while having the seat bottom replaced, mechanic did a thorough inspection and found that the water pump was leaking/cracked. Bit surprised as I only have 12500 miles. Replaced under warranty. SA said that he’s seen this 4 or 5 times on low mileage cars. More with the A4. He also said it was replaced with a redesigned/upgraded pump. Shouldn’t have happened so soon.
Glad they found it.

My ‘15 3.0 Prestige has a water pump replaced at 15k. I occasionally smelled coolant in the garage upon coming home. They claimed they don’t see it frequently on 3.0’s newer than 2012. Needless to say, not a warm fuzzy feeling for my first German car.