What Happens if You Drive Your Audi With a Leaky Camshaft Tensioner?

Audi’s luxurious interior and overall quality performance have gained the company widespread popularity among car lovers across the globe. The German automobile manufacturer is known for delivering luxury vehicles. However, this might not feel like it when your Audi’s camshaft tensioner malfunctions and breaks down.

The camshaft tensioner maintains the proper tension, which keeps the timing belt running. To achieve this, the camshaft tensioner in Audi requires pressured hydraulic oil. Leaks from this camshaft tensioner, however, pose various levels of damage to your Audi. This damage ranges from mild wear and tear to more severe engine failure.

Signs your Audi has a leaky Camshaft Tensioner

Oil leakage from your Audi is not an uncommon sight. It is attributed to several causes. One of these causes is a leaky camshaft tensioner. Discussed below are some usual symptoms that indicate your Audi may have a leaky camshaft tensioner:

• Weird and Unusual Sounds: A leaky camshaft tensioner is most times accompanied by certain weird and strange sounds. These noises may include grinding, constant ticking, or loud clicking. When you hear these sounds emanating from your Audi, it often indicates a loose or malfunctioning timing belt caused by leakage from your tensioner. At this point, the camshaft tensioner loses pressure, making it challenging to provide proper traction. Other factors that can cause these odd sounds may include oil leaks and worn-out or damaged tensioner pulleys.
• Premature and Accelerated Belt wear: Generally, camshaft leaks are known to be responsible for accelerated belt damage and wear in Audi. In most leaks, the oil falls onto the belt, causing it to fray on the edges and deteriorate rapidly. Therefore, if you notice your belt aging at an accelerated rate, these continuous leakages from the tensioner may be one of the many cause However, not all cases of premature wear are caused by camshaft leaks. Sometimes, the timing belt can wear out from old age.
• Difficulty Accelerating: When you accelerate in the region of 2000-4000 RPMs,you may notice some odd engine behavior. Most times, the vehicle gives a hint of hesitation when you try to accelerate. In this instance, the leaky camshaft tensioner may have caused the belt to be overstretched or irreversibly damaged, resulting in slips during rotations.
• Check-Engine Light: Your check-engine light is the most common sign of a fault in your vehicle. It is only appropriate that it also signifies that your camshaft tensioner is faulty. When the check-engine light switches on, you must diagnose it for any related problem since delay may lead to more costly damage.
• Engine Misfires or Fails to Start: When the timing belt is stretched or loosened, it loses its ability to manage the engine’s valve and pistons, causing it to misfire. In more dire situations where the timing belt snaps or breaks, your Audi will fail to start. At this stage, you want to have it checked because pieces of the broken belt may get stuck inside the engine, which can cause catastrophic damage.
• Abnormal Exhaust Fumes: Abnormal fumes or emissions coming out of your exhaust may indicate a worn-out timing belt due to leakage from the tensioner. Replacing the timing belt is crucial to prevent more aggravating damage.
• Belt-Driven Units Failure: The belt system controls, to some degree, several engine units and components. As we may assume, when the belt system begins to operate abnormally, you can expect some of these components to function incorrectly. When your Audi experiences belt-driven unit failures, this could result in a dead battery, AC failure, or even engine damage.

When you notice any of the symptoms discussed above, you should treat them urgently because allowing the problem to linger may result in the camshaft tensioner’s failure and consequent engine failure.

Bavarian Performance Specialists for your Audi

Getting your Audi inspected regularly is vital for its longevity. This helps you save a couple of dollars that might have been spent on more aggravated damages. The health of your Audi is also significant to your wellbeing because when it becomes susceptible to damage and wear, it makes driving more tedious and even leads to road accidents.

At Bavarian Performance Specialist, we employ experts in German automobile services and import auto service. We are actively dedicated to solving automobile problems. We are the go-to German auto repair and European auto repair shop in the Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Malibu, and Newbury Park area!