S-tronic service intervals

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50Five

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I have posted already regarding a car I have a deposit down on, speaking to a friend tonight has raised more questions. He has been looking at A4’s with S-tronic gearbox, he told me that they need to have their own specific service at intervals of 38k. His advice is don’t touch any car that hasn’t got said service in the book. He then got back to say it was 2017 onwards he was looking at, the car I’m after is an A3 1.4 TFSi Sport (late December 2011). I have been searching the internet for info, to no avail. Can someone please advise if the car I’m looking at has the same S-tronic box as the newer models, if not then do the same intervals apply? And if they do hit don’t show in the service book (first 6 stamps main dealer) would you body swerve it? I plan on calling the dealer service department in the morning to clarify the book entries.

Many thank in advance for reading
 
Best thing to do is contact your local audi dealership service department and ask the question. I'm sure they can not get a query like this wrong

Sent from my SM-G981B using Tapatalk
 
DW81 said:
Best thing to do is contact your local audi dealership service department and ask the question. I'm sure they can not get a query like this wrong

Sent from my SM-G981B using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I guess I could call my local Audi dealership as Audi should hold all the information on a centralised system, my plan was on calling Teesside Audi as that is where the first 6 of 8 stamps are (from 20-08-12 / 9843m - 13-11-15 / 56093miles). I figure they must have advised a specific S-tronic service should be carried out in that time, of course there is there are then two options I can see.
1. Owner decides against said advice
2. Owner does a DIY job
I can’t, however, see someone who is taking his car to a main dealer for all other servicing etc deciding to do a DIY project for something more specialised.
 
50Five said:
I guess I could call my local Audi dealership as Audi should hold all the information on a centralised system, my plan was on calling Teesside Audi as that is where the first 6 of 8 stamps are (from 20-08-12 / 9843m - 13-11-15 / 56093miles). I figure they must have advised a specific S-tronic service should be carried out in that time, of course there is there are then two options I can see.
1. Owner decides against said advice
2. Owner does a DIY job
I can’t, however, see someone who is taking his car to a main dealer for all other servicing etc deciding to do a DIY project for something more specialised.
Click to expand...
I wanted to check the service history of a car I have just bought and called audi, they wouldn't give me the info because of data protection, I had to get the non franchised garage I was buying it from to check it for me.
 
kev1973 said:
I wanted to check the service history of a car I have just bought and called audi, they wouldn't give me the info because of data protection, I had to get the non franchised garage I was buying it from to check it for me.
Click to expand...
Really. I’ve done it several times over the years with no problem, possibly tightened up with yet another hoop to jump through. I’ll give it a shot and see how I go, will let you know if I hit the same brick wall. Out of interest, did the non-franchised garage you were buying from get the information for you?
 
Yup,
50Five said:
Really. I’ve done it several times over the years with no problem, possibly tightened up with yet another hoop to jump through. I’ll give it a shot and see how I go, will let you know if I hit the same brick wall. Out of interest, did the non-franchised garage you were buying from get the information for you?
Click to expand...
Yup, when i went to look at the car, all they had as proof of the service history was as an a4 print out of the history, it had an audi logo on it, but as there was no receipts or other print outs of the work done, I wanted to double check with Audi as it was FASH. They refused to give it me as i wasn't the owner. I did go back to the non franchised garage and they forwarded on another print out, if i was being sceptical the print out could easily be forged. It was all ligit though, once i had bought the car and set myself up as the owner the service history appeared on my audi. Coincidently it was the s-tronic services i was most interested in checking too.
 
kev1973 said:
Yup,

Yup, when i went to look at the car, all they had as proof of the service history was as an a4 print out of the history, it had an audi logo on it, but as there was no receipts or other print outs of the work done, I wanted to double check with Audi as it was FASH. They refused to give it me as i wasn't the owner. I did go back to the non franchised garage and they forwarded on another print out, if i was being sceptical the print out could easily be forged. It was all ligit though, once i had bought the car and set myself up as the owner the service history appeared on my audi. Coincidently it was the s-tronic services i was most interested in checking too.
Click to expand...
Ah, ok. Could well have been dodgy, thankfully not!
So out of interest what year was the car and did it have the S-tronic service showing at the correct intervals (38k or whatever it was)? And I take it if you hadn’t of had the confirmation you would have walked away…?
I took a photo of each of the service book pages when I test drove the car and put a deposit down, the thing is I didn’t go looking for an S-tronic so hadn’t done my research, it was only yesterday my friend gave me that piece of advice. On checking the service book I can’t see any obvious servicing but I’ve seen books filled out incorrectly before, I just want to cross reference the details. I’ll be really disappointed if it turns out no S-tronic servicing has been done but better to walk away than have it fail on me and cost thousands to repair/replace, money I just don’t have as this is top of my budget as it is. Better to lose a £200 deposit than the full value of the car.
 
The car is a 2015 A6 allroad. There gearbox services are every 38K miles, mine was done at 84.5K rather than 76K but i thought that would hopefully be ok. Yes I absolutely would have walked away. Its the first car with an s-tronic gearbox that i have owned and like you i didn't initially understand the importance, i had read quite a few horror stories on them so wanted to minimise the risk. Touch wood, my gearbox is ok, unlike the timing chains which needed doing with the associated large bill, luckily picked up by the garage, but it will have wiped out their profits.

If the car is advertised with FSH and it if it hasn't had the gearbox serviced then i would be asking for my deposit back as its not got FSH and not as described.
Ditto with my car being at the top of my budget, i got carried away wanting the facelift version, when i probably shouldnt have.
Below is a screenshot of where the geabox oil is noted on the relevant service.

Screenshot 2021 10 18 113913
 
kev1973 said:
The car is a 2015 A6 allroad. There gearbox services are every 38K miles, mine was done at 84.5K rather than 76K but i thought that would hopefully be ok. Yes I absolutely would have walked away. Its the first car with an s-tronic gearbox that i have owned and like you i didn't initially understand the importance, i had read quite a few horror stories on them so wanted to minimise the risk. Touch wood, my gearbox is ok, unlike the timing chains which needed doing with the associated large bill, luckily picked up by the garage, but it will have wiped out their profits.

If the car is advertised with FSH and it if it hasn't had the gearbox serviced then i would be asking for my deposit back as its not got FSH and not as described.
Ditto with my car being at the top of my budget, i got carried away wanting the facelift version, when i probably shouldnt have.
Below is a screenshot of where the geabox oil is noted on the relevant service.

View attachment 244619
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for the info & the screenshot, that’s really helpful. You make a very valid point with regards to it being misrepresented, as FSH should it not have the required services on a major component. I know they will say it has a 6 month full parts & labour warranty but if it is ok until 1 day after that runs out I’m screwed. If I don’t get confirmation from the main dealer later today then I’ll be asking the independent selling the car to supply documentation similar to that which you forwarded to me. Would you mind if I used that as an example, fully understand if not? Thanks again
 
My car has a three month warranty, but its limited to £1000, that doesn't go far with Audi parts prices, check the small print.
I think within the first 30 days, if the car develops a problem then the dealer will have to repair it or you could return it as not fit for purpose, I'm not 100% on this though.
I've pm'd you if you send me your email, ill send you the PDF of the service history.
 
You need to understand what stronic box is fitted to the car first. if it the dry clutch version then no fluid changes are required, if it the wet clutch version then it must be done every 38K miles.
 
I had quite a bit of success phoning Audi for multiple cars I was looking at for the service history, they had no issues emailing it over.

Total crap about the data protection stuff, it’s all free of any personal info.

My understanding was 38k also.
 
kev1973 said:
My car has a three month warranty, but its limited to £1000, that doesn't go far with Audi parts prices, check the small print.
I think within the first 30 days, if the car develops a problem then the dealer will have to repair it or you could return it as not fit for purpose, I'm not 100% on this though.
I've pm'd you if you send me your email, ill send you the PDF of the service history.
Click to expand...
So, I know I emailed you this in a 'conversation' but I thought it would be good for anyone else interested to know where I got with my due diligence.

I called Audi and the girl in service at the man dealer where the first 6 service entries had been carried out. She was more than happy to provide me with the information. The S-tronic service had been done at 46k, I spoke to my Audi specialist who worked for Audi for 15 years, he said that was fine interval wise. 38-40k is the advisory but not set in stone, if it had been left until 60-70 then that might have been an issue. The next service would have been due at 84k, however, on calling the independent who did all other services at 80k it hadn’t been done. The car is now at 89k so needs done. The car is ready to collect but I am going to ask them for paperwork to prove the S-tronic service had just been done along with the other services, after all it was advertised as FSH and I’d say that is part of that claim. I plan on saying I expected it as part of the FSH as advertised, say I’ll pay for the oil & filter and they carry out the work or walk away, l asking for my ‘non-refundable’ deposit back as it doesn’t meet the FSH as advertised.
 
50Five said:
So, I know I emailed you this in a 'conversation' but I thought it would be good for anyone else interested to know where I got with my due diligence.

I called Audi and the girl in service at the man dealer where the first 6 service entries had been carried out. She was more than happy to provide me with the information. The S-tronic service had been done at 46k, I spoke to my Audi specialist who worked for Audi for 15 years, he said that was fine interval wise. 38-40k is the advisory but not set in stone, if it had been left until 60-70 then that might have been an issue. The next service would have been due at 84k, however, on calling the independent who did all other services at 80k it hadn’t been done. The car is now at 89k so needs done. The car is ready to collect but I am going to ask them for paperwork to prove the S-tronic service had just been done along with the other services, after all it was advertised as FSH and I’d say that is part of that claim. I plan on saying I expected it as part of the FSH as advertised, say I’ll pay for the oil & filter and they carry out the work or walk away, l asking for my ‘non-refundable’ deposit back as it doesn’t meet the FSH as advertised.
Click to expand...

**UPDATE - VERY IMPORTANT**
I called my local Audi dealership to get a price for the S-tronic oil & filter service, I was advised that there wasn't an option for that on the system which was extremely strange, I was told she would speak to the master technician providing him the VIN number and get back to me. She did mention that Audi revise recommendations ongoing so that might be the reason. I am just of the phone, and after speaking to both her master technician & manager it has been confirmed that Audi have monitored the S-tronic performance and any associated issues, they have reassessed the recommendation which is something they supposedly do. There is now no need to do an oil change on that version of the S-tronic, EVER AGAIN, in the life of the car. I couldn't believe my ears but it is fact. Here is the quote I received after requesting written confirmation in an email.

After speaking with my Audi Accredited Technicians, I can confirm that Audi have now revised the gearbox oil change interval and have now removed this oil change from the vehicles service regime.

This means your car no longer needs a gearbox oil change for the S Tronic gearbox.
Click to expand...
So I have now done everything I can to be as happy as you can be when purchasing a used car, I could go on but I'd never get a car... :)
 
That's a result with getting the audi dealership to give you the service history, I think I must have called audi uk, I'll know for next time.

Even better result with the gearbox oil change, is it a dry clutch one as mentioned further up?
 
kev1973 said:
That's a result with getting the audi dealership to give you the service history, I think I must have called audi uk, I'll know for next time.

Even better result with the gearbox oil change, is it a dry clutch one as mentioned further up?
Click to expand...
You know, I didn’t even think to ask if that was the case, whether it was a dry clutch but now you have reminded me I’ll drop them a quick email to ask if that’s the case (terminology attached to it) for information sake for all. I’m still getting used to the forum and may not have taken all of the posts in, my apologies. This place really has been a massive help in terms of helping me ask the right questions and do my research that much better. Thanks again to you my friend and to the rest who have taken the time to get involved.
Peace and out for now, brothers/sisters/others in Audi’s
 
Last edited:
Apologies for the delay in posting, not long picked up my emails. This is what I was quoted from a master technician at Audi.
“It’s a dry clutch but still needs set up, measured and shimmed as you would with a wet clutch.”
Click to expand...
I did a bit of digging as that quote is double Dutch to me. It seems that the S-tronic on certain models, as I stated before, don’t require to be serviced with a 6.5-7.5litre of oil and filter, however, the clutch still needs maintained. I plan on speaking to my Audi specialist who has worked on my & my family’s cars for years, to see what that means to him. If the S-tronic with a dry clutch doesn’t need an oil & filter change in its lifetime then how often & how to know when it will require to be measured & shimmed.

I’m sorry I don’t have a more clear cut & definitive answer as yet but I’ll keep on digging and in turn pass on the info here.
 
“It’s a dry clutch but still needs set up, measured and shimmed as you would with a wet clutch.”

This sounds like a simple calibrations/basic settings needs run on it now and again. You can do that with vcds.
as for the servicing. My understanding is the there is still oil in a dry clutch system that operates the mechatronics and gears that needs changed. Unlike the wet clutch system the oil doesn’t get contaminated with the rest of the clutch system like wear/heat from the clutch plates so less critical to change than the wet clutch systems. I would say longer intervals than 38k but not for life. For the price of the oil/filter change I would change it for peace of mind. The most likely thing to fail is the mechatronics unit which is around £1000 for parts and £500 ish for labour and fluids.
 
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Agree with AIS3BE

The car you are looking at has quite a few miles on it but there isn’t a huge amount of data as to how long the clutches last.

A good way to test is turning out of a junction with significant steering angle and ideally very slightly uphill. Does the clutch bite smoothly or judder for a second or two as if it’s riding the clutch. There is no need to pull out quickly as you don’t want the traction control to kick in.
 
AlS3BE said:
“It’s a dry clutch but still needs set up, measured and shimmed as you would with a wet clutch.”

This sounds like a simple calibrations/basic settings needs run on it now and again. You can do that with vcds.
as for the servicing. My understanding is the there is still oil in a dry clutch system that operates the mechatronics and gears that needs changed. Unlike the wet clutch system the oil doesn’t get contaminated with the rest of the clutch system like wear/heat from the clutch plates so less critical to change than the wet clutch systems. I would say longer intervals than 38k but not for life. For the price of the oil/filter change I would change it for peace of mind. The most likely thing to fail is the mechatronics unit which is around £1000 for parts and £500 ish for labour and flui
Click to expand...
JohnM100 said:
Agree with AIS3BE

The car you are looking at has quite a few miles on it but there isn’t a huge amount of data as to how long the clutches last.

A good way to test is turning out of a junction with significant steering angle and ideally very slightly uphill. Does the clutch bite smoothly or judder for a second or two as if it’s riding the clutch. There is no need to pull out quickly as you don’t want the traction control to kick in.
Click to expand...
Ok, that’s good to know and easy to understand. I’ll be sure to take it out for one last run before committing to the purchase. Thank you
 
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