Advice required - servicing an extremely low mileage Audi A1

[NDP]

Hi All,

My father Has an Audi A1 TFSI Automatic which he bought new in December 2014 and has only done 1,400 miles.

The "service required" message has appeared on his dashboard. The car had an  oil change service a year or two ago.

Does anyone have any advice as to what type of servicing should be done at 4 years old despite the ridiculously low mileage ?

I know that Audio auto transmissions can be temperamental (I had problems on a 40,000 mile Audi A3), 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Nigel P

[Magnet]

Hello Nigel,

It has to be appreciated that unfortunately this car is having a rather hard life, unless a part of the annual mileage is done in spaced one off reasonable length trips.

I think you are wise to consider an appropriate servicing routine for the car. It will now be approaching 5 years old, and just considering the brake fluid situation alone, it should already have had one brake fluid change on an age basis, due to the fluid absorbing moisture. If that hasn’t been attended to, then it is now overdue. The oil and filter changes are fairly easy to contend with, and if this were mine, I would be changing these every two years, irrespective of mileage. The cost spread over this period will be minimal. Again, gearbox fluid will be a consideration at 5 years old, and although automatic boxes are capable of providing reliable service over hundreds of thousands of miles of regular use, they can however take some strain on very low journey miles. I would be seeking specialist opinion on this - it could be said to be safe to continue to run it in this regime for another few years before changing the fluid, but....

Not sure if this engine runs on a belt or chain, but if a belt, then these have recommended change intervals based on time as well as mileage. The change interval may be as low as 5 years, but the dealer will advise. Low mileage, stop start, seldom-up-to-temperature use can take its toll on belts.

Finally Nigel, it’s worth considering the tyre serviceability aspects, since although the tread wear will obviously be minimal, it is likely that they will have spent long periods of time sat in one position, so it would be worth getting the sidewalls inspected. 

I would think that in summary, I would be tempted to entrust this car to be looked after on a regular two year servicing basis by a trusted  local garage, rather than leave it effectively not-serviced for longer periods due to its low mileage use. 

Not sure if any of this helps.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[NDP]

Hi Gareth,

Thank you for the swift and detailed response.

The car has been driven short distances around town on a regular basis and has done no long journeys. I

always make sure that it goes to a reputable local garage when the service warning appears, Additionally, when MOT is due we get the garage to check everything over. including tyre condition, battery etc in addition to the MOT inspection work.

My concern is for the things you mentioned such as brake/transmission/power steering fluid,  timing belt/chain etc in addition to the usual engine  coolant, oil & filter replacement.

I think  I shall follow your advice and seek expert guidance on a comprehensive service based on Audi maintenance schedule. 

I am also going to get insured on the vehicle and take my father on longer journeys in it.

Thanks again for your sound advice.

Kind regards,

Nigel.

[NDP]

Hi again Gareth,

I took your advice and consulted with a trusted garage in in the VW/Audi network and have booked the car in for  major service including the following:

Engine Oil , filter and air & pollen filters

Spark plugs

Brake fluid flush and replace

Check and top up or replace other fluids as required.

Check battery.

The engine has a timing chain , so no belt replacement needed.

They also said the transmission fluid is normally replaced at 40,000 miles and does not need doing at the moment.

 

Thanks again for your help.

Regards,

Nigel.

 

[Magnet]

Hello Nigel,

Sounds good, but personally I would not replace the spark plugs. It would be interesting to know what service schedule this car was set on when new. Not sure what the current situation is, but there was a choice of Longlife (based on mileage and usage) service, or (I think) a set time interval routine. It might be useful to check on this, since in your Dad’s case, a fixed timescale schedule would be more appropriate. 

Irrespective, I think you will find that servicing alerts will show up at ‘anniversary’ intervals to advise on brake fluid changes etc. 

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[NDP]

Hi Gareth,

Yes, the car is definitely now  on a fixed timescale schedule that I have set up with an authorised VW/Audi dealership so we should be good going forward.

The spark plug change was flagged up on the system as part of this schedule.

Thanks again for the good advice.

Regards,

Nigel.