chelseaa4a

Looking for a little input/advice from all you B7 enthusiasts! A few weeks back my check engine light came on and I noticed at the same time the car was suffering from a rough couple second shudder on cold starts combined with a slight loss of power and intermittent revving up to 1200 while in idle. So I booked the car in for service. I dropped the car off and was informed later that day that it was the high pressure fuel pump/cam/cam follower failure (common fault on the early B7s) and that Audi had extended the warranty so that all would be covered. I later learned by perusing the various audi forums that the extended warranty was in part due to a potential class action suit related to this particular failure in US vehicles. Two days later I called to check on the car and was told that they were sending photos of the cylinder head to Audi of Canada (AoC) to see if the car needed a new head! Now I’ve been told the car will be ready next week and that AoC has directed the dealer to proceed with the repair without replacing the head. I have always had good service from the local dealer who has supplied me with a loaner and informative updates…no reason to doubt them however it seems odd that the dealer would be concerned enough about the head to send photos to AoC and then to have AoC not recommend any action. Should I be asking more questions?? Thanks

a4audi4fun

I would ask the dealer for the specifics of why they thought the head needed replacement and copies of the pictures if at all possible. You could use this in the event you encounter a problem later on.

My take on things is that a cam follower problem might have affected other parts of the head because metal particles were lodged elsewhere in the head i.e. on other parts of the valve cams, or maybe in the valve seats or lubricant ports on the head. From the dealer perspective, the more work they can get done under warranty, they more they get paid.

Depending upon how worn the follower was, there might not be any other related follow-on problems any way.

What mileage are you currently at? This repair should give you comfort that you should be fine now for at least that many more km.

chelseaa4a

The car is a CPO 06 Avant with 100k. Thanks very much for your reply and good suggestions. That's a very good point about the more work the dealer does the more they get paid...which I suppose in a warranty situation works well in the owners favor! I will ask them for more specifics though on what prompted their head related concerns. Most comments in other forums on this subject seem to limit the required work to the hpfp cam and follower however your comments re stray metal fragments could certainly be what prompted their inquiry. Thanks again!

frankvan

So is the extended warranty for CF/HPFP just in the US or does it apply in Canada as well?
Is there a notice somewhere that we can point our local audi stealership to?

ericcg82

I wouldn't worry too much about it, why would the dealer send the head photos to audi? Well because if they are paying for the repair then the more work for them and more free stuff for you...