Mageus

I had pulled the subwoofer and amp out (but left the wiring runs). Now they're saying that the unconnected wires are interfering and want me to pull everything out of the trunk. So now I have to go the dealer, pull all the wiring and give the car back to them. Feels like I'm being given the runaround.

Any thoughts on how to deal with Audi on this? I can prove it's not my install, but I'm not sure how to fight them on this.

JohnEnglish

Short answer is you can't. Long answer is if you get a lawyer, and are prepared to spend a lot of time fighting them on this, you might be able to get them to work on the car without fully returning it to stock. It might be easier just to pay it to an indy shop and pay out of pocket for a diagnosis.

Mageus

This is not "I chipped my car and now there's a problem with the engine and they won't cover it." This is, "the comfort module and/or sensors are failing (a known issue) and everyone knows the completely unrelated aftermarket stereo has absolutely nothing to do with it."
The amps and subwoofer have been removed. There's just wiring hanging around that I'm going to pull tomorrow. It's basically back to stock already.

I could just buy the module myself (couple hundred dollars). I don't need help with that. However, only the dealer can program the keys, which costs between $500 - $1000.

JohnEnglish

I get it, however, the dealer’s response is not uncommon. When it comes to electrical issues, many dealers will refuse to work on the car if there is anything aftermarket installed. They will require everything aftermarket to be completely stripped out before they’ll look at the car.

Your choices are: do what they ask, take it to an indy shop, prepare for a long fight with no guarantee that you’ll get your way.

You can also try another dealer but you might get the same response from them.

Mageus

The car has been back to stock for over a week. Everything is out, the amp, the speaker, the wiring. They've seen that everything is out.
They didn't get to the car all last week because "they were busy with other cars."
This Monday the rep promised me they would get to the car Tuesday, which they didn't because "they were busy".

I spoke to the rep today. Now they want a $750 hold in case it's not covered under warranty. Apparently, even though it's been returned to stock, they can't guarantee that I didn't tap into something and mess the convenience module up. I'm waiting to speak to the shop foreman. I'd like assurance that it will be covered if I can prove I only tapped into the amp/speakers.

Not sure how to proceed. It feels like Audi is dead set on denying this one regardless. Since Audi has already flagged the car, I'm sure I'll run into problems at any other dealership.

JohnEnglish

I'd try another dealership or a good indy shop. The indy shop can at least diagnose the problem and then you can go back to (another) dealer and tell them what to fix.

Mageus

I've already spoken to my indy. He and I both know what the problem is. The service rep agrees it's a module/sensor problem, but her hands are tied by the service manager. They're saying that Audi has declined the warranty coverage to this point. That's why I'm skeptical of taking it to another dealership. At least this dealership has given me a free loaner and has not charged me an estimate fee up to this point. Another dealer will likely charge me up front if Audi declines coverage.

In an honest court I would win, since I only touched the amplifier/speaker wires and they can't prove I did anything to prompt the convenience module failure. But I don't want to have to deal with small claims court, or the chance I would lose due to attrition. Don't know why Audi is being so difficult with this.

Mageus

UPDATE

I took the car to another dealer. They confirm interference with the sensors. They saw that I had done the aftermarket stereo and are blaming it on that. They can do a full teardown to find the problem that would cost thousands of dollars, and if Audi declines the coverage I would be out of pocket.

They specifically point to the B&O amp plug in the trunk cubby. Audi says that even thought it's completely back to stock, since I touched those wires, it's probably messed with the sensors.

Audi is really digging its heels in on this one.

I ran advanced measuring blocks using VCDS, and it indeed shows many sensor errors, and some of the sensors intermittently not seeing the key.
The key fob battery is dying within a week. The system is probably constantly polling the key and running the battery down.

Mageus

UPDATE

The rep said that Audi has officially claimed that since the car has been modified, the warranty is void.

I would have to see the details of the letter, but unless the Audi warranty explicitly claims that a modification to any electrical subsystem voids the warranty on all other electrical subsystems, this goes against Magnuson-Moss.

I hope nothing else goes wrong with the car.

Nappy8

Sorry this is happening to you.
So you tapped into the speaker wires at the B&O amp in the left cubby instead of using one the pig tails/adapters that connects at the subwoofer?
Makes no sense that Audi would blame that for causing your issue.
Assuming you had the amp installed on top of the video camera module in the left cubby. Maybe if (and its a big if) you still had the amp their they could really stretch and say the amp is causing interference with the convenience module under the camera module but then their should be lots of issues reported by folks that have installed a sub.
Let us know if and how you finally get it sorted. Makes me a little nervous about adding a sub now.