Chance of A6 recall? Turbo issue

[A6man]

I’m hoping someone can provide some advice. I’ll try not to ramble too much! 

I own a 66 Audi A6 Avant, bought used circa 4 years ago. Although it passed it’s MOT we’ve been having sporadic issues with the turbo, where it loses power and goes into limp mode. As I have a 5 month old baby and another young child, this is a safety concern, especially when my wife experiences the issue when it the fast lane on the motorway. Dropping to 40mph and struggling to get to the hard shoulder is not ideal!

I brought the car into my local Audi dealer. The master mechanic failed to produce the fault, but recommended I replace the boost pressure sensor for £180, which I did along with paying for the diagnostic. As soon as I took the car back the issue appeared again. I told them I thought it may be related to heat, they took the car back (for a week!), after which they said the turbo needs to be entirely replaced. The quote is £4,500! This is a car with 70K miles I might add.

I checked vehicle recalls via gov.co.uk and there’s nothing outstanding against my vehicle, BUT I see there’s been recalls in 2022 for turbo related issues in the U.S for certain models, but also here in the UK (see below).

I feel like we’re being held to ransom for something that looks like a manufacturing error.
Any recommendations on what we can do? 

S/RS recall: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=86&t=1985493&i=0

U.S recall: https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-recalls-defects/audi-sedan-recall-for-stalling-problem-a1115980261/#:~:text=Audi%20is%20recalling%20some%20A8,without%20warning%20while%20in%20motion.

GOVUK A6 recalls: https://www.check-vehicle-recalls.service.gov.uk/recall-type/vehicle/make/AUDI/model/A6/year/2017/recalls

[A6man]

To add: it’s a 2.0 Diesel TDI Ultra.

[cliffcoggin]

I see several misconceptions here.

Firstly, an MOT certificate shows only that the car is roadworthy. It has nothing to do with engine problems so the MOT is irrelevant here.

Secondly, low engine power can not be considered a safety issue. That's just fanciful.

Thirdly, turbo faults on a seven year old car with 70000 miles on the clock are not unreasonable depending on how harshly it has been driven. It would be considered fair wear and tear so why assume it is a manfacturing problem needing a recall?

Fourthly, master mechanic and Audi are contradictory. Take the car for testing at an independent Audi garage. If the turbo proves to be at fault then it will indeed cost several thousand pounds.

Fifthly, whether the car is 7 years or 7 months old makes no difference to the cost. Turbos are complex machines made to close tolerances and require expertise and time to fit.

[Steve Q]

To add to cliffs comments. The first turbo blew on my A6 C5 at 75k and one day out of warranty. Audi would only cover some of the cost then. My dad was not impressed. I inherited the car with it's second turbo which lasted untill 344k miles before engine blew. No chance them covering the cot on a 8 year old car I'm afraid. 

Speak to turbo technics or similar.