Wires

We are connecting, you just don't understand how the manufacturing process as well as outsourcing works. You are waiting for "Bob's Fuel Pump Inc" to manufacture another build lot of pumps. Audi (nor any mfr) doesn't stock parts that aren't common to fail. A lot of the parts on your vehicle are not even made by Audi. The transmission is made by ZF (same unit in Dodge, MB, and BMW, etc)

Unfortunately, that's the deal. They gave you a loaner, so they are doing what they can (I do empathize with your situation though).

hornpolish

well, i understand it some.

most supply chain setup have some resiliency to single point of failure - critical parts are dual-sourced, and contractual SLAs are in place to ensure JustInTime continuity

it sounds like you are defending the point of view that Audi doesnt subscribe to this level of excellence, so when "bob's fuel pump" has a bad day, all Audi customers are exposed.

Wires

Nope, didn't say that. What I am saying is if Audi deems fuel pumps as an item with low failure, then they will only stock minimum amounts (if any). Now you need one for your car, then it will get pulled from the next shipment from "Bob's fuel pumps inc" on the way to their assembly plant.

It sucks, I know. Troll any car forum, everyone will have a post of "I'm outraged, car's been in the shop for 4+ weeks because '<insert widget>' broke". Every manufacturer works this way, since it makes no sense to stock pile spare parts that never get consumed. Years ago, quality and failures were higher, so they were typically on the shelf with next day availability. Now everyone works with the JIT (Just In Time) deliveries.

No different than going to an appliance store trying to buy white appliances. Nobody stocks them anymore, and they have a 4-6 week lead time for delivery. It would make no sense to buy a spare fridge "just in case" your old one died and have it sit around.

KaDeTime

Jester7677

Isn't the NC lemon law 20 days?

Look, I'm normally not that kinda guy, but if my car was out of commission for 40+ days for a fuel pump, I'd be pissed too.

hornpolish

well, it doesn't appear i'm gonna change KaDe's mind. he thinks i have unrealistic expectations.
Wires equates a 75K vehicle with a 1K fridge. I dont.

its not really my problem. the car is under warranty, right?

i already said i was grateful for the loaner. so yes, my service advisor is doing great, and i give him 10's on the surveys regularly. one of the reasons im in SQ5 and not GLC63
i'm wondering if my dealer's management is pushing the audi upstream management hard enough to resolve the issue quickly enough


thanks everyone for their respective points of view.

KaDeTime

Glisse

Your frustration seems reasonable to me, if a bit misplaced. Whilst you would think Audi of America would have a parts inventory that would include a fuel pump, they haven't bothered and you are stuck with a delay. But the delay is 10 days, and not 6 weeks.

Most of the 6 weeks seems to have been your dealer fixing the wrong problem.

What I wouldn't be so happy about is "them" being unable to work out just exactly what is going wrong with your car. They say it was your fuel pressure sensor. But apparently not. So their response is to replace the fuel pump - which is not what the code said. I would think it fairly obvious to most mechanics whether a pump is working or not. But apparently not to whoever is working on your car. Probably a "technician" whose skill base is plugging in the diagnostic system, then following the system's instructions on what to do. If a new fuel pump doesn't fix the problem, I guess they'll move onto fuel lines, fuel filters, fuel tanks, etc. Perhaps with a 10 day delay on each of those?

So rather than bristle your whiskers at inventory levels, I'd be getting a bit fired up on the inability of them to correctly diagnose the problem in the first place. Probably because they are relying on a sensor based diagnostic system which doesn't appear to be working too well, which is on Audi AG. I'd be frustrated with all of the players, but mostly with whom I bought the car from. Which is the dealer, whose job it is to fix the car. And they should be giving you an equivalent vehicle whilst they are struggling to do so - seriously, 10's for service?

hornpolish

Thanks for the comment @glisse - "did you put the #1 tech on it" is a great question for the service manager.

i wasnt cranky after the 1st 10 days. in fact i waited 15days and called.
only then was i told - 'we still dont have that part, even in germany. (they must have known this 15 days ago) backlogged on supplier. expect another 10-15 days'.
come on allready. there are 3 SQ5's on the lot, pumps in mexico, the audi CEO flies around in a pair of dassault falcons. surely there is room for plan B here?

so the pump related delay is realistically 30 days, not 10.
thanks for cheering me up that i'll be waiting 10 days between successive experiments :-(


the 10's are for the great attitude from the service advisor. he always remembers my name (and this is my first cranky-customer episode)
but good point - the actual service delivery on this incident isn't what it should be.


thanks too to the suggestion from KaDeTime - i dont mean to derail 1000's of cars being produced. just one that might have to sit "not started" while it donates its pump.
i agree thats a bit out there, but to have no pumps worldwide for 30days - thats not typical german efficiency, nor "Vorsprung durch Technik".

i'll go visit the dealer personally next week (rather than over the phone) and see what i can learn.

thanks!

StickyAK

I'm not an attorney and I don't know if you bought the car in NC and I've never utilized a lemon law but the NC lemon law info page (see https://www.ncdoj.gov/Consumer/Autom...Lemon-Law.aspx) says:
"The manufacturer makes “a reasonable number of attempts” to fix the vehicle. This means that the car has been repaired for the same problem four or more times, or that it has been out of service a cumulative total of 20 or more business days during a 12 month period of the warranty."
Seems like if you tell the manufacturer about the problem via certified mail, inform them that you intend to exercise your rights under New Motor Vehicles Warranties Act (N.C.G.S. 20-351) then you may get a new fuel pump in days. It seems like it would be cheaper for them to fix the car quickly as opposed to buying it back.
Maybe somebody that has real world lemon law experience with this can share their experience.