mrichardl

I have a 1999 Audi A6 Quattro with 44,000 miles. Five months ago it overheated on the interstate. I had it towed into the local Audi dealership in Oklahoma City. They replaced the water pump and sent me on my way. Over the last few months it has been losing coolant. I have added coolant probably 6 times since the overheating problem. I have taken it to Brad Noe Audi in Tulsa where I live. The first time they told me there was nothing wrong with it and perhaps it was evaporating. Well, it "evaporated" some more and I took it back last week. They kept it for 5 days while supposedly running test. I picked it up on Thursday. As soon as I cranked her up at the dealership the low coolant light came on. I opened the hood and there was absolutely no coolant in the resevoir tank. I was very upset and asked the service manager how they could have done all of these test and not noticed that there was no coolant in the tank. He told me that test had been done and that they just can't figure out where it is going. He explained the evaporation theory again to me. I explained that I have owned other less expensive cars in my lifetime and I have never heard of this "evaporation theory". He gave me a bottle of coolant and told me if it runs out again to call him back. The car comes off of warranty in a month. I am buying an extended warranty to cover up to 100,000 or when I buy another car. However, extended warranties don't always cover everything. I feel that Brad Noe is just dodging their responsibility. I am so frustrated right now at the lack of service. Could anyone give me some options or advice on why I should do at this point? This entire experience is really souring me on ever wanting to purchase another Audi. Please don't say trade her in. I am in grad school and this is my transportation for another 1 1/2 years. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Alf Arkin

Is the block clean? Any sign of leaking through the head gasket? If so, they changed the pump unnecessarily.

The coolant should be good for years.

I'd go to a different dealer and have them check it again.

TXurS6

Keep all of your service records and make sure that they detail everything that is done and said. Have the service writer document what his "theory" is on the service record and have them also write down how much fluid is added each time. Make sure the mileage at each service is documented. It is my understanding that an existing condition may still be covered under warranty even if the mileage or time has expired. And finally, call AoA and get them involved. At least you can get the problem documented with them as well before the warranty expires. If you're lucky they can prod the dealer to conclusively resolve the problem.

mrichardl

The entire engine is very clean. There are no visible signs of leakage and no smoke from the exhaust. I had the oil changed while they had it and when I inspected the oil this morning it seemed to have an odd tint to it. It was not what I would consider "normal" looking oil. It also seemed to be much thinner than oil usually is. I was thinking that coolant make be seeping in. When the car ran hot I was driving back from a 5 hour trip. Even though I pulled over as soon as it ran hot and called roadside assistance I would imagine the engine continued to heat up. However, I may just be paranoid. I will call AoA on Monday and fill them in on what is going on. I was planning on taking it back to the dealer in OKC and have them go through it. I was really impressed with Bob Moore's entire setup and to be honest I have lost all confidence in Brad Noe Audi. Thanks for the advice.

Definitely

with a Renault. Same deal. Coolant disappeared, car overheated. Went on for 14,000 miles and several dealers. Finally blew up at 26K and was never repaired correctly, at a cost of over 25% the original purchse price. Best part of the car was sticking it on my then soon-to-be ex-wife!
My suggestions: Call AoA first thing Monday morning. Not to ask them what may be going on, but to request that a zone rep get involved immediately, right then. Document the call down to the time of day. Get every name you speak with. Relay the entire story to the rep including names and dates as well as you can. SPECIFICALLY INDICATE that you are making this call because of your concern that you are being pushed out beyond the warranty date by the run around; that you expect the problem to be solved TO YOUR SATISFACTION under warranty, even if it takes beyond that time. Document the rep's response and if you are dissatisfied ask for their supervisor. If you are still dissatisfied a well documented, reasonable and precise letter to Len Hunt may not be a bad idea. Not because Len Hunt will do anything, but because it supports your contention that the problem pre-exists the warranty expiration.
At the beginning of your phone call state your goal for the call. "Mr. Rep, by the conclusion of this call, I would like the name of a dealer and technician to whom I can take the car to get it correctly repaired to my satisfaction. I would like to meet with you to discuss the resolution on such-and-such a date. I wish to set a specific time at which we will speak again to review the progress being made on repairing my vehicle to my satisfaction."
I stress the issue of "to my satisfaction" because that way they can't wash their hands of it once they dump some coolant in the reservoir. It helps you control the conversation and the entire situation.
Sorry to be long, but I learned my lesson. Hope this helps. Good luck!

TXurS6

If you are getting coolant into the oil I would expect your oil level to go up. If it is, you may damage the engine further than the original problem. At this point it sounds like a busted head gasket to me.

Seattle Scott

Get a Lexus. You could figure this out in a few days if you could/would work on the car. It's obvious the dealers are either screwing you, it will take a few hours to diagnose the problem or they are too incompetent to figure this out.

Why screw around with this crap? Get a dependable car with a good service network. Something like a Lexus will cost more and you will get less but that's the tradeoff for dependability and a good service network.

As far as this problem, I'd guess the water is going into your oil and getting burned off. It could be going out the exhaust too, on into the transmission if you have an automatic or there may be a slow external leak. You don't give any coolant leak rates/quantities so I'll assume it's slow. Say one cup a day?

Stoney

<A HREF="https://forums.audiworld.com/a6/msgs/96114.phtml">2001 A6 4.2 coolant leak North American Recall???</A>

Try the search "coolant leak" in A6 forum only, yielding 3 pages, most of them relevant.
Wait.... This <a href="http://search.audiworld.com/index.mhtml?q=+coolant+leak&wf=022210&cat=010207&d t=range&db=01%2F01%2F1999&de=07%2F13%2F2002">link</a> should work. This should arm you in investigating this.

I'm popping out to the garage for a minute.... ;^)

2.7tDallas

The oil level does not go up, becuase the coolant is lighter and does not mix with the oil, is almost impossible to see on a dipstick, and gets steamed out of the engine as it hits hot parts. The only thing evapoting is the service manager brain!!

The coolant can only go two places, into the engine, or on the floor. If it is not on the floor, then it is going into the engine somewhere.

Basic pressure tests of the coolant system do not always work as the engine temp may have to be too high to get it to leak.

Basic shade tree mechanic 101. If the engine gest hot enough, the head or head gasket go.....and it has been the same for the last 50 freaking years!!

TXurS6

Been there done that. I've lost two head gaskets. On my wife's 280ZX it got into the oil and made the oil look milky. It took a few days of losing coolant before it was diagnosed. Much of the coolant did evaporate but some was left in the crankcase.

The other one on a Chevy Monza was a major warped head and it was almost instant death.