In 2019, I thought getting a Q7 TDI with the TDI emissions extended warranty was a smart choice. Maybe not! I love the drive and feel of the Q7 TDI, however it has spent a considerable amount of time at the dealer for oil leaks that have been fixed removing the engine, all under warranty. Well this time I had a new leak and it wasn't covered. Audi can't explain why except its not giving a code. I want to see if anyone else has had this same problem and gotten coverage under the TDI warranty:

I took it in for what I thought was a leaking left valve cover. I could see a sludge on the exhaust manifold and we hated the burnt oil smell. The dealer calls saying the right timing cover is leaking and it will be fixed under warranty, I ask about the left valve cover leaking, no response. I get a call to pick it up a week later that the timing cover is fixed. I ask again about the leaking left valve cover. After a day of waiting I get a call saying the tech says it is leaking combustion from the injectors and I need new injector seals and to clean the ports for $1,700.00 AND Audi was not going to cover this under warranty even though the warranty explicitly states "The entire fuel system." I picked up the car and have now had a chance to research the problem. Yes, the injector has 2 seals. The upper is an O-ring and the lower is a copper washer that if it goes bad causes combustion to exit the side of the head which causes two problems: A. - a ticking sound and B. a sludge formation that looks like the valve cover is leaking. Tonight I opened the hood and instead of seeing where it was leaking in that single spot, I could see oil leaking from all injector ports and its made a big sludge mess all over the exhaust manifold and even a gooey drip onto the AC compressor which I also had replaced last year.

So my question is has anyone else had this problem and had it corrected under warranty? It appears to be a common problem, there are plenty of videos showing the injectors getting seals replaced for the identical problem. I believe this absolutely should be covered under the emissions warranty. A forum search didn't show similar cases or I didn't search properly. Any warranty experts commenting would be greatly appreciated.

 

There's a ton of stuff covered outright based on what the warranty says explicitly, and there's an actual listing compiled by Audi and issued in 2018 as guidance to dealers., which you should keep/print out as a reference.

You don't have a trouble code or MIL/CEL that would lead them to either servicing or replacing the injectors themselves, so all you've currently got is functional fuel system with some age on it. Might I suggest driving it like you stole it if you want to get it to fire off a trouble code or MIL/CEL for errant fueling . Obviously, as stated in the basic warranty terms, fuel injectors are covered if they are bad/clogged/nonfunctional, etc., but to get paid to do the work, the Audi dealer has to meet the requirements, which is it's either dead-dead, or it throws a code, etc, that leads them to that item.

 

I am no expert. I had injectors 3 & 5 replaced under warranty. Got a code for cylinder imbalance. While the entire fuel system is covered, Lawyers love loopholes. A copper washer is not part of a fuel system but at the same time, When replacing injectors, The washer cannot be reused. I also had an engine out reseal done. Just yesterday, I took it into Audi for a code for P2020 - Intake Manifold Runner Pos. Sen./Switch Circuit Bank 2 Range/Performance. I never had that code pop up until they replaced my whole fuel system. When they did the work, I got a code on 2nd start up and was some 70 miles away and getting further away as I live 236 miles from the dealer. We moved. Now my nearest dealer is 82 miles away and I am going to take it to them next week or so. I's suggest going to another dealer or talk the the service manager. Service advisors are just that.

 

I had to do an injector seal recently and it wasn't bad. In my case, I caused the problem by using an injector hold down bolt as a ground so eventually it leaked and I had blow by exactly as you have described, stain on exhaust manifold and all. I didn't use a slide hammer but that would make the job much easier less prone to breaking anything. Mine haven't been installed that long since a major engine teardown so they weren't too siezed in place.

On a 1-10 scale changing these seals is probably a 4 but you do need to be very careful with not breaking any of the connectors or the injector itself which does make it a slightly challenging job because you can't afford to be ham fisted at all like some jobs. I think an indy shop could do all 6 in less that 2 hours if they were being very careful. Am hour if very skilled at doing these before. The entire kit to change all the copper seals and o-ring was only 30 Euros on Ebay. I guess I'm saying this isn't a big deal if that is the only problem, at least in the grand scheme of what can go wrong with these cars (e.g. HPFP)...

 

In re-reading your original thread, I have to wonder if they removed the injectors as part of any previous work on your engine? Mine have distinct blue marks on the bolts indicating the correct torque value was applied to ensure proper sealing of the copper rings. If a torque wrench was not used, or worse, they were left loose, you would likley have oil leaks at all of the injectors as you have described. Look for evidence of the bolts being removed previously and also investigate if injector removal is the SOP for the repair you had performed necessitating the engine removal.There may be some recourse for you through the dealer if you can provide any evidence that these were touched by them on a prior repair. I was surprised to see my dealer had removed them but as I understand it, certain procedures require a full engine teardown, regardless of whether or not the problem that was originally identified mandated it.