jcamber

My 2012 A6 3.0 is out of warranty and I've been getting mailers from my dealer saying I should take the car back for the throttle body service? is this legit? or just a revenue generation technique of them?

They also btw told me at the last service that the fuel system flush was due. That did sound to me like bs so I told them no thanks.

Any thoughts as to what services if any are a good idea to do at the dealership vs. an indy Audi shop?

thanks!!

1st Time Audi

I would think that the regular maintenance schedule should be the best guide. Even out of warranty, you can add Audi Care to save you a bit over regular maintenance, though maybe not as much as a good indy shop.

I'm am curious of other services outside of listed maintenance items.

spoon2000

When it comes to this kind of baloney, the Audi dealers are no less guilty than any other shop. If allow yourself to get guilted or talked into paying for some questionable service or additive or whatever, they will gladly take your money.

The question is not where to do the services, the question is whether to do them at all. As always, YOUR BEST SOURCE OF MAINTENANCE INFORMATION IS THE OWNER'S MANUAL which gives you recommendations based on the opinions of people who designed your car.

The service advisor or the guy at the desk at your local indy shop are SALESPEOPLE every bit as much as the person who sold you your car. They are not your friends.

plat27265

You can always call your Audi dealer and inquire if this is a recall or a service bulletin or a way to dip their hands in your wallet. No harm in asking them.

spoon2000

And here is a good video showing just how simple it is to clean a throttle body. Watch the video and then think about how much the dealer wants to charge to do the work (assuming it needs to be done at all) and then consider whether it's designed to line the dealer's wallet or not.

jcamber

That's all they were going to do???? wow. Yeah I can definitely do this myself and yes, I'll check the owner's manual to understand what is really needed vs. not. Thanks for the tips guys!!

snagitseven

Fuel system flush? Four Audis over 14 years and never had any SA or tech suggest this even once (nor is it listed in the maintenance manual). Brake fluid flush yes, every two years as recommended in the service schedule, but not a fuel flush. I suppose if you got some really bad fuel that caused engine problems, maybe but not as a normal maintenance.

spoon2000

A couple other points:

spoon2000

OK, and one other thing: In that video the four orange things are the fuel injectors. All you have to do to get them off is to loosen the chrome piece on top of them (the fuel rail), unclip the wire from each injector (which is what tells them when to open and close to squirt air into the cylinders) and pull them out of the engine.

If somebody ever tells you they think your fuel injectors are dirty and need to be cleaned (usually by attaching an aerosol can of something to the fuel line and running it through), pull the injectors out, stick 'em in a small box, and ship them to a place that does fuel injector service (Google it). You'll get them back in a couple days clean, with new O rings attached, and TESTED to ensure that they are working properly (not stuck off or stuck on) and have the right spray pattern. I've used these guys Injector-Rehab Fuel Injector Cleaning Services and been very pleased, but there are many other outfits out there.

Vodka G

money make scheme LOL

basically any kind of "clean" "flush" "check" are all $$$ maker for them.

Use the AoA maint schedule as a guide. I ALWAYS half the oil change intervals on all my cars. I think 10k for an oil change is WAY too long, I do it every 5k miles and is always Mobil 0-40 and OEM Mahl filter. I also slap a bottle of Redline fuel system treatment in the tank.

Plugs and SC belt at 50k
ACC belt at 75k (or depends on condition)
brake fluid at 3 years (is said 2 yrs but I live in CA which is VERY dry)
Coolant: they say lifetime, I say 5 years or 100k miles (mine was done last year when they replaced the thermostat)
Trans fluid: they say lifetime, I say 100k miles

You don't need none of the PS fluid flush, engine flush, coolant flush, fuel injection and gunk clean etc etc. All BS all $$$ maker