I have a 2014 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI that I purchased in 2016, it’s been a great vehicle which I take very good care of with recommended service and only needing typical wear and tear repairs. I did all of the emissions extended warranty repairs when those came up as well. Currently only 85k miles on it.

Recently it started smoking under the hood just a couple miles from home (no indicator lights came on), and won’t start. Had it towed to the dealer service shop which they are stating its engine failure!
The worst part is the extended drivetrain warranty (10 yrs/ 120k miles) just ended 2 months ago !!! So now I’m stuck with do I pay for a new engine or move on??

I did reach out to Audi for assistance which the stated they would cover 50% of the costs, this leaves me a $10k bill.

Does this happy often? Should I try reaching out to Volkswagen group? As I’m still kind of upset on the matter being low mileage on a diesel engine and just over the 10 yr timeframe. I’d love any advice on the matter. Thanks!!

 

@shanmichelle89 Welcome to the forum!

When your dealer states "engine failure" exactly what was their diagnosis?

 

Well, they are saying could be the timing chain tensioner but they won’t know exactly until they are able to pull the engine out. I’m waiting to approve this as they report the labor cost for that alone are $12k, and I just asked AofA to for cost estimates to replace the engine as the estimates for chains, etc. were $17k

 

I don't want to sound too paranoid about the dealership but it would be worth it to get a second opinion. Do you have any good independent shops in your area that specialize in TDI's?

Audi has been known to misrepresent damage and claim that a new engine is needed when it's not. Sometimes the 'Audi approved service' and whats actually needed are two very different things. Works great if you have warranty, not so great if you're paying out of pocket.

Maybe someone else can more familiar with the TDI can chime in but a failed chain or tensioner throw a bunch of codes and trigger the CEL. Seems crazy to pull the engine if they're not certain it's the cam chain.

 

OK, so no warning lights came on at all prior or during the 'smoking from engine bay' event, etc., correct? Assuming you were able to drive the vehicle into the dealership, yes...still with no warning lights showing?
Did the 'smoke' smell like diesel fumes/raw diesel exhaust? It's not uncommon to have injector seals go bad, or an EGR Cooler's connection pipe leak, both of which vent raw exhaust/smoke/ash into the engine bay. Diesel fuel has a very high flash point, so you normally aren't going to see engine fires on a TDI motor, even if a fuel line is leaking. If the smoke was thick/scary/pervasive, then it is more likely an oil leak that got onto the exhaust manifold/pipe. You definitely want/need to know exactly what the dealer tech documented and how they ascertained it requires a new motor, and they shouldn't be trying to keep that info from you.

With zero engine warnings, and on such a low mileage TDI, I would surmise the 'stealership' is likely trying to do just that...steal from you.

You should verify any recent work records done by the Audi dealer under warranty though, as all that work comes with a guarantee/limited warranty period attached to it, etc., and so if there is actually a major engine problem when you've been doing all required services via the Audi dealer, then the dealer is the most likely suspect.

As stated, you need to understand how they arrived at this diagnosis that the engine must be replaced. Paying a well qualified indie mechanic to go over your car, and/or interpret what the Audi dealership is telling you is wrong is probably the best $100 you'll ever spend.

That said, and it should be noted this car is famous for giving loud, obnoxious, bright, flashing warnings on the dashboard that will make you believe a UFO just landed on your car, or that it is really about to explode if you don't turn off the engine immediately; I've seen those warning lights...difficult to forget that kind of drama.

In the 'worst possible case' scenario, where the engine has somehow died an unimaginably untimely death via a catastrophic failure, and with no warning ;provided whatsoever, then the corporate Audi offer of you paying $10k total for a brand new TDI engine to be swapped in is actually a steal of a deal, since they normally charge $5k just to drop the engine out of the car to do repairs on it, etc.

As for me, I don't trust any Audi service department, as all I've run into at multiple dealerships is crooks trying to line their pockets and boost revenues by lying to me about our cars, over and over again, and so I will never go back to an Audi dealership, not ever. They definitely count on their owners not knowing anything about the cars they drive, which makes said owners easy targets for both deception and outright fraud.

I'd definitely be requesting full disclosure on what diagnostic procedures were followed, and the results of scans/diagnostics, etc. to assess your engine as being 'toast', and since you don't know cars, you need your own 'expert' to independently assess and verify the dealer's diagnosis, look at your service history records for this car, and tell you what's really going on.

That's super-frustrating they've put you in this position, but I'm really glad you did appeal the dealer's repair assessment cost to the corporate team at Audi, so you've got options, and possibly much, much better options once you get the diagnosis verified independently.

 

Just to provide some closure on this thread. I purchased this car from the individual that originally posted here months ago. When I bought the car it was still at the Audi dealership's service area and I had it towed home. Once I finally got into it, the cause of the engine not starting appears to have been a cracked thermostat housing was spraying coolant onto the alternator. This caused the alternator to sieze up. When the alternator siezed the belt could still be rotated in reverse due to the one way clutch in it's freewheel but it would not rotate forward. Was a bit surprised that the starter couldn't overcome that resistance and cause the belt to slip so I ended up replacing the starter as well since I was already that far into the car and it looks like a pain in the butt to replace later.

The Q7 is running now and I've been super happy with it as this is my first Audi.

 

Wow the dealership could not diagnose this? Incompetence or deliberate misdiagnosis. That's why it pays to get a second opinion.

 

Yeah, never trust an Audi dealership to diagnose or repair your car is the moral of this story; so much grief can be avoided by not taking these cars to an Audi dealership where their main goal is to exploit you. I'm so glad to hear you bought it and identified the real underlying causes (thermostat leak/alternator seized, etc) via normal mechanical troubleshooting, and best of all you likely paid very little for a well maintained Q7, although you'll want certainly want to do your homework on this car as there's a learning curve; all driveline fluids that need to be changed that Audi left off the service charts, etc., etc., and known issues with 4L platform in general relating to clogged drains and water leaks, parasitic battery drains from door handle sensors, etc., etc.

Great cars and not terribly difficult to keep up once you know what's what.

 

My alternator failed in exactly the same way. Granted, it hadn't seized to the point that it prevented the engine from starting, but it was getting real close. Thankfully (perhaps?), it stopped generating electricity soon enough into the failure that I was having electrical performance issues, but boy, oh boy, did that sucker dump some smoke! I feel bad for the prior owner, but it sounds like you likely got a good deal on a good car!

 

The OP might now want their car back. LOL. The general incompetence of the dealer knows no bounds. The sad part is that I can't even say I'm at all surprised.