2012 A1 serious problems

[supanova]

so the gf ordered her new audi A1 back in 2012, since feb this year it has been taken to audi garages 4 times. Ive read on here that other people are also having engine problems with their A1.

what happens with her car is when in the morning heading to work, she starts the car and its very hard to idle. it literally sounds like a tractor. when she takes off, its slow and sluggish.

she took it to audi the first time as the was not convinced that it was doing to proper milage that it should do to a full tank. the replaces the injects but and this sorted that problem but only for about a day as she notices the next morning that there was diesel spilage where she had parked - turned out the fuel pipe clip things had not been connected properly.

the replaced a load of parts the last time it had been up and now its back up the road to them for the fifth time!! she is really getting annoyed about the whole thing and would love to just had in the keys and demand her money back.

18k quid for a car that wont drive... she has no HP on the car either.

broadly speaking, can she .... just hand it back? refuse to pick it up and demand a new car to the value its worth at the moment?

he warranty runs out in 10 months time and she fears that once the warranty has expired that she'll have the same problems but with a large bill at the end of it each time something goes pear shaped?

 

[Icarus83]

If you havent spoken to Trading Standards and Citizens Advice already, it'd be worth giving them a ring to see where you stand legally. Try to get things in writing from the dealership too as it is much easier to prove things after the event and keep a diary of events.

In my opinion, if the dealership won't listen to you, get some legal advice and then get in touch with Audi UK explaining the problem. I find the term 'not fit for purpose' extremely helpful when discussing refunds/replacements, obviously when it is applicable.

Worth a look at: BBC - The One Show: New car problems? Try Dom's downloadable letter!

Might give you somewhere to start. I'm sure someone else on here has had some experience similar to your own and can help further.

Good Luck! I know I'd be livid and very frustrated if it were my car.

Rob

 

[pluves1]

Before doing the above I would simply have a friendly but, stern word with the dealer that is doing the work.

Also advise them that isn't what you expect from a car purchased from new and still under warranty. It appears the dealer is doing all they can to remedy (or are they?) but, things like leaving clips off won't fill you both with any confidence. Tell the dealer this - I would make an appointment with the new car sales manager and the service manager to air your grievances. This worked for me in the past when we had an issue as I had specifically stated to the new car salesman that if we had any issues they would help me. I even insisted on taking the salesmans daily driver as they had no courtesy cars. You have to be firm but fair in my experience.

If you're not good at speaking to people then draft out your thoughts into a letter but, take it into them (don't send it). There are good and bad Audi dealers in my personal experience and reading some other peoples misfortunes makes me wonder how Audi still manages to sell the numbers of cars it does.

You need to let the dealership know that you are now totally disheartened with the brand (its always good if you have a BMW dealership nearby that you can say I am now thinking of changing to a BMW ?? as I am sick of this car! If you get no joy from the dealership then your next step should be Audi HQ. Do a search on here and send your letter or email to the Head of Customer Services after you find out his or her name. Go straight to top think its this guy André Konsbruck. Trust me they do not like receiving letters of complaint from the public and they get annoyed with dealers who let it get to this point.

The main advice is always keep things polite whilst being firm and fair.

I would only use trading standards and CAB as a last resort if you get no luck with the above.

Oh and to give you an idea of what 'inconvenience' costs. I managed to get our next service free of charge when our S3 went in with engine issues even though these were resolved after they'd had the car for weeks. Whilst I had a courtesy car to drive around in I asked them for a freebie due to the fact that I wasn't driving round the car I'd spent a lot of hard earned cash on. So make sure you get something free!

 

[Icarus83]

The main advice is always keep things polite whilst being firm and fair.

These are probably the most important things. If you come across as polite and level headed, you are much likelier to be received well and listened to.

 

[supanova]

well, after days of audi putting my gf off and telling her that ''parts havnt arrived'' etc and whatnot. they finally called her on monday past and tolder her '' car is running perfect, come collect''. She drives1hr and 20mins to belfast, waits an other 15mins to get car keys.... heads out, starts car..... turns off car.... walks back in to showroom, hands staff her key and tells them that the car is as bad as ever.

told the staff to come see for themselves, they go out, start car... agree with my gf... gets machanic out, he suggests that car needs 4 new injectors to which my gf states that it got all injects replaced last time, machanic then says '' oh then injecors needs programmed, to which my gf replys... thats what it was up for this time!!!!.

gf told them to keep the car as we are away now for 2weeks, she turned on her heel, walked out, and drove home on the courtesy car they provided...


.....to be continued.....

 

[y2kcurran]

wow.... It will be interesting to see how this one turns out. You guys must be at your wits end!

 

[supanova]

i am fuming!!! so my gf gets a call this morning to be informed that audi are sending a sample of her fuel off for testing as they think they can smell petrol from it!! hat a joke!! its been up to audi garages 5 times!!!! you'd think they would have ruled out ''mixed fuels'' long ago!! total joke!

now the gf is freaking out thinking that she will be left with a large bill if they determine that the fuel was mixed even know it hasnt been and she has kept every fuel receipt from feb 14.

 

[pluves1]

Given the times it has been at the garage they might have put the wrong fuel in! Sorry to hear this is still ongoing. If I were you I'd be calling a meeting as I suggested in the post above. You need to speak to the service manager and the overall manager together. This would be my next move - I wouldn't have the patience you or your girlfriend have.

 

[keithinthesouth]

Hi - sorry to hear about your issues. I am, like your GF a humble Audi customer who has had a few serious issues in the past.

After first taking a deep breath I would suggest that you escalate your concerns to Audi UK. Try to focus only on YOUR issues not the issues of all A1 owners and stick to facts. They should assign your case to a specific person who will investigate your concerns. Give them a week or so, stay calm and avoid threats and they should be reasonable and offer support. If not, ask them to escalate your case to the Executive team.

From my experience there is a layer of folks above the guys at dealer level who can see sense. They value the brand and everything it stands for and will support genuine customer issues.

I repeat, that I am just a customer - I have never worked for Audi, though I have had cause on a couple of occasions to practice what I preach and i remain completely satisfied and addicted to Audi's.

Good luck!

 

[Gazwould]

I would be scared to death to update my 2003 car.

Gone are the days when ownership experience was a pleasure replacing just serviceable items and the word bulletproof no longer applies.

 

[supanova]

so a little update on our situation.... audi took the car 1 week before we went on holidays, emailed whilst we where away to say that the fuel was not contaminated and they are sending more info off to get checked to see what the problem is. almost 1 month later they tell us that its fault injectors... AGAIN.... and that since then have been replaced.

1. had the car ran out of warranty after last injectors had been replaced and then needed replaced due to a fault, would they class this as '' not in warranty, you pay for it'' or would you think they'd stand over it?

2. this is the 2nd set of full injectors being fitted, hats to say that once warranty runs out that the injectors wont need replaced?

£18,000 on a car not fit for purpose.... ive told her time and time again to get rid of it and get herself a better A1, i.e different engine? 2.0L - could it be the 1.6L having the issues?

Anyone else with a 1.6L diesel have problems??

anyway, was told yesterday that the car is in ''perfect order'' and is being delivered today.

will be interesting to see if there is much of a difference.

 

[keithinthesouth]

Hi - good news, hopefully, though I sense your frustration. Stay with this, it seems that the dealer / Audi is still on board and are still trying their hardest to fix the car at their expense. I guess that they've given your GF a shiny new car to drive whilst hers is being repaired and it's good that they are keeping you updated. I hear your concerns about replacing the injectors for a second time though all it would take would be to receive a 'bad batch'. I'm pretty sure that neither the dealer or Audi UK wants to repeatedly change parts at their expense and fund the man hours that it takes to explore the issue. From the outside looking in, it seems like they are trying their hardest though perhaps understandably you remain pessimistic.

When I had concerns about my warranty running out after a warranty claim Audi UK extended it FOC. If you haven't already expressed your concerns to Audi Customer Service I'd recommend that you call them tel 0800 699 888.

Btw they also serviced my car FOC.

Good luck!
.

 

[supanova]

now they say the problem seems to be adaptation drive conflicting with injectors... WTF does that mean??

next time the dealer calls, we are just going to tell them to keep the car and that they will be hearing from our solicitor... can't take much more of this!!

 

[keithinthesouth]

Have you called Audi UK? What have they said?

 

[Goner]

now they say the problem seems to be adaptation drive conflicting with injectors... WTF does that mean??

next time the dealer calls, we are just going to tell them to keep the car and that they will be hearing from our solicitor... can't take much more of this!!

You do right, I had similar issues with a VW GOLF GT SPORT TSI 170 I bought brand new back in 2008, forever backwards and forwards with an intermittent miss fire, after months and months of ******* about going backwards and forwards to VW, I got onto VW UK and they finally sorted it, however before this I did give the keys back to the manager of the dealership, it wasn't until this things started getting fixed.

 

[keithinthesouth]

Btw adaptation relates to the ECU in your car. Essentially it 'learns' as you drive and adapts the fuel trims etc to suit. In my mind you're panicking before you know there's still an issue. Deep breaths... Try to believe that your issues are over.

 

[slope]

Hate to dig up an old thread but what was the outcome of this.