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[JulesMaximus]

Bent a rocker in the engine? Doesn't it have a factory warranty on the powertrain? Usually bumper to bumper is 3 years/36,000 miles but the powertrain warranty should be longer, like 4/50k miles. I know our Lexus is 7 years 70,000 miles.

 

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[JulesMaximus]

Yea, it's four years. 50,000 miles. They are just claiming somehow that this isn't covered...

That is ridiculous. How could rocker arms not be part of the powertrain warranty?

 

[boomerang]

^^^^^^^^^^
If there is an exclusion in the warranty that falls under some definition of abuse. I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying.

The OP needs to get out the warranty booklet and read it through. If it's covered and the dealer contends that it's not covered then contact Audi directly. If that doesn't work then contact the Attorney General in your state.

Doing your homework regarding the warranty is going to be the key here. Scheduled maintenance being done on time means nothing in this case. The failure was due to faulty materials or manufacturing or it's due to something that falls under the description of abuse. The burden of proof unfortunately has fallen on the shoulders of the owner.

The ball is in your court.

 

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[Fenixgoon]

i'm inclined to call shens seeing as a solid CEL is an emissions issue. if it were blinking, then you'd have serious problems and you'd notice that the car was not operating correctly or producing the right amount of power.

a bad rocker (i'm assuming in the valvetrain) would hose things up considerably beyond just "not meeting emissions", i'm guessing.

 

[jlee]

I finally got a call back from audi. They are saying the dealer is reporting that the oil cap somehow fell into the engine and damaged it. The dealer is of course claiming this is some kind of 'owner did his own work' issue and thus not covered.

The thing is, I've had all work done by the dealer every time and I have audicare which means all my maintenance is already paid for. So there is no way I'd ever take it anywhere else or do anything to my car. Audi is now investigating the claim and I'm hopeful they are going to pay to have the engine repaired.

Beyond all that, how does an oil cap fall into an engine? Isn't the fact it's a cap automatically mean it's larger than the hole it is covering? My current suspicion is the dealer damaged my car during the last service, the issue is just now showing up and they are trying to cover their asses. I'm still confused on how a oil cap could damage the rockers.

Oil cap fell into the engine? That'd be a trick, since the cap is bigger than the hole...is this your engine?

 

[nerp]

I refuse to let you walk out of there without a perfectly repaired car that didn't cost you a dime to fix. That is your assignment. Actually, it's your right. Screw this dealer.

 

[KentState]

Oil cap fell into the engine? That'd be a trick, since the cap is bigger than the hole...is this your engine?

That would be an impressive feat.

 

[LTC8K6]

Wouldn't a bent rocker be noisy?

 

[LTC8K6]

I'm guessing they are claiming the cap fell in among the timing belt(s)?

 

[Ferzerp]

A round cap falling in the hole it plugs would indeed be an impressive feat.

Either the OP is weirdly trolling or very, very confused.

 

[LTC8K6]

If they really meant the oil cap, then it would have to be a broken off locking tab, I guess?

Was one of the tabs missing?

Assuming it has that type of cap.

 

[pcgeek11]

I'm guessing they are claiming the cap fell in among the timing belt(s)?

The timing belts are covered and you cannot get to them without removing those.

 

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[cabri]

If Audi says it is covered under warranty; you should be able to take it to any dealer; not just to the one that did the damage

 

[JulesMaximus]

I'll have more details on Thursday when audi calls me back. That was just the information fed to me by the lady from audi. The dealer is being very argumentative and not explaining the issue to my satisfaction.

After talking with the lady from audi I feel confident Audi will make this right. I just don't know if I trust the dealer to do any of the work. Especially because they are the only people to ever do any work on this already broken car.

When I brought the car in the check engine light was solid and yellow and literally had just came on during the drive home. The car sounded fine for the most part. I noticed a slight "miss" during idle and a very slight shimmy when in park and idle. I guess all we can do is wait and see what Audi does. On the upside Audi is forcing them to get me a loaner car while they do their investigation.

A friend of mine had an A4 he bought new a few years ago but he started having transmission trouble with it so he took it in to Audi and they ended up putting a used transmission in his car. WTF??? A USED transmission? :whiste:

I had a car the CEL kept coming on and the manufacturer ended up replacing the entire engine under warranty at 58k miles because they found galling on the cam journals. They put a brand new engine in the car and gave me a free loaner car to drive for a week while they performed the work.

Audi needs to step up to the plate and take responsibility, you shouldn't have to pay a dime.

 

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[satyajitmenon]

Good that Audi went to bat for you. Sucks that the dealership isn't very good, but I don't know how easy it is for a manufacturer to control that. I suppose they could look at dealership feedback over a period of time and give them a lower allocation of stock or something.

 

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[exar333]

So I talked to the dealer this morning while picking up my loaner. Turns out it wasn't the oil cap, but a small metal guard inside the engine that prevents the oil filler from going in too far. So some how that got busted free during a oil change and fell into the engine. At least that makes more sense.

That's good to know but unfortunate that the dealer tried to pin that on you. I am guessing they get some sort of billback on warranty work due to negligence on their part? Sounds like you were right and they were covering their butt. It is crappy there isn't a different dealer to go to close-by....

After the warranty is up, I would definitely suggest finding an indy that specializes in Audis and go there instead. Who knows what else this dealer service might cause down the road, and it would be a lot more ugly without a warranty active. That turns into a legal issue and one that would be a huge pain.

Glad its getting fixed. My wife has been a VW loyalist and as many complaints as I might have on her choice in cars, their corp service has been EXCELLENT. Heard the same for Audi...

 

[bruceb]

After an experience like that, that dealer would never seen one more penny from me. And I might consider never buying an Audi again. I had a similar issue with a GM Dealer in Little Falls, NJ after the 3800 V6 was replaced with a GM Reman engine. It developed a signifigant oil leak and that same dealer claimed it was valve cover gaskets and lower intake manifold to the tune of $800 .. problem remained and I would not take it back there since they screwed it up. Went to Hawthorne Chevy, brought all the engine warranty paper work and invoice, they found the issue (bad rear main crankshaft seal), agreed it was under warranty and fixed it (cost me $0 other than cost of gas to get there)

 

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