away

[@redneckbryon]

Everything definitely has their own fair share of issues.

[@thomasseymour4190]

Well, as a Vermonter; you’re probably well aware that most either or questions can be answered with “both are partially true.”

[@RohanSanjith]

Completed College bro? long time no see. Why you didn't show your face?

[@uuhhhhhhhh189]

Winter jacket and beanie in the middle of summer? :O

[@ARuralVermonterQqjmcb182]

The repair was filmed in winter

[@ChristopheZ]

I actually drive a 1993 Mercedes W124 400E *V8* with 370K miles ( In Maine)..However, I won't buy an old Audi..lol

[@julianmedeiros3293]

What ever happened to the 2007 Duramax truck? I know its been a while lol. Just curious

[@michaelcoonce6694]

At 200k. Your lucky it runs

[@johnnystall9683]

Yes they are

[@jennrivers7794]

It sucks seeing KZbinrs like this not upload regularly! Life we get it but bigger KZbinrs have life as well but they still upload regularly and long videos! Bummer seems like a good channel but not subbing because of lack of content

[@ARuralVermonterQqjmcb182]

Big KZbinrs don’t need a second job

[@jennrivers7794]

@@ARuralVermonterQqjmcb182 a month? To record? I get it running out of content. But good luck I'll swing in here and there

[@vincentblouin5882]

Love the content!

[@anthonysourdiff1835]

Good to see you again. Wish your videos weren't so far apart.

[@pawek9143]

audi /vw with 2.0 (1.8) turbo tfsi engines (EA888 engine) are totally unreliable pre 2013/2014 models. it is complicated engine, as you mentioned, it consumes a lot of oil (even 1 - 1,5 litre for 1000 km (620 miles) after low mileage. It is common problem in Europe

[@milfordcivic6755]

I don't call them doubty Audis for nothin.

[@mariom.9472]

It depends of which era, if you think of cars in matter of reliability and serviceability until the late 1990ies definitely yes, after 2010 definitely no.

[@greenmachine1961]

He back😂 love the vid

[@robertvance1873]

Couldn't give me a Audi

[@ultimaetsolder]

Can't lease an A4 or A7? Beautiful cars.

[@TRDOffRoad2020]

Typical Audi you can see the battle wounds on your hands 😉🤣😎

[@paulsheehan5010]

If it were human, it would have spiked a fever.

[@petergarofolo9385]

Welcome back

[@trapps75]

Blownhead gasket can cause overheating

[@kaiknehans7022]

had a 2008 A4 it was a peace of junk after 200,000 miles, lots of overheating issues too

[@bmw-e30]

Trying to compare two trucks with far less tech and equipment than the Audi and with a lot more room in the engine bay would not be a fair comparison. Modern Audis are much worse than their earlier models.

[@joespittle1]

I had a 2003 Audi A4 with the 1.9TDI engine that went to 430k miles before it was rear ended beyond repair. All European cars are built to go the distance so long as you maintain them properly. You take care of it and it will take care of you. Good to see ya back!

[@txtchjmb29]

Audi diesels are bulletproof. The 2.0 turbos not so much, Burn oil and eventually fail after 150k

[@uuhhhhhhhh189]

holy shit a new vid

[@kingcarcas1349]

These cars are made for people who lease them, then get another one in a few years

[@andydanko7074]

German Autos are engineered to start breaking down right after the warranty expires. Audis are rated one of the worst for reliability out of all makers. Range Rover was the worst😢

[@kidsteach938]

oh, New England...all those vehicles have cancer...

[@andysaunders3708]

Several Audis have the timing chains at the rear of the engine. Easy. Pull the engine. Which requires taking the entire front off the car. AVOID!

[@ericluebbers4415]

So let me get this straight people are railing Audi for not being reliable but it’s possible that water pump was original with 200k on it. It should have been replaced 100 k ago an should be getting a 3rd one put on. Not reliable my ass.

[@reinhardeder8268]

I hope you got this P O S for free because that is what it is worth,... basically nothing all the TSFI Engines are Junk I am Austrian and know this crap.

[@kalh.9241]

I think the Audi r8 is sweet, but I hate German cars, over engineered to hell I’d never buy one. If I did, it would have to be such a good deal I wouldn’t feel bad scrapping it over it needing something like 10 hours of labor to do 2 spark plugs or whatever

[@bellybell542]

Yes, indeed. over engineered, over price parts, too complex & lots of failures🥵🥵🥵

[@alexstickley8192]

Why are you wearing a hat? You want this impala I already know

[@ARuralVermonterQqjmcb182]

Impala sounds real nice right about now

[@alexstickley8192]

Come and get it 5k wheels not included

[@ARuralVermonterQqjmcb182]

@@alexstickley8192 u got some ocean front property in Arizona too?

[@animalcorvair]

wont last like my 56 chevy or corvairs ,,gee even i would take my 79 caprice over it,,,bet its rides better an it rides better than my 93 el ..not as fast but better on the road...

[@animalcorvair]

Audis are nice cars dont get me wrong...but they get close to 100thu they become money pits

[@robertjones2208]

Good to see you back!

[@kc0lif]

with German cars there's no thinking. under the top poor engineering.

[@DM-hk8gz]

Aww man I thought you knew better than to buy German crap

[@ARuralVermonterQqjmcb182]

Only paid $1700 for it a few years ago

[@DM-hk8gz]

Lmao, I know man, just gettin you goin, lifetime New Englander that just moved to FL

[@DM-hk8gz]

Btw, it's been a while since I watched your channel.. when did you get so f'n huge????