lowjdml

Hopefully AoA will send you an evaluation form regarding your service visit.

JD15

My local Audi dealership always returned my car with one piece missing: Once it was the passenger's floormat, another time it was the engine cover, and finally another time it was the undercarriage belly pan. I have been taking my car to an indy German garage for the past few years and at least they are capable of performing the work promised in a reasonable amount of time and returning the car in the condition that they received it.

A new Audi dealership opened several miles north of me a few months ago. I am hopeful that this dealership will be managed far more effectively and will have a service department with even a modicum of competence because the Audi brand has suffered in the North Dallas area.

Jhbrew

So it happened to me as well... I paid to have my oil changed at 5k and it turns out that they used the wrong oil. Thanks to @ClemsonAudi for bringing this up, I checked my service record and the wrong spec was on there, so I called them and pointed this out. They discussed this with the parts and shop managers who confirmed it was wrong. The service rep on the phone told me to come in first thing in the morning and they would switch it out. I let them know that it has been 1600 miles since my service and asked what will this mean for me long term. He said they would 'flag' my vehicle in their records and if anything exhibits shorter than normal lifetime, they would take care of it.

While I appreciate them being honest and owning up to there mistake, I really don't know what this means long term for my car. I purchased this car with the intent to keep it 10-15 years, as I did my 2005 allroad. One of the reasons for ordering the car (along with getting everything I wanted) was to ensure the breakin was done properly and not 'rode hard and put away wet' when sitting on the lot being aggressively test driven from time-to-time. When I see the Service Manager (He was out today when I dropped off the car) I will clarify what 'exhibits shorter than normal lifetime' means and how they will take care of it. I would expect that anything the oil touches should be covered beyond the normal warranty if it falls outside of the norm in terms of wear. They must have lifetime data on engine wear parts, wouldn't you think?

In the end, I will have to trust the dealer I suppose because its the only one within 500 miles. Luckily they were not slimy about it like some of the stories above, and they are taking care of me in the short term. I just hope if my car were to develop an annoying engine ticking sound at 100k that they will continue to take care of me.

markcincinnati

I am assuming they used a full synthetic -- it is probably not going to be an issue, the oil they used (which was OK for the 3.0T Supercharged engine) provides great protection. A new filter and a fresh tank of oil (the right oil) then another CORRECT change in 3,400 miles and you will likely never know the difference. And, the fact that the car has been flagged as you say is also a good thing.

I would like to make a suggestion: Trust them. Ask them for some documentation to put in your service record (hardcopy) that you keep in your car. Sort of a "trust but verify" kind of thing.

mplsbrian

@Jhbrew-
I concur with Mark, 1600 street miles on "wrong-but-close-enough" oil (like the example Mark gave above) is probably not going to affect your car in any measurable way whatsoever. 1600 track miles, or 16,000 street miles over a full year thru all four seasons is perhaps a different story, but you would have to send your oil in for analysis to know for sure.

So on that note, if you are direly concerned about it, probably about the only concrete thing you can do right now is ask the dealer to pay to send the dumped oil into Blackstone to be examined for abnormalities like higher-than-normal-for-this-mileage metal content, which could serve as a marker for problems to come if it turns out the dumped oil is riddled with microscopic cylinder wall shavings or some other such nonsense.

Either way, any number of things could cause a ticking at 100k and the chances of it being due to these 1600 miles on "close but not quite" oil are so infinitely much lower than any other possibility that it really isn't going to make a difference.

I expect that internally, the maximum "extra wear" you've potentially experienced from this mistake is no different than if winter had lasted an extra month longer and caused you to have to start the car cold a few extra times in those 1600 miles. I wouldn't worry about it.

Jhbrew

I appreciate the reassurance, thanks. The oil is indeeed wrong-but-close. The service rep mentioned that the difference is the oils ability to remain more stable at high temperatures. Not sure about the SRs knowledge of the subject, but it sounds plausible to me. He didn't think it would be a problem unless I ran the car at high oil temps, which I haven't. I'm not super worried about it, but I want to cover my bases. If the shoe had been on the other foot and I put in the 'wrong-but-close' oil myself and then told my service dept about it, I'm not sure if they would tell me it won't be a problem. From a practical point of view I think they will do what they can to make the situation right with the appropriate amount of response. I would note 'with a little tongue and cheek' that @markcincinnati had his car 'pushed' back into the service bay when this happened to him, so you may feel slightly different if it were your 60k baby. In the end, I also concur that I should be fine with the limited amount of exposure and normal driving conditions.

I trust the dealer, as I've worked with them for many years through 2 previous Audis. I will have them document as you guys suggest. I remain disappointed however because it took me doing the checking to catch this and it could have been 10k miles of wrong-but-close oil if it had happened at a regular oil change interval. I hope they have a robust quality corrective action system to determine the root cause of this mistake and keep it from happening to someone else. Sounds like something needs to be addressed because it has happened to a handful of people on this forum already and they are just a few people who have noticed. I figure the ones who haven't noticed will be 'OK' if a mistake was made, however this newer oil was introduced for an engineering reason and not just because it has a cool green color.

Thanks again for the suggestions and reassurance.

mplsbrian

That's a fair point and a good way of looking at it.

Me too. My anecdote: I was the very first appointment of the morning for my first oil change, and scheduled it so because I was expecting to be on my way and back in my office by 9AM. My dealer then proceeded to suck all the oil out of my car before realizing they didn't have any of the correct-spec oil in stock, and I had to wait nearly 4 hours for a few quarts of it to be couriered up from a Volkswagen dealership on the complete opposite side of town. Didn't get to my desk until 1pm. At least the service lounge has good coffee and plenty of snacks.

Wouldn't you think they'd read the damn sticker before doing the work?

numerobis

They're in the business of servicing the S4, which requires special oil. There is no excuse for not stocking that oil. I can't imagine what else they dont stock!

ghostrider990

You guys give dealerships entirely too much credit.

While some are better than others....just like Every Business, they are in business to make money. Each one of these businesses is a licensed Franchise for the manufacturer. They aren't OWNED by Audi.
It's just as simple as that. However - they don't all adhere to the specifications of the manufacturer when it comes to each and every business practice that the Manufacturer dictates.

I literally had the "specific oil" conversation with my SA the last time I was in for service, and asked him if he knew about it. He said he did, but at his dealership (one of the bigger national franchised chains) Audi allowed them to use a "generic" brand of oil in ALL of their vehicles as part of a "national contract" with that franchise. Think 55gallon drum of lube, ordered under a nationally negotiated contract at a fraction of the cost.
This HORRIFIED me, but I've worked in the Auto Service industry and SEEN this type of corner cutting from individual service managers, and also from the Ownership of those franchises.

I always ASK what kind of oil and filter a shop uses. Some will follow the manuf. specs for vehicles under warranty, and some will not. MANY shops will abandon the use of OEM parts and specified fluids after the Manufacturer's warranty expires in favor of cost savings. Whether they pass those savings on to the customer, is rarely questioned or known.
MUCH is assumed by customers who either don't care, trust too much, or are simply unwittingly duped.

It is commonly known in EVERY SINGLE dealership of any kind, that a branded service shop is the money-making operation of the dealership, by a minimum profit factor of 3x, vs. Sales.
THink about that: It's astonishing, and most people think the SALES people are the rip-off artists. Think again.
If you think your Service Advisor, especially an Unscrupulous individual, isn't as capable or even more adept at upselling you during your service visit -- you really need to re-examine your car knowledge or your willingness to simply follow the recommended service intervals in owner's manual.
This is why most of here, will urge you to develop a RELATIONSHIP with your Service Advisor / Service Manager.

Second highest profit center for the dealership: Warranty / F&I. FYI.
The thing I've seen the most in the past few years, is that MOST dealerships sell their own Warranty contracts, vs. the Manufacturer's. This includes extended warranty AND scheduled service contracts.
Very common in Audi stores as well, especially the larger Franchise-owned shops, who create and fund their own warranty company's.
= PURE PROFIT.

So, in summary -- be vigilant my friends. Ask questions. Challenge the recommendations, and ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS use your Service Manual as your guide.
Most service departments will recommend services based on their OWN shop's guidelines - tauting a Silver / Platinum / Gold tier structure, playing on the fears of the owner, and wanting to take better care of their cars.
This is why Audicare is such a good deal. But you will still see stores trying to sell above and beyond the recommended maint. schedules, because it helps THEM make more money.

I will say, that Audi is MUCH better about controlling unscrupulous service practices as a whole, but there is only so much the manufacturer can control in day to day business.

good luck.

gr



In short:

markcincinnati

+1

Develop a RELATIONSHIP with your service advisor (don't just call the dealership and ask for "service" ask for YOUR SERVICE ADVISOR BY NAME). Develop a RELATIONSHIP with your dealer's service manager. Stop by his office at least a couple of times per year to say hello, build rapport, ask for his opinions, and ask him "what's up -- if anything -- with my S4" (what's failing -- if anything -- in 2018 S4's, etc.) If warranted, compliment your service advisor -- tell the service manager how much you value your service advisor [name here].

My wife and I buy the service department the biggest fruit, cheese, and snack basket Costco sells every Christmas -- we say, we mean: Thanks for a great year of service and here's looking forward to more of the same in 20XX. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Been doing this for years -- we simply try to let the service folks tell them how much we appreciate what they do for us.

Moreover, we send our sales rep a Costco fruit, cheese, nut, and candy basket too. Our sales rep facilitates so many things in any given year, it is difficult to even begin to "value" what is made easier by your sales rep.

RELATIONSHIP RELATIONSHIP RELATIONSHIP.

Build it, nurture it, acknowledge it.

Drive it like you live.