Hi,
I’m from Colombia, Bogota and I have a new Audi A3 Sportback 1.2 T 105 cv. I’m very worried, confused and disappointed about my car.
Last week I was on a traffic jam and the car suddenly stopped. When I tried to start the engine again it sounded horrible, like something was really damaged!

I took a look into the bonnet and I saw a lot of spilled oil, so I didn’t even try starting the engine again. I called the crane service and took the car to local Audi dealer. The car is five days ago in the workshop and I have no news from Audi/VW technicians or customer service.

Car has only 10.000 kms (6200 miles) of total mileage. I usually drive around 3500 rpm and eventually between 4500 rpm and 5000 rpm so I don’t really think I have “forced” the engine. I took the vehicle for the first maintenance service around 7500 kms (4700 miles).

1. How does the warranty apply on this very estrange case? What are my rights as an Audi customer? I’m afraid that Audi customer service is not as good here in Colombia as it is in US or Europe.

2. How many time does the Audi dealer can take to inspect the engine in order to find out what happened?

3. How can an engine fail like this in a new car and what may be the reason? What could be damaged?

4. Who can I contact if the local Audi service in Colombia does not satisfactorily resolve my problem?

Thanks a lot for your advices. Your valuable help and expertise is much appreciated.

 

Sorry you haven't received a response yet. I was hoping someone would pick this one up and provide some answer.

Unfortunately I have no idea what options you have in Colombia. Here in the USA I would certainly try to talk with the dealership first and if that fails go the Audi customer care solution route. Someone somewhere within Audi will have to answer to this. It's not like you neglected the car (you did have the scheduled maintenance done) and you haven't had an accident or tuned the car in any way (from what I read). A brand new car should not have this issue -certainly not a luxury brand. However there is always the the possibility of getting a lemon or having the maintenance department screw something up. Either way they need to fix this, not you in my opinion.


Also the 1.2T engine is not something you see in the US either - so I have no idea what the specs are (except 1.2 liter) and what things commonly fail on those engines.

Good luck!

 

Hi Sheldon, thanks for your answer.

I finally received some feedback from the dealer representative (Colwagen) just today. According to him, the PCV valve was damaged. It seems that the damage of that valve makes a spillage of oil all over the timing belt. The wet belt caused desynchronized ignitions so one engine valve was also damaged. Does this make sense? I’m not an engine expert!

They will need to change the PCV, engine valve and the belt kit. Unfortunately, they don’t have spare parts here in Colombia so they will need to import them directly from Germany. Just the shipping will take like one month plus the days required to change parts. I calculate this will take something around 40 days.

Fortunately, the repair is covered by the warranty according to the agent but it seems that it is not much I can do to expedite the process; I’m on their hands. Consequently, not having the car for that many days is going to affect me since I will need to pay for my transportation. I’m not really sure what can I demand for a repair that takes that long, (like a spare vehicle for example).

I’m wondering what caused PCV valve damage in the first place and if this is something that will be fixed once and for all. I’m really scared having the same problem in the future! Hope this is not a common failure on the 1.2T engines.

Again, thanks for your advice!

 

Can you get a loaner from the dealer while you wait? If not it might be worthwhile to pay for air freight on the parts from Germany. Assuming you need a ride until it is fixed, that should be way less expensive than a rental car until the part comes in.

 

I agree - dealership should provide a loaner car or rental for free. Warranty usually covers repairs but good customer service which is usually something you get when buying luxury brand over cheaper brands)have this almost as a given.

In regards to the damage experienced - the PCV makes sense but I'm not sure how the oil dripping onto the timing belt would cause slippage so sudden. What I can see however is that the oil has been leaking for a while (maybe since last maintenance) and over time it caused the belt to become weak and it slipped off or snapped. Either way interference engines do not like that and it almost always causes major damage (like in your case).
Since you have a new car it is possible that they used a newer version of the PCV part that hasn't been fully tested yet. Sometimes they have to release revisions to address issues (like yours). When the new parts come in and they got the car back together - ask them if the same PCV was installed or if it was a newer revision. If it is newer, ask them for the part number. This way you can argue with them if this happens again in 1 or 2 years to have a different part number installed.

Also when the warranty expires and you want to keep the car - you can actually get rid of the PCV and install an oil catch can system. However since that is a modification and would affect your warranty don't do it now.

 

sheldon & cmerado,

I mentioned the loaner because I had a transmission go totally out on a car that was only 3 weeks old and delivered in the first year of a new model during the first month they were being shipped. They refused to give me a loner. I was out of state when it happened. Between air fare and car rental it cost me $2k on the warranty repair. If I would have known it would take so long, I would have rented in the state where it broke down and at least saved the airfare.

Another thought on the loaner is that if dealer does not initially agree to one, I would contact the Audi customer phone line for the area. I'm sure they will get involved with the dealer. My previous car to the Audi was a VW Eos Exec. When I first got that there were a bunch of electrical problems with keyless entry and start. It took four times back to get them resolved, but I always got a loaner and felt that both the dealer and VW was doing what they could to resolve the problem. VW even sent me two inconvenience checks to help compensate me for all the times I had to go back in. At any rate it is worth a shot to contact Audi if the dealer does not provide a loaner.

 

Sheldon & Bobmar46

Finally, I got a loaned car. I went to the customer service office here in Bogota, Colombia and expressed my concerns about the situation and status of my car. They understood my concerns and explained to me that the failure was due to spilled oil over the timing belt. Spillage was caused by PCV malfunction.

Slippage of the timing belt damaged a big set of components including engine valves, camshaft, engine head, timing belt and accessories belt plus other minor components. They show me the list and its around 30 items that they need to bring from Germany.

Arrival of this parts is going to teak at least 20 working days plus the time needed to make the replacements and fixture. That’s the reason for them to loan me an identical Audi for the duration of the shipping and part replacements. Fortunately, it seems that they are responding, not as quick as expected but at least they are giving me a temporary solution.

I’m going to ask them for the PCV part number since I’m concern about the future so as you said, I can argue to have a different part number installed.

 

Congratulations cmercado. I am happy to hear they finally did the right thing on a loaner.

 

+1
Glad to hear everything is going to work out.