1.9 TDI, sump plug fell out??

[Gringo76]

Looking for any comments, as I am stumped!

Audi A4 avant, 2004, 130bhp
Serviced 10k ago, in november at main dealer
Went in to different dealer yesterday for quick assessment of a rattling noise under bonnet
They said was aircon compressor on way out, but at £1000, I am not having it done there
This morning, 50 miles into journey, oil pressure light on motorway
Crawled maybe a mile to where I could stop and taken back to dealer

They reckon the sump plug has fallen out. There's no damage to the sump or cross threading.
They confirm they didn't touch it yesterday.......

Anyone heard of a sump plug falling out after 10000 miles??
Feasible or am I being fobbed off?

Welcome your comments

Thanks in advance

[nickeym1]

Looking for any comments, as I am stumped!

Audi A4 avant, 2004, 130bhp
Serviced 10k ago, in november at main dealer
Went in to different dealer yesterday for quick assessment of a rattling noise under bonnet
They said was aircon compressor on way out, but at £1000, I am not having it done there
This morning, 50 miles into journey, oil pressure light on motorway
Crawled maybe a mile to where I could stop and taken back to dealer

They reckon the sump plug has fallen out. There's no damage to the sump or cross threading.
They confirm they didn't touch it yesterday.......

Anyone heard of a sump plug falling out after 10000 miles??
Feasible or am I being fobbed off?

Welcome your comments

Thanks in advance
That sounds like a load of crap to me mate i changed the oil in my a4 last week and believe me the sump plug would not fall out unless it was tampered with. By any chance i wonder would they have done this to your car in the hopes you would bring back to them and they could charge you an arm and a leg for refilling with oil and and new sump bolt. Just my thoughts mate but is it not a little coincidental that it happened so soon after they had the car :confused:

[Gringo76]

That's what I suspect!

It wasn't in for service, just a visual check to see what the rattling was!
They shouldn't have touched anything!

Problem is, how can I prove it was their fault?
Am I likely to have engine damage?

[nevo]

Theres no way a properly tightened sump plug will come undone,impossible to prove who's fault it is,as regard damage if you stopped sharpish you may get away with it,is there any oil puddle on the undertray?I would give that garage a very wide birth.

[NickPicks]

If it was replaced with a new plug at the last service, and torqued to the correct setting, then it shouldn't have come loose and fallen out, but I have had nuts work themselves loose in the past, so I'd say that although it's unlikely, it is possible that it's just conicidence.

I really can't imagine someone loosening the sump plug when asked to investigate a rattle, just in the hope that you'll bring it back to them to pay £99 for an oil and filter change.

[nevo]

Incidentally the rattle you describe is almost certainly the air con clutch on the front of the compressor with can be replaced,there's no way the garage will admit liability,take it to a recommended indie.

[nickeym1]

If it was replaced with a new plug at the last service, and torqued to the correct setting, then it shouldn't have come loose and fallen out, but I have had nuts work themselves loose in the past, so I'd say that although it's unlikely, it is possible that it's just conicidence.

I really can't imagine someone loosening the sump plug when asked to investigate a rattle, just in the hope that you'll bring it back to them to pay £99 for an oil and filter change.

Maybe they planned on billing him for more than an oil change and sump bolt. Or maby there was confusion as to what the car was in for in the first place and the mechanic went to give it a standard service and was then told that it wasnt in for a service then just threw the undertray back on without tightening back up the sump bolt.


I could not possibly be coincidence that the bolt fell out the day after being in the garage and even if it did wouldnt that mean the garage would be liable seeing as they done the last oil change. A lot of ifs and buts but as he says how can he prove anything one way or another.
Id be finding a trustworthy indy somewhere and never step foot back in that garage again.
Sorry just realised you brought it to a different dealer

[A4 Lad]

You will probably find that someone ( ytp person ) has been messing about.
Lets face it, IF your bung had been that loose to fall out, it would have been leaking pretty bad for a while.
You will never prove this but it is very unprofessional


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[Gringo76]

Thanks for everyones comments

Back home now after 4 hours in dealership!
New sump plug, new oil, checked turbo and road test, no admission of liability but to be fair they didn't charge me. Whole day wasted tho :-(

No guarantee but there may not have been any damage done to the engine, happened at 80mph and had to limp about a mile to find somewhere safe to pull up.....
But she's running fine so fingers crossed.......

[Gringo76]

Incidentally the rattle you describe is almost certainly the air con clutch on the front of the compressor with can be replaced,there's no way the garage will admit liability,take it to a recommended indie.

Thanks pal, is it an easy job or garage to deal?

[nevo]

You need someone to check its that first,if its rattling it could be a number of things considering you've had some knob working on it,need to eliminate the water pump,if its the pump get it changed pronto. If your diy skills are limited you should be able to do the compressor,water pump is a pro job.

[nickeym1]

Thanks for everyones comments

Back home now after 4 hours in dealership!
New sump plug, new oil, checked turbo and road test, no admission of liability but to be fair they didn't charge me. Whole day wasted tho :-(

No guarantee but there may not have been any damage done to the engine, happened at 80mph and had to limp about a mile to find somewhere safe to pull up.....
But she's running fine so fingers crossed.......
Ha glad to hear they didnt charge you mate but theres a good reason for that its because it was there fault and they would admit because its so unprofessional.
On another note if the oil light came on in my car i would stop the car there and then regardless of where i was theres no way i would risk driving a mile with an oil light on.
Hope the engines ok mate :beerchug:

[mikeybutch]

Seems incredible that anyone would have done this deliberately but Iwonder whether it was left loose at the last service by some casual mechanic ,We have just bought an MR2 which came with no history so went to change the oil and the filter span off with no effort and you could tell that it had been weeping from the seal so someone hadnt bothered to tighten it at all.Just cant trust them garages

[A4 Lad]

them garages

As in which type of garages ? Taking into account the type of garage that is in question for shady workmanship.
Any indy garage will fully stamp service books so I assume you are talking about weekend mechanics from their garage at the house ?



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[Gringo76]

I had done 10000 miles since it was serviced in November so unlikely it wasn't tightened properly.

I honestly couldn't stop where I was, fast tight bend on a slip road on M42.
Well, just have to see how it goes :-)

Does make you wonder about main dealers although have had very bad and expensive issues with two independents as well..........

Maybe I should go back to doing all work myself........

[vwcabriolet1971]

I had done 10000 miles since it was serviced in November so unlikely it wasn't tightened properly.

I honestly couldn't stop where I was, fast tight bend on a slip road on M42.
Well, just have to see how it goes :-)

Does make you wonder about main dealers although have had very bad and expensive issues with two independents as well..........
Maybe I should go back to doing all work myself........
Important things like this , it's better to DIY or at least check . I know you should be able to trust dealers but I've have had too much bitter experience to trust most garages. I always DIY and torque the sump plug and also make sure that the plug thread is not damaged or burred. Even had new plugs supplied with sizeable thread burrs as they have no protective packaging. Would a dealer remove the thread burrs ? I don't think so. But I guess as I get older at some point in time I'm going to have to trust a dealer or garage. How many dealers employ an inspector to check the obvious things like sump plug torques ?
Garages cannot spend the time a DIYer can on these simple jobs as time is money. Half my old MK4 Golf undertray screws were missing after in-warranty servicing by main dealer. Who can you trust ?

[nickeym1]

Asvw1971 says if you have the tools and are keen to learn as im then do it yourself mate. I think about the only one to be trusted when it comes to your car is yourself