With 50,100 miles, (unbelievable, do they engineer things to break right after the warranty?) my engine light went on and the car sputtered as I pulled it over. I had the car towed to the dealer. They've had the car for two days. They said the bottom of the spark plug broke off any damaged at least one of the cyliders of the engine (1.8T). They are going to have to pull the engine apart and look at it more. He told me that we are at a guaranteed minimum of $1,000 at this point, and hopefully it won't need a new engine at $5,800!!

Despite leasing the car through Audi Financial, I assume that I'm responsible for this bill. Is this correct? Any other alternatives that people can think of? Obviously, if this bill really runs up, I will be writing a letter to Audi of America (however, from what I've read, this will be a complete waste of time). Lets just say that any J.D Powers survey that I get will recieve the worst possible scores!

Can you tell that I'm a little bitter, maybe I should have bought a reliable American car. :(
The sad thinhg is, I told people that I was going to run this car to 250,000 miles because it was a solid German engineered car, oh well.

I'll write a final obitiuary when the final bill comes in.

That's pretty tough to swallow. Have you had a good relationship with your dealer? Perhaps they will state your case to an area rep to get it covered.

Since it's technical not the engine that caused the damaged, but rather the spark plug, could there be some type of partial reimbursement/warranty on the spark plug? Was the service work done by the dealer?

One other option, someone has an pulled engine in the classified for 3,500, but that's a risky proposition as well.

I wonder since there are now quite a few of us out of warranty, maybe the forums will start taking on more of a problem/home-repair angle :>)

(maybe the spark plug wasn't a good match for the Duluth winter, and it became brittle with some of those sub-0 months?)

Anyways, Hope for the best and keep us informed

Brian T
97 1.8T QS AT (58k mi)

wow,that sucks,but I'd have to disagree with you about the remark about German cars.I've owned several german cars in the past:91 M3,93 325is,95 525i,96 c280 sport and now,in my opinion the best all around of all...a99.5 A4 1.8TQ with sport pac. Allof these cars performed exceptionally,and there reliability,and solidity are unmatched by any American car out there! Have some patience,and hopefully your problem can be solved. Try calling Audi,they might be interested in what you have to say;besides taking a chance on a toll free call might be worth the $5800..GOOD LUCK

d

not entirely an Audi fault IMO, but I am really curious about this because I have never heard such a thing happen. For starters, if the bottom part of the plug broke, that would be nothing more than ceramic and carbon with tiny platinum tips. Not sure if enough to damage the whole cylinder as they are relatively brittle, but if they do scratch the walls before being expelled through the valves, then damage is severe.

On the other hand, if the metal electrode(s) from the base of the plug broke, those could scratch the walls but again chances are they will be expelled out the exhaust valves. And I have never seen those break, unless they are the wrong plugs and happen to hit the piston. So I'm really curious. Keep us posted.

Didn't someone else have a similar problem just inside the warranty that was posted in the last couple weeks. Seems to me he was getting a whole new engine from Audi. Is there a defect in the spark plugs that is causing this?

In your case at 50,100 miles, Audi should go 50% at the very least and, considering, what they spend in advertising and promoting goodwill they should really cover the whole thing. Cost of an engine is nothing compared to what they spend on PR and advertising.

Good luck.

out of warranty covered in full by AoA. It wasn't an engine, but a $1200 instrument cluster. Don't freak out, they are an professional company. Don't go shooting people just yet. Don't roll over to them, but I'd guess that you will be pleasantly surprised.

Jon
'96 A4qs

maybe it's the nitrous but that strikes me as funny.

same problem (spark plug malfunction, replacing engine) at the Nor Cal club (through
link here at a4.org) owner repair survey archive (there are 4 or 5 pages of forms similar to NHTSA consumer complaint forms). I hope this helps.

Call me crazy, but isn't the power train warranty for 10y/100k miles. Or am I talking about a wrong thing.

99.5 1.8TQ

100 mi. is a negligible amount over 50K. They'd be *******s to use that technicality (and that's all it is at 50,100, a technicality) as an excuse to make you pay. Are you also past the 3 years, or still inside it? If you're still inside, that's even more reason why they should take care of this at no cost to you, in the name of goodwill. Here's still another angle: Was this an original spark plug, or was it a replacement installed in the course of regular service? If it was a replacement, and this dealer installed it, then there was a separate warranty that attached to that plug and to that service/repair. That starts the clock running all over again. Not for the whole car of course, just for the parts that were used in the repair. Seems that plug was plainly defective, and if they sold it to you then the cost of this engine repair/replacement - caused by the defective plug and no fault of your own -- should be and is entirely theirs. Good luck!

Rick

had just read about this problem and decided that I could not buy an A4 (if it happened to me at 60,000, I don't have $5,800. to fix a 60,000 mile car). I have a couple suggestions before I leave this forum, in fact, one suggestion and one comment that are related. You are dealing with the dealer to the extent that the dealer has your car and has put money in your car (labor). I don't know your situation but I would let the dealer keep the car and let the bill ride- don't pay it. This is my suggestion- find out to whom and where to write to AoA. INSIST on being able to write a letter. Explain. Ask.
Then you will get a response
in writing. Insist on getting a response in writing. Your best bet, other than getting a lawyer and covering all of the possible angles of liablity, is to get final estimate, and answer from AoA if they will pay or no. If no, tell them that you are going to post your experience all over the internet, including, for example, 1 time a week for however many years at A4, Edmunds, and every other internet and media outlet you can get your hands on. I think they're going to pay to fix it. I think that is what they will want to do, just make sure you state the situation and what you want- to them clearly and in writing- for your own protetction- no matter what happens.

I suggest do not sign an authorization to repair. Just get estimate and say you have to evaluate it. Copy dealer letter to AoA. Sorry I didn't include this. If it is 100 miles, they should pay for everything and I thinnk they will.

If they didn't inspect the plug before putting it in or damaged it somehow, maybe it's they're fault. Either way this should never happen.

You've got a good court case if it comes to that but I'd try to be nice for a little while and not mention "lawyer". If they won't help, then say it.

If not - they are at fault, as plug probably wore out and broke. If they replaced them, did they
put in the right ones? over torque them? A spark plug just breaking is pretty rare.

I heard the same thing happening to a buddy w/ a Toyota and there very reliable. It's just bad luck... You break a spark plug in the cylinder and it'll ruin the day of any car... I don't see how AoA is responsible...

Chips, bigger Turbo, diferent plugs, etc.
or was it stock?

The spark plug defense looks like your best method of atttack. If they were changed at 30K, to me that should mean they're goood till 60K. If they weren't changed, Audi should probably be partially liable. Might take help of an ambulance chaser, however (Perry Mason, Allie McBeal, etc.) Good luck.

Is VW giving the 10/10000 for 1.8t version in their cars??

-

at 50,100. There is no excuse.

Yes, the plugs were replaced. I think this is my best route, it's not normal wear and tear for this to happen. I sent an e-mail to the General Manager of the dealership, we'll see what happens.

I mentioned my concerns with the installation of the plugs at 30,000 miles. It was done at the other Audi dealership in the cities. This would normaly be good news, however, they are both owned by the same person!

-Pete

Yes, I wouldn't normaly want to answer this in case they were monitoring this site. However, they know I have a .8 bar Neuspeed chip.

Interestingly, when I originaly mentioned wanting to pursue Audi of America to see what accomadation I could come to, he mentioned that since I had modified the car, my warranty was now void. And I'd hate to have the Audi rep go back and reject previos warranty work. At first this concerned me (especially when I was thinking this was going to be a $500 repair) until I discovered a few things.

1. The only serious repair that was done was a broken side bolster in my seat.
2. I remembered the warranty could only void repair work on parts that the chip would have caused to fail.
3. When the potential bill climbed into the thousands, what do I now have to lose!!