Audi UK complaints.. advice!

Syed Shah

Syed Shah

Cars are a mans best friend, then dogs..
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Hi guys,

So I was just wondering if anyone has had to deal with Audi UK before and how have they been in regards to solving your complaint?

Just incase you're reading my issue for the first time, my complaint is in regards to a severe speaker rattle on my Audi A4 Saloon with the Audi Speaker System.

The car has been taken into Vindis Beford twice now and has come out worse. The speaker on the dash that did not rattle before, now has an annoying rattle. They did replace the 2 subs on the parcel shelf, however it made no difference whatsoever as the parcel shelf still rattles. This is not mentioning the door speakers, both the driver and passenger side..

They rattle horribly and it has honestly put me off listening to music in my car all together. It sounds attrocious. My brother who picked the car up on the previous occasion was told that the issue with the speaker system was down to a design flaw.. My car has come out worse than it was originally and I have no faith in the dealer solving this issue.

Quite frankly, I understand it's a lease, but I don't pay for a car with a design flaw. Technically, would this not mean that the car has been mis-sold as it's something that they cannot do much about? It's not fit for purpose and I don't see why I should pay for something that isn't up to the job.

So I have referred this to Audi UK complaints and I'm very tempted to cancel my lease depending on how this pans out. I happen to have a relative who purchased a RS3 with the infamous brake squeel and another dealership have done nothing to resolve this matter.. Despite it being escalated to Audi UK.

The car still squeels despite brake replacements and all sorts of work.. So I don't know what to expect from an escalation to Audi UK.

Does anyone have any experience with Audi UK, and how was it?
 
Tell the other chap to not waste his life on the brake squeal, just change the pads or discs or both. Audi will never sort it imho.

TX.

Sent from my BBB100-2 using Tapatalk
 
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When you say 'Lease' what do you mean - do you have the car on a PCP contract or a business lease?

The RS3 squeaky brake issue can be fixed by fitting EBC Redstuff pads.
 
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cosmicblue said:
When you say 'Lease' what do you mean - do you have the car on a PCP contract or a business lease?

The RS3 squeaky brake issue can be fixed by fitting EBC Redstuff pads.
Click to expand...

I have it on a personal lease. & thanks for the recommendation. I’ll pass it over!
 
So on a personal lease - apply pressure on the leasing company - good not fit for purpose etc. In most vehicle importer/manufacturers the leasing team are immensely powerful and will advocate on your behalf. It's not your problem and it shouldn't be down to you to sort it out.
 
cosmicblue said:
So on a personal lease - apply pressure on the leasing company - good not fit for purpose etc. In most vehicle importer/manufacturers the leasing team are immensely powerful and will advocate on your behalf. It's not your problem and it shouldn't be down to you to sort it out.
Click to expand...

Heres the thing which confuses me, I got it through a broker called CHL contracts. All contracts are with Audi themselves, only the first order form I signed was through CHL Contracts, nothing else. Paid them the broker fee and that was done? So are they the people I need to be dealing with or?
 
Syed Shah said:
Heres the thing which confuses me, I got it through a broker called CHL contracts. All contracts are with Audi themselves, only the first order form I signed was through CHL Contracts, nothing else. Paid them the broker fee and that was done? So are they the people I need to be dealing with or?
Click to expand...

No. CHL are just a broker. They are not the leasing company. Given what you've said above, your lease is with VWFS. I previously advised you to raise a complaint with Audi UK? Have you done this? If not, this is still your first port of call. I would speak to them and get a complaint reference number. Firstly this puts pressure on the dealership as the complaint is logged against them, which has financial repurcussions between them and Audi. Secondly once you have the reference number, complain to VWFS and give them the complaint reference supplied by Audi UK.

In your complaint detail the timeline of events and what you want sorted. VWFS will fulfill its obligations as detailed in your leasing agreement so you should check this and ask them for advice on what can happen.

An issue with Speaker complaints is that the dealership can only go through the remedial procedures prescribed by Audi in relation to the fault. If that doesn't cure it then they may not know what else to do. Also how are you using the system? If its the base system and your listening to it at high volume levels with the bass up full then you can't expect it to be as good as your Hi-Fi Separates system at home.

You may need to get a report or evidence from the dealership that they concur that there is a fault but that they cannot cure it before Audi and/or VWFS will treat your complaint seriously.
 
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Evil Derboy said:
No. CHL are just a broker. They are not the leasing company. Given what you've said above, your lease is with VWFS. I previously advised you to raise a complaint with Audi UK? Have you done this? If not, this is still your first port of call. I would speak to them and get a complaint reference number. Firstly this puts pressure on the dealership as the complaint is logged against them, which has financial repurcussions between them and Audi. Secondly once you have the reference number, complain to VWFS and give them the complaint reference supplied by Audi UK.

In your complaint detail the timeline of events and what you want sorted. VWFS will fulfill its obligations as detailed in your leasing agreement so you should check this and ask them for advice on what can happen.

An issue with Speaker complaints is that the dealership can only go through the remedial procedures prescribed by Audi in relation to the fault. If that doesn't cure it then they may not know what else to do. Also how are you using the system? If its the base system and your listening to it at high volume levels with the bass up full then you can't expect it to be as good as your Hi-Fi Separates system at home.

You may need to get a report or evidence from the dealership that they concur that there is a fault but that they cannot cure it before Audi and/or VWFS will treat your complaint seriously.
Click to expand...

I’ve raised a complaint with Audi UK, and I am just waiting to hear back from them. I recieved a letter to say that they are looking into this for me.

In my complaint, I’ve written a timeline of events and whats been done. I don’t have much paperwork from the dealership however apart from the replacement subs paperwork which I can provide.

I will check the letter I recieve for the reference number and raise this with VWFS as well.

With the base, its at half. So I don’t listen to them extremely high at all. Sometimes volume is above half, but mostly i cannot do this because of how terrible the speakers rattle.

I’ve sat in BMWs and also a new shape Merc with similar spec speaker system and the audio quality was the same however no rattles at all.

Especially since the Audi Allroar courtesy car they gave me with the same system sounded mega with not a single rattle.

I’m going to pay a visit to the dealer and gather whatever i can from them to ensure that I can provide as much to Audi/VWFS for this complaint.
 
If possible, I will upload a video showing how bad the speaker system as well. Will show you how bad they actually are
 
Audi Customer Service are the worst company I have ever had the misfortune to deal with on issues and defects. Hope you get it resolved.
 
I have always had a positive experience with Audi when it comes to warranty claims...
 
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Must be just the rest of us then Cuke2u ;-)
 
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Well it is rare that positive experiences are posted, as it is with forums there will always a bias of those who have issues or bad experiences. Its those owners who tend to use forums, why wouldn't you. I like to keep a balance :)
 
I have to admit that I've had various cars in for warranty work at my local dealership over the years and they've always been spot on. Provide courtesy cars when needed and even when they damaged an alloy they replaced it straight away. :)
 
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Just thought I would give you an update. Audi UK threw the claim out the window on first response and told me to go back to the dealership and let them check it again.

I’ve come from the dealership today and they have told me that there is no fix for my speakers. They have said that the frequency of the bass from the songs are causing the severe rattles. They tried this with a brand new A4 with the same speaker system as mine and it did the same thing.

So this will be referred back to Audi uk because the speaker system in effect is flawed.

This is the 3rd time now and quite frankly I no longer enjoy driving this car at all. Makes me feel like its punishment for not buying the B&O.

Will think a million times before buying an Audi again truth be told. Such a simple issue and its been nothing but hassle.
 
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Syed Shah said:
I’ve come from the dealership today and they have told me that there is no fix for my speakers. They have said that the frequency of the bass from the songs are causing the severe rattles. They tried this with a brand new A4 with the same speaker system as mine and it did the same thing.
Click to expand...

Out of interest, what song did you test it on? I'm curious more than anything.
 
liveseytowers said:
Out of interest, what song did you test it on? I'm curious more than anything.
Click to expand...

Kodak Black - Skrt

Apparently the bass frequency isnt something that the door card/speaker can handle so yeah. However there are a sh*t load more songs that I could show them. This is just the most obvious one
 
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audi upgrades
Just spoken to Audi who have passed this over to my case handler again. Ive been offered some compensation in form of money as a minimum, however bang & olufson upgrade is something on the list of things that have been passed over for consideration.

Im waiting to hear back from the case handler which will be a couple of days at minimum. But yeah just thought id keep you in the loop. Referring over to the financial ombudsman is something that is also looking likely if i cant reach a reasonable resolution
 
I had issues with a new S4 Avant I bought last year, raised the issue with Audi CS and it took some time - passed the estimated time, but in the end my rejection was accepted and full refund of deposit was received, this was a PCP not leasse.
The lady I dealt was was very helpful but did mention several times how busy they were hence the delay.
 
Si Jar said:
I had issues with a new S4 Avant I bought last year, raised the issue with Audi CS and it took some time - passed the estimated time, but in the end my rejection was accepted and full refund of deposit was received, this was a PCP not leasse.
The lady I dealt was was very helpful but did mention several times how busy they were hence the delay.
Click to expand...

Could I ask what you mean by rejection? What did you reject? I doubt they will be willing to do much considering I’m just leasing to be honest I got that vibe from my phone call
 
I've had mine for a week now and i've been hearing weird noises that I thought was the breaks but its the rear speaker in the parcel shelf rattling every now and again. I'm only listening to the Radio and the bass is two notches to the right on the dial so not on full. Its quite annoying so can imagine with the music you listen to it would totally ruin the experience! Hope you get some resolution Syed.
 
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liveseytowers said:
I've had mine for a week now and i've been hearing weird noises that I thought was the breaks but its the rear speaker in the parcel shelf rattling every now and again. I'm only listening to the Radio and the bass is two notches to the right on the dial so not on full. Its quite annoying so can imagine with the music you listen to it would totally ruin the experience! Hope you get some resolution Syed.
Click to expand...
Is this noise you are experiencing anything like we are getting https://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/a4-b9-creaking-tapping-noise-from-rear.374654/
 
liveseytowers said:
I've had mine for a week now and i've been hearing weird noises that I thought was the breaks but its the rear speaker in the parcel shelf rattling every now and again. I'm only listening to the Radio and the bass is two notches to the right on the dial so not on full. Its quite annoying so can imagine with the music you listen to it would totally ruin the experience! Hope you get some resolution Syed.
Click to expand...

I was told parcel shelf rattle is a design flaw so no fix is available for it. I’ve been searching for another car for a while now, so im looking for a way out of my contract is there is no fix to my car.

My bass is just 1-2 above half & its extremely bad. Spotify is on very high quality also.

Im sick of it! Should be so simple but its been anything but that. Such a shame honestly.

This is enough to ward me off Audis for a while. Should have stuck to BMW truth be told. Build quality is a light year better Imo.
 
liveseytowers said:
No mine is defo the rear speaker. I was parked up at work this morning and could make it stop by turning the bass down, and make it happen loads by turning the bass up.
Click to expand...

Exactly the same here...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
liveseytowers said:
No mine is defo the rear speaker. I was parked up at work this morning and could make it stop by turning the bass down, and make it happen loads by turning the bass up.
Click to expand...
Fair enough, but you did originally state only two notches up. Perhaps I misread you, good to eliminate the very common rear parcel shelf rattle many of us have though. I do wonder though if the rear parcel shelf design could be causing both issues...
 
cuke2u said:
Fair enough, but you did originally state only two notches up. Perhaps I misread you, good to eliminate the very common rear parcel shelf rattle many of us have though. I do wonder though if the rear parcel shelf design could be causing both issues...
Click to expand...

I'll read the thread in more detail, i listened to the audio file and decided its not the same noise.

I have the bass up 2 notches from the middle. So i get the rattle every now and again depending on what song is playing. I tested it this morning by turning the bass down to stop the rattle, and then all the way to make it rattle all the time. That's how i know its the bass that is causing it.

I agree though, that if there is a general issue with the parcel shelf then its worth investigating as it could just be the bass causing the shelf to rattle. Thanks for the heads up :)
 
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