a3 2.0TDi - LOW COOLANT = New Head! :(

[anish81]

Hi Everyone - 1st post on here following my purchase of my A3 in Nov 07...

Afraid to say that I had the dreaded low coolant message and after having to top it up a couple of times over the last couple of weeks I knew there was a problem!

After reading various posts on this site it appears its a little but of a grey area as to the consequences of this warning message but having just come back from "justvw_audi" in Coventry this afternoon i can say the consequence is costly!

To get to the point they need to strip the head to find where the coolant is going to (defo not a sensor fault) and then im looking at 2 possibilities:

1. Skim the head and sort our - advised approx £700 cost but this skimming the 2.0TDi head is not normally done...?!

2. New head, cam belt and water pump = advised I will be looking at the region on £1100 - £1300! OUCH

Anyone had this kind of work carried out?

Does this costing sound o.k.?

Has anyone had this kind of work carried out by an Audi Dealer?

Any feedback on this guys would be much appreciated

Look forward to any suggestions that would save me a lot of hassle and put my mind at rest!!

Thanks

Nish

 

[sat1983]

How old is your A3?

 

[anish81]

2004 sir -8P edition....

 

[Issac Hunt]

No goodwill contribution from Audi? I'd be hassling customer services night and day.

 

[rabs]

Just got my 2005 2.0TDI back from main dealer with the same issue.....they ended up fitting a new head as the old one was not withstanding the pressure test.

I would deffinetly get on to Audi HQ and say it is a known fault with these engines.

 

[sat1983]

Sorted on 2006 models I think. I would defo hassle customer services.

 

[anish81]

excuse me for being u numpty here guys - the warranty covered on the head is longer then the 3 years standard manufacturers???

As far as i was aware there is no Audi Warranty remaining?!?! PLEASE TELL ME IM WRONG!!

Apologies if this could not be more wrong but this is my first Audi....

I’ve got it booked in for the head to be stripped at JustVW_Audi on Tuesday....

Should i be getting it to an Audi Dealer?

 

[sat1983]

3 years warranty it is- but on a known problem there is a fair chance that Audi will do it free of charge or at least pay some form of contribution- just put your foot down!!

 

[Issac Hunt]

You've nothing to lose by contacting customer services. many other people have achieved a goodwill contribution, because as mentioned above - it is a known problem/fault.

 

[consilio]

Isnt there a little known rule where anything sold must be fit for purpose. Regardless of warranty, if there is a known and recognised manufacturing fault with a product, it should be replaced or repaired without charge.

I think this fits in somewhere between a normal warranty fault and a recall

I could be wrong, but i think this is the case

 

[bacardi]

Isnt there a little known rule where anything sold must be fit for purpose. Regardless of warranty, if there is a known and recognised manufacturing fault with a product, it should be replaced or repaired without charge.

I think this fits in somewhere between a normal warranty fault and a recall

I could be wrong, but i think this is the case

That's the way I understand it, especially with known issues but also if there was an issue, like we had on here a while ago with the person whose car had caught fire, the manufacturer still has some responsibility after 3 years

 

[Kev_M5KPL]

i had a coolant low problem and went through 5 litres of coolant in a week finally foudn out that i have a leaky radiator adn got a new one fitted ( the company i bought it form paid for it)

 

[alnes]

My a3 was just out of warranty,Audi replaced the head the bill was just over 2k i paid a contribution of £360 & they put a further 2 year warranty on the new head,I would def get on to customer service,s, They know there is a problem with those heads SHOOOOOOOOOT a lot all the best..

 

[treblesykes]

Mine had new head too at 2.5 yrs 50,000 miles, Audi should pay towards your repairs at the very least, it is a known fault as mentioned.

 

[James2.0TDI]

Would this be the same if the car was not bought from a dealer? as i have just got mine, the garage i got mine from i managed to get a years AA Warranty with them so i would be covered anyway (i think lol)

Thanks
James.

 

[Stevie C]

Thought i was heading down the same route :-( as seemed to be losing coolant and getting the warning lamp.. however just had a service and cam belt change and it would seem that the water pump was leaking. Few!!! touch wood problem solved! Levels seem fine at the mo.

 

[anish81]

you were lucky sir!! Ladies and gents an update


Hope your sitting comfortably, please let me know if you find this costing correct, and tell me that such array of components in this vehicle are seriosuly not covered by Audi on a 3.5 year old car! Had the car since November and its about to cost me in one trip to the garage the value of my old car twice over!

spec below - feedback pleeeaaaase.....

Audi part numbers
03G103264FX Cylinder head with valves £595+vat (includes surcharge)
03G109101A Camshaft £232.87+vat
03G109102B Camshaft £232.87+vat
03G103652A shells £4.32+ vat x 5
03G103652 shells £4.32+ vat x 5

Our Cost Breakdown

£700 Cylinder head (recon with 1yr g’tee) including camshafts
£120 Headset
£135 Cambelt kit
£30 Waterpump
£15 Antifreeze
£40 Longlife oil
£5 Oil filter
£429 Labour

£1474 Total ex VAT / £1732 Total

Audi Warranty 5 years not 3? Is this correct?
Audi technical line telephone number please - anyone know the people i should be contacting? I was advised this evening that there is a 5 year warranty on this vehicle?

Can anyone advise on this and the best way of addressing Audi to this problem?

Email address possibly anyone??

A Written address??

Start addressing the situation in hard copies to get this addressed - possibly any of you that have had a similar issues mail me to collate and send a copy for written correspondence....litterally?!?!

Service
I presume with this level of work done its the equivalent to a long life service - please advise??

To say Ive been a little busy is an understatement - i will know in 16 hours what the Audi's hearts fait will be...anyone help before lunchtime 02/06/08 lol??



GOOD ASSURANCE WARRANTY- I think

Also got a GOLD warranty that I purchased with the vehicle in Nov 2007 (£700 of r3 years – Unlimited number of claims with £1000 max per claim)

Contributing around £460 towards the bill form a possible max claim amount of £1000 - small print singles out cracked heads! The garage has worked with the warranty company to offer this….

I have yet to contact them as well as Audi


Don’t know more then likely a very silly thought in the back of my mind….give me a smack round the back of the head it its needed

Performance tuned replacement parts...I like the torque and dislike the lag….

Im out of the country for 2 weeks a week today - how much more time and money would it be to get a set of re-profiled cams, head and valves if possible/available?

Any thoughts on this again by end of Monday would be greatly appreciated. Ultimately a lot of motorway driving so to maximize MPG would be welcomed for obvious reasons....

This maybe silly thought but could this Audi DSG be made that little bit more nicer to drive with a little more consideration to the avail bible options....or is this just foolhardy at this stage??

Apologies for the length you can also see that it is literally keeping me up at night!!

help!!

Cheers

Anish


P.S apologies for the length…

 

[Macduff]

Don't quite follow your post but basically a standard Audi warranty is 3 years from date of registration. However on a 3.5 year old car I would be writing to Audi to get some goodwill from them especially as it's not a one-off problem.

You should get the Audi CS address from audi.co.uk or just call the CS number on the website. You WILL have to write to them for this sort of thing as it's highly unlikely they'll sort it out over the phone.

How's the provider of this Gold warranty? I guess if you have that then they may cough up £1k and you might get the rest from Audi.

As the saying goes, nothing ventured nothing gained.

HTH
Dave

 

[Lex]

****, im propper scared now.

i have a 2.0 tdi on a 53reg with 80k on the clock and if this happens to mine i cant afford to pay myself so i may have to go through insurance which would be a right killer for me.

i may take out a extended warranty if i can find a decent one.

what are peoples thoughts of these external extended warrantees ???

i hope you get audi to sort it for you mate.

keep us updated

lex

 

[dobbin]

****** hell, reading the above it all sounds very familiar.

I have a 2004 2.0 Tdi (57k on) which I used to have to put some coolant in on a weekly basis. I then had a nasty turbo failure which resulted in the head getting swapped, and my getting a new turbo into the bargain. Total cost for this was £2200 (ex VAT).

Chatting to the guy who did the work, it seems he's seen a good few of these engines and all of them had a fault in the head, all in the same place. Manufacturing weakness?

 

[Twizzler]

The earlier models had two problems. The first was porosity of the head, the other failure of the radiator. This then caused the head gasket to fail, rapidly followed by the head itself. Check the coolant level regularly. If it goes down check the radiator. If it's leaking fix it fast.