I have 2010 audi A4 and the dealership is recommending that I have the timing chain replaced since they are dropping the motor to do some oil consumption warranty work. The want to charge me $480 just for the parts since labor will be included. The car has 80,000 miles. Should I do this?

So should I bite the bullet and pay the $500 to replace it in your opinion?

its not as bad as a timing belt change I for my 98 audi even 17 years old it cost me a few years ago 1457$ Canadian and that's just for a belt pulleys tensioners water pump and hardware. So to me 500$ is nothing. But it would be wise to replace these parts at the time they are down there as it saves labor time in the future. Guaranteed they will charge you for 8hrs service labour if you do it some time later down the road instead of free with the warranty work. So i say bite the bullet and do it since most dealer parts can be of better quality then aftermarket.

Timing chain is normally replaced at 100k miles anyway. If you are able to get it done for only the parts cost (even if it is a little high) its well worth it. I had the timing done on an 08 A4 2.0T with water pump and it ran $1800. If they are doing all that I would also recommend asking them about doing the water pump now as well since doing it now could save a ton in labor cost later.

These cars are known to have the timming chain stretched due to the tensioner going bad and after it stretched the chain it will jump timming and bend the valves in the head and stop running, i would strongly recommend having it done for the price of parts,, sure with today's age and the internet you can get parts cheaper but you forget that the dealership is a business and it has to be run like a business that's why you pay extra for the parts you do not go to work for free do you

If you have it change it. One less thing to worry about down the line. Plus, it should be under warranty as well.

I am a Audi Tek, we suggest a new timing chain on all our oil consumption cars since we're in there and it's a known issue. What happens is the chain stretches and the chain tensioner only has a certain amount of travel. So if the chain stretches to much it gets loose and intake camshaft jumps timing and bends valves. New parts are updated and have not seen any issues yet. We charge two hours labor because there is extra work above and beyond the piston replacement. So if they are willing to do the job for no labor you would be silly not to do it. When chain jumps timing it costs about 5 grand.

yes, mine jumped at 94. kind of silly not to

It comes down to reliability if you use dealer parts and they fail, you get it fixed on their dime. If you bring your own cheaper parts, will the parts manufacturer pay labor and further damaged parts like valves or even a head if it fails? I'm a tech and I use to do these all day long and if I measure the cams and they are out of spec. Or borderline I would recommend new chain kit as well. With factory parts there are always updated parts they use to minimize failure rate. The labor cost of a timing chain set up is very high. But when incorporating other work it doesn't matter to the technition if it's new or used parts. All installs the same (you hope) any time you can save labor while your already in the engine it helps. After the fact not only is labor higher but seals and fluids can not be reused. Just a thought

Have a Q5 Audi! Timing chain needs to be replaced ! My Audi 2012 has 80,000.00 miles should Audi pay for this ! Going to cost 2,000 dollars! I have had 6 Audi never had this before! Will never buy another

lol if you never had to replace timing parts then you likely never had one for long enough to worry about it. Timing chains can be done later in the life of the engine such as a belt would require service at 90,000km and a chain would require service around 120,000km hence why they switched to chain. If the chain or parts became broken due to a defect you can get the audi dealer to replace the damaged parts under warrenty or a recall if there is one. other wise you are payng out of pocket. 2000$ seems a little steep however so I would say maybe get anouther quote cause i did the timing in my car and it was a v6 and it was only 1400$ but then again it was a belt driven car and easier to service.

Audi has a huge issue (2 class action lawsuits) for timing chains. Unfortunately the lawyers get more than anyone else. Mine broke and destroyed the head. I am having it fixed outside of Audi as my A4 they wanted (get this) $20,000 for all of the repairs. The german repair place is costing me $5000. I will never buy an Audi again. This has been a known issue since the very early 2000's and they have never fixed it. Mine is a 2011 with 95k miles on it. And no, timing chains aren't supposed to go out with 100K miles. Timing belts yes, timing chains no..... Timing chains should last the life of the car. Look to Toyota or others. Theirs never need replacing.

Like Bob said, this is a huge issue. I hope Bob reaches out to Audi because they’re supposed to pay for the timing chain replacement due to one of the lawsuits - the conditions are that the car is still under warranty or under 100k miles at the time the timing chain failed. Mine failed at 105k miles and my mechanic said he thinks the valves are bent as well. The issue appeared one evening when the car had trouble starting, was shaking a lot, and couldn’t even make it down the block. The cost to pull apart the engine, replace the valves, and replace the timing chain is expected to cost $5000-6000. Found out about the lawsuits after this debacle. Was never mailed, emailed, or called about this. None of my mechanics warned me about the timing chain. I called Audi and they said they never make exceptions to the 100,000 mile rule. These people are incompetent and swindlers. And in addition to this, a piston misfired back in 2013 and apparently shot through my engine. At that time, Audi replaced the entire engine because I was still under warranty. I purchased the car in 2012 - So 2 major, expensive issues within the span of 7 years. Like Bob, I will NEVER recommend Audis to anyone and will NEVER purchase another Audi.

My daughter 2010 Audi A4 2.0 Quatro started dying and shaking a bit, while coming to stops 2-3 times. We took it to Audi they said it was the timing chain that stretched....but because she was 400 miles over the 100,000 mile warranty they wanted $4600 to replace the timing chain and all the parts to accommodate the job with Tensioners, rollers etc. The car has been religiously serviced. We had our local European Specialist look at it for a second opinion and they said it was not stretched. Very reputable shop and you always appreciate a shops integrity that doesn't just want to take your money. There were no codes to substantiate replacing the chain together with them checking to see if the chain was stretched......then my daughter drove it the day after and it started dying coming to a stop.....at my wits-end here!! Fighting with Audi USA to see if they will honor the warranty even though it was 400 miles over. In the meantime, Arizona State is starting back up and we live in Seattle, I am so screwed here with this dilemma. I am thinking after reading so much about this timing belt issue, that maybe it's just the tensioner.....any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Please stay SAFE EVERYONE ~ Sleepless Dad in Seattle