A6 1.8T Multitronic Gearbox Failure

[Herbiv4]

Hello there,

Last year in April I purchased an 03 plate A6 Avant 1.8T Multitronic from an Audi dealership in North London. My vehicle was therefore an Apporved Used Audi.

It had 46K on the clock and the service carried out three months before I purchased the vehicle had been done by a non-Audi garage.

The service claimed that the additional work had been done at 43,000 miles ie. the gearbox oil had been changed.

I was told nothing about the need to have the oil changed at 40K to avoid gearbox problems.

However, I was told that the vehicle had a full service history and according to the service schedule bookelt - it appeared to have just that.

Two weeks ago I discovered that my gearbox was failing and then everything started unravelling....

I discoverd that the gearbox oil hadn't been changed and so I had been sold a vehicle that was a ticking time bomb as far as the gearbox was concerned - not forgetting that this vehicle had been driven for around 3,000 miles prior to my ownership.

The 43K non-gearbox oil change service was a red herring and so I had no warranty cover. At present I do still have an extended warranty but I am told that my warranty is useless.

I went to a Scottish Solicitor who has told me I have a strong case to prosecute the dealership who sold me the vehicle. However, as I purchased the vehicle in England I have to find one in London. I would need legal aid assistance.

The dealership are trying to get out of it... initially saying that they were subject to a management buyout last July.... after I purchased the vehicle.

Audi UK are currently running on skeleton staff. Anything is taking days to happen and phone calls are not often returned. Meanwhile my car has had a new 7 ratio gearbox fitted by a local Audi centre.

Has anyone else here had this problem?

I have been told that the new 7 ratio multitronic box is going to cost £4400.

As far as I am concerned Audi are going to be paying for this box.... I was sold a vehicle that had not been correctly serviced thus rendering the gearbox liable to failure.

Will I need to go to Court?

The dealership who sold me the vehicle last year also sold me the vehicle with an MoT advisory notice held against it that they quietly witheld.

I only found out that my 2 front tyres were nearly illegal at the time of purchase a whole year later when I changed my number plate at its first service interval and was handed a reprint of my 2006 MoT with the advisory telling me that my two front tyres were near illegal. At that same moment the garage called to tell me my two front tyres were illegal.

The vehicle preperation sheet given to me at the time of purchase claimed that I had 6 7 or 8 mm of tread all round.

After purchase I also found out that one of my headlights was an MoT failure and the Audi delaership who sold me the vehicle were forced by another Audi dealership to pay for a replacement headlight.

I also discoverd after purchase that a fixed 3rd party tow bar was preventing my factory fitted rear parking sensors from working properly.

Again the Audi dealership who sold me the vehicle were forced to pay forthe replacement of the tow bar with a factory fitted removeable tow bar by another Audi dealership.

So it looks like I had been well and truely stung by a dodgy dealership.

Luckily the new MD of the company now running the dealership was the old Divisional Director of the company running the dealership when I purchased the vehicle.

I have had enough of Audi (the company) even though I really like the vehicle I have.

Has anyone got the details of Audi Germany so that I can complain there or would that be a waste of time?

Any comments or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

S.

[a8 tech]

your problem is with the selling dealer not audi uk or germany.As this is a used car i would suggest you deal with the dealership.As for the tyres the guide line is no less than 3mm on each axle(used car only).You must support you case with service history invoice and used car check sheets.If the dealer serviced the car and missed the 40,000 mile box oil change then they are at fault not audi.Good luck

[Herbiv4]

Hi there a8 tech,

Thanks for your reply.

The dealership sold me the car 4 months after it's 3rd service that should have included a 40K gearbox oil change.

THe actual service had been done by a 3rd party garage at 43K and they incorrectly checked the box indicating that the box oil had been changed making it look as though it had.

But... and this is a big BUT... The dealership still sold me the vehicle at 46,000 miles knowing that the gearbox oil hadn't been changed at the critical 40,000 so they must have known that this gearbox problem would appear and that my warranty would be void.

As mentioned before, the MD of the company has tried to wash his hands of any responsibility saying that he now runs a different company that in turn runs the dealership in question.

This is why I got Audi UK involved. I am hoping that Audi UK will force the dealership to face the music so that I don't need to take the dealership to court.

Thanks for the info regarding the tyres amd the service invoice... I was never given the 3rd party 43K service invoice but I know now that I can get a copy.... I was just given the service schedule which I now know had been filled in incorrectly and I was told that my car had a complete service history that I now know was a load of rubbish.

I'm a disabled driver and not in good health so this whole situation is a pretty tough one to deal with.

S.

[a8 tech]

heres a tip,your service history at audi will be registered on the diolog computer systemHerbiv,dont let your health suffer with this dealer get a solicter and let them send a letterin to the dealer.In my experiance theres nothing like a legal warning to get the wind up em.Very best regards a8

[max942x]

Hello

I don't have any advice to give you, but I do sympathise!

My details are detailed on the A4 B6 board so I won't recite them here (too long), but they are to do with the multitronic gearbox.

My problems are slowly (and painfully) being addressed, and while this is happening I check these boards for similar experiences with the multitronic box.....there are so many.

Audi need to sort this out....it is ridiculous.

I bought an Audi purely because I needed a car that would be reliable and sound and not spend time in a garage being repaired (and costing a fortune). I wanted easy, reliable driving - it hasn't even provided a SAFE drive! Thats why I paid (for me) a LOT of money for a car.

Audi is not the brand that I thought it was.

I hope you get somewhere without to much stress.
Max

[Teflon]

Herbiv,

You have my deepest sympathy.

I'm not the least bit surprised that you find Audi UK a dead loss. I had a problem with a dealer service department, which in the end meant that I managed to get all my money back from them after waving the big stick. Audi UK were hopeless. I made a formal complaint, but all they could be bothered to do was send me a standard letter saying that they trusted that the dealer had sorted it out by the time they replied. I got the standard post-service telephone satisfaction survey, but they weren't interested in hearing what a bunch of charlatans I thought the dealer was.

I give them 2/10 and that's only because the dealer valets the car.

In contrast, VW UK have been magnificent with a problem I had on a new car this year. They responded promptly, chased the dealer and didn't flinch when I threatened to reject the vehicle and demand something new.

I give them 9/10.

The good news for you is that you don't need to worry about legal aid, solicitors costs and all that stuff. Speak to your local Citizens' Advice Bureau (or the Scottish equivalent). For claims valued at less than £5000 you can use the small claims court, which has a fixed fee of about £100. Even if you lose, the other side cannot claim any costs from you, so it is always worth a punt. Just for added spice, threaten to lodge the claim somewhere just south of the border, so that your London dealer runs the risk of a train journey north and a wasted day to collect his kicking.

I'm not a lawyer, but I believe that a buy-out at the dealer is irrelevant unless it was because of insolvency. Under normal circumstances the new owner acquires the business liabilities (your problem) at the same time as it acqures the assets of the business.

As I say, use your local CAB. You are paying for it in your council tax, so get your money's worth.

Hope this helps,
Teflon

[Herbiv4]

Hello again,

Thanks to you all for replying to this thread.

As you know and as I know now, this gearbox problem is an Audi UK issue and all the problems I had were directly to do with the dealership I purchased the vehicle from.

On Sunday night I e-mailed the MD of the dealership asking one more time to reconsider.

He was the Divisional Director of the old company running the dealership and he is now the owner of the new company running the dealership.

So when I purchased the vehicle his fingerprints were metaphorically all over the vehicle and in my view he was at least partially liable even though he has repeatedly hidden behind the change of company and the fact that I didn't purchase the vehicle from his own shiny new company.

And on Monday I had an e-mail, dismissing everything, saying that he had no obligation to me any more and that I should seek legal redress elswhere.

I copied thecorrespondence to Audi UK and then a bit later I phoned them and they had seen what had been said on both sides.

I was told that thelegal department were dealing with the issue and I was told that I'd get a phone call before the end of the day.

I didn't get a phone call.

Today at about 11am I had a phone call from Audi UK.

I was told that there had been a conversation with the owner of the dealership in question.

Subsiquent to that conversation the owner of the dealership had agreed to foot 50% of the repair bill.

So much for all the rubbish I'd had to read and the attempts to try and hide behind a new company.

Bearing in mind that this whole situation was in no way my fault I was then told that Audi UK had agreed to foot the other 50% of the bill.

I was stunned... had to sit down.

I had laid everything out in simple terms and told them what legal advice I'd been given and I seconded that with the advice I'd been given from Consumers Direct who told me that the liability lay somewhere between Audi UK because the faulty gearbox was their creaton and the dodgy dealership for selling me a vehicle that had not been correctly serviced and had legal issues relating to it's MoT last year that I had to sort out post purchase.

So, I now have to wait for a cheque to be sent from the dealership to the repair centre and when it arrives I can collect my vehicle with a new 7 ratio gearbox.

This faulty gearbox is an issue that Audi UK have to deal with.

If we are sold an Appoved Used Audi that hasn't had the 40K gearbox oil change as I was then it is still an Audi UK/dealership issue.

I was a serial victim of a dodgy dealership that was an still is managed by the same individual who tries to hide behind his new company and any liablity for the dodgy cars he played his part in selling.

So, that is all for now I guess. I'll post again when I have had a chance to test drive the "new" car. I'm hoping that the performace will have improved and maybe even fuel consumption will be better.

Thanks Again,

S.

[Teflon]

Glad that you got full satisfaction by turning the screw. Most people don't have the time/enthusiasm/nuts to keep battering away at people who are ripping them off.

Good guys 1 Dealers 0

[Herbiv4]

Hello there Teflon,

Luckily I inherited some decent writing skills from my Nan and from my Dad I inherited some "don't give up when you know you are right" skills.

I have had to fight other battles - battles that I have also won - so I have some experience under my belt.

On Tuesday the dodgy dealership was told to send a cheque to the repair centre where my car is now sitting in the car park awaiting collection - looking very smart and unusually clean.

As of lunch time and after the 2nd business post, the repair centre rang me to say that the cheque hadn't arrived and the MD of the dogy dealership was away for the day.

I phoned Audi UK and told them.

They were not impressed.

So, as the temporary car rental runs out tomorrow morning I hope to get a phone call first thing.

Otherwise Audi UK may now have to extend the rental to cover the weekend... all costs to them.

My bet is the cheque was sent 2nd class just to spite.

Further update to follow.....

[Herbiv4]

Hello again,

As of today I still do not have my car back.

At present it is at the local Audi Repair Centre and it's being held there until a cheque arrives from the "dodgy dealership" who were involved in selling me the car last year.

The car was ready to collect nearly two weeks ago now.

Audi UK agreed to pay for the parts and the dodgy dealership agreed to pay the labour costs.

The Invoice for the labour charges was faxed to the dealership on the 4th December and then the MD who was dealing with it told me he'd then taken 3 days leave but Audi UK said that they had spoken to him at work during those three days.

Meanwhile, the Repair Centre was being told that the individual concerned was "at lunch" or "at another dealership" or "will return your call" but no call was ever returned.

This Monday I and the Repair Centre and Audi UK were told that a cheque had been sent "by 1st class post" but that there was no proof of this.

On Tuesday the hire car rental expired and the part of Audi that deals with paying for these hire cars refused to renew it as they said they'd paid enough.

The area manager was then involved and AUdi Uk is now paying for my to have the hire car until next Tuesday.

Meanwhile the cheque has not turned up and both myself and the repair centre are fairly sure that there is no cheque.

This has now been going on for getting on for a month since the problem with the gearbox was diagnosed.

I'm siting with the repair centre in that I agree that they need their money before I can have my car back. Meanwhile Audi UK are happy to go on paying £60 a day for me to have a hire car until this cheque arrives.

The rep. at Audi Uk is hoping that the penny will drop with the area manager on MOnday when the cheque still hasn't turned up.

Interestingly the repair centre suggested to day to Audi UK that the payment could be "made over the phone with a company credit card" but Audi UK said that this was not a viable option.

So, I really don't know where or when this is going to end.

All in all the repair centre have said that they feel that the managing director messing us all around is "letting the brand down" and they are as annyed about this situation as I am.

I asked if it would be possible to discipline the individual involved but apparantly he's so high up in the business that he cannot be touched.

Another update to follow on Monday. Will I get my car back in time for Christmas?

[Teflon]

It's a pity you live so far away from the dealership.

I've found it can be remarkably persuasive if you turn up at the showroom, sit down in the comfy chairs with a free coffee and get chatting to the other punters Those cooing over a new car brochure are a personal favourite. Mr Big often finds a way to get things sorted with his company credit card PDQ.

[Herbiv4]

Hello there Teflon,

Doing what you suggest would be an excellent thing except that I now live in Scotland and the offending dealership is in north London.

So they really have got me totally snookered leaving my car in custody with me having to watch a Mexican Standoff between Audi UK, the repair centre up here in Ayrshire and the Dodgy Dealership in London.

Whilst I can drive a manual car I am a disabled driver and I find it very difficult driving this manual hire car that has no parking sensors.

So I really do need my multitronic Audi with parking sensors back asap.

At the moment getting around is neither easy or enjoyable and I'm not able to go very far so Christmas shopping in Glasgow has been postponed several times...

Plus the fact that LPG is half the price of petrol so it's costing me twice as much to run this hire car compared to what is usual for me.

But Audi UK don't care... as long as they can classify me as being "mobile" thats enough for them.

Thanks for hte advice,

S.

[Herbiv4]

Hello again,

I finally got my car back today but only by paying the VAT for the labour charges because the dealership's cheque had omitted to incloe those charges.

I have been told that this sum will hunted down and given back to me in due course.

So far the car's performace is noticeably better.

The response to the accelerator is much sharper and there is now no time lag from putting my foot on the gas and the engine responding.

But there is one thing that concerns me and I wondered if there was anyone here who could help.

When I test drove a new A4 Avant Multitronic before buying the A6 I have now I saw that it had a seven ratio gearbox and I was able to select all 7 ratios manually using the gear shift with all seven "gears" displayed on the dashboard.

The display on the dashboard of my car still only shows 6 "gears" and I can only select those six "gears" when using manual mode via the gear selector and steering wheel.

So, if the car has seven ratios as I have been reassured it now does then should it be the case that the car can only use those 7 ratios in fully automatic mode and only 6 of the 7 in manual mode?

If so then what six of the seven are available in manual mode and would using the manual option put the same sort of stresses on the gearbox that it would have suffered on the old gearbox?

Would this then have implications for the durability of the new gearbox?

I use manual mode with my thumbs on the steering wheel when I'm on the motorway overtaking or using hilly roads for gear braking or more torque for climbing.

If anyone can shed any light on this I'd be grateful.

Also, I was told that the gearbox only has a 2 year guarantee.

I just wondered if this was normal considering it's a major componant that has already shown itself to be vulnerable.

Thanks,

Herbiv4.

[max942x]

Hello

I can't answer your questions as I am still looking for similar answers myself!!!

My A4 had the 7-plate-clutch conversion and when I asked how you could tell that it had been done, I was told "when you put it over to manual mode, the display will read "7654321" instead of "654321". This was told to me by the Audi branch that diagnosed the problem - but passed me onto their other branch to have the work done. On questioning Audi who carrried out the work - apparently you cannot tell if the work has been done! Odd!:confused:

My display didn't change.


The plate conversion lasted for 500 miles.

It now apparently needs a valve body (as I was told on here that it might!).

The whole multitronic problem needs to be addressed by Audi and answers given.

Max

[lonky]

The 6 or 7 'Gears' that you see on the CVT box do not actually exist in the convensional sense.

The box is capable of selecting an unlimited varying ratio's , however as the idea of the engine revs never changing felt stange to drive, the ratio's have been added electronically to give the impression of gears and enable the box to have a 'manual' mode.

Therefore the 6 or 7 displayed versions are software related. The version with 7 ' gears' will have been a newer model.

The important change on the CVT gearbox was in the clutch plates, which had to be increased from 6 to 7 to handle the engines torque as there was failures, particularly when the oil was not changed by 40K

Number of clutch plates does not have anything to do with the gearbox ratio. That is set by where the drive chain is on the two drive cones.