Hi all, name is Jimmy - my Wife owns a 2013 A4 and recently ran into some issues with her car. Below is the events in the last 4 weeks in order.

November 2015 - Wife gets emissions service action 17F9 crankcase pressure regulating valve letter


December 26, 2015 - wife driving car and feels heavy and the LOW OIL warning light comes on. Add oil and schedule appoitnment with The CollectionAudi

December 31, 2015 - wife takes car to the Collection, explains that the low oil warning light came on, and that also had the emissions service action 17F9 and asks to have car looked at. The SERVICE MANAGER says the repair kit was installed and the low oil was not related, just due to "burning through oil, and totally normal"


SAME DAY - wife drives car home and starts to notice that clutch feels heavy and not really accelerating...decides to wait.


january 1st - Jan 3rd - car sits in garage


January 4th - January 9th - wife notices that the acceleration issue is getting progressively worse, she especially notices it when on the highway (part of her daily commute) and when she changes gears the car feels like it cannot accelerate


January 11th - wife takes car to the collection saying that the clutch disk and clutch pressure plate are completely worn out and need replacing


NOTE: THis is WIFE'S THIRD MANUAL CAR. She does NOT RIDE THE CLUTCH or DRAG THE CLUTCH OR POP THE CLUTCH etc. SHE HAS BEEN VERY CAREFUL as this is her first audi. she thought it was her first of
many. but now if this issue is not resolved will 100% be her last audi.

If you guys read this - could the Crankcase issue could have caused a problem in the transmission and in turn to cause clutch to burn out faster than normal? Her car is only at 32K miles and all service were done at the dealer at all times. We opened a case with Audi and they are evaluating us as part of their Goodwill policy.


Sorry in advance - I'm not a car expert. Just trying to help my wife out. Any response will be greatly greatly appreciated.

 

Jimmy,

I feel your pain. Here is my story- bought 2013 CERTIFIED a4 on 11/30/15 with 25,000 miles.

Car has been driving great until this past Wednesday. Driving to PA ski resort for vacation. Car doesn't seem to be accelerating properly on highway. 150 miles in, dash readout starts getting funky... says I'm in 4th, then 2nd, then 5th...all when I'm in 6th traveling at 70mph.

Get off at my exit, downshifts fine. As I speed back up, gears aren't catching. Only 1 mile away from resort. I get there, with lots of issues and anxiety. Unpack car, come back out an hour later and it won't shift into reverse. Call roadside assistance. Wait 2 hours. Get a tow 1hr 15min back to Pittsburgh. Get a loaner (Thanks Day Audi in Pittsburgh)

Next day, they call me and tell me my clutch, flywheel and several other parts are completely burned up.

Repair is $4,950 on my CERTIFIED car that I've put 4000 miles on in 3 mos. It has 29,500 miles total. I've driven stick my whole life. I don't screw around with it. It's under warranty...WRONG! Audi claims its wear and tear.

I am now "having discussions" with the selling Audi dealer as this is my FIRST (and hopefully not last) Audi.

Repairing dealer tells me that the car shouldn't have been certified...this obviously didnt happen overnight.

I'm in a bit of a panic. NO CLUTCH SHOULD GO OUT UNDER 75,000 MILES. The fact this is happening on some sort of regular occurence should say something to Audi...its NOT wear and tear...this is a product failure / malfunction!

Brian
Akron, OH

 

Hey Brian,

Sorry to hear that you had the same troubles. Before you let them repair the car...call Audi of America to open a ticket. Express your concerns to them and have they will absorb the 50% of the costs of repairing the clutch. The Flywheel was repaired/replaced under warranty by the dealership. If you have any questions - feel free to call me 703 888 8677. These dealerships are just too greedy. Good luck.