Rear Diff Failure on Audi A4 (B7) 2.0TFSI Quattro 68k Miles

Matt Simis

Jimmycooker wrote: »

Lads,

They say this is a mechanical diff and that .4L would be held up in the gears.

They want 3000 to fix it...

Desperately need some advice on this now...

Its not going to cost 3k to change a rear diff... Maybe 10th of that.

Matt Simis

Matt Simis wrote: »

Its not going to cost 3k to change a rear diff... Maybe 10th of that.

...... supplied and fitted for €300 for a new rear diff on an A4?

mickdw

RoverJames wrote: »

...... supplied and fitted for €300 for a new rear diff on an A4?

Perhaps through a breaker and fitting it in the shed.

Matt Simis

RoverJames wrote: »

...... supplied and fitted for €300 for a new rear diff on an A4?

mickdw wrote: »

Perhaps through a breaker and fitting it in the shed.

And? Look how well the Dealer has handled it!
Im just pointing it out that he doesnt have a 3k repair bill, the garage just want 3k, different things.
If he needs the car for legitimate travel reasons, this is relevant. If we go down the 'principle of the matter' (which I agree seems their fault), then yes, lets call it 3k damage.

Jimmycooker

Yea the part is 790 stg on a website i found and ive rung around and have been quoted 1400...audi are f'ing b_è'é"&éé"''ds, we'll charge you double the cost of any other garage for the original service then we'll charge you double a ne other garage to fix the resulting mess...

My girlfriend wants to go on joe duffy, might let them know the next time im talking to them!

-Corkie-

Jimmycooker wrote: »

Yea the part is 790 stg on a website i found and ive rung around and have been quoted 1400...audi are f'ing b_è'é"&éé"''ds, we'll charge you double the cost of any other garage for the original service then we'll charge you double a ne other garage to fix the resulting mess...

My girlfriend wants to go on joe duffy, might let them know the next time im talking to them!

Ill guarntee you if Joes researcher calls them to see whats happening they wont be long bucking up..

tossy

Just get your girlfriend to call them pretending to be from the Joe Duffy research team looking for a comment or spokesman for tomorrows show.

Jimmycooker

she'll actually ring them and ask them to do a piece on main dealer garages and ask about about the quality of their work and justification for the high service prices...they mentioned that the price of changing the timing belt ect had gone up too between the first time they said the word needed to be done and christmas...more than +10% due to hourly charge rate increases, rates that were already crazy...all this when everything else is going down in cost

Jimmycooker

Jimmycooker wrote: »

she'll actually ring them and ask them to do a piece on main dealer garages and ask about about the quality of their work and justification for the high service prices....................

......... would it not be better to try and get your car sorted at their expense if it turns out they were negligent rather than your girlfriend asking them to do a piece about main dealers?

Jimmycooker

yep that's what i'm trying to do, either by threat of bad publicity or through an external investigation...whatever way i can

tossy

Have you actually sought legal advice or a second professional opinion ? Or have you just posted on here and rang Joe Duffy to try and get them in a round about kind of way to cover this topic?

What is the state of play now? Who has the car?

Jimmycooker

they have the car, a friend is going to collect it on a flatbed and i'm going to send it to a reputable garage outside of Cork County for further investigation.

I haven't sought legal advice yet, but will do as soon as i have a favorable report in my hand.

I was only joking about Joe Duffy, but to be honest it doesn't seem like that bad an idea either really when you look at the simple facts.

bigroad

From what you have said op ,it sounds like they never put any oil in and keeped the oil for a nixor./or they put the wrong oil in your diff.I would get a sample of the oil in your diff ,and bring it to a lab for a full report.

... where are these labs that test oil and tell you what spec it was etc etc.

Jimmycooker

I'm afraid that ship has sailed big road, i was in a rush to leave the morning they drained the diff and i assumed they'd accept responsibility based on the .5L drained...how stupid of me, will i ever learn.

walus

I know only one lab that do oil analysis: http://www.blackstone-labs.com/. Knowing the type/brand of oil used I would imagine they could be even more helpful though.

I took a quick look at the type of oil that should be used in the diff and if it is the G 052 145 A1/S2, which is an equivalent to Fuchs Titan Sintopoid FE SAE 75W-85 (Fuchs probably make the VW/Audi oil anyway), then it is a fairly standard gearoil that should easily drain full from the diff. Garage explanation that almost half of its volume still seats in the diff after it was drained is a load of b......s!

Cuddlesworth

One solicitors letter at a moderately cheap cost and they will change their tune quite quickly.

Jimmycooker

they said they send on all the stuff i asked for so we'll see what the detailed explanation says

Jimmycooker

Well,

I asked Audi for this list of stuff (see below) and i the guy i was dealing with obviously sought help from above to deal with the request. I also had a flat bed truck driver call to arrange collection.

A manager got back to me, he sounded a lot more understanding and said he'd give me a car in the meantime while they investigated this further free of charge. I told him i had talked to a motor assessor and he suggested that I could have 100% confidence in them to investigate it in an unbiased and transparent manor....oh how i would love to believe him, he did sound very understanding and accomodating.

I told him i didnt want him to open it unless he was going to fix it no questions asked. I've talked to loads of people including Audi garages in the UK and they all had a lot of trouble identifying what type of diff was in my car (whether it was 1L volume or 1.5L) which is why there may be a problem now. They all said that if a problem developed so soon after an oil change that the intervention was the most likely cause, they said that these mechanical (not haldex like the TT) were bullet proof, some saying theyd never seen one replaced.

The manager has said he cant guarantee he'll fix it without looking at it, so i told him id collect it on a flat bed and get it looked at externally and not have my assessor on site in their garage when it was being taken apart / diagnosed.

Am i being too synical about this or should i get the car looked at somewhere else.

This issue developed very gradually and not with a sudden crack or bang like something came off...im thinking heat, expansion, shearing / grinding of gears over a short space of time.....most likely due to lack of / too much or the wrong type of oil...what do ye think?

What could they find when they open it up that could prove the oil change didn't cause this? Am i right to take it away from the garage, are they less likely to sort it out once it leaves? Should i pay an assesor to go upto fermoy or should i just be there myself when they open it up, take a few pics? Time / and or money being wasted here big time....

Jimmycooker

They seem reluctant to give me the stuff i'm looking for here too.....

mickdw

Be there yourself with assessor in the dealership that likely broke it.
They should be able to answer all your queries first. I wouldnt do anything until they respond with all the answers you required.
From there you can have then can out supervised activities such as filling and draining to prove that volume was incorrect.
If they are reluctant, go straight for soliitors letter requesting the same details.

tossy

Jimmycooker wrote: »

Am i being too synical about this

No.

Jimmycooker wrote: »

should i get the car looked at somewhere else.

Yes. Just make sure they are A. Reputable and B. know what they are looking at. No point in letting a Pig stare into a helicopter.

Also Jimmy if it was me i would cease posting on this matter entirely until a resolution has been reached.

Voodoomelon

Baffles me how a dealer can mess up the simplest of jobs.
I drained my diff a while ago and refilled it with zero problems, to say the oil is held in the gears is bull, comes straight out the bottom, hence the drain plug being at the lowest point.