Originally Posted by Puzz1

Great it ended well.

DWBoston, don't keep us in suspense - what are you getting for your next ride?

Originally Posted by 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...

Originally Posted by chris355

+1 on this.

I also spoke with my service adviser early this week. My car was in for PA state inspection and emissions as well as the fuel line recall. The service adviser knew exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned the TSB on turbo failures. He pretty much parroted exactly what was in the TSB as the cause. ECU tune and improperly maintenance (aka not getting oil changes done at or before 10k interval) on high mileage vehicles were #1 and #2 on this list. He said that 75% of the 4.0 vehicles they had done turbo replacement for had tuned ECU's. He also said that separately, 2/3's of the cars were also over 100k miles. And I"m going to infer that it doesn't mean you're totally safe if you haven't tuned your car, but it does sound like it lowers the risk.

And to echo spdemon, if anyone who is mechanically inclined would be willing to document on YouTube the tear-down of the necessary hardware to do this inspection themselves, I promise to watch it at least a half dozen times. And even if the couple hundred members of this site do the same thing, you might make enough from the YouTube revenue to cover the cost of electricity to charge your camera battery. But at least you'll at least make a few more internet friends in the process - myself included.

Originally Posted by chris355

+1 on this.

I also spoke with my service adviser early this week. My car was in for PA state inspection and emissions as well as the fuel line recall. The service adviser knew exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned the TSB on turbo failures. He pretty much parroted exactly what was in the TSB as the cause. ECU tune and improperly maintenance (aka not getting oil changes done at or before 10k interval) on high mileage vehicles were #1 and #2 on this list. He said that 75% of the 4.0 vehicles they had done turbo replacement for had tuned ECU's. He also said that separately, 2/3's of the cars were also over 100k miles. And I"m going to infer that it doesn't mean you're totally safe if you haven't tuned your car, but it does sound like it lowers the risk....

Originally Posted by TwinTurboA8

Hey Everyone,

This is reluctantly my first post on the forums.

I just purchased a 2013 A8 4.0T in October 2018 with 64k miles. My turbos just failed at 68k miles last week (3/7/19). I haven't even had a chance to change the oil. It was actually scheduled to be done in a few days. I haven't really "beat" on her at all. Yes, a few times i would get on the gas getting on the hwy, but that's about it. I live in New England, so not sure the climate has anything to do with it, but it has been quite cold(around 20°F). Also, i know i haven't had an ECU tune, but maybe someone did in the past, but I doubt it.

It is currently at Audi waiting for my warranty provider to "sign-off" on the repairs. PUMPED that I purchased the extended full coverage warranty, because they quoted me ~$10k for the repair.

Look forward to learning more from all of you!!
-Slone

Originally Posted by TwinTurboA8

Hey Everyone,

This is reluctantly my first post on the forums.

I just purchased a 2013 A8 4.0T in October 2018 with 64k miles. My turbos just failed at 68k miles last week (3/7/19). I haven't even had a chance to change the oil. It was actually scheduled to be done in a few days. I haven't really "beat" on her at all. Yes, a few times i would get on the gas getting on the hwy, but that's about it. I live in New England, so not sure the climate has anything to do with it, but it has been quite cold(around 20°F). Also, i know i haven't had an ECU tune, but maybe someone did in the past, but I doubt it.

It is currently at Audi waiting for my warranty provider to "sign-off" on the repairs. PUMPED that I purchased the extended full coverage warranty, because they quoted me ~$10k for the repair.

Look forward to learning more from all of you!!
-Slone

Originally Posted by Dreamszalone

Assuming you got 3 part non-Audi extended Warranty...

I remember reading that Turbos are part of Emission system and they carry warranty of 7Yr/70K Miles, check with multiple dealers before you go for the warranty. Your current dealer would try to cut corners now as they know you already got the Extended warranty but check it out with other Audi dealers.

Originally Posted by Dreamszalone

Assuming you got 3 part non-Audi extended Warranty...

I remember reading that Turbos are part of Emission system and they carry warranty of 7Yr/70K Miles, check with multiple dealers before you go for the warranty. Your current dealer would try to cut corners now as they know you already got the Extended warranty but check it out with other Audi dealers.

Originally Posted by MP4.2+6.0

I think depends on where you live. The reference to 7/70 is a "California" emissions warranty. Of course that applies in CA, but it also applies in the states that follow the CA emissions rules.Sometimes called the "CARB" states--California Air Resources Board is the relevant EPA counterpart state agency here. Basically those states are the Northeast and most down to down to MD, the Pacific coastal states and New Mexico. dwboston's recent success having warranty coverage seems to reflect that, assuming he is in the Boston area. More specific list is here (or lots of other places on web): https://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-...nomy/carb4.htm If you are in "the rest" of the country, it is the basic "Federal" warranty that applies. See your warranty book, but typically less coverage for many subsystems after the first few years.

To get Audi or other coverage for the turbos, my sense of the possible ways to get it net to one of :

• 4/50 original Audi warranty,
• Audi CPO warranty,
• other third party extended warranty, or
• located in a state that tracks the CA rules (out to 7/70).

I'm not sure about the corner cases where the car was originally bought in a CA state and then moved/got sold to a non-CA state, or the reverse. As these get older and turn over, that will probably come up more given the $$$$ involved.

As I have posted before, I suggest anyone who has the issue--covered or not--file a report with NHTSA. With enough reports that flag that the car becomes almost immediately undrivable and can lead to dangerous/life threatening breakdowns, it may get their attention. That could eventually force a recall, service action or warranty extension. Here: https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/