A7 Scratched Instrument Cluster
08-15-2012, 06:24 PM
#1
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A7 Scratched Instrument Cluster
Got my A7 new from the factory a few months ago. Love the car but early on, I noticed when the sun hits the instrument cluster there were hundreds of tiny scratches on the clear acrylic. I contacted the dealer, told them about it, hypothesizing that one of their technicians may have used a paper towel or some other abrasive material when detailing the car for delivery. The dealership informed me the entire cluster would have to be replaced because Audi doesn't make only the acrylic display cover. They also told me that "scratches" are not covered under warranty, but they would bite the bullet and pay over $10K for the new cluster. This impressed me because some dealerships would tell me to take a hike, accusing me of scratching it or something.
Well, anyway, got the car back from service. The new cluster was installed, even had the plastic adhesive still on it. Took that off, drove off happy. That was 10 am, so the sun wasn't in full fledge at that time. I went to an appointment, got out a couple hours later, get in my car, and the sun is shining on my new cluster which is scratched as much as the old one!!! See my pics and please comment if any of you have seen the same.
Thanks!
Well, anyway, got the car back from service. The new cluster was installed, even had the plastic adhesive still on it. Took that off, drove off happy. That was 10 am, so the sun wasn't in full fledge at that time. I went to an appointment, got out a couple hours later, get in my car, and the sun is shining on my new cluster which is scratched as much as the old one!!! See my pics and please comment if any of you have seen the same.
Thanks!
08-16-2012, 12:31 AM
#2
AudiWorld Member
yeah i cleaned mine and noticed this.. and flipped....
then chilled... and realized it was primarily a sun angle issue... since then i have not noticed it.
deep breath.... repeat... its only a car and cannot be perfect for every instance... after my first 2 months and seeing my first few rock dings i just realized that... hey.. its life.
keep it clean.. enjoy it but dont let it get you down.
then chilled... and realized it was primarily a sun angle issue... since then i have not noticed it.
deep breath.... repeat... its only a car and cannot be perfect for every instance... after my first 2 months and seeing my first few rock dings i just realized that... hey.. its life.
keep it clean.. enjoy it but dont let it get you down.
Got my A7 new from the factory a few months ago. Love the car but early on, I noticed when the sun hits the instrument cluster there were hundreds of tiny scratches on the clear acrylic. I contacted the dealer, told them about it, hypothesizing that one of their technicians may have used a paper towel or some other abrasive material when detailing the car for delivery. The dealership informed me the entire cluster would have to be replaced because Audi doesn't make only the acrylic display cover. They also told me that "scratches" are not covered under warranty, but they would bite the bullet and pay over $10K for the new cluster. This impressed me because some dealerships would tell me to take a hike, accusing me of scratching it or something.
Well, anyway, got the car back from service. The new cluster was installed, even had the plastic adhesive still on it. Took that off, drove off happy. That was 10 am, so the sun wasn't in full fledge at that time. I went to an appointment, got out a couple hours later, get in my car, and the sun is shining on my new cluster which is scratched as much as the old one!!! See my pics and please comment if any of you have seen the same.
Thanks!
Well, anyway, got the car back from service. The new cluster was installed, even had the plastic adhesive still on it. Took that off, drove off happy. That was 10 am, so the sun wasn't in full fledge at that time. I went to an appointment, got out a couple hours later, get in my car, and the sun is shining on my new cluster which is scratched as much as the old one!!! See my pics and please comment if any of you have seen the same.
Thanks!
08-16-2012, 04:25 AM
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Mine looks very similar. Not sure there are any products out there that would minimize the scratches, but I will keep looking. I am amazed the dealer would replace the unit. I can not even get mine to fix a potentially hazardous issue where the passenger airbag turns off unless they can duplicate it, even though there are fault codes. It really is peace of mind to have your dealer stand behind your purchase.
08-16-2012, 07:29 AM
#4
AudiWorld Senior Member
Got my A7 new from the factory a few months ago. Love the car but early on, I noticed when the sun hits the instrument cluster there were hundreds of tiny scratches on the clear acrylic. I contacted the dealer, told them about it, hypothesizing that one of their technicians may have used a paper towel or some other abrasive material when detailing the car for delivery. The dealership informed me the entire cluster would have to be replaced because Audi doesn't make only the acrylic display cover. They also told me that "scratches" are not covered under warranty, but they would bite the bullet and pay over $10K for the new cluster. This impressed me because some dealerships would tell me to take a hike, accusing me of scratching it or something.
Well, anyway, got the car back from service. The new cluster was installed, even had the plastic adhesive still on it. Took that off, drove off happy. That was 10 am, so the sun wasn't in full fledge at that time. I went to an appointment, got out a couple hours later, get in my car, and the sun is shining on my new cluster which is scratched as much as the old one!!! See my pics and please comment if any of you have seen the same.
Thanks!
Well, anyway, got the car back from service. The new cluster was installed, even had the plastic adhesive still on it. Took that off, drove off happy. That was 10 am, so the sun wasn't in full fledge at that time. I went to an appointment, got out a couple hours later, get in my car, and the sun is shining on my new cluster which is scratched as much as the old one!!! See my pics and please comment if any of you have seen the same.
Thanks!
I feel bad for your dealer that spent 10k for nothing...
BTW, mine is similar...
08-16-2012, 02:15 PM
#5
AudiWorld Member
Long time Problem
My A6 BiTurbo had a crazier problem, the plastic display kept splitting and cracking. Thanks to my friends at Classic Audi in Eastchester NY, they replaced 2 or 3 of them, full cluster each time!
08-16-2012, 05:07 PM
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Funny you posted this. I have always been so careful not to scratch any of the delicate plastics with micro-fibre cloths and so on ... and I flipped when i saw mine just like yours while driving in the sun one day. I really don't understand how it could be scratched like that out of the gate.
Anyhow i did some reading around and seemingly Meguiars PlastX (Clear Plastic Cleaner and Polish) will do the trick to get rid of the small scratches. I bought the product on Amazon but have not yet tried it ... will update this thread with the result when i do though
Anyhow i did some reading around and seemingly Meguiars PlastX (Clear Plastic Cleaner and Polish) will do the trick to get rid of the small scratches. I bought the product on Amazon but have not yet tried it ... will update this thread with the result when i do though
Got my A7 new from the factory a few months ago. Love the car but early on, I noticed when the sun hits the instrument cluster there were hundreds of tiny scratches on the clear acrylic. I contacted the dealer, told them about it, hypothesizing that one of their technicians may have used a paper towel or some other abrasive material when detailing the car for delivery. The dealership informed me the entire cluster would have to be replaced because Audi doesn't make only the acrylic display cover. They also told me that "scratches" are not covered under warranty, but they would bite the bullet and pay over $10K for the new cluster. This impressed me because some dealerships would tell me to take a hike, accusing me of scratching it or something.
Well, anyway, got the car back from service. The new cluster was installed, even had the plastic adhesive still on it. Took that off, drove off happy. That was 10 am, so the sun wasn't in full fledge at that time. I went to an appointment, got out a couple hours later, get in my car, and the sun is shining on my new cluster which is scratched as much as the old one!!! See my pics and please comment if any of you have seen the same.
Thanks!
Well, anyway, got the car back from service. The new cluster was installed, even had the plastic adhesive still on it. Took that off, drove off happy. That was 10 am, so the sun wasn't in full fledge at that time. I went to an appointment, got out a couple hours later, get in my car, and the sun is shining on my new cluster which is scratched as much as the old one!!! See my pics and please comment if any of you have seen the same.
Thanks!
08-16-2012, 08:19 PM
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Thanks for the replies. I have been impressed so far w/the dealership... They did some research and found that all the A7's have this when the sun hits it just right. I suppose I could live with it, but it annoys me in that the interior is so perfect in so many ways... the amount of time they put into the design, functionality, and feel, then to totally drop the ball by having scratches all over the instrument cluster. $70K should get you the scratch-free acrylic. I think most of us would have checked that box on the order form if it were there.
The dealership tells me they think they have a way to take care of it so they're having me bring it in again on Monday. Not sure what that is yet, but I'll find out at my appointment and keep you all posted.
The dealership tells me they think they have a way to take care of it so they're having me bring it in again on Monday. Not sure what that is yet, but I'll find out at my appointment and keep you all posted.
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08-16-2012, 08:23 PM
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I see you're on the eastside, dig your pic of your A7... and noticed the tint job... where did you get it done? How did they do on the dot matrix on the rear window and rear quarters?
08-18-2012, 05:09 PM
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Try Novus Plastic polish. I work with acrylic display cases that get abused on a daily basis, and this stuff works great. It's a 3 step process, but worth the effort. It leaves my acrylic looking new. Check it out at http://www.novuspolish.com/
08-18-2012, 05:44 PM
#10
AudiWorld Senior Member
Yeah, no doubt. Hopefully Audi will step up and comp them since it seems they are discovering it's a commonplace defect.
I see you're on the eastside, dig your pic of your A7... and noticed the tint job... where did you get it done? How did they do on the dot matrix on the rear window and rear quarters?
I see you're on the eastside, dig your pic of your A7... and noticed the tint job... where did you get it done? How did they do on the dot matrix on the rear window and rear quarters?
I got it done from http://www.seattlewindowtint.com/index.htm with a fair fee. Not sure how they did it, but they did it.