Be carefull where you service your car.

[duud40]

About six months ago my shocks started leaking, dropped dead on my rs4 b7 .As you might be aware there is a known problem with the drc system and shocks on the b7 rs4.As the audi dealership in the city I live does not have the tool to re-pressurise the drc system I took the car to a service that said they would do it and change the shock internals with some "upgraded ones" .I asked them up front if they think they can do the job and not screw up, as I would not want to have problems with the suspension afterward. They charged me 1200 euro for the work the`ve done to the suspension and some misc parts(bolts and some bushings). As I was waiting for the suspension to be complete I also told them the gearbox had some problems changing into 3rd, when changing really fast and brutal I would hear a metal on metal sound but very short duration , not something that would prevent me from using third or something that made shifts hard, just something that I would ocassionaly hear when changing from 2nd to 3rd and bugged the hell out of me . It was obviously a synchro which was worn . The shop mechanic told me he can manage it, and after further reassuring by the owner that they`d opened other gearboxes and put them back together with no problems I told them that I was going to pay the price they asked but only if they thought they could manage it. As the gearbox was coming down off the car it was only obvious that I would upgrade the clutch which was not old or very badly worn but not in great shape either.... Again I asked them If they thought they could manage to get the parts needed . So they brought me a clutch disc which to me looked kinda flymsy compared to the stock one but they reassured me it would do the job and not be too hard on town driving.
So after 4 months of waiting and calling at least 4-5 times a week I go to collect my car. Once I get there , the car was still being worked on , mounting the exhaust so not having anything to do I take a look at the gearbox mount and front cradle (dunno if this is the correct word, I am reffering to the ansamble that holds together the front end, something that you have to un-bolt to have clearance to get the geabox down) and I see some very odd looking bolts, nuts and also a wire sticking out.... Upon closer inspection and questioning of the mechanic that was working on the car I found out the bolts where whatever they found in the shop, my original ones gone missing and the wire sticking out was the loom to the wideband lambda sensor on the right bank of cylinders. I went bonkers and the manager told me that they would change the bolts on theyre own expense but the parts would take 4 days to get there , of course it was on theyre own expense , It was them not me who lost the original bolts. So after another week I go to the shop collect my car (with new bolts, new lambda sensor, new 3rd gear synchro and one of the 2 sprockets which make up the 3rd gear ,new shocks and also new clutch and pressure plate). Went out with one of the mechanics for a test drive, the gearbox wasn`t making any funny noises, 2nd to 3rd gear change was going smooth as new, the suspension was firm and kinda annoying but something I could live with and the clutch was kinda hard to launch slowly and arround town but again something I decided I could live with. After completing the test drive I took a drive to my home city about 250 km away , and after 35 km of interstate driving at 160km/h the gearbox started coming out of gear, it would simply come slowly out of any gear as I accelerated, no noise no clunks no nothing , it was nothing spectacular but I knew something was wrong so i called a trailer and got the car back to the shop. They opened the gearbox and blamed a security clip (part that keeps gears in place on shafts) shearing off.Hearing that I went straight to the shop and demanded they show me the clip and the place it shouldve been .Then they said the sprocket they replaced had suffered failure, so I wanted to take a look at that also and what I found was a synchro going completely bust and also one of the 2 sprockets making up 3rd gear had suffered failure in a very odd way which to my shame I don`t have the vocabulary to explain (maybe If I can find some pictures of gears I could). Very weird failure to which they had no conclusion. So there goes another 2 weeks of waiting for some other parts, ordering the wrong parts, and another 2 weeks to get the gearbox back together. After 6 months they had finaly managed to finish the damned car .
Now I was taking it easy as to not break something again and let all the parts settle and gearbox to adapt to new oil (after consultation with the shop). So one night I would shift from 2nd to 3rd and I would see a lof of white smoke behind me, which was obviously not good , so I lay off the throttle and try to take it out of gear. Only that I wasnt able to , not without accelerating a little so the engine revs would not brake the car (engine brake) . I come to a full stop and the car would have a lot of problems going into first , the clutch pedal being very soft. Sure enough it was the clutch disc they installed which had severed and had taken the flywheel and clutch plate with it. I then take the car into the dealers and they take the gearbox down and I get a chance to take these pictures, they also tell me the suspension is shot and the gearbox has some very interesting markings which were obviously the work of some un skilled mechanic trying to pry it apart from the engine.





The last picture is of a bolt they changed from the right exhaus mainfold flange as they destroyed the original one....
Now I`ve got to re-do the clutch ,flywheel, suspension all over again and I don`t think I`m the one who`s going to pay for it all.

[d94]

WOW, thats a hell of a story
and super fucked up that the shop figured they'd just do iti and figure it out..
good luck and hopefully you can get that shop to pay up for all that work to be done at the dealership!

[littleredwagen]

wow that is some story i feel for you

[ABanT]

Wow that is some predicament you've got on your hands. Not only did you have to leave your car for what seems to be almost half a year, they've seriously messed up too.

They better pay to get everything fixed up.

[RAudi Driver]

Is this an audi dealership that you are talking about?

[duud40]

no, a private shop not enlisted as an Audi dealer

[RAudi Driver]

Well there is your problem right there. Sorry to hear about your misfortune but you pretty much have no one to blame expect for yourself.

Get that car to an Audi dealer asap and get it fixed right.

[Teutonic_Tamer]

Well there is your problem right there. Sorry to hear about your misfortune but you pretty much have no one to blame expect for yourself.

Get that car to an Audi dealer asap and get it fixed right.

x2

And I gotta ask the OP, the car is surely under warranty still, so why did you not get all the work done under a warranty claim, without costing you a penny/cent?

For those who are not aware, the DRC system has an officially extended warranty for 5 years in the UK and Europe.

[duud40]

That was because the local dealer does not have the tools to re-presurize the drc system ,and they refused the warranty claim on both that and my brake discs cracking after 9000km of changing them at my cost at the dealers.

[Teutonic_Tamer]

That was because the local dealer does not have the tools to re-presurize the drc system ,

Then the dealer needs naming and shaming. And reporting to Audi Germany HQ - because in order for a "workshop" to hold an official Audi franchise, they must hold a very extensive inventory of specialist tools - and being as they failed to comply, they are in breach of their franchise agreement. Audi Germany really would like to hear about this.

and they refused the warranty claim on both that and my brake discs cracking after 9000km of changing them at my cost at the dealers.

But they should have referred you to another franchised Audi dealer - maybe even sent your car back to a dealer in Germany - for the DRC.

The brake discs are a grey area though. Specifically in Europe, brake disc issues are rarely covered by warranty.

[szinkuti]

and this is why you dont get an rs4 worked on at some jo smos shop.....why wont the dealer there buy the tool?....or borrow it from another dealer...that is what we have done in the past...borrow it...then send it back to the other dealer....

[RAudi Driver]

Yup, that's what the dealer did when they replaced my DRC. They borrowed the tool, or ended up purchasing it. Whatever the case was, they didn't have one when I took my car there and had to obtain one to get my car fixed. It was their responsibility and they ordered the tool and got the DRC fixed properly the first time and it didn't cost me a cent.

OP, you got taken due to your inability to get what you rightfully deserved. You should have pressed the issue with whatever it took to get the Audi dealer to get your car fixed. Now they can probably deny your claim because someone else took a hatchet to your car. You don't deserve to own that RS4. You raped it!

[duud40]

There are 5 audi rs4 b7 in the city I live in , all of them have had repairs and service performed by the dealer, none have ever benefitted from warranty , only one has changed the shocks and it cost him a lot to ship the car to austria and replace the shocks (yes both on his expense).
By the way what does OP mean?
The shop I took the car to was not "jo smos" , it was a shop which has a dyno tester , is the only certified dealer for a lot of performance parts for Romania and serviced a lot of way more expensive cars than mine .They have screwed up big time on my car.
We settled on a tranny from a totaled rs4 with 5000 km on it and an upgrade to ceramic brake discs , the remainder of the parts (clutch kit and suspension shocks to be replaced at my expense, I think I`m going for kw variant 3 and getting rid of the drc)
Also , the last time I had problems with my shocks and brake discs the dealer denied any warranty and after me sending a letter to audi germany I got a phone call from the local dealer I was complaining about telling me audi germany would not replace consumable parts(the shocks and the front discs which had only 9000 km). So please do not jump to conclusions, I`m really very aware this is not a car which you diy on or get serviced by idiots .

[Swanky]

Yup, that's what the dealer did when they replaced my DRC. They borrowed the tool, or ended up purchasing it. Whatever the case was, they didn't have one when I took my car there and had to obtain one to get my car fixed. It was their responsibility and they ordered the tool and got the DRC fixed properly the first time and it didn't cost me a cent.

OP, you got taken due to your inability to get what you rightfully deserved. You should have pressed the issue with whatever it took to get the Audi dealer to get your car fixed. Now they can probably deny your claim because someone else took a hatchet to your car. You don't deserve to own that RS4. You raped it!

The first paragraph is ok, the second paragraph is out of line. give the guy a break he clearly was trying to make the best out of a difficult situation.

[RAudi Driver]

I see! Duud40, it looks like you are on the right track now. It's just seemed that you allowed yourself to get hosed by a mechanic for 6 months. I wouldn't have accepted that under any circumstances. I can say that I am not familiar with the Dealers in Romania and how they treat warranty items, but it appears that you ended up getting the short end of the stick from Audi.

I am glad to hear that you actually made the best of a very bad situation. Ceramic brakes, while not the best for the street are pretty expensive.

In my defense, you should have stated all that you did with Audi in your original post. Audi's denial of warranty and your letter to AoG then it would have been understood why the car ended up going to a non Audi place for the repair.

And swanky, I was a little brutal on the op in my last post. Thanks for calling me out. My apologies!

[Swanky]

I see! Duud40, it looks like you are on the right track now. It's just seemed that you allowed yourself to get hosed by a mechanic for 6 months. I wouldn't have accepted that under any circumstances. I can say that I am not familiar with the Dealers in Romania and how they treat warranty items, but it appears that you ended up getting the short end of the stick from Audi.

I am glad to hear that you actually made the best of a very bad situation. Ceramic brakes, while not the best for the street are pretty expensive.

In my defense, you should have stated all that you did with Audi in your original post. Audi's denial of warranty and your letter to AoG then it would have been understood why the car ended up going to a non Audi place for the repair.

And swanky, I was a little brutal on the op in my last post. Thanks for calling me out. My apologies!

it's all good

[duud40]

No offence taken. Atmosphere got a little hot though . I'll post some pics of the car on the track, maybe that will pass as proof of me not being a retard. Can't we all just get along?

[duud40]

still...... What does OP mean ?

[Swanky]

still...... What does OP mean ?

Original Post(er)

[duud40]

can you say : skyd-marks :))

[RAudi Driver]

Wow, that's a beautiful track. Nice pics! Good luck with the car and your repairs. Keep us posted.

[GotRS?]

Check out the couple in the white RS without helmets! They let you out on a track with passengers and no helmets there?

Thanks for the scary story too OP, what a lesson.

[Teutonic_Tamer]

There are 5 audi rs4 b7 in the city I live in , all of them have had repairs and service performed by the dealer, none have ever benefitted from warranty , only one has changed the shocks and it cost him a lot to ship the car to austria and replace the shocks (yes both on his expense).

Forgive my ignorance, but isn't Romania a full member of the European Union? If so, then you will have a full pan-European two year unlimited mileage warranty from Audi AG. And whilst the cost of travelling to and from a dealer for warranty work has never been covered, what IS very clear from Audi AG is that if a franchised Audi dealer can sell you a car (such as an RS4 or R8), then they MUST have the tooling to carry out all maintenance and warranty work. And being as you state there are 5 RS4s in your city, then there is a clear need for your local Audi dealer to comply.

The simple fact that none of these owners have ever benefited from the official warranty shows that some serious flaws are occuring - and that Audi AG needs to be made aware of this.

By the way what does OP mean?

As others have said, "OP" is an abbreviation for "original poster", or the thread starter.

The shop I took the car to was not "jo smos" , it was a shop which has a dyno tester , is the only certified dealer for a lot of performance parts for Romania and serviced a lot of way more expensive cars than mine .

The "jo smos" phrase passed me by - must be an "American" phrase, and I don't understand it.

However, just because a dealer may sell "performance parts", or have a dyno, or even carries out routine servicing on other cars - it still doesn't mean they have the necessary expertise on very specialised components such as transmissions, DRC systems, or even an RS4 as a whole.

They have screwed up big time on my car.
We settled on a tranny from a totaled rs4 with 5000 km on it and an upgrade to ceramic brake discs , the remainder of the parts (clutch kit and suspension shocks to be replaced at my expense, I think I`m going for kw variant 3 and getting rid of the drc)
Also , the last time I had problems with my shocks and brake discs the dealer denied any warranty and after me sending a letter to audi germany I got a phone call from the local dealer I was complaining about telling me audi germany would not replace consumable parts(the shocks and the front discs which had only 9000 km). So please do not jump to conclusions, I`m really very aware this is not a car which you diy on or get serviced by idiots .

I personally arn't suggesting you got your car worked on by "idiots" - but I am confused by your actions!

Regarding your "settlement" from the workshop - well that is your choice, and it seems reasonable and satisfactory that they are supplying another gearbox, along with the ceramic brake upgrade. Obviously, it is your choice to ditch the DRC, but I repeat that Audi Germany have officially extended the warranty to a full five years - so unless you are specifically after improvements to your suspension system, tossing the DRC into the trash can seems a little short-sighted.

Can I ask what you think caused the brake discs to go after just 9k kms? Is that your car on the track?

[Teutonic_Tamer]

Ceramic brakes, while not the best for the street are pretty expensive.

I'm sorry, but I can't agree with that at all. The Audi Ceramic brakes are a considerable improvement over the standard RS4 brakes, and even during normal street/highway useage, offer benefits over the standard anchors.

And regarding costings, well yes, the Ceramic brakes may be more expensive to initially spec (or retro-fit) on the car, but that initial cost is clearly offset by their incredible durability - a standard RS4 brake set up (discs and pads) will have been replaced five times before the discs on a Ceramic setup need to be changed.