A few months ago, I had to have the MMI mainboard on my Wife's '07 Q7 replaced because she spilled coffee all over it & burned it out. Audi of Charlotte had to replace it twice (during the same service) bc the 1st board was defective & they had to order a 2nd board. All was well - or so it seemed -- after the board was replaced.

Last month, I hooked up my trailer to the Q7 (1st time after the MMI circuit board had been replaced) & the car gave me a warning indicator stating the directional indicator lights on the trailer were not working. I checked all of the wiring on the trailer & replaced the lights on the trailer but the warning persisted. I hooked up the trailer to a friend's Chevy Avalanche & the trailer lights (all of them) worked just fine. I then suspected something was wrong with the Q7's tow package (installed by Audi of Bernardsville where I originally leased the vehicle).

I brought it to Audi of Charlotte where they immediately blamed it on the aftermarket electric brake controller I had professionally installed. I painstakingly explained the brake controller was installed shortly after I leased the vehicle & had been working fine with the dealer installed tow package for over 40k miles. It was only after the MMI board had been replaced did the tow package give me any problems. I didn't think the brake controller had anything to do with the warning indicator the car was now giving. I had towed the trailer 3 times on round trip drives from the Charlotte area to NYC & countless times from Charlotte to Atlanta/Kershaw/Charleston and back without any difficulty & the brake controller & brake lights always worked flawlessly.

After much ado, the service dept agreed to look at the car under warranty. They agreed to remove the brake controller as a diagnostic to see what would happen & trouble shoot the warning indicator. They removed the brake controller & the Q7 still returned a fault. They located a blown fuse in part of the circuitry of the tow package. They replaced the fuse but there was still a fault. A "module" was replaced but that didn't solve the problem either. They then had to purchase "over $200 worth" of diagnostic equipment to see what was wrong with the tow package circuitry. This new equipment still didn't give them an indication as to what was wrong. They then reconnected the brake controller & the same fault was returned by their diagnostic equipment. In other words, with or without the brake controller connected, the same fault was being generated -- proof the brake controller had nothing to do with the tow package electronics being faulty.

Irwin Pinion, the service dept rep I was dealing with, called me after a week & told me the car was repaired & ready to be picked up. I picked up the car & took it home. I obtained a trailer light diagnostic tool & plugged it into the trailer lights hook-up of the Q7 & it showed the circuitry was not working properly. I called Irwin & told him what happened. He then told me I had to bring him the trailer so they can try to further diagnose the problem. I asked why they needed the trailer since a simple diagnostic tool that simulates the trailer's brake/running lights should suffice. He just reiterated they needed the trailer & would not elaborate any further.

The service tech's notes outlined all of the above but I didn't read the 2 pages when I picked up the Q7. (I should have but only read it after I got home.) The last line of the tech's notes even states the circuitry was not fixed but he was told by the service manager to put everything back to the way they found it & return the car to the customer.

At this point, I'm at an impass. They won't work on the Q7 any further without the trailer. However, I can't bring them the trailer since the brake/running/indicator lights don't work which makes it illegal for me to take the trailer on the road.

Irwin Pinion keeps stating they need the trailer & a trailer lights tester won't do. He also went out of his way to state at least 3 times they spent over $200 on diagnostic equipment to work on my car. What significance is that to me? As far as I'm concerned, that's part of the price of doing business. As the Audi service dept, they should have all of the proper tools needed to work on Audi's. If they don't have the proper tool, they need to acquire it. Moreover, despite spending money on diagnostic equipment, they still have not fixed the problem.

During my latest conversation with Mr. Pinion, I asked to speak with the service manager. Mr. Pinion told me he'd leave a messsge with him & the manager would call me at his earliest convenience. That was 4 days ago. I have still not heard from the service manager.

I have a feeling since all of this work is being done under warranty, they don't want to waste any more of their time on it. Also, since the car has less than 800 miles before it goes over 50k miles, I'm thinking they're waiting for the warranty to expire before truly tackling the problem so they can charge me.

To say I am dissatisfied with Audi of Charlotte is a complete understatement:
They lied to me about the car being fixed.
They are making an unreasonable demand that I bring them the trailer so they can work on the car when any car mechanic knows the trailer lights tester is just as good.
They went out of their way to tell me they had to spend money on diagnostic equipment to work on my car yet still has not fixed the problem.
The service manager will not return my calls.

 

Is there anyone in Charlotte you recommend for audis? Others have recommended Import Connections, but I wasn't too thrilled with the experience I had with them. I asked several times for a quote for service and they never gave me one. They called me to tell me something else was wrong with my car, but never called when my car was done.

 

there is eurowise they do really good work

 

Sorry to hear what happened but the way they responded was something unusual, that place normally respond very nicely.

 

Sonny, if the service manager's name happened to be Gerald Dilliard, then you have been dealing with a total crook.