Poweller

Hi Liza Audi have recently covered the cost of replacing the alternator on my 2020 S4, it was out of warranty. They refused at first and after a bit of a battle with Audi UK and the dealer, they backed down. Apparently the warranty on the alternator has been extended to 7 years as in the USA. good luck! Ross

Hi @fiddyk23, yes, everything included under the warranty extension- the dealer is Hereford Audi. I’ve been told 4 other parts are needed in connection with the alternator replacement, but there is a delay with these so waiting for an update from the dealer. I’ll try and find out some more info when I pick it up. cheers

Hi, Audi have confirmed this morning that it will be fully covered under warranty- they are extending the warranty period to 7 years, same as the USA. Sounds like there are parts availability issues though..Got there in the end, thanks for your help.

After I quizzed them on the alternator failure they admitted this is a known issue and that the other warning lights could have been as a result of the defective alternator. They then said they could just clear the gearbox fault code, despite telling me it is undriveable in the first instance! I asked them to replace the alternator, I’ve got them down to £1100 but still don’t think I should be paying a penny! there is a class action lawsuit in the US on this very issue but Audi UK don’t seem to be taking it very seriously! https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2023/audi-electrical-system-malfunction-warnings-lawsuit.shtml cheers

Hi Colin I read your post with interest. I own a 2020 S4 tdi which I’ve had since new, and has always been serviced by the main dealer. The warranty expired in March and it recently hit 60k miles. It’s been trouble free until 60k miles but since then it has been plagued with issues and all sorts of warning lights have been popping up, including an Ad blue system failure, gear box malfunction and drive system fault, as well as a squealing noise coming from the engine bay on start up- this is sporadic. The first issue to appear was the squealing noise and the other issues have followed. The faults generally clear once the vehicle is restarted and don’t happen at all when I disable the start stop system. It was in Audi for a diagnostic on Tuesday and I had a slightly confusing update from the dealer today.. the gear box needs to be replaced (planetary failure!) but this will be covered under goodwill (£11k!) but I’d have to pay the labour costs. However, they then said they could just clear the fault and I could see how it goes- earlier in the week they told me it wasn’t driveable.. Regarding the other issues, there is a fault with the alternator and this needs replacing (£1900) and apparently there is an ECU issue with the ad blue system- £2200 to sort. I’m wondering if the gearbox and ad blue warning lights are just computer glitches caused by a low battery as a result of the alternator fault?

Hi, I’ve just had this exact issue diagnosed on my 2020 Audi S4 which has just hit 60k miles so just out of warranty. Audi are refusing to cover it - £1900 to replace. One of 3 big issues that have recently developed since I hit 60k miles, including a planetary gearbox failure, (£11k- they’re covering that!) and an ad blue system fault- £2200 to sort and won’t cover that. Really expected more from an Audi, it’s a proper nail!