DSG fault after dealership gearbox oil & filter change

[adamc72]

Hi all - looking for some advice and comments please.

2021 A6 40TDI, 41,000 miles, recently had 2nd inspection and service with additional recommended gearbox oil and filter change, fuel filter and pollen filter.

Was advised by the dealership the car would need to sit for 4 hours prior to changing the fluid, but 3 hours after dropping the car off, I was advised all works were complete. 25 miles after collecting the car, the transmission warning light came on with the message 'reverse gear not available, you can continue driving' . I stopped the car, restarted, checked reverse gear and fault cleared. 10 miles later, the fault returned, together with a clunky change, missing 6th and very slow when using manual. This got worse so I returned to the dealership immediately - by the time I got there it was clearly struggling in any gear.

Dealership refused to accept it could be anything to do with their work, but prior to any fault finding, drained and refilled the gearbox oil without my consent. They then advised me the fault remained but wouldn't do any work until I authorised repairs because at 41,000 miles, it was over the 40,000 mile recommended service interval and therefore out of warranty. 

Audi UK requested the dealership review the position and look to support but they refused, so now with The Motor Ombudsman. 

Never had any issues with this car, or the previous A5 and looking for suggestions as to what the fault may be, and views as to whether it's likely, as I suspect, that the oil and filter change wasn't done properly, or with the correct oil ? I can't believe that it's a coincidence, or that a year old car with only motorway miles (still on first set of tyres, so driven very nicely!) would suddenly develop a fault for no reason. 

Help ! 

[gsmdo]

Well, first of all, you've got a really sh*tty dealer. Yours sounds like a cut and dried case, from your description. Did you pay with a credit card?

[adamc72]

15 hours ago, gsmdo said:

Well, first of all, you've got a really sh*tty dealer. Yours sounds like a cut and dried case, from your description. Did you pay with a credit card?

Yes - on all three points ! Dealership is lousy and not the one who I purchased the car from - who incidentally have been supportive and said if I can get the car to them they will carry out some investigations.

Nobody I've spoken to (except the dealer who did the work of course) believes it can be anything other than the work being carried out that's the cause of this. Even Audi UK said it seems very strange but they can't force the dealership to take any action. 

Yes - credit card.  That's a good call thank you - Consumer Credit Act and try a chargeback. 

[gsmdo]

I'd do that right away. If they're not willing to stand by their work, then you still have the expense of repairing the gearbox. To talk about 41k being 1k late and thereby not being under warranty is the mark of someone who knows they've screwed up, and have been searching the small print to see if they can avoid the consequences.

Gits.

Good luck - keep us informed. And make sure you never use that dealer again.

[adamc72]

1 minute ago, gsmdo said:

I'd do that right away. If they're not willing to stand by their work, then you still have the expense of repairing the gearbox. To talk about 41k being 1k late and thereby not being under waranty is the mark of someone who know's they've screwed up, and have been searching the small print to see if they can avoid the consequences.

Gits.

Good luck - keep us informed. And make sure you never use that dealer again.

Thank you - will do. It's reassuring that the more people I speak to on this, the clearer it is that they've f'ed up.

The fact they knew the mileage at the time of booking the work in, and failed to mention any risk to the warranty but 'recommended' the work being carried out - it really does stink. 

Clearly we're not allowed to place names here but they're a multi-brand dealership who I now realise has a reputation for warranty issues across many makes, especially Land Rover/Range Rover. Hindsight's a wonderful thing isn't it. 

[Magnet]

Hello Adam,

I feel for you and the plight you have been placed in, and I join  the band who feel this is an unreasonable commercial outcome.

Just wondering what you next move is going to be. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[adamc72]

Just now, Magnet said:

Hello Adam,

I feel for you and the plight you have been placed in, and I join  the band who feel this is an unreasonable commercial outcome.

Just wondering what you next move is going to be. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

Thanks Gareth - I'm now taking legal advice from a specialist commercial lawyer and have raised a file with The Motor Ombudsman. I'll also be considering a Section 75a under the Consumer Credit Act for the vehicle if it's not picked up under warranty. 

[JMKC82]

Sorry if i missed it, but was this Audi Nottingham?

[adamc72]

30 minutes ago, JMKC82 said:

Sorry if i missed it, but was this Audi Nottingham?

It wasn't, no - but I believe they're part of the same group

[Magnet]

Just an opinion, but if I was in Adam’s situation, I would steer well clear of any naming and shaming while legal action is proceeding, so can we suggest we don’t ask Adam for any further comment on who this is. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Brizzle]

Name and shame them, others need to know 

[adamc72]

42 minutes ago, Brizzle said:

Name and shame them, others need to know 

I understand and would hate anyone else to be in a similar position, but Gareth is right - I can't say anything that may prejudice a potential legal case.

Either way, to speak only the facts this is a well known main dealer group, on a one year old car, with a 1,000 mile overrun on a 'recommended' service interval (due to being unable to get an earlier slot!) and a fault that occurred only 25 miles after work was carried out. They've taken an unbelievably hard line approach, refusing to even consider any 'goodwill' or 'customer support' action that is available to them.

I'd also add it's NOT the dealership I bought the vehicle from - not that it should be an issue, but had I been able to return there I suspect I'd have been looked after a lot better. It's all about people at the end of the day, and I dare say the people at the root of this all would likely be the same whichever badge they wear - and that's something that Audi UK should really have taken more seriously in my opinion. 

[adamc72]

Just a quick update for all those interested, and thanks for the comments and support. 

Having got nowhere with the dealership who carried out the servicing, Audi UK declined to do anything other than ask the dealership if they would look at it under warranty, which they refused to do. Audi UK then wiped their hands of it and said it was entirely up to the dealership and they could do nothing. 

So - I spoke to the dealership I bought the car from, got the car recovered on a transporter and delivered to them, where, surprise surprise, they confirmed the fault was a wrecked hydraclutch and transmission caused by overfilling of the gearbox oil which then contaminated the ATF and damaged the entire unit. £7,900.

Even better, when they interrogated the diagnostics, the original fault had been wiped. 

The dealership who carried out the works are now in possession of the estimate and diagnosis, and have admitted that the technician who carried out the work (and reinspected the car when it went back) has deleted the fault history from the car when he exited the diagnostics. Even though I was told no diagnostics had been carried out, and that after the car was rechecked (and for some reason although we now know) the gearbox oil had been drained and refilled "as a precaution". 

So  - the crux of it. They overfilled the gearbox oil. Wrecked the DSG. Then investigated, realised what they'd done, changed the oil again, wiped the history and told me it was nothing they'd done, it would have to be a paid repair and it was outside of warranty. Audi UK not interested and with hire car costs and transporter costs the claim is already close to £10k. 

Needless to say there are some interesting conversations on the way. 

Watch this space

[gsmdo]

15 minutes ago, adamc72 said:

Just a quick update for all those interested, and thanks for the comments and support. 

Having got nowhere with the dealership who carried out the servicing, Audi UK declined to do anything other than ask the dealership if they would look at it under warranty, which they refused to do. Audi UK then wiped their hands of it and said it was entirely up to the dealership and they could do nothing. 

So - I spoke to the dealership I bought the car from, got the car recovered on a transporter and delivered to them, where, surprise surprise, they confirmed the fault was a wrecked hydraclutch and transmission caused by overfilling of the gearbox oil which then contaminated the ATF and damaged the entire unit. £7,900.

Even better, when they interrogated the diagnostics, the original fault had been wiped. 

The dealership who carried out the works are now in possession of the estimate and diagnosis, and have admitted that the technician who carried out the work (and reinspected the car when it went back) has deleted the fault history from the car when he exited the diagnostics. Even though I was told no diagnostics had been carried out, and that after the car was rechecked (and for some reason although we now know) the gearbox oil had been drained and refilled "as a precaution". 

So  - the crux of it. They overfilled the gearbox oil. Wrecked the DSG. Then investigated, realised what they'd done, changed the oil again, wiped the history and told me it was nothing they'd done, it would have to be a paid repair and it was outside of warranty. Audi UK not interested and with hire car costs and transporter costs the claim is already close to £10k. 

Needless to say there are some interesting conversations on the way. 

Watch this space

Holy crap - this should be interesting... 🍿

[adamc72]

6 minutes ago, gsmdo said:

Holy crap - this should be interesting... 🍿

Oh - did I forget to add there's about a 3 month wait for the components for the repair ? 

[adamc72]

15 hours ago, adamc72 said:

Oh - did I forget to add there's about a 3 month wait for the components for the repair ? 

 

On 6/7/2022 at 12:01 PM, adamc72 said:

Yes - on all three points ! Dealership is lousy and not the one who I purchased the car from - who incidentally have been supportive and said if I can get the car to them they will carry out some investigations.

Nobody I've spoken to (except the dealer who did the work of course) believes it can be anything other than the work being carried out that's the cause of this. Even Audi UK said it seems very strange but they can't force the dealership to take any action. 

Yes - credit card.  That's a good call thank you - Consumer Credit Act and try a chargeback. 

Mike, I meant to confirm as well that I contacted my credit card company and sent them the emails from Audi refusing to investigate or take the matter further, and they have refunded me the full cost of the additional service items pending their investigation, so thanks for reminding me of the Consumer Credit Act piece ! 

[gsmdo]

Excellent news! 👍

[adamc72]

A further and very interesting update - the dealership that carried out the initial service challenged the dealership I appointed to inspect the car, requesting proof of their diagnosis and reasoning, suggesting that it could have been something different. They provided the full report and diagnostic schedule and this morning I got a call.....

They've admitted complete liability for the damage, acknowledge that the technicians involved tried to cover it up and lied, and they're sorting a temporary car and will repay all my hire costs to date. They want to carry out the repair themselves but I've stated I don't trust them and have no confidence. 

I've requested a detailed proposal from them for settlement - taking into account the personal impact, the finance payments on a car that's unusable for the duration, stress and inconvenience etc, after which I'll consider their offer to repair the car. I suspect once they look into all of that the first thing they'll do is send me an NDA to sign and make it conditional of their offer ! 

 

[Magnet]

Good move not to have named the dealer Adam,

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[coupe4]

A scary story adam and i can only imagine the stress and strain it put you under,it was a good outcome and credit to you for sticking with it and not letting the garage fob you off.greg.

[Willnicho]

My 70 plate Audi A6 Avant Black Edition broke down Monday 20th May 2024. After travelling 45 mins in the car and pulling up to a roundabout my car came up with a transmission fault and would not move. I then called the AA who could do nothing with the car other than tow me to my Audi dealership. Unfortunately the kicker was that we were due on our yearly family Cornwall trip on Friday 24th May so that then left the holiday in tatters 😔 They then had the car inspected Tuesday/Wednesday and found that the gearbox mechatronics had failed and requires replacing. I then asked the question should this really be happening on a car that has full Audi service history at just over 3 years old? They have said that I am liable for the bill with zero contribution from them because the gearbox oil change was due on 40K and mines done 46K, but I had previously tried to book the car in for this doing on 2 occasions previously, but they were too busy and could not supply me with a car to get to work in. On top of that I had to get a hire car to try and salvage our family holiday but again thus only added to the stress, upset and anxiety of the whole family, not to mention the £1900 hire bill on top of Audi's £1860 bill.

So, can anyone tell me do I have a case to try reclaim any of these costs or maybe even just the bill from Audi as i think this is absolutely disgusting from a reputable world wide company such as Audi that pride themselves on their great name and customer service. How can treat their customers in this manner after spending tens of thousands of pounds on a brand new car and what makes it worse I have been with Audi now about 12 years with various models of vehicles 😡

I would really appreciate any help and all feedback.