Itsjdmyo

Hey everyone,

As many of you Q5 owners may know, there has been a recall for our fuel pump flange to be replaced (due to potential crack in the flange, causing fuel leak, etc...).

Well, I brought my Audi Q5 in a couple of weeks ago to have the service performed and the technician shared with me details that the flange was indeed cracked and they had to replace it. Then 2 weeks later (last night), my car suddenly died on the road, so I brought it back to Audi for inspection and the technician told me that it was due to my fuel level sensor going out (the car was empty on gas but the fuel gauge showed 1/2 tank) and it would cost me $776 to replace the fuel level sensor...

Now my question is, for those who had brought their Q5 in for service, did this happen to any of you? Did your fuel level sensor go bad due to the flange being replaced or cracked? I just find it a bit odd that the flange was replaced and my fuel level sensor goes out 2 weeks later (knowing that the sensor is directly beneath the flange itself), thus i am now questioning whether it was damaged during the flange replacement. My Q5 is a 2009 with 85k miles...

Anyone have any thoughts on this? I asked the service adviser to double check with the technician and i should hear more tomorrow...

visionguru

The Audi technician was OBVIOUSLY careless when installing the fuel pump. The sensor is just a float, connected to the some electrical resistor by a lever. Nothing is broken, all they have to do is taking the fuel pump out and re-adjusting the lever to the proper position.

Don't take no for an answer. It's obviously caused by the careless pump replacement.

Itsjdmyo

Thank you for your reply, guru I did not know that it can be readjusted and will mention it to the technician tomorrow.

Bob Petruska

The tech messed up here. Make a stand at the dealer to get it fixed, or contact Audi corporate to ge it resolved.

Per the recall procedure.....

- Be careful not to bend the floater arm on the Fuel Level Sensor when reinstalling the fuel delivery unit.

- Route the floater arm carefully into the baffle in the fuel tank.

- Make sure all fuel lines inside the fuel tank are routed correctly and do not interfere with the travel of the fuel sending unit floater arm.

visionguru

To give you some idea of what likely the problem is, and what likely had happened, here is what the fuel pump looks like:



Audi Q5 fuel pump

The black thingy is the float: the gas level high, it floats high, moves the lever, changes the resistor resistance value, which tells the computer how much gas is left in the tank.
If the lever is bent (very easily if not careful) upwards, even though the gas tank is already empty, the resistor still shows 1/2 full.
He has to follow proper Audi procedures to properly adjust (bend back) the lever. If he simply bent back without testing, the fuel level reading still won't be accurate. If the lever is tangled with wires/tubes, same effect, but easier to correct.

There is no chance that the lever bent by itself, who touched it, who bent it. Not a complicated procedure, probably takes them 30min.

Itsjdmyo

UPDATE: after going back and forth with the service team, they have decided to take care of it for me and replace the whole unit, free of charge.

I stood my ground mentioned everyone's above comments as a reference. At first, the service adviser was sure that it was an electrical issue and not related to the recall work that was performed a couple of weeks ago. However, after a more detailed response from myself regarding the following:
1.) if the flange had to be replaced, the whole fuel unit would have had to be removed/re-installed. This also means removing the fuel lever sensor. It could have been damaged.
2.) It has only been 2 weeks since my work left the shop and I had still been driving on the same tank of gas. I noticed the fuel gauge never went down after driving around town (leading me to believe it damaged upon leaving the shop after the recall work).
3.) the work order from the recall stated that there was a leak in the flange, so that may have also resulted in the damaged sensor.

Thank you all for your responses, it has been helpful in my conversation with the dealership and ultimately ended up in them fixing it for me, at no cost!

Redd

It could be coincidental timing, but I agree with the other guys. When a float "goes out" that usually means it got porous and can't float (not a problem with modern materials) or the wiper arm contacts are corroded (again, should not be a modern problem) or more likely, as Audi implied, DON'T BEND THE FRICKIN FLOAT WHILE YOU"RE WORKING IN THERE!

If the service writer has a problem doing this as a remake or a "courtesy" accommodation, just ask the shop manager if they REALLY want you to discuss the matter with Audi of America.

Every shop knows, it may just be coincidence when something busts near something that was just worked on. The smart ones just figure that into "overhead" and make the customer happy. Although, I hear that auto technicians may be required to wear body cameras beginning in 2021, to make sure they are not scammin us. (WEG)