Turbo Problems

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Bigslope

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Hi all

I have a 2006 A3 2.0 TDI.
It is completely standard but has turbo issues.
It had a new turbo fitted under warranty in December 2008 with only 32000 miles on the car from new.

I now have 38000 miles on the car and the turbo is screaming its head off.
It actually soulnd like police sirens behind me most of the time.

I took it to my local dealer and the mechanic drove it and says it needs another new turbo.

My dealer says as the car is now outside warranty i have to pay for this, no warranty with the new turbo that was fitted 6000 miles ago.

I have lodged a complaint with Audi UK as i feel 6000 miles on a new turbo which now needs replaced is very poor.
It is booked in for a diagnostic this Monday coming and Audi agreed the would fund 50% of the fee leaving me £50 to pay.

A report will then be sent to Audi UK and they will decide if they can help.

NIGHTMARE
 
Never take my car to a dealers but i thought you had 12 months warrenty with any parts fitted by them ? If you have had two turbo`s go there must be something else wrong with your car thats causing it to happen.
 
My local dealer has inspected my car and concluded the turbo is leaking oil within the turbo itself. They said it would not be caused by my driving or anything else on the car. They said Audi UK will decide if they can help within the next 48hrs and contact me.

Finger crossed they will fund some or most of it.
Cost for parts alone is £1300
 
aythreee said:
As devonmikey said... Isn't the turbo still under the standard 12 month warranty???
Click to expand...

12 months warranty is only on parts you pay for. If its fitted by Audi free under warranty you only get until your warranty period runs out, even if thats only a couple of months. That said they should really pay something or all of the costs as a goodwill gesture.
 
Well Audi UK have come up good.

They contacted me yesterday and have agreed to pay 100% of the turbo and 50% of the labour.

They say that leaves me to pay £125 towards labour costs which seems a bit cheap but who's complaining.

It also gives me a 2 years parts and labour warranty as i am paying something towards it.

Glad to see Audi UK were so helpful with this complaint. Car is booked in for next week to get the work done. :kissmyrings:
 
Becoming common pattern these tdi turbo issues that I am seriously contemplating taking issue with audi about given mine went at 56k which is absolutely ridiculous, did they actually advise the reason for the oil leak in turbo, was it smoky when driving or any other reason for the issues, I mean the screaming would be sign of a leak of some sort but specifics would be nice, even my new hybrid is whistling which gonna search for boost leak 1st.
 
NHN said:
Becoming common pattern these tdi turbo issues that I am seriously contemplating taking issue with audi about given mine went at 56k which is absolutely ridiculous, did they actually advise the reason for the oil leak in turbo, was it smoky when driving or any other reason for the issues, I mean the screaming would be sign of a leak of some sort but specifics would be nice, even my new hybrid is whistling which gonna search for boost leak 1st.
Click to expand...


It had a very light amount of smoke coming from the exhaust but nothing more than usual. It really was the noise and nothing else. It was more than a whistle but "siren" type sound. Hard to describe but i will try and record it later on my phone to let you hear if i can.

They could not give a reason for the leak and would not say if they had this problem on other A3 cars in their dealership when i asked them.

Mine seemed a good case i thought as it had only been replaced last December and covered less than 6000 miles.
 
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IMHO given age of turbo replaced & damn inconvenience, I'd say you have a clear case to claim your money back for any contributions, I would check the sale of goods act as I was reading it myself yesterday & it might have some info in there for you to warrant some claim or at least a nicely worded letter to audi uk director who might just say ok we'll give him the money or not charge anything at all to make the issue go away, at end of day £125 is £125 & if we let audi do this day in day out then they would continue with the policy as they are now, for me the turbos do have inherent issues as fair number of cars have had same problems as with the steering rack issues.

Smoke wise if it was loosing oil, did you notice engine oil levels dropping that much & where oil was leaking from, as if it was on the intercooler side then rather worrying unless we're talking literally droplets which most turbo's let through tbh as my s3 did & a3 does, but if its the exhaust side then of course smoke would be visible most times.
 
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While i would have liked Audi to have paid everything i am reasonable happy to pay it to get the 2 yrs parts and labour warranty for the work.

In relation to oil loss it did not seem to use very much oil at all.
Car was serviced about 8 months ago and i have only had to top up once and it was literally a trickle.
 
Then if it was an oil leak it would be more apparent tbh with obvious smoke & levels dropping so doubt was this, I reckon its got issues with the vanes or the turbo was leaking air as I would bet it was a recon unit anyway & as Mikey says 2 turbo's gone seems very strange overall, be interested to see if the issue resolves when new turbo(most likely recon again) is fitted.
 
I must ask them when the car goes in if the turbo will be new or a recon unit.
 
Interesting thread. My 2.0TDI went in for some other 'noise' related issues and they also diagnosed the turbo as noisy and it needs replaced. Thankfully, I had 5 days left on my warranty (which I've just extended anyway). This is at 36000 miles.

As this is the first turbo I've owned, I assumed the noise was normal! Glad to hear that Audi sorted things out though.

Will be interested to hear if it's a new unit or recon you're getting, I'd definitely push for a new one though!

G-man
 
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i think my turbo has gone on mine too but its funny because not lost any power and no black smoke and it just sounds like the police are behind me when i am just pulling off or i let off the revs is this turbo but then when i get past 1 half revs the noise goes away i am confussed ?????
 
audi-pricey said:
i think my turbo has gone on mine too but its funny because not lost any power and no black smoke and it just sounds like the police are behind me when i am just pulling off or i let off the revs is this turbo but then when i get past 1 half revs the noise goes away i am confussed ?????
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The noise doesnt relly mean anything IMO - i fitted a new turbo and it made the siren noise very faintly but only when cold... But before my turbo blew, it made a very high pitched noise around 50miles before it popped - im prett certain that was the bearings.
 
well yesterday we stripped it down and cheaked the turbo and it looked fine, the noise does get better when its warm but you can still here it any got the same noise ??
 
audi-pricey said:
i think my turbo has gone on mine too but its funny because not lost any power and no black smoke and it just sounds like the police are behind me when i am just pulling off or i let off the revs is this turbo but then when i get past 1 half revs the noise goes away i am confussed ?????
Click to expand...

This is how mine started.
Now booked in with Audi Belfast for a new turbo on 29th September.
 
audi-pricey said:
well yesterday we stripped it down and cheaked the turbo and it looked fine, the noise does get better when its warm but you can still here it any got the same noise ??
Click to expand...

When you say you stripped it down, exactly what did you do to the turbo to check it cause the vanes are of course hidden inside & the turbo needs taking apart to check them mate as these get coked up with crap thus they seaze wont move open/shut, so causes overboost etc problems.
 
audi upgrades
NHN said:
When you say you stripped it down, exactly what did you do to the turbo to check it cause the vanes are of course hidden inside & the turbo needs taking apart to check them mate as these get coked up with crap thus they seaze wont move open/shut, so causes overboost etc problems.
Click to expand...

Checking the VNT mechanism is easy when the turbo is off. Just unbolt the housing and it`s all to see.
le6gradoffenersp9.jpg
 
Yeah know that mikey mate, just when he said they checked the turbo I wondered if they took of & just checked the turning of the impellor or actually opened up & checked the vanes properly mate as cant tell from externally unless the actuator wont move which is one way I guess.
 
Turbo was replaced Tuesday and on Tuesday night the car went into safe mode. No power at all. Audi recovered the car yesterday and found an air pipe had blown off. Fixed it and all is well today. They gave me an A5 for a day, nic e car. I also got my next service free for all the hassle. A pretty good result. Cost me £125 but get a 2 year parts and labour warranty.
 
Pipe blew of, they are clamped on ****** well mate & to blow of they either didnt clamp/clipped on properly or clamps/clips are knackered, not good, I hope they checked every damn connection from maf down to the intake flap.
 
IMHO it's the long service intervals causing early failiure of the turbos, there cannot be any other logical reason, unless perhaps Auid have started sourcing their turbos from Ebay or something.
It's a good result for the OP, £125 for a free service and 2 years of warrenty, given the faliiure rate of these turbos is invaluable
 
NHN said:
Pipe blew of, they are clamped on ****** well mate & to blow of they either didnt clamp/clipped on properly or clamps/clips are knackered, not good, I hope they checked every damn connection from maf down to the intake flap.
Click to expand...

Apparently the pipework had a smaller pipe going into a bigger pipe.
They claimed they were not secured together properly and the pressure blew them apart????

I will post in a day or two after a few good drives.
 
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