Im new to this forum & sorry to have to post, but here goes
In mid-January I bought an A6 TDI SE Avant 2.5 vintage 2000 from a fairly meticulous prior owner whod had the car since its birth. Drove it back to London, parked it at a friends house, & went away for 6 weeks. Driving it en route to its new home a couple of weeks ago, the car died en route at 25 mph. Diagnosis: snapped timing belt. Not pretty.
The car has 65,000 miles on it. At ~ 42,700 miles (in 2007) it was serviced for an engine shimmy but the (Audi) mechanics werent sure of the source of the problem & replaced a bent con rod, timing belt, piston, tensioner, etc. The Belt was the cars second. So some 23,000 miles later after Ive only driven the car 1.5 times, Im faced with the cost of a possible engine rebuild if the pistons, etc. were damaged when the belt snapped. Ouch! Audi claims that its parts warranty is inapplicable because although the Audi belt only had 23,000 miles on it, some 3+ years had passed since it was installed; Audis parts warranty is apparently 2 years & unlimited mileage. I seem to be skunked by this technicality because the car clocked well below the normal mileage.
My questions are:
- Any suggestions in what might be causing a belt to snap after only 23,000 miles? Arent these things supposed to last at least 60,000?
- Whats this I read about early cam wear problems and the like? Do older A6s have a history of cam belt problems? What insights here can you share?
- How adamant is Audi Corporate likely to be if I take my case to them? Theres the issue of a possible pre-existing condition that wasnt correctly addressed when the car was under warranty. Perhaps that led to excessive cam belt wear. The Audi dealerships current position that its outside the warranty period is frustrating and isnt garnering them any goodwill/PR. Wheres the spirit of the warranty, particularly given these circumstances?
Thanks!
In mid-January I bought an A6 TDI SE Avant 2.5 vintage 2000 from a fairly meticulous prior owner whod had the car since its birth. Drove it back to London, parked it at a friends house, & went away for 6 weeks. Driving it en route to its new home a couple of weeks ago, the car died en route at 25 mph. Diagnosis: snapped timing belt. Not pretty.
The car has 65,000 miles on it. At ~ 42,700 miles (in 2007) it was serviced for an engine shimmy but the (Audi) mechanics werent sure of the source of the problem & replaced a bent con rod, timing belt, piston, tensioner, etc. The Belt was the cars second. So some 23,000 miles later after Ive only driven the car 1.5 times, Im faced with the cost of a possible engine rebuild if the pistons, etc. were damaged when the belt snapped. Ouch! Audi claims that its parts warranty is inapplicable because although the Audi belt only had 23,000 miles on it, some 3+ years had passed since it was installed; Audis parts warranty is apparently 2 years & unlimited mileage. I seem to be skunked by this technicality because the car clocked well below the normal mileage.
My questions are:
- Any suggestions in what might be causing a belt to snap after only 23,000 miles? Arent these things supposed to last at least 60,000?
- Whats this I read about early cam wear problems and the like? Do older A6s have a history of cam belt problems? What insights here can you share?
- How adamant is Audi Corporate likely to be if I take my case to them? Theres the issue of a possible pre-existing condition that wasnt correctly addressed when the car was under warranty. Perhaps that led to excessive cam belt wear. The Audi dealerships current position that its outside the warranty period is frustrating and isnt garnering them any goodwill/PR. Wheres the spirit of the warranty, particularly given these circumstances?
Thanks!
