****** local dealer having a right laugh!

[Nogmeister]

So my Noggy goes in for her interim service, all is fine with that. They managed to get a nice smear of oil on my silver alcantara (!) but I went back and they cleaned it off fine. Now the kicker,

When I booked her in I told them I had engine management light come on, we checked for fault codes, and I got P1296 - which comes back as coolant temp sensor - common on S3's eh?

So they know what I have found, I asked them if they agree. I get back their quotation for some work:

Carry out coolant change -£91.73
Supply and replace radiator fan switch - £92.08 or
Supply and replace radiator fan control unit - £208.20

What the actual **** are they playing at? I mean I know they are never likely to be cheap but wow that is some prices. Im gonna do the coolant temp sensor (circa £6) myself, and if that gets rid of the code I may go and interrogate them about this quote. It looks a lot to me like they're trying to mug me off!

 

[knoxie]

im also having nightmares with audi, i have my roof rails resprayed after massive massive rows with them and a formal warning to a certain snobby cow at audi, i got the car back looked at the inside and theres silver paint dots all over the place!! not impressed and all audi has said is get in contact with the workshop THEY sent it too

they seem to be getting worse and worse

 

[kwistof]

I'm guessing that would mostly be down to labour which i expect to be over £100 an hour at the stealers....get the parts from TPS and get a reputable local VAG garage to fit them would be my next step. Where are you located? If you only want to get work carried out at Audi then call a few local ones and see if they can do anything on the price

 

[<tuffty/>]

They have quoted you all that because of the fault code you got?...

The P code you quoted comes back as...
17704/P1296/004758 - Ross-Tech Wiki

17704/P1296/004758 - Error in Mapped Cooling System
Possible Symptoms

Cold start issues

Possible Causes

Coolant Temperature Sensor (G62) faulty
Coolant Thermostat faulty

Possible Solutions

Check Coolant Temperature Sensor (G62)
Check Coolant Thermostat

Special Notes

Check the stored Freeze Frame data with this fault code. Freeze Frame information will be found in the fault code description (if the module supports it) or in Generic OBD-II if the vehicle complies with those regulations.
Freeze Frame data stored at -40*C is generally an indication of a faulty ECT or wiring.
Freeze Frame data stored at +140*C is generally an indication of a faulty ECT or wiring.
Freeze Frame data stored with in the 68*C ~ 80*C range is an indication that the vehicle was close to, but not within, the cooling systems normal operation range. The Thermostat itself or Cooling system components may be at fault.


The CTS is a 10 quid part and a 5 min job to change with a small top up of coolant...

<tuffty/>

 

[<tuffty/>]

If the fans come on as does the after run pump then its not the controller...

<tuffty/>

 

[Nogmeister]

Yeah to be honest I will source and fit the CTS myself, I just find it all a bit scandalous that I virtually told them what the problem was, which even with £10 part and £100 an hour labour should be no more than £27 all done. They've certainly lost any faith I had in them, I will now only use and abuse them for genuine parts, parts codes, and service stamps.

Pretty sure I can do the CTS myself, if need be I'll do the fan switch and control unit myself too. Gotta do my first haldex service very shortly too!

 

[s33nyboy12]

Special haldex tool required..... I need one! Approx £28 I think for tool

 

[Nogmeister]

Yeah ive got that plus the correct oil and filter. All came to around £70 this time around, but only £35 for full job in the future. Plus I printed off the 'how to' off the interwebz! Sweet

 

[Dan-Jnr]

When Audi find problems during a service with my car, I take it straight to VAG Technik (Specialist) to sort out.

 

[Nilz]

I had the car in a while ago and they did a health check and it came up saying dipstick holder broken:

The quote for the part was £3.25, and then the total including fitting and VAT..................£115!!!!!

 

[sportquattro]

I had the car in a while ago and they did a health check and it came up saying dipstick holder broken:

The quote for the part was £3.25, and then the total including fitting and VAT..................£115!!!!!

They really do take the mickey at times, I was once quoted £350 to supply and fit a track-rod end, part cost me £90 complete from Audi and toook me 20 min to fit, robbing gits.

 

[Nogmeister]

So I thought Id fly into Audi on the way home for a genuine coolant temp sensor, to be told that VW group realise these parts are a pile of doo doo, and because of this very fact they have put the price up from around £18 to just a shade over £30!

Unscrupulous b*stards!

Just ordered a Febi Bilstein one from germanautopartsdirect.co.uk for £12.78 delivered.

 

[aragorn]

It'll probably be the thermostat. Does the guage wander around, or sit bang on 90c?

 

[Nogmeister]

It does ****** all really, it takes ages to move off zero, comes up a bit, goes back down. If im on a decent run though it stays bang on 90 with no wandering.

Interestingly I've just had a proper VAGCOM on it and got the P1296 code again, which infuriates me even more about the local stealers' quotes. I might confront them about it tomorrow...