Linkers

Hi Guys,

My car has done just over 20k miles and I too

k it to the dealer to investigate any issues with the turbo as I started getting unexpected boosts and the car was holding on to the gears for too long. Audi said they couldn't find any issues with the turbo or the engine and told me that I shouldn't be driving in Dynamic mode with Gear in S mode within the town but I explained to them that I always had the car in the same settings regardless of motorway or town driving but have only started noticing this behavior recently.

Anyways when they were investigating the turbo issue, they found a leak in the Gear Oil which was a surprise to me. Audi kept the car for 2 days and fixed the leak and put new gear oil in the car. The total cost was nearly £1,500 but as the car is still in warranty, I didn't have to pay anything.

I have started to question the reliability of this car as I have taken the car back at least half a dozen times since I bought it for various noise related issues. But this time, the issue sounded quite serious.

Is it very common for the gear oil to leak and would you expect a performance car like S4 which has only done 20k miles, to have this issue?

mplsbrian

Not normal.

Look at it this way: no, I would not expect any fluid to a leak/burn/off/deplete to the point where replenishment/replacement of said fluid is required at 20K miles, on any car which does not have servicing of that same fluid on its maintenance schedule for 100K miles or beyond. There is no "replace gear oil" service on this S4's maintenance schedule at all, which implies that it is a lifetime fluid that should never, ever, ever leak.

That all said, neither people nor materials nor assembly line robots are perfect, and that's what a warranty is for. It is good that Audi covered this and fortunate that you caught the issue while still under coverage / before modding in such a way as to void your warranty and have a £1,500 repair denied.

mplsbrian

Also, that is bulls---. Whoever told you that should be asked to repeat that, clearly and loudly, on a recorded conference call in front of their boss and an Audi product manager from Ingolstadt. These cars are designed and marketed to be driven in S mode. There's even an S on the steering wheel and shift lever* to remind you in case you forget.

* and on the seats, the door sill insert, the trunk and grille, the gauge cluster, the nav screen, and even the damn key...

Linkers

You are absolute right that it's not one of those things which you will replace in any service through out the life of the car. I still have 1.5 years of warranty left (our of 3 years) but I'm seriously considering getting the warranty for 4th year once my 3 years warranty has expired. The 4th year warranty would come at a cost but I think it's worth it especially if a major repair like this happens again.

I recently found out that you can get 4th and 5th year's warranty before the car is registered at a reasonable cost which I think is worth it. I paid an extra £235 for the 4th year's warranty for my wife's A1 (I didn't know about it when I bought my S4 so only have the standard 3 years for my car). I know you can get an extended warranty once your 3 years manufacturer warranty has expired, but I think it costs less if you include it before registering the car. I would imagine it's the same policy in the US and other regions.

Linkers

Exactly. That's what I thought that these cars are designed to be driven in S mode and to be honest, I drove the same car for the first 20k miles and didn't notice anything so it must be an issue which has just started happening.

RickNY

Ask the dealer to point out in the manual or other Audi documentation on the vehicle where that is stated. That is the lamest dealer excuse I've ever heard.