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Wagons Audi A3 New A3 Owners - Give Us Your Report!
41 messages, Last post on Jun 02, 2009 at 6:02 PM
You are in the Audi A3 Forum. Your Host is kcram
Well, the first 4,900 miles on my new A3 were great. Then yesterday, I am cruising at about 65 mph on some freeways and getting great mileage. I exit onto a ramp and it dies. And it continues to die each time I start it and move several feet. No warning lights go on. When it did go further than several feet, it chugged like someone learning to drive stick. I ended up having to have it towed over 30 miles to the dealer. This is a substitution of collateral car in settlement of a legal action against Audi for my 2007 A4 that ended up with 5 major engine repairs within a 10 week period at 20,000 miles. None of the Audi dealers would help me out (I was 60 miles from home) because I didn't buy the car from them. Well, I didn't buy this car from anyone! Roadside Assistance suggested I take a cab home. The dealer never called to confirm that they received the car from tow truck co. I am hoping it fell off the truck someplace. I am now online looking for a new car company.
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Got my '06 DSG Sport Packaged 2.0T A3 workhorse up to 42K miles and counting. No major problems to report. In fact, I had just taken it in for it's first real unscheduled warranty repair. The center stack armrest container stopped racheting correctly, and the latch broke on the arm rest storage bin lid (a common problem according to the service guy). Unfortunately, he took the position that they were doing me a favor repairing and replacing the whole arm rest assembly as he said Audi stuck them for the bill in denying warranty on the lid latch breaking! Did Audi hire a former Chrysler worker? This is a terrible management decision if true. |
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Just spent first cent on maintenance after passing the 48K mark. 30K on Goodyear F1 all season and they're roaring, though still handling nicely. P6s didn't make it past 25K before needing replaced. Next set will be Bridgestone RE960s - already have sets on '99 Passat and '02 Turbo S. Best mileage was with the worn Pirellis, A/C on economy, early morning I26/I40 from Spartanburg to Knoxville, 60 -70 mph - 37.4 mpg. F1s have pretty high rolling resistance and took the normal 33.1  78 mph to 31.8 mpg. Tires do make a difference. Still just as much fun as when new and love the way it goes from practical, high mileage scenic cruiser to snarly, hard cornering, pocket rocket. |
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Just before my 50K warranty was up (I'm now approaching 52K shortly), the battery died on me with complete failure; it wouldn't recharge and the only way to get the car started was to jump it even after driving 200 miles w/o stopping, and I did check to make sure the alternator was working properly. So the battery died on me in 35 months of use, at 49,000 miles or so. Found out Audi doesn't cover the battery past 12K or 12 months, and that's a darn shame. Audi should be ashamed of themselves for that terrible managment decision. Again, I think they must of hired a former Chrysler employee who's advising them poorly on their warranty terms. I was angry that the battery wasn't AT LEAST covered on a PRO RATED basis, which is the bare minimum standard. So in 2005 they did, but in 2006 they decided to go cheap. Seems not a coincidence that as soon as they shorten the warranty, they start installing batteries that can't even last 3 years or 50,000 miles. I know I got raped by the dealer, but installation and new battery cost me about $250! 1 hour of labor to install a battery>??? probably took them 10 minutes at most! and their labor rates in CA are astronomical. The actual battery cost of abotu $115 isn't too bad actually, considering the replacement does have a 4 year prorated warranty!
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Replying to: andres3 (May 04, 2009 10:09 am) Has anybody had problems with the shift paddles on DSG equpped Audis? So our '06 A3 w/ the DSG has ~45k miles now. The up (right) paddle on the steering column became loose about 6 months ago so that you could not engage the next gear unless you flicked it towards you along the very bottom edge of the paddle. I figured we'd get it in at the 45k service and get it replaced before the warranty ran out - no need for an extra trip, right? About a week ago the paddle actually fell off with no prompting from us. Our dealership declined it as a warranty item first stating it was a plastic trim piece. When I pressed and got to the service manager he said as it had fallen off, it was due to our use / abuse and would not be covered. He further said if we had come in while it was still hanging loose it would of probably been covered(?!?). He quoted me ~$400 for the replacement. I contacted Audi Customer Care (not an accurate title in my opinion) regarding this. They took 24 hours to get back to me. When they did, they declined any assistance in the form of warranty repair or even a discount on the cost of the work. I would have accepted just about any peace offering just to see they were willing to listen and prperly respond. They too said it was due to our use. I asked if I could speak to a manager but they indirectly declined, saying there were managers there but only for administrative purposes and it would be of no use to talk with them. I have had 2 Audis, 3 VW's including a current 01 Passat and others have relied on my recommendation before purchasing similar rides. Next time I will not provide such glowing reviews and I am considering walking away from Audi the next time around. There are a lot of other quality manufacturers out there that stand behind their products better than Audi these days. Oh yeah, also at this service we were told a leaking strut was not a warranty item and they proposed a ~$400 estimate for that too. Some other quality issues are a chronic check engine light (cleared by software usually but now have replaced a damper motor and something about intake runners); finish has peeled of the window switches, CV boot failed spewing grease everywhere; sun shade latch has fallen apert 4 times (which they've continued to replace). Sorry to rant - just very frustrated by this bad experience. Thanks for listening and if I have posted in the wrong place, lemme know. Cheers LS_jr
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Replying to: pf_flyer (Oct 16, 2006 5:53 am) |
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Replying to: ls_jr (May 22, 2009 9:32 am)
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Replying to: pf_flyer (Oct 16, 2006 5:53 am) Very dissapointed!!! |
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Replying to: large (May 22, 2009 12:34 pm) Why would you buy something in a condition where you couldn't live with it for even a few months? Do other A3's make the same noise, that would be the fair way to resolve this dispute with Audi. Compare yours to other A3's, if they sound the same, then Audi is right, if they don't, then you are right and Audi is wrong.
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Replying to: utahjake (Aug 24, 2008 5:04 am) 
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