Alternator failure related to mild hybrid system?

[Bingomighty]

I think you need a clear diagnosis from an Audi dealer that it is the BSG with the correct reference that requires replacing and that your car’s PR code is 9G8.

if that is the case, the extended warranty is engaged and Audi should fix it. 
in my case, the failure occurred in France but I qualified under the extended warranty. I paid the French Audi dealer and was reimbursed.

 

 

[DieSel-Q]

3 hours ago, Bingomighty said:

I think you need a clear diagnosis from an Audi dealer that it is the BSG with the correct reference that requires replacing and that your car’s PR code is 9G8.

if that is the case, the extended warranty is engaged and Audi should fix it. 
in my case, the failure occurred in France but I qualified under the extended warranty. I paid the French Audi dealer and was reimbursed.

 

 

That's the issue though - getting a clear diagnosis from Audi, unless the car has totally failed and been towed in. If it's intermittent or failing, rather than failed, you will have to be patient, while the dealer, afraid of not being reimbursed, jumps through hoops with your car to satisfy Audi UK.

It *should* be straightforward to apply the 7 year warranty, but dealer actions say it isnt.

Edited April 5 by DieSel-Q

[Audi Death Trap]

I would like to remind newer readers to keep deactivating your start/stop system to reduce the load on the starter alternator. I have just under a year now before the seven year warranty runs out. Failure after that is a ticking financial time bomb.

[DieSel-Q]

1 hour ago, Audi Death Trap said:

I would like to remind newer readers to keep deactivating your start/stop system to reduce the load on the starter alternator. I have just under a year now before the seven year warranty runs out. Failure after that is a ticking financial time bomb.

It's an almost religious thing for me, when I start the car.

How did your story end ?

[Audi Death Trap]

Once the main dealer told me my car could potentially be off the road for months as replacement alternators were on back order in Germany I went out and bought a 2011 Hyundai i10 the next morning as I couldn't manage without any transport. This was literally the cheapest car available within walking distance of home. My A8 was repaired before I even picked up the Hyundai and the £3,800 purchase price went down the drain. I also had to pay for the new alternator as the dealer and Audi refused to acknowledge the extended warranty. The battle with Audi Executive Office became a nightmare and once I threatened them with legal action they refused assistance altogether. After involving VOSA and my local paper they agreed to honour the warranty if I withdrew all legal threats. Considering I could have lost my life in the initial breakdown Audi couldn't have been more inconsiderate towards me if they tried. A steering arm was damaged in the recovery and I also had to put time and effort into getting my money back for that. The whole protracted saga showed Audi's true colours.

[DieSel-Q]

That's really bad, and a sad reflection of the financial relationship between Audi AG, Audi UK, and the franchised dealers. Damage (cost exposure) limitation resulting in a total lack of customer care.

For what it's worth, I can highly recommend A&A motors in Hull. No glossy showroom or promise of elevated technical expertise, but they know what they are doing in Audis and are good at giving second opinions when trust in the Audi dealer(s) is flaky.

I don't know why I'm paying for the highest level Audi Used Warranty to be honest!

 

[Hardip Singh]

Thank you all for your comments, suggestions and experiences.

So far, local Audi dealer verbally told me a 7 year extended warranty exists, so having paid a small fortune to get a independant towing service to drop the car to them, its with Audi now and i can pay for the privelege to get it checked.

After that, either they accept or dont, will know in 72 hours as per what the dealership told me. 

Im hoping they dont screw up and destroy the main battery during the checking process. 

H

[DieSel-Q]

Hardip, please report how the diagnosis goes - maybe your dealer is one that's on the ball. There are some that seem to be getting bounced into doing more tests by Audi.

[Alrawis]

Seeing the recent postings has brought all the horrible memories back. 

I hope you all get it sorted and covered by audi.

as soon as my A8 was sorted, I sold it immediately and got an i7 and never looked back.

it’s not even the aggro of getting it all sorted for free but the number of weeks you spend without the car.

I never want to go through that experience with a premium car ever again.

 

[Kari]

Hi All

Audi q8 owner here 2019 mild hybrid. I have the exact same issue and was stranded on a busy road without being able to put even hazard lights on. AA told me def alternator issue. Changed battery this did not help much. Start stop issue was my first symptom. Spoke with both Bristol and Bath branches, both saying same thing you need to tow car for diagnostic and we will asses and let you know the costs. Bristol mentioned that they maybe able to speak with Audi UK and see if this is covered with extended warranty and if there is any goodwill can offer. Which branch would you recommend and who should I be speaking with. Any help would be greatly appreciated. From past posts I can see Bath sounds better. Thank you! 

[Mark2]

My RS6 suffered the same as you will see from my posts, Bath Audi have the experience and should sort this under warranty 

[Hardip Singh]

Hello Kari and everyone.

Collected my A7 from garage this morning. Full repair was done under the 7 year free extended warranty.

Ive got the written report etc and will share later once scanned it. 

The Audi free 7 year warranty exists, do NOT let anyone at Audi fob you off. 

Tell them about all of us with same problems, print this forum if necessary and show them, tell them u are fully aware of rhe USA and UK warranties.

Audi garage will always insist on carrying out their diagnostic check (£150) as first step. But dont worry re that cost as it will be covered by the 7 yr warranty. I didnt pay for anything.

Also, book the diagnostic asap and push them for a courtesy car. Mine said rhey didnt have any which i think was nonsense, but no way of proving.

I need to chase Audi for the independant towing service i had to pay. 

Started to draft a big complaint letter. Will share when done. 

Best of luck everyone, we are all in this mess together and must all push Audi to do better.

H

[Kari]

2 hours ago, Mark2 said:

My RS6 suffered the same as you will see from my posts, Bath Audi have the experience and should sort this under warranty 

Thank you, I will try Bath and will keep you updated! Was your Audi under any other warranty? What year it is? 

[Mark2]

It was out of warranty but I had an extended warranty but that did not kick in as Monmotors got Audi UK to fess up, paid the recovery fee, courtesy car plus the repair 

[K slade]

An update on our A6 and my post on 11 February, when we took the car back to the dealer after second battery warning (after 12v battery replacement).  Following another diagnostic a whole host of other faults/issues came up that didn’t present before.  We were clear that we wouldn’t pay a penny whilst they hadn’t diagnosed the issue, as we thought it was most likely the BSG which should be covered by the 7 year warranty.  They said they had to follow audi protocols to ensure they were reimbursed for any costs, which involved a lot of report writing and waiting for audi instruction. 

Fast forward 10 weeks, 72 (yes, 72!) engineer hours, 2 separate wiring looms and….. a new BSG under the 7 year warranty and we finally have the car back and have not paid any more than the initial 12v battery change in January.  We estimate with the labour costs, new BSG and all the special wiring for the looms it probably cost them well over £11k and the car is worth around 20k according to WBAC.

 

It’s clear that Audi UK are not making this easy for anyone - they were probably hoping some wiring fault would be found and they’d be off the hook with costs and the warranty.  The dealer seemed as frustrated as we were.

 

So fingers crossed we’re back on the road again for now.  Good luck to everyone still struggling with this issue and be prepared for a potentially long wait as we have.  The 7 year warranty is real though, they’re just not making it easy to get to.

[StandFree]

Hi everyone, long time lurker and first time poster.

My 2021 RS7 with 24k miles would appear to have suffered BSG failure today. All the warnings mentioned in this post appeared almost at once and the car cut out soon after. Audi assist were with me within 30 minutes and confirmed the 12v battery is not  charging. The car is being recovered to Stirling Audi tomorrow morning. 

I will say that the car has been faultless to this point and hopefully,with the information from this forum, the repair will be reasonably quick and at no cost to myself.

I hope to update with good news soon,

Standfree.

[DieSel-Q]

On 4/21/2025 at 3:59 PM, K slade said:

 

It’s clear that Audi UK are not making this easy for anyone - they were probably hoping some wiring fault would be found and they’d be off the hook with costs and the warranty.  The dealer seemed as frustrated as we were.

 

That's a really, really important point for other worried drivers.

The dealer told me that the Audi Used Approved / Audi all components cover Extended Warranty does not cover any fault deemed to be 'wiring'.

Imagine how that's going to work when we're all driving Audi EV's - they are battery, motor(s) and lots of wiring.