arU4ic

Intro: I am a loyal Audi buyer. 5 in 15 years and the family had them all the way back to the first Audi 5000t. (1982)
My last one (2005 Allroad) was the most reliable car I've ever owned. Nothing but brake pads and tired in 5 years, then traded it for my Q7.

Bought a 2008 S-line in Dec 2008 with 3500 miles on it... the sales manager drove it and I bought it out of the showroom with a new Audi car warranty as if it was new. It has 20500 miles on it (17000 since delivery).

August on 2009 Car dies for no apparent reason and doesn't restart, gas gauge reads 1/4 tank plus some. Starter turns but no luck. I let it sit for 15 minutes, it starts, I drive it right to dealer (3 miles away). They can't find anything. Crap.


December 2009 Same thing, but this time it doesn't start back up, my wife and 2 year old were stranded right at my daughters nap time (parents, you under stand this stress). The car has to get towed to dealer. They can't find anything. AOA engineer comes in and the replace all sorts of fuel system stuff (fuel pump, sender and even the entire dash display. (I have no idea why.)


April 2010 - After refueling the car a few times we realize that the fuel gauge is definitely off. Filling the tank all the way does not register a full tank. I take it in and they "reset the computer" and fill it up (nice) for me to test it. Tank show a full tank.

May 13th 2010 - Car dies again during rush hour a few guys help me push it into a parking spot, but the car starts back up for a few seconds, like its out of gas, then dies immediately, but the gauge is reading over 1/4 tank, no low fuel light. The dealer has it now and I've called AOA and they have given me a case number and called the service advisor "to make sure they are doing everything they can". I told the service advisor and my sales person that I was initiating a call with AOA just to get started on the complaint process and that I know they are doing everything they can, but that I just can't put up with a $58k car that doesn't run sometimes. I also told them that I will not take the car back until they figure it out and show me the parts that they replaced to fix it.

Secondly, I contacted a Lemon Law firm to see if I have a case and they state that they think I do and want to see records and a full account of the incidents. I mainly did this to see if I had a case, most likely I will take this up with AOA myself, I assume a firm will charge A LOT to go through this, but I am open to hearing about it from anyone who has gone through this.

Any advice to this point is very welcome.

We'll see what the dealer has to say this time.

**Monday May 17th. 2010**
Just called the dealership and they found a "bad lower pressure fuel sensor" that went bad. They are road testing it and will let me pick-up the car today. I will drive it for 20 miles or so and report back.

** Tuesday May 18th. 2010 **
So brought the car home last night, drove it around today. Finally returned the rental at the end of the day and the Q7 died literally in-front of my house, won't restart. I'll be having it towed back to the dealer in the morning. Buy-back procedures will be moving into full steam now. Any pointers appreciated.

knepster1

I had the same issue with a 2007 MB GL450 two years ago, NY Lemon Law and they paid us 90% back for 19 months of the lease. Good luck.

arU4ic

Yeah, I am sure the german manufactures share low level parts like fuel system components.

Did you got after Merc yourself or did you use a firm? (If you don't mind sharing.)

DUTCH VanAtlanta

It sure sounds to me like a bad Crankshaft Position Sensor. They do not throw a code; so, unless you know what you're looking for and the symptoms, they can be hard to diagnose.

Basically, the engine stops and won't start when hot. After it cools down, it will often start again just fine - that is until a complete failure of the part.

It's a Bosch part and a pretty cheap fix. MB just did a safety recall on them for their diesel engines; but it happens on the gassers, too.

Arrie

You mention couple of times that when the car quit the fuel gauge was showing 1/4 and some. Would you think it was showing the same amount each time?

When the tank was showing little more than 1/4 level did anybody care to fill it up all the way and see how much the tank took to fill up, i.e. did it take the whole amount of tank capasity to fill up? If it did this would mean your fuel gauge gets stuck at about 1/4 level and then you end up running out of gas as you do not get the low fuel warning.

Could be this seimple.

arU4ic

CPS - Yeah, I had a Subaru that had this problem. The Audi dealership is aware of this possibility as they mentioned it to me. Agreed on the diagnosis, but the last time its wasn't that warm, it had been running for less than 6 minutes.

Fuel Gauge - Gas Cap, Fuel Pump, Sender, Gauge Sensor and such we are all replaced in December. Yes, it seems like the fuel gauge is indeed wrong, but running out of gas doesn't explain the car starting back up and being drivable for 5-6 city miles to get it to the dealer.

I would hope an Engineer from AOA and 2 mechanics at the dealership would be able to nail both of these possibilities... but maybe I over-estimate.

Thanks for the advice for sure.

DUTCH VanAtlanta

The further into failure that the part goes, the less heat is required to flummox it until it just completely fails.

That Bosch part is used on a lot of German engines, and it is a very well known weak link. It's a cheap fix. Certainly worth a try.

knepster1

I did the motions myself with the MB dealership and it was seamless, they realized after 5 times trying to fix in 6 mos. it was a lemon--it stranded my wife and kids on the middle of the LIE twice.

arU4ic

See original post for this title at top.

arU4ic

another update