A3 water pump change

[Sella]

Hi all!

I'm new to the forum, but I've been reading a lot in here during the years.
Now I have a question.

We were on holiday for 2 weeks this summer, with the car parked at the airport. When we came back, I started up the car, and I got the message "stop engine and check coolant level". I topped it up with some water, according to Audi Assistance.
After that I did not have any problems, but I was advised to get it checked.
I had the car at Audi today, and they said the water pump was broken. The car is a 2014 model, 1,4 TFSI 140hp, with 34000 miles on the clock.

I do not have a lot of knowledge about the cooling system, but is it possible that the coolant will leak out of the water pump when it has been standing still for 2 weeks?

 

[Retroman]

Unusual for an OE water pump to fail after just 34,000 miles. The central shaft bearing and seal can wear (and leak) with age and/or mileage. In my experience the catalyst for exposing such a leak would be the pump rotating during engine usage as opposed to it being being stood up for two weeks. Having said that, I've known alternators and water pumps (normally cheap aftermarket ones) fail after a short time.

 

[Sella]

I think 34000 miles is early too. Ok, so it may broken then - I really don't trust those Audi mechanics...
Just wondering, what is the cost to replace it elsewhere? In Denmark, Audi wants about £890. Very nice having bought the car just 4 months ago

 

[AndyKnight]

That sounds about right . It's a front off job to get at the water pump.

 

[Matchman54]

I had both the main and auxiliary water pumps fail within 2 months of each other with less than 50,000 miles on the clock . Cost was in excess of £800 from a VW approved garage to replace with genuine parts which came with warranty.

 

[Sella]

Pricey job then Thank you guys.

 

[Kayobong]

Old thread but same thing happened to my 2.0 TDI when taking my car for it's MOT, coolant temp light came up on the DIS and told me to pull over, fortunately I was a few meters from my mechanic. Upon further inspection the water pump had started to fail even though it was changed 25k miles ago. ****** annoying as I'm selling the car. Lucky for the new owner though. Seems like this is somewhat of a common issue.

 

[george forbes]

Unusual for an OE water pump to fail after just 34,000 miles. The central shaft bearing and seal can wear (and leak) with age and/or mileage. In my experience the catalyst for exposing such a leak would be the pump rotating during engine usage as opposed to it being being stood up for two weeks. Having said that, I've known alternators and water pumps (normally cheap aftermarket ones) fail after a short time.

common problem on a3 s3 for water pump to fail , mine went at 27k. just google it. replaced under warranty