2018 A6 3.0T leaking water pump at 38k miles

[A4_Jax]

I took our A6 in for the last AudiCare service. During inspection they found coolant leaks from water pump. WTF@38k miles??!! I'm so pissed at myself for not taking in the vehicle sooner. The warranty ended in December, and I suspect there has probably been some evidence of leakage since then. My wife mainly drives it, and I recall having to top off the coolant once, and didn't think much of it. If only I paid more attention...

I asked for "goodwill" relief from the dealership. SA claims to have contacted Audi USA, and only offered 15% off the repair, making it $1700 to repair. An indy Euro shop quoted $1300, including pump AND solenoid. I've opened up a case with Audi USA, crossing my fingers.

BTW, wasn't there a class action suit filed last year (October 2022?) for 3.0T water pump failures?

[awdjunkies]

I took our A6 in for the last AudiCare service. During inspection they found coolant leaks from water pump. WTF@38k miles??!! I'm so pissed at myself for not taking in the vehicle sooner. The warranty ended in December, and I suspect there has probably been some evidence of leakage since then. My wife mainly drives it, and I recall having to top off the coolant once, and didn't think much of it. If only I paid more attention...

I asked for "goodwill" relief from the dealership. SA claims to have contacted Audi USA, and only offered 15% off the repair, making it $1700 to repair. An indy Euro shop quoted $1300, including pump AND solenoid. I've opened up a case with Audi USA, crossing my fingers.

BTW, wasn't there a class action suit filed last year (October 2022?) for 3.0T water pump failures?

This is what I've found so far. https://www.classaction.org/news/audi-defective-water-pump-class-action-includes-2021-2022-vehicle-models-with-3.0t-engines

Yes, the heading says, "21-22" but if you scroll down you'll see the affected vehicles(Within the embedded document), range from '13-'22.


More info:

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2022/MC-10214802-0001.pdf



https://waterpumpsettlement.com/Home/portalid/0

[Valpo A7]

Have the t-stat changed at the same time. Gotta pull the supercharger for both. The dealer will likely not offer it because they know it will fail and they can get paid to remove the SC again. Indie will likely recommend it be done at the same time because of where its at.

[gdawg'05a4]

2018 has the CREC/CREH (tuning difference AFAIK) motor. Assuming no differences with the one in the C7.5 and 4M Q7, there's no need to pull the charger to change out just the water pump. I did a write up here: https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q7-mkii-discussion-211/diy-3-0t-water-pump-3027510/

I haven't read of many issues with the CREC thermostats unlike the earlier 3.0Ts. If you're going to replace both, then yes, pull the charger otherwise save the work.

[2k16A6]

Unfortunately, very common. My 2016 (also with the 3.0T CREC) was leaking at 32k miles, a few months out of warranty back in 2020. I paid I think $950 at a good indy shop, to my knowledge they did it without removing the SC.

[Valpo A7]

Interesting, I did not know that about the newer engines.

[JWebb_C7_Comp]

Unfortunately, very common. My 2016 (also with the 3.0T CREC) was leaking at 32k miles, a few months out of warranty back in 2020. I paid I think $950 at a good indy shop, to my knowledge they did it without removing the SC.

Just did my wife’s Q7’s water pump before spring break trip. $895 at Indy with 2 year warranty. Additional flush and other stuff another $200. Frustrating, indeed. But at 85k that is the first repair on the 2017 family hauler.

I used to do water pumps t-stats and belts on BMWs at 60k miles proactively because they were notorious for failing.

Hate to say it, but the Audis require some extra love.

I ignore our Hondas and the just keep running… better?? I don’t know. Prefer the Audis!


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=87676)

[A4_Jax]

These links are in reference to a different suit which covers the 4-cyl vehicles.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...14802-0001.pdf

https://waterpumpsettlement.com/Home/portalid/0

[hrpfg2]

Looks like you’re in jax.
Did you take it to Audi of jax? They have 15% off service advertised on their website…

[A4_Jax]

Looks like you’re in jax.
Did you take it to Audi of jax? They have 15% off service advertised on their website…

Yes, I did take it there. They originally quoted $1600 for repair, though after opening a case with Audi USA, they've dropped it to under $1100.

I haven't taken it in yet since I was out on vacation. However, while I was out, the battery completely died, so now I need to have that replaced as well. [headbang]

[A4_Jax]

Update

It was originally diagnosed as a leaking water pump. However, when I picked it up today, the invoice indicated replacement of thermostat due to leak. I'm a little miffed because I felt the issue was more urgent because I thought the water pump needed replacement; however, I'm not so sure a small leak from t-stat is as urgent. Cost me almost $1k to repair...thought a t-stat replacement would have been cheaper. In any case it's done now. I also went ahead and had the battery replaced.

[gdawg'05a4]

Update

It was originally diagnosed as a leaking water pump. However, when I picked it up today, the invoice indicated replacement of thermostat due to leak. I'm a little miffed because I felt the issue was more urgent because I thought the water pump needed replacement; however, I'm not so sure a small leak from t-stat is as urgent. Cost me almost $1k to repair...thought a t-stat replacement would have been cheaper. In any case it's done now. I also went ahead and had the battery replaced.

T-stat requires removing the charger to get to it so it's a little more involved than just a WP replacement. The $1k repair include the battery too?

[christianb5s4]

I replaced the thermostat preventatively when I first bought the car, along with all the belts, sparkplugs, etc. It's definitely worth doing it all in one fell swoop.

Just had to do the PCV too. While CREC motors have these traditional 3.0T issues, it seems far less frequent than the Gen 1 motors at least.

[A4_Jax]

T-stat requires removing the charger to get to it so it's a little more involved than just a WP replacement. The $1k repair include the battery too?


T-stat requires removing the charger to get to it so it's a little more involved than just a WP replacement. The $1k repair include the battery too?


Sorry about just now getting around to answering. I came across this post as I was searching for posts about "water pump leak" -- because that's what I'm facing now! [facepalm]

Regarding the repair last year (at 38k miles) -- it was over $900 for thermostat replacement, and over $500 for new battery and registration. Did I get suckered? Maybe. I just didn't have the luxury of shopping around for a better repair deal.

Now (at 42k) , I've got a water pump leak and being quoted over $1700 by dealer. [headbang]

[gdawg'05a4]

Sorry about just now getting around to answering. I came across this post as I was searching for posts about "water pump leak" -- because that's what I'm facing now! [facepalm]

Regarding the repair last year (at 38k miles) -- it was over $900 for thermostat replacement, and over $500 for new battery and registration. Did I get suckered? Maybe. I just didn't have the luxury of shopping around for a better repair deal.

Now (at 42k) , I've got a water pump leak and being quoted over $1700 by dealer. [headbang]

$1700 for WP is definitely way too much. It doesn't require the removal of the charger so labor isn't as "involved". The WP is $187 for the HEPU brand or a little more for OEM and takes half a day or less, depending on how quickly you work. For an experienced shop, I'd say a few hours labor at most.

[base14]

My ‘18 A6’s water pump is leaking at 48k. I’ve ordered parts and going to crack into it this weekend and replace the tstat at the same time. I could be wrong but these seem to be failing at a higher rate on the crec engine vs pre-2016 😒

[Burkeomatic]

My ‘18 A6’s water pump is leaking at 48k. I’ve ordered parts and going to crack into it this weekend and replace the tstat at the same time. I could be wrong but these seem to be failing at a higher rate on the crec engine vs pre-2016 😒

You're probably right. I had my '13 for 50k miles and at 103k, it never had a failure of the waterpump or thermostat. I had extras on hand waiting for it to happen, because everyone said it would.

[MyDimeIsUp]

My WP started failing but it actually wasn't leaking, the bearings were starting to wear down and was causing a squealing.

[base14]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20241104/aacd39e876210a2ad10fb24400db9b15.jpg
My WP was leaking out of the weep hole.
Hopefully this one lasts longer than 50k miles.
Side note: Man, that crossover coolant pipe was a pain to remove!


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=87676)