2021 Audi S5 Scored Cylinder Walls @ 55k miles
Hey everyone,
For context this is my ‘21 S5 with 55k miles. I’ve owned this for about a year and a half, put about 10k miles on it since, and do not abuse it. Perfect service records leading up to my purchase with no failures. Water pump and thermostat still going strong. Not sure about previous owner, but I’ve been running 5W-40 every 5,000 miles and wait until it’s up to temp before pushing it.
I have been itching to go Stage 1 for some time now and decided to do my due diligence and scope the cylinders before doing so. Man, am I glad I did that. Luckily, cylinders 3 and 6 (pictured) were closest to BDC. Once I saw this, I didn’t even bother turning the engine and checking the other cylinders. The vertical scoring on the cylinders is unmistakable, right? Just wanted some more eyes on this.
I had no symptoms and no reason to believe that I had the dreaded piston skirt issue. During each oil change, I checked for glitter and metal particles in the filter and there was absolutely nothing. I even sent in an oil sample to Blackstone Laboratories, which came back clean. This goes to show that the only way to catch this issue early is to scope your cylinders. Like any car enthusiast, I am extremely paranoid with unusual noises in the engine bay and the loud EA839 with all its ticking does not help. I will leave a video in the comments I took about 6 months ago of what I suspected might be the piston slap on a cold start. It’s very subtle but perhaps you can hear the slower tempo, deeper sounding thuds drowned out by the injectors.
While I’m quite disappointed that I will not have my S5 for a bit, I’m eternally grateful that I did not tune without checking first, as that would’ve been an expensive mistake. I’ll be calling my dealership this week to get the ball rolling.
For those of you have been through this, I have a few questions.
What is being replaced these days? Short block or are they just replacing pistons now?
How long did it take?
Did you get a loaner while your vehicle was being serviced?
Thanks for reading and I hope this offers some insight for those still in warranty and haven’t gotten your cylinders checked. If you’re considering mods that would void your warranty, I would 100% get this done before proceeding. Once this is all over, I will definitely be going Stage 1 with peace of mind. Please feel free to leave your thoughts and offer any insight that I have missed.