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After spending enough time in these forums last year, I bought a 2017 Q7 Prestige. I even bought 10 yrs extended warranty on it.
It has been a great drive for the last one year but I got a rude shock last week.
I took the car in because a check engine light came on. The dealer in California came back with a $35000+ estimate (Yes! 35 thousand if you are not reading the 0's correctly).
The dealer said there is damage to the wiring harness from rodents chewing on it. I take good care of the car in the garage and park it in a covered garage at work. When I first heard the dealer estimate I thought the car was all chewed up. But, from the photo he sent, it looks like something a rodent could have done within a few minutes. This seems like a design defect that in such a small time with such a small damage a rodent(don't know what, how or where) can cause such a huge bill. I am reaching out to Audi corporate, press etc. because this seems crazy! They should be recalling this and protecting it!
Has anyone gone through this before?
See the place marked with the arrow. Why cannot they cover this with the plastic box too!!??
am waiting on a reply from Audi via their online customer service as i expect to be fobbed of over the phone,3 days so far, but at this point we had to use our insurance with an $800 excess,cost of a hirecar for 3 days,missed appointments and meetings,no loan car offered or provided,and no remedial work done or offered to prevent further damage.we are in a rural area with a population of protected marsupial mice (Antechinus) so our only option is to illegally bait and wipeout the local population,or spray the engine compartment with peppermint oil !!
.The real issue here is that the Audi service center charged $900 labour and $300 for the harness to fix their recognized design fault which to me is disingenuous and just plain rude.Earning a profit from your customers instead of replacing under warranty is almost as bad as being ignored as a customer by a faceless,global brand with no individual responsiblity.There are class actions in the US,Europe and the Uk but Maurice Blackburn have advised that due to our market we will never reach the financial requirement to start an action here so i am investigating a joint action at our expense. this is not about the money-we were really looking forward to upgrading to a SQ5 but we will now have to look elsewhere until the soybased harnesses are either sheathed in a deterrent medium or the electrical connections are encased as in other makes..
$1200 is way better than 35k!! Clearly you live in a mice infested (protected) area so this sucks for you, but Audi wont take blame unless its happening everywhere. Not saying the design couldn't be better, but I wonder how many automobiles out there have such harnesses and dont experience a problem in most parts of the world?
I'd wrap my new harness is this right away if I were you
hi Big Kutta-thanks for the link to the MouseBlocker-there are many products that claim to "fix the problem" but surely,having to purchase and fit an aftermarket product(s) to rectify O.E.M. equipment is not the owners responsibility.
""but Audi wont take blame unless its happening everywhere"- google "Audi Rodent Damage" and dig deeper because the only complaints are via the motoring media,insurers and compensation lawyers and the few owners who can be annoyed enough to protest on internet forums...
We bought the Q3 Quattro specifically to commute from the city to the farm as access is limited and unless we address this issue personally,at our own cost by wrapping,spraying with peppermint oil,fitting ultrasonic repellants,leaving the bonnet up at night etc -we are stuck with a vehicle that is not fit for purpose,the basis of consumer rights.
As i said,we were looking forward to a new SQ5 but will see how this pans out first.
How easy would it be for a profitable giant like Audi to say there "may be" another reason why rodents enjoy warm,soybased snacks in winter,and wrap the wiring as a precaution, during service,especially in rural areas,where the Quattro thrives.
Waking up at 6am on a freezing winter morning,with a 120k commute to get to work,driving the car 20k`s in limp home mode,having to pay for a hire car,missing appointments and meetings,paying the excess upfront,then having to pay for the repair to collect the car,before the insurance claim is even approved,service staff "unaware of the problem" .blah blah blah-i`m pissed off and not afraid to engage social media,in all forms, if this issue is not dealt with appropriately.if you have been affected and are not an Audi troll i am happy to be contacted privately.
I’m sorry and maybe I missed something but I see nothing here that should be covered under warranty, no vehicle is rat or mouse proof and to think a car manufacturer should build a car to be rodent proof is absurd in my opinion.
you may have missed the fact that Audi replaced their elecical coatings from plastic to a soybased coating in an effort to be "green".
this has not affected any of the other vehicles on the property,the solar generating plant,our home,numerous wired outbuildings,generators etc etc.the ONLY vehicle affected is the Q3 Quattro.according to Audi "an estimated 10,000 vehicles are victimised annually."
this not a vexatious rant-it is a very real problem world wide and is subject to class actions in the US,UK and Europe.
just because you are not affected by this doesn`t mean you could have at least googled AUDI RODENT DAMAGE before providing your expert advice.
you may have missed the fact that Audi replaced their elecical coatings from plastic to a soybased coating in an effort to be "green".
this has not affected any of the other vehicles on the property,the solar generating plant,our home,numerous wired outbuildings,generators etc etc.the ONLY vehicle affected is the Q3 Quattro.according to Audi "an estimated 10,000 vehicles are victimised annually."
this not a vexatious rant-it is a very real problem world wide and is subject to class actions in the US,UK and Europe.
just because you are not affected by this doesn`t mean you could have at least googled AUDI RODENT DAMAGE before providing your expert advice.
As I said “maybe I missed something” and I guess I did. Nowhere did I insinuate that I was offering any “expert advise”. Chill out.
hi Eppieguy-have been trying to chill but it`s hard when the missus is totally pissed off,inconvenienced, lost confidence in the car starting.etc,etc...........
I will update this forum if and when Audi get back to me.
As a Senior Member i am surprised you are unaware of the issue,appear to believe that Audi have no responsibility to their customers for their choice of components and that the onus is on owners to rectify an apparently worldwide problem at their own expense.
your statement that my belief that manufacturers should be responsible for their products is "absurd in my opinion" is hardly helpful and using negative and provocative language is never a good idea in internet forums.
After 1057 posts here you should know better than to post just to express your opinion,for the sake of it.Obviously you have had no trouble with your Q7 but for goodness sake show some respect for the rest of us who aren`t as lucky,or who use their Quattro as intended, in rural areas.
How chill would you be at 6am on a freezing winters morning if it effected you.
thanks for your support as a fellow audi driver.......
06-19-2018, 12:27 PM
