To make a long story short:

Girlfriend bought TT a year ago. Was sent a notice that it had defective timing belt. She was told by either Audi America or the Audi dealership that they couldnt do anything until the belt actually broke (sounds bogus to me!). Timing belt broke a month ago, and screwed up the engine, of course. Dealership fought fixing it. She called Audi America, who graciously offered to fix everything for free.

The car has been in the shop a month. The same dealership (who she didn't buy the car from) called today and told her she must not have been changing the oil regularly because there is some sludge. They want $400 to clean it out. She has been religious in having the oil changed. But they want records to prove it. I told her to tell them to stuff it! More investigation turned up the info that the first owner of the car actually had it serviced at this dealership, so they would have any records of service done there. Sounds to me like they aren't making any money on the rebuild, so it's time to take advantage of a woman.

Anyway, is there a different way to get rid of engine sludge? Some people say to use synthetic oil to get rid of it, but that smells like urban legend to me. She isn't going to pay $400 for this. any help in this area would be greatly appreciated.

By the way, I did not know her when she bought the car, and found out about the timing belt issue after the car broke down, so please, no lectures.

Thank you, and sorry, I guess I still made it a long story :-)

 

not sure why it would take them a month to fix the engine. also its my understanding that audi pays dealerships for warranty work though it may not be as much as that dealership would scam a person for the same job.
also also i think our engines have issues with oil sludge. some people use seafoam to help deter the buildup of sludge.

 

If synthetic oil was not used, you'll have sludge. You can only put synthetic in the TT. You could ask to see it, if you really wanted.

$400 is a good deal, just pay it while the engine is still apart. And don't get cheap oil anymore.

 

Your dealership should get reimbursed from Audi Corporate for any warranty work, so they shouldn't have a problem fixing an authorized repair. When your timing belt breaks other parts break with it, so they'll most likely charge you for those extra parts and related damage.Tell them to hurry up and fix your car and try to stay away from the dealer.
In the future always use synthetic oil.

 

use synthetic all the time. Also, Royal Purple is great stuff (don't take it from me, I'm a Royal Purple *****).

Pour about 1/2 of a can of Seafoam into the oil and drive the car for about 150-200 miles. Then drain the oil (even though it burns, I like to do it when the car is relatively hot because the oil is thinner). Fill with RP at the correct weight and don't worry about "sludge" anymore.

 

Thanks for the replies.

I know the dealership gets reimbursed, but hey, I'm sure they wanted to add some profit on top of that. They see a woman and it's game on!

Just to repeat, this is my girlfriend's car and she bought it before I knew her. No idea whether the previous owner always used synthetic oil, but I guarantee that's what she will use now. Is there a brand that is recommended? I used Mobil 1 on some of my cars in the past.

Is the timing belt an issue with all Audis, and if so, is there a year range where this was an issue or is it a continuing problem?

Thanks

 

The timing belt issue is really an misprint in the owners manual (I think in just 00-03 tt's). It said to change it at 105k miles. Pretty much every car on the road today (with a timing belt) needs it changed before 80k miles. Its pretty much common sence to car people, but non-car people would have no idea. Timing belts then ofcourse broke and customers were like "why did it break so soon". Sometime around 2004 the owners manual was changed to read 80k miles. Usually imports use timing belts, domestics mostly use timing chains that don't need to be changed.

Mobile 1 0w-40 is good for the tt. I know some dealers are shaddy, but also some are not. I guess you just have to trust your gut. If it was me, and my entire engine was taken apart I would want it back to brand new condition, if it only costed a little extra.

 

And speaking of getting the little things done while the engine is apart. MAKE SURE the water pump, tenesioner and rollers are replaced when the new timing belt is installed. Those parts fail causing the timing belt to fail. Not chaning them is the same thing as not chaning the timing belt.

 

1. You did NOT recieve a letter telling you your timing belt was defective. You recieved a letter saying SOME 1.8t timing belts are prematurely wearing and to bring it to your dealer and have it inspected. (JZ Recall).
2. If you DO NOT bring it in to be inspected and the timing belt breaks. The DEALER is RIGHT in blaming you for neglect and charge you for ALL REPAIRS intitled.
3. The JZ recall states if your timing belt is inspected and verified NOT to be have premature wear, If your belt breaks AFTER, Audi will cover all repairs.
4. AUDI TECHNICIANS DO NOT INTERFACE WITH CUSTOMERS. So for them to take advantage of a women... Give me a break.
5. If you cried to Audi about your timing belt you neglected and got them to cover your repair. You can expect to be upsold... and taking a month... Ha Ha. You need to understand the technician gets paid by the second. So the hour he was guaranteed for diagnosis, GONE. Plus all the litigating over warranty, waiting for you to call Audi. Waiting for Audi to call the dealer... This is money the TECHNICIAN is now loosing. This is the TECHNICIAN now working for free, because you neglected your car, cried to Audi. Please forgive the technician for not showing their gratitude and hurrying to get your your precious car back.

And Audi warranty will ONLY cover parts broken by the timing belt. So them upselling stuff for you is, YES a way to make back lost money. But also a courtesy to you to get ALL REPAIRS needed.

 

Thanks for the advice.

She finally got her car back today after almost a month and a half. I got to drive it this evening. I was surprised at the amount of turbo lag. Not too much off the line, then the turbo kicks in suddenly. She has the 6 speed with quattro, so I'm assuming it's the 225 hp engine?

I gave her the bad news that TT does not stand for twin turbo like she was told. Only one turbo, Sweetie :-)