spdemon91

I visited Audi dealer for first time today... Very nice dealership and courteous staff. Asked for Service Manager but he wasn't there so spoke with second in charge. He knew immediately what I was talking about and indicated they have been replacing blown turbos. I stated I want to do preventative maintenance and replace the defective oil screen now before the turbos fail and asked if they would recommend that. He called one of his lead mechanics (20+ years experience) over to discuss. He was indifferent as he has seen these engines go for over 150,000 miles without any issues while others have failed before 50,000 miles so it all depends on how well the car is maintained, how hard the car is driven, any modifications done, etc. However, many people with failed turbos here and elsewhere have claimed their cars were well maintained and not abused and they still failed prematurely. Also, he indicated the turbos should be inspected first to ensure they are in proper working condition. If the turbos are already damaged, it wouldn't be worth doing the preventative work only to have to go back in again later when the turbos fail. Therefore, he suggested that they inspect the turbos first. This would involve taking the inlets off and inspecting the impellers for play and whatever else they do when they inspect turbos? It would be approx 1 hour of work which would amount to a $150 charge. This seems high since the turbos appear readily accessible. For those in the know, is this something I could do on my own and if so, how exactly would one "inspect" the turbos and impellers for play? Or should I just pay the $150 to have the dealer inspect them?

As for the preventative maintenance, it would cost approx $400 in parts. This would include replacing the oil screen, check valve and all associated gaskets and fittings. This also seems high to me but admittedly, I am not used to taking cars to the dealer to have work done. I understand they have a markup on their parts but $400 for a tiny screen, valve and some gaskets??? Can anyone corroborate this cost? I did ask if the oil separator should also be replaced and he indicated that would not be necessary. Of course the biggest cost is the labor... To replace the oil screen, the check valve and all associated gaskets and fittings, they are estimating 8 hours which would equal $1,200 in labor. For those who have done this job on an A8/S8, how long should this really take for a professional? I can understand this being an entire day's worth of work if they had to remove the front of the car like they have to do on some models but from what I have read, the front of the car does not have to be removed and it seems more straight forward on an A8/S8.

Thoughts/suggestions most welcome...

TinyElviss

I have an appointment for the 35k service for my 4.0T a week from today and I was having the exact same thoughts about prevention... it seems to me the turbos inspection makes a lot of sense. If they find the impellers are loose, and need to be replaced, would that then become a covered warranty item? I'm going to bring that up with my service tech and will report back....

TinyElviss

Depending on budget and desire, there are some very nice S-Class Certified cars on AutoTrader....

dwboston

I'm going in a different direction. Next car has been on order for a couple of weeks, well before this incident happened.

I thought I wanted a Q8 or an A7 since the NWB A8 isn't available anymore in the US, but after spec'ing them out I wasn't crazy about dropping $90k for a turbocharged V6 in either vehicle or jumping in on the first model year Q8. I'll post pics of the new vehicle when it arrives. Order is already in, locked tomorrow and due to be built in 4 weeks.

larkinortho

To replace the oil screen, the check valve and all associated gaskets and fittings, they are estimating 8 hours which would equal $1,200 in labor. For those who have done this job on an A8/S8, how long should this really take for a professional? I can understand this being an entire day's worth of work if they had to remove the front of the car like they have to do on some models but from what I have read, the front of the car does not have to be removed and it seems more straight forward on an A8/S8.

Thoughts/suggestions most welcome...[/QUOTE]

That sounds about right. I asked my service manager as well, he said they'd have to pull the turbos to replace that screen. He gave me a labor price to replace turbos of around $1450. The inspection sounds like a smart way to go. Then pull the trigger on new ones should they need it. I was told you'll know when they start to go, difficulty starting and high oil consumption.
I'm following.
J

spdemon91

That sounds about right. I asked my service manager as well, he said they'd have to pull the turbos to replace that screen. He gave me a labor price to replace turbos of around $1450. The inspection sounds like a smart way to go. Then pull the trigger on new ones should they need it. I was told you'll know when they start to go, difficulty starting and high oil consumption.
I'm following.
J[/QUOTE]
The service desk originally told me they would also have to pull turbos to replace screen. I indicated that based on my research, pulling the turbos shouldnt be necessary unless i am replacing them. They researched it and indicated I was correct (thank you forum members). This is why I am questioning the 8 hours of work. I take the car back next week for the fuel line recall. I will request a detailed written quote. Any others who have performed this on a8/s8, let me know how long it took or if you had done at dealer, how mnay service hours. Thanks.

dwboston

I spoke to the service rep this morning - they received the parts yesterday and expect to have the car ready today. I specifically asked about the oil screen and he seemed really puzzled - he said he wasn't sure they could do that and seemed really confused by the request. I explained why I was asking and he said he would see what they could do.

Dreamszalone

If these Service Advisers instead of spending 90% of time up selling and chit chatting\chilling and letting their Phone's roll over to Voice mail each time you call, if they spend their days only 15 min on the forums they will be way up-to date. Sometimes I just feel they are on the job just for the sake of making $$$$. I got MB\BMW\Audi all 3 flagship cars and none of the SA are well informed or up-to date with their knowledge or skills, they might be few but I would say it is way way hard to find those skill set guy who really likes cars and wants to be an SA not by choice.
All this SA knows is how to up sell Brake Flush\Coolant Flush etc etc, some SA are so worst that they dont even know basic stuff and top of that they are adamant and stubborn to argue that they know much more than the client.

Dreamszalone

You will have to educate him, so take the print out of this forum or receipts of any previous repairs if any individual has posted and highlight it and present him. You gotta spoon feed them to get this done, else you will be stone walled.
Dont ask him to read the whole post he will ignore you, just take the relevant info from this post and take a print out.

spdemon91

Agreed. The oil screen and check valve are clearly denoted in the TSB as requiring replacement. All they need to do is reference the relevant TSB. The consumer should be able to rely on the service team to be in-the-know but that unfortunately is not always the case which is why it is good to take any relevant TSBs and documentation with you when going in. Since this was my first visit to the dealer, I also looked up the service team and knew the name of the Service Manager as well as second-in-charge. This way I leap-frogged the front line advisor. Fortunately, the second-in-charge guy knew immediately what I was talking about so I never needed to provide any TSBs or documentation. My next step is to get a detailed quote with all parts noted. After I have that, I will then see the Service Manager.