new car problem

[canekynana]

Hi,

I am new to the forum, and sorry for the long post.

I took delivery of a brand new A6 2.0TDI SE at the end of June, but in the first week, the car start to show up 4 errors messages on the dashboard (including start-stop system / ESP system / tyre pressure system / electronic brake system). These warnings went on a few times during the week, but all disappeared after shutdown the engine and re-start.

I sent the car into the dealer for a check in the second week. The mechanics ran the diagnosis and updated the software, but said it’s a rare problem and they are not sure whether the problem was fixed, and they need to liaise with AUDI technical department to confirm. They asked me to leave the car there overnight for further checks, which I couldn't do that day due to other arrangements. The earliest courtesy car the dealer could book for me was in 2 weeks time, and thus I drove the A6 away and only sent it back in last week.

However, the supposedly over-night check turned out to be much worse than I first expected. The dealer still can't fix the car after a whole week! They don't even know what exactly the problem is, but just told me that they need to consult AUDI technical departments and do further tests.

I am now quite worried as I certainly don't want to end up with a car that is a lot of headache. Even they fix it eventually, such problem developed in the first week, and took them so long to fix, does not help my confidence to the car at all. God knows what would happen when the warrantee runs out?

Could someone suggest what are the options available to me at this stage? Is it reasonable to ask for a new car exchange? I only had it issue-free for less than a week for god sake! Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

[Guest 2]

You could reject it? There was someone on here who had a catastrophic failure of the electrical system and Audi replaced the car.

I'd be insisting on a courtesy car though, or even a rental at their expense.

Welcome to VWAF.

[canekynana]

You could reject it? There was someone on here who had a catastrophic failure of the electrical system and Audi replaced the car.

I'd be insisting on a courtesy car though, or even a rental at their expense.

Welcome to VWAF.

Thanks for the reply. They did give me a courtesy car which is helpful. I was thinking of rejecting the car, but the car is more than a month old now, and nor sure whether i still can do that. The car drives quite normal other than the errors.

[Guest 2]

You're still probably within your rights to do so so no harm in enquiring about it.

[canekynana]

You're still probably within your rights to do so so no harm in enquiring about it.

You are absolutely right. I will check the small prints and call them tomorrow to see. Is there requirement on severity of the issue before you can reject it?

[canekynana]

You're still probably within your rights to do so so no harm in enquiring about it.

You are absolutely right. I will check the small prints and call them tomorrow to see. Is there requirement on severity of the issue before you can reject it?

[Guest 2]

As its a fault that they can't currently fix I'm pretty sure you would have a good reason to reject. See what they say anyway.

[Passatier3]

Doesn't instil you with confidence does it? :mad:

Nothing worse than (well there is!) getting a new car etc. then it having to go back to the garage for work etc. Takes the gloss off the new car experience.

[daycartes]

The fact that you reported it to Audi straight away does add to your case of rejecting the car. On the other hand the car does work satisfactorily in that it does transport you from A to B without any problem other than annoyance at the error signs in the DIS. The best place to get advice on rejecting the car is the Citizens Advice Bureaux or one of the Car /Manufacturer organisations (SMMT) or Which or What Car. The quicker you act the better the chances of success are.

[ukgroucho]

On the other hand the car does work satisfactorily in that it does transport you from A to B without any problem other than annoyance at the error signs in the DIS.

I'm not sure that I agree with this - I'm not sure I would be comfortable driving around in a new comp;ex machine with those kinds of errors showing.
The whole point of all these error / warning displays is to notify you of impending doom. Of the four that the OP lists (start-stop system / ESP system / tyre pressure (http://www.shopzilla.co.uk/rd2?t=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chainreactioncycles.com%2Fe astern-burnout-high-pressure-bmx-tyre%2Frp-prod60194%3Futm_source%3Dshopzillauk%26utm_medium% 3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3Dproductfeed%26_$ja%3Dtsid% 3A50727%7Ccgn%3Ashopzillafeed%7Ccn%3Afeed%7Ckw%3Ap roductfeed&mid=126294&catId=100001031&atom=100001036&prodId=&oid=5191804570&pos=1&bId=18&bidType=0&bAmt=70b005e67cee82d9&cobrand=2&ppr=825618153cf4aa8f&rf=af1&af_assettype_id=10&af_creative_id=6&af_id=11444) system / electronic brake system) only the start-stop one could be considered to be not a safety related warning. If any of the last 3 came on whilst you were driving around you'd probably be wise to try to get it sorted ASAP.

There are two ways to look at it... either these errors are showing up as false alarms in which case you could not be confident that the vehicle WOULD correctly notify you of a real issue (or, indeed it would be impossible to be notified that your tyre pressures were low or the electronic brake system had failed).
Or the vehicle genuinely has issues with each of those 4 systems - which would be totally unacceptable.

[daycartes]

Yeh you're right Ukgroucho I had come to the (very rapid) conclusion that as the faults reset , they were software based faults. Even so there is a question, as you say, of confidence in the car.

[jbanfie]

And please provide a running commentary of your progress with Audi on these matters, and if they do actually fix it get all the details and let us know, we love this stuff!

A problem shared is a problem halved, just ask Wuffles!

If the error reports are regarding the braking system I wouldn't want to go anywhere in a heavy car, just in case they fail and you bump into someone and knock them dead - do you go to jail or the Director of Audi?

Methinks it's you!

[zollaf]

will any of those lights cause the car to fail an mot test ?
yes they will.

MOT information - parking brake (http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_310.htm)

see, the epb warning light is a fail, so, if i were in your shoes i would be telling the dealer to collect the car as its not fit to be on thee road as it would not pass an mot test, get in a courtesy car and collect yours when it is fixed. if they cannot fix it i would want either another identical car or a full refund. simples. if the car was stopped and inspected, you would be the one with the fine and points for driving an unsafe car. if there was a collision you would be the one for the high jump as your insurance company could void your policy as your car is not safe.

[boof]

If the car's on finance you could also let the finance company know (as they will be the actual owner of the car / it's their asset). They may put pressure on the situation from their end, particularly (or, perhaps as has been the case sometimes on here, not) if its volkswagen / audi finance.

[Hippogriff]

There are what you would call 'niggles' and what you might called 'fundamental issues'. I think your description (which I assume is an objective description) falls more into the latter category. I wouldn't be happy driving a car around with all sorts of warning lights going off. I might consider it even worse if it was intermittent, you'd said they disappeared and came back, because then you really haven't got a clue what's going on... and it sounds like Audi haven't as well.

If the car gets handed back to you with a clean bill of health, I wouldn't just drive off with it, I would insist that someone drives you around in it for a while, stopping and restarting numerous times, to ensure you have confidence the issues have gone. When I got my new A4 I had a seat belt warning come on... but just sometimes... it's so hard to convince Audi you've got a problem if you can't demonstrate it 100% of the time. It was only when their own tech. was taking it out for a road test - to fix something else entirely - that the seat belt warning came on and it was all... "oh, we believe you now...".

[ukgroucho]

will any of those lights cause the car to fail an mot test ?
yes they will.

MOT information - parking brake (http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_310.htm)

see, the epb warning light is a fail

I was going to disagree with you but having read the web site that you linked it does specifically say an EPB warning is a fail... I ASSUME the web site is accurate ('cos we all know that EVERYTHING on the internet is 100% accurate).

The reason for my comment is that my A6 C6 3.0 TDi developed an intermittent EPB warning when it was about 6 years old (showed in the dash as "Parking Brake Malfunction" and the LED in the EPB switch would flash) . The warning would come and go - you'd have it for a day or two and then it would vanish for months at a time. Even when the error was showing it was apparent that the EPB was working - if you had the drivers door open you could hear it engage and disengage and the car was "parked" - would not roll away.
I took it to Audi a couple of times and they could not figure it out - they could see errors logged in the onboard computers but it never exhibited the issue when it was with them. They said the only way to tackle it was to start swapping components for new in the rear brake / EPB systems and that was going to cost £££. Their best guess was it was something in the EPB switch / sensor - but equally it could have been a piece off chaffed wiring somewhere.

Given that it was very intermittent, I rarely used the EPB (it was a tiptronic auto so always left in park), I rarely park on hills - and also that the EPB worked anyway - I did not pursue it.

Anyway, the MOT before the last one the EPB warning showed up - I cannot remember if it was on when I dropped the car off or whether it showed up during the test - but they passed the MOT test with a note on the MOT that the EPB warning light was malfunctioning but the EPB was working. I guess they tested it on whatever brake force test / rolling road thing they use...

[zollaf]

the epb warning light has only recently come into force. i don't think this time last year it would have failed, same as an airbag light.
that website is pretty accurate though and updated so can generally be relied upon.