B5 S4 Question - 2.7T Specialist in Ottawa?

Considering buying one of these.

Looking for a specialist on the 2.7T engine in Ottawa (someone that knows to look at problem areas in these cars) that could perform a comprehensive inspection on one a 2000 S4.

I heard the 2.7T engine isn't the most reliable of engines and I know that B5 tend to have electric issues (like all other VW/Audi I've owned)

To the 2.7T owners: How unreliable is this car? How much do you spend annually on maintenance? What mileage do you have?

Most importantly, what do you look or watch out for when purchasing one?


(FIY: My budget slots me in the 180,000-200,000km and up range. I plan to keep it stock aside a stage 1 (or 2), suspension and rims and daily drive it as my only car)

Thanks in advance for any help.

sheepszies said:

Considering buying one of these.

I heard the 2.7T engine isn't the most reliable of engines and I know that B5 tend to have electric issues (like all other VW/Audi I've owned)

To the 2.7T owners: How unreliable is this car? How much do you spend annually on maintenance? What mileage do you have?

Most importantly, what do you look or watch out for when purchasing one?


(FIY: My budget slots me in the 180,000-200,000km and up range. I plan to keep it stock aside a stage 1 (or 2), suspension and rims and daily drive it as my only car)

Thanks in advance for any help.

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I know they are great cars, but do yourself a huge favor! Do not get a B5 S4. The engine itself is strong, its the components around it that are weak. You could not spend a dime on the car for many many months, and then for a few months, back to back you'll have to drop $500-800 every time. The reason why they are also pretty expensive to maintain, is derived from the fact that its is SUPER crowded in their and labor takes a long time for almost anything. Front suspension can get costly when comes time to replace the arms (~1k)

If you plan to keep it stock, no worries, shouldn't be too bad. But since you mentioned stage 1 or 2, plan at least 4.5k to replace the turbos. Then while you're there, why not put K04's and change the clutch and it goes up to 8k.
Also keep in mind that these cars are not getting any younger. Make sure the guy(or girl ) doesn't beat the living crap out of it because what kills this car are 4-5-6th gear pull on the highway.

EGT's tend to fuck up as well and thats an easy $800...

It sounds like you are saying that this car is going to be about as reliable as my MK4 Brazilian-made GTI. The car only left me stranded twice over the 90,000 km (from 116,000 to 205,000) over three years. Most of the time she drove problem free. But when there were problems, there were often several within months of each other.

As for with Stage 1 or 2, I should expect the turbos to let go quickly? $4,500 repair can't happen to me - I'll swap the engine out for a TDI or something in that case.

I guess I would still like to know what people tend to spend per year on maintenance for a car like this. It sounds like its just another old VW/Audi, but with slightly higher costs?

If you don't have cashflow for a 4500$, then stay the fuck away from an S4. That being said, here's a little breakdown on common problems.

Main problems:

Valve cover gaskets
Rear differential seals
Wheel bearings - common on all B5's
Control arms - common on all B5's
Diverter Valves - Often replaced with 710N valves.
Cluster pixels stop working
Throttle body boot leaks (recommended aftermarket replacement solve the problem)
ABS module
Borg Warner K03s sensitive to proper cool-down/occasional premature failure
N75 valve
Central lock pump
Coolant after run pump fails and leaks - Shine a flashlight under the intake manifold and look for dried pink G12 residue.

That pretty much sums it up. You might have a few odd issues here and there.

My suggestion, is to save up, and buy a properly clean B5 S4 with a Stage 3 on it. Chances are all the nick nacks will be taken care of (K03 turbos are gone, throttle body boot, diverter valves). They usually also come with upgraded clutch, brakes, suspension, etc. Let the previous owner pay the premium for modding a car It'll probably cost you less money in the long run if you buy a clean well modded and maintained S4, than buying a stock one and having to take care of all the issues gradually...

Dubweiser, thanks for the detailed response.

It's not that I don't have $4500 to spend on turbos, it's that I can't spend $4500/year in maintenance for a car. The car I am looking at is priced very low by a motivated seller and if it needs new turbos eventually i will take care of it.

Any way of checking for wear on the turbos? It would be convenient if something like this wouldn't happen in the first several months of ownership.

I plan to have it inspected but the car is in Ottawa and I don't know of any audi specialist down there. Anyone with suggestions?

Anyway, driving out to have a look tomorrow. I am sure I will know more then.

look on Ottawa-Vdubbing.com for a good ottawa reference

As for reliability, dubweiser summed it up pretty good

parts are crazy expensive on this car...

I was looking at them too, then talking to owners I decided to go nowhere near. Looking at B6 1.8Ts now lol

Mines been pretty reliable for 2 years, and I rarely beat on it. Besides one of my axles getting swapped over some how and being an inch too short and it breaking a bunch of times the only thing I replaced on the car has been 1 control arm, 1 wheel bearing, brakes all around, spark plugs, one valve cover gasket. It all depends on how its maintained and how you treat her

Tapp auto in Ottawa or autoXtrem in Gatineau is where you want to go for the inspection.

I own a B5 S4 since 6 years now... most of my problems comes from the multiples upgrades I've done to the car. Of course it's expensive to do the maintenance, but the car's worth it especially at the price they are now.

good luck!

I work in a Audi dealers and the techs over here will tell you the same, stay away from it it`s a PITA from A to Z, especially to work on. One tech even as one in stock form and it keep needing expensive repairs. Parts are overpriced, same parts for a brand new beemer would cost less... Anyway it`s a fantastic car when you have a deep wallet Good luck with your next purchase *tu*

sheepszies said:

it sounds like you are saying that this car is going to be about as reliable as my mk4 brazilian-made gti. The car only left me stranded twice over the 90,000 km (from 116,000 to 205,000) over three years. Most of the time she drove problem free. But when there were problems, there were often several within months of each other.

As for with stage 1 or 2, i should expect the turbos to let go quickly? No, they could last 1,000,000kms if you never boost, but thing is, its gets even more tempting to beat the car when it has more power, so unless you never get into boost, they will blow one day or another. $4,500 repair can't happen to me - I'll swap the engine out for a tdi or something in that case.


i guess i would still like to know what people tend to spend per year on maintenance for a car like this. It sounds like its just another old vw/audi, but with slightly higher costs?

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Swapping a TDI in a B5 S4, LOLLLLLLLL. This is not a Jetta. Either 1.8T or 2.8