Audi failed gearbox but told warranty won't cover it.

[grint]

Help!!!!! Please!!!!!

 

I have got an Audi A3 and the gearbox failed today after 64,000 miles and only 22 months . The warrant allows for any milage up to 2 years and a max of 60,000 after 3. It has had 2 proper Audi garage services and the 59,000 mile service was an approved service centre.

 

Audi are telling me "they cannot honour the warranty as the gearbox drain plug appeared to be loose and their were no signs of oil leaks. Therefore somebody must have drained the oil out".

 

So there are several scenarios, the right amount of oil was never in the gearbox, the last service drained it out, malicious damage (unlikely) or it is nothing to do with this.

 

Further the service centre manager tells me that he has the last say and will not refer it back to Audi.

 

Its going to cost £2200 to replace which is a big fee but regardless of the cost I shouldn't have to pick up the bill.

 

I need a car and am either going to have to fork it out and then reclaim back the cost or go somewhere else cheaper where I may then struggle.

 

Does anyone know if I have a leg to stand on or can offer any advice on pursuing the right result fairly quickly to make Audi pick up the bill.

 

Got married last month and am now totally broke (although have a luvly wife) so any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

Many Thks

 

Grint

[heliosuk]

It's unlikely that there will be any recourse on Audi. From memory, I don't think that the boxes need to have the oil changed, just a level check. If in deed there is a requirement to change it then the obvious answer is to go back to the people who last serviced it. If on the invoice they have charged for gear box oil then you have the answer. Not only should the box oils be listed but look for 2 washers, one will be for the engine sump, the other for the box.

 

I think you are going to have a fight on this one so as you need the car then I'd get an exchange box from an aftermarket supplier fitted, around £800 I think ( fitted) and pursuit any claim after.

[grint]

Hi Helios, Many Thx for your response, really appreciate that.

 

Have spoken to the previous garage and reviewed the inspection sheets. They have not charged for additional oil or in fact removed the oil as it is not part of the service inspection. I actually spoke to the technician who undertook the work and was fairly competent in terms of his actions. The garage has provided additional documentation and a covering letter which states clearly that no part of the gearbox was touched or needed to be touched. I would have thought that vehicle technicians for this type of vehicle know the difference between the block and the gearbox.

I have reviewed the car in its current location on the ramps at the Audi garage and taken some photos. It is fair to say that no oil had been gradually leaking from the gearbox throughout the period since service. No previous service records show any signs of oil leaks.

Further to this today I have spoken to Audi UK customer service who have advised they will open a case file. They also backed up the Audi main dealer comment that the service manager has the final say on warranty claims. I find this hard to believe as they are not in a position to know the full technicalities of the issue. For example what is the running life of a gearbox with the amount of oil that was removed from the engine.

 

Actual cost for replacement from Audi £2300 (parts , labour and VAT). Interestingly enough the independant garage had a quoted price of £2100 for the gearbox alone. That at least gives me the best route for the repair whilst also trying to recover costs afterwards.

 

Cheers

 

Grint

[gwc1000]

Have you asked the Audi garage exactly how much oil was in the gearbox when they inspected it?

[grint]

Yeah have seen it, about a cup full, 200ml or so. How far would it have run on that and is it likely all of it is still liquid or would any still be in the gearbox conjealed?

[LancerQRL]

the service manager has the final say!!!

a lot of 'service managers' nowadays have never worked the floor. and do not have the technical know how.

keep at audi customer services

[gwc1000]

Yeah have seen it, about a cup full, 200ml or so. How far would it have run on that and is it likely all of it is still liquid or would any still be in the gearbox conjealed?

Did the gearbox suddenly go bang, or did it get progressively noisy over a period of time? Is the garage suggesting that you purposely drained the oil out and then replaced the plug? Does this particular car have a seperate drain plug and filler plug?

[heliosuk]

I can catagorically say that the service manager does not have the final word. By the way, telephone contact with Audi customer services was out sourced to Mondial a few years ago but I'm not sure of the situation now. However, Mondial are employed to do breakdown cover and fend off warranty claims. For example, with Bosch diesel fuel pumps, Audi insit they are covered for 100K miles irrespective of time, so should you get a failure at 75K miles and out of warranty with Audi then it probably is still covered.

 

Conversely, all VW group vehicles have to pass 150K miles without failure or they will not pass engineering sign off.

 

So on the basis of the info supplied in your posts so far it's worth having a pop at Audi UK in Milton Keynes.

 

A letter direct to Audi in Milton Keynes would not go amiss.

 

Replacement by independant price I have a problem with, is it a Quattro by any chance as this would then make sense. If not then usually it's a straightforward VW group gearbox probably made by ZF.

[rickyd]

I can vouch for Audi UK having some sympathy with out of warranty claims. My friend had an Audi 200 Quattro Avant which is a hell of a complicated car, which required a new gearbox at only 48k miles.

 

It had previously been owned by a Vet (hence the 4 wheel drive and Avant requirement) and enjoyed a very full and complete service history. My friend had owned it for less than 5k miles when, whilst reversing into a parking space he felt a dull thud through the gearlever andfound he couldn't engage any gears at all.

 

As he was in Yorkshire and needed to get back to Scotland within 2 days he had no option but to call the RAC for assistance and recovery to the local Audi dealer.

 

He was quoted £5500 for the repair (back in 1990). Apparently its very time consuming because the quattro drive system requires a lot of dismantling. He asked about goodwill assistance and told it didn't apply as he had bought the car privately and it was well out of warranty.

 

He caught the train back to Scotland, arranged a bank loan and went back the following weekend to collect the car, complete with new gearbox and paid in full for the repairs.

 

Afterwards he wrote a very polite letter to Audi UK explaining the whole story and asking why such a prestige car with an impeccable service history would need a new gearbox so early on?

 

They asked for more details and some months later and after a few more letters, he received a cheque for £2500 towards the cost of the repair, a voucher for a free Audi service when it fell due and full reimbursement of his train fares.

 

Needless to say he's been an Audi convert ever since.

 

I hope Grint has some success with Audi, but as always, its better to adopt a softly softly approach in these cases as they tend to bring better rewards. As heliosuk says, the local service manager is only a pawn and will not have the final say in this, he's just protecting his department's profits.

 

Go directly to Audi in Milton Keynes.