Hey everyone. Longtime lurker, infrequent poster.

I've seen it discussed with a range of suggested fixes, but I wanted to also include my experience with a dealership around my problem.

I have just started getting a substantial diesel-like sound at idle in my 06 2.0T. It's very much more pronounced after the car is warm.

I'm at 132K km so, despite Audi's huge mileage claim for a TB change I figured "timing belt/tensioners". Changed that. Sound wasn't fixed.

Took it to an indie who said "cam follower and if very worn, high pressure fuel pump and camshaft".

Audi dealer said "no warranty". Audi Canada said "you're covered to 10y/190K". Dealer says they won't honour it unless I have a check engine code, but from what I understand, that means I need to go waaay past the point of a simple cam follower replacement and into total destruction of shaft and HPFP. This is insane, right?

My question is, is there a way to know if I have gone past that point though symptoms with the car?

I would love to just pay my indie for the follower and little bit of work to change it, but if I'm battling Audi dealer for a HUGE bill with the shaft and HPFP, I don't want them to say my indie was messing around.

Audi's already said I should consider not going to my dealer (they love telling me I'm never covered for things I am).

Of course, I'm going on the word of the indie (great rep), and users' experience. Is there anything else that would give me diesel like sounds (heard from inside of cabin, not the standard ticking) at warm idle and slight vibrations at speed (who knows, could be more stuff to deal with like balancing or DMF).

 

Get someone local to scan your car for codes that may not have resulted in a CEL; pay the dealer to replace the cam follower anyway and give you back the replaced part. That way if you have an HPFP issue later you can prove any work in that area was done by Audi. You have the peace of mind that the follower has been replaced and still have an ability to make a "valid" claim in the event damage occurs before the warranty expires.

I know it's wierd that Audi wants to wait for a big problem rather than deal with a possible casue earlier but hey that's their decision.

 

Thanks! That's roughly the plan I had. Asked dealer to replace the cam follower on my dime and give the old one as my plan, but asked "if you find catastrophic wear, check for the rest and do the warranty work".

This is why I'm upset. If the cam follower is worn through, I need all that work done. But they won't do it even if all the evidence of wear is there! Just because of the CEL. I asked him which CEL my rusty panels pulled. Wear is wear; defects are defects. A cam follower with a hole in it doesn't need a computer to tell you it's there. Except if you work for Audi, apparently.

So, I will probably end up going down this path, but what should I do if they tell me the cam follower is worn through? In my mind the insane path I need to take is to tell them if the follower is complete worn through, that they should put it back in so I can destroy the engine and put metal shavings everywhere—just in case I've passed the point of a simple cam follower replacement.

I really wish I'd know about these followers earlier. Then again, not all cars treat camshafts as frequent wear/replacement parts.

 

Update:

The (going to leave their name out you can guess) dealership won't even open up and check the cam follower on my dime even after Audi Canada asked about why they wouldn't do it. They're just saying they won't. Trying to blame the transmission (obviously no faults showing, but not easy to pop in and check like a follower).

Audi Canada actually said to stop dealing with this dealership altogether and go to Audi Mississauga. How's that for trust in your network! Hope people out there agree Mississauga is a fair one.

 

FWIW: Audi Mississauga called me back the day of, confirming it was the follower/HPFP/camshaft that was at fault and everything was being replaced—even without the CEL. So, I guess that's a vote of confidence for them.