The Last Issue!!!! #clutch #cylinder #awful

[TracyDan9]

Hi Everyone - apologies for the rant.

I have owned an A4 1.4 TFSI Sport for just shy of 4 years now. PCP with Audi direct. When i purchased the vehicle it had 10k miles on the clock (was used as a demo car by the garage), came with 2 years servicing, 2 years warranty etc.

I am not an aggressive driver - enjoy sticking the cruise on when I can and get the best MPG possible (68 was my best i recall :)) 

Issues - so, 12months in, the car decided to fall into limp home mode every now and again. But by pulling over, engine off for a couple of minutes, issue would go and off i went. Told Audi this when it went for its first service m- no fault found at the time, keep an eye on it.

 

Ended up being a fault with the actuator on the turbo wastegate, replacement ordered, first attempt at fitting, was missing gaskets (well done Audi), second time of trying to fit replacement wouldn't code to car, so ended up third time getting a new turbo fitted.

12 months later after a service, MMI control wheel (touch version) broke. Unable to click down like an 'Enter/Return' key on a keyboard. Replaced under warranty.

 

September last year, clutch went. 48k miles on the clock when it went appalling, and with it being a 2016 model, no aftermarket products available. A specialist clutch centre (highly regarded in the North West) fitted me a replacement - £700 😞

Low and  behold, another issue. Clutch was still slipping. Took it back, and a gasket on the cylinder was missing leaking oil on the plate. Was not sent with the clutch pack - well done again Audi, but sorted by the garage - top lads.

Now - 14 months later one of the clutch cylinders is gone. FOURTEEN months later. £400 part and fitting cost. now the dealer where the part was from says the parts warranty is only 12 months, but surely, this should last longer than 14 months. Even the clutch should have last longer than 48k miles!

 

Question is, has anyone ever called Audi out on parts warranty? if so, who did you call out - dealership, head office?

 

This is going to be the last issue as i cannot wait to get shot of the car.

Thanks for reading my post.

[Magnet]

Hello Dan,

Thank you for sharing your experiences with this car. 

Perhaps a couple of points to clarify:- 

No aftermarket clutch parts available for a 4 year old car. I would have thought this was odd and rather surprising. 

So, do you have confirmation that the clutch kit which was fitted was actually a genuine VAG kit? If so, as expensive as £700 is, I would not have been surprised if the price was more than this, since VAG clutch part prices are (very?) expensive. 

At the point where the clutch started to slip, it was found that a gasket was missing from the (slave?) cylinder. I would wonder why the clutch specialists didn’t notice this before they fitted it. 

Now the -new? (slave?) cylinder has failed (again?), and you are left to discuss warranties with the supplying dealer rather than the fitters. This seems odd, since your contract was with the fitters - to supply and fit genuine VAG clutch components - as you understand it. Unless, you were involved in supplying the parts - ? 

This really is a disaster for you, and I just cannot see why you are left having to peruse who pays for what, when you employed specialist clutch fitters to sort out the clutch for you. Odd - as I said. 

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

 

[TracyDan9]

Hi Gareth!

Apologies if my rant was confusing. My repairer (Railway Street Motors, Westhoughton - main body of work is clutches) ordered the clutch kit from an Audi dealership, so is an official OEM clutch because, as you mentioned, the car was only 3 year old at the time, and a cheaper alternative was not available.

After fitting and with it still slipping, the garage looked at it again a couple of weeks later, noticed oil was spilling out, onto the clutch plate - as the kit was not supplied with a new seal (50p kind of thing!) so they took it all apart, fitted the seal, all for no charge. Car has been fine since this morning until pushing the pedal down and it not returning.

Car was recused and dropped off at Railway Street Motors who did it last year (they remember needing to fit a new clutch twice because of the missing seal). They had a look, diagnosed the issue, and contacted the dealership for the part to see if they could claim it under warranty.

Apparently, the warranty is only 12 months, so will cost me another £400 for parts and labour as it is 14months on from the original fix.

 

Would you agree that 12months warranty is not enough?  It is not exactly a part under stress constantly. Also, with the pandemic, the number of miles I have driven the car since the replacement is significantly less than normal (changed around 48k miles, now has 58k miles on - 10k miles in 14 months)

 

i will be speaking to RSM tomorrow to get the full SP, which Audi dealership etc, so i can speak to them myself and complain. Thoughts on this?

 

Thanks 🙂

[Magnet]

Many thanks Dan, 

I do indeed feel for your predicament, but I still question my original thoughts of why an aftermarket kit from LUK for example should not have been available, since it’s likely that this clutch would have been fitted to earlier models as well. As for other aftermarket kits (if available?) - personally I’d steer well clear of them.  Still.....

 Current slave cylinder construction and location can be a nightmare, and it’s not uncommon for these to fail prematurely, but to fail in 10k miles is unreasonable. 

I think your last statement is certainly worth investigating with the supplying main dealer, although it’s really not your place to do that. For (cynical!) me, I would be wanting to have all information first hand, rather than relayed through the garage. 

Will the garage be able to give you an invoice number for the various parts bought at different times? 

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[TracyDan9]

Hi Gareth.  Apparently in 2019, there was nothing available other than the OEM parts. I recall looking online at Europarts etc, but nothing appeared. 

 

I will have to check but my understanding is that the clutch kit was purchased, the a seal was supplied a few weeks later. will need to see if this was for the slave or not.

 

Definitely will be shouting at someone tomorrow though!!

[Magnet]

Thanks Dan,

ECP? Um! Why the first port of supposedly authoritative call for so many?? 

Calm, collected, assertive, but dignified approach now Dan. Those who shout lose the battle! 

Good luck.

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

 

 

[giddyz]

It's 2023 now, my 2016 A4 1.4 tfsi petrol needs a new clutch and there is still no aftermarket one available. I have to get one from an Audi dealership... Strange indeed 

[alpha omega]

give these a ring opens 8.30am....https://justgermanparts.co.uk/

[Magnet]

Hello Gideon, 

When you say an aftermarket clutch kit isn’t available, have you tried to find out what elements of the 4 pieces aren’t available - flywheel, clutch driver plate, pressure plate, release bearing/ slave cylinder?

If not, it would be worth contacting LUK technical and enquiring there. Some of the parts may indeed be available as individual components. 
Kind regards,

Gareth.