Facelift Milltek Sport Exhaust Review

billymc92

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So after months of waiting for the Milltek exhaust system to be released for the new facelift 2018 Audi RS3 I finally purchased one. After reading a lot on the internet and forums about how poorly made these systems are and fitting is not the best and also about how they deal with their customers after they come across a problem is really poor. I ignored all this as I had one of the systems on my previous car and had no issues what so ever.


My car is MRC Stage 2 which was installed on the car in the February and then this system was fitted in May. Then 2 days after I had my Milltek system fitted by their approved dealer I noticed my diffuser had melted round both of my tips. They continued to blame it on the remap when there is RS3s with 700+bhp with these systems on and mine is only running 500bhp.


I instantly contacted Milltek and they immediately blamed it on the remap. Bearing in mind my standard exhaust had been on my car for 3 months with this exact remap and I had absolutely no issues then 2 days after this system was fitted it melted my bumper? I contacted MRC who have a very good reputation in the tuning game and they replied “Over fueling or running richer will keep exhaust temperatures lower! Stock cars run lean and hot - tuned cars run richer to stay cooler - but obviously more power.”


They then turned this issue to the “fitter” their approved Milltek dealer. I’ve been in touch with miltek who just keep denying responsibility and blaming it on being fitted incorrectly.


Milltek then offered me £150 for the hassle I’ve been caused. This is absolutely appalling considering a new diffuser is £700 and at least £100+ to get this work carried out. When I then refused this they said the only step would be for me to get the exhaust removed and sent back to them to get it jigged to see if it is faulty. At first I refused this as I did not want to be without a car for a few days but then when I finally accepted to this I got the reply of “Please note we will not be accepting the system back for a refund based on the information provided.”


Not only that. At the start of July I noticed the exhaust was hanging a lot lower than normal and on further inspection I noticed the bolt that attaches the bracket for holding it up had completely fell off and I had to cable tie my exhaust up until I could get a new bolt from Audi.


Milltek keep blaming it on the fitter saying it is not fitted correctly but I’ve emailed them and when I phone them they just tell me they have fitted it the way Milltek says so it’s not there fault.


Upon further communication with Milltek I recently received this email

“We are almost 300miles from Autohaus Edinburgh so are relying totally on the information provided by 2 parties, if 1 of the 2 parties isn’t factual or truthful about the issue we are put in the middle of a difficult situation.”


I’m not sure if I have took this the wrong way or not but this seems to sound like the are basically calling me a liar and not being truthful which I find absolutely appalling especially after spending £2500+ on a exhaust system.


Miltek accepted to give me a full refund for my exhaust and I’ve now fitted my standard exhaust back to the car. But now I’m left with I diffuser that’s damaged beyond repair so I’m having to pay the £700+ out my own pocket to get my diffuser replaced.

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Totally unacceptable on their behalf mate and I know it’s not much of a help financially, but have you been to see what a good body repair shop think of the diffuser? They could possible repair that as good as new and then spray it... or you could then have it dipped in say carbon fibre etc?! That should save you a lot of the cost of a new one!?
 
Totally unacceptable on their behalf mate and I know it’s not much of a help financially, but have you been to see what a good body repair shop think of the diffuser? They could possible repair that as good as new and then spray it... or you could then have it dipped in say carbon fibre etc?! That should save you a lot of the cost of a new one!?

Yeah that’s what I’ve been looking into bud. But it’s that badly burnt I think if we tried to smooth it it would be very thin and break through
 
Any chance you can threaten court proceedings? Might kick things into gear.
 
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I’d threaten them with court! Not fit for resale
 
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Sorry to hear Billy. What an unpleasant experience.

I've read many reviews on poor build quality from Miltek. There was a recent post on Audizine showing a new DP with welds that looked like a backyard job.

My mechanic is a Miltek dealer but I stayed clear of that brand to be on the safe side.


Current - 2018 RS3 Sedan
Past - 2016 RS3 SB
 
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As said above - small claims court (either in Scotland against Autohaus or England against Milltek).

It's dead easy to decide who to claim against if you bought and paid for a fitted Exhaust from the fitters (as you'd claim against them), however it gets more complicated if you bought the exhaust separately and took it there to be fitted (as you've found with the he said/she said argument).

However, whilst I've currently got a Milltek fitted to my Golf GTI with no issues and am happy with it, your experience would make me (and others I'm sure) think twice. Personally I'd share the sh!t out of your experience with the world. Nothing hurts a manufacturer like a tarnished reputation!
 
Think I mentioned it on another thread, but them offering you £150 is basically already an admission of liability. Hopefully you've got that in writing and you can just take it to court. Can't see how you'd lose. And it probably wouldn't come to it.
 
Go on to LinkedIn and contact Phil Millington directly. I met him at Donnington one year, he took great pride in the fact he'd guessed correctly my old RS4 was running a Milltek. Seemed like a decent guy although I only spoke to him for all of 20mins, albeit he talked about himself! He's comes across extremely proud of what he's achieved. If it was me, I'd listen to what you had to say.
 
I had posted this review on the pistonheads forum and someone has reported it and got it removed.....
 
bad report = removed, seems like you had a fair point and its disappointing the offer to repair the car wasnt up to scratch, specially on a new car too - I'd be fuming as I guess you are but your in a difficult position.
 
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I had posted this review on the pistonheads forum and someone has reported it and got it removed.....
Hang on, why have they removed it? It's not slanderous, it's factual.
 
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Exactly, I emailed the forum page and asked why aswell. It was a copy and paste. So exact some wording as on here
 
Hang on, why have they removed it? It's not slanderous, it's factual.

Yeh .. as long as its not slanderous then companies should take the good with the bad.
 
Exactly, I emailed the forum page and asked why aswell. It was a copy and paste. So exact some wording as on here

Have you had a response? Can’t see any reason at all why if should be taken down!
 
Milltek quality has been crap for years. I had one on my TT back in 2005 and the same issues are still being discussed today.
 
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I opted for Powervalve / BCS on my last few exhaust mods - full system on a Golf Mk6 R, downpipe and res-delete on a Golf Mk7 R - no complaints at all on support or build quality.
 
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