Variable Servicing

[Gerbil]

Does anyone have any experience of variable (Long Life) servicing on the A8?

When I brought my old A6 after exactly 9500 miles the service indicator lit. The dealer said i could have a regular service and the car would warn me after 9000 miles that it needed servicing, or if I paid extra for long life oil the car would calculate when it needed servicing. Since I do mainly motorway driving he estimated 14-19k between services. I took the long life option and the A6 went about 16k between services.

The A8 that replaced my A6 has no servicing check on it, other than the warning just before it needs work done.

The service history suggest it has consistently done 9k between services, but each service is marked as "long life". I had it serviced at 62k Long life has been ticked in the box.

It has just hit 70k and is indicating a service in 1000 miles. So another 9k service??? I drive the A8 less aggresively than I did the A6, so I had assumed a service gap of 13-18k.

Does anyone know if an A8 (3.0 petrol) can handle variable servicing or will I be wasting money paying for "special oil" just to replace it after 9000 miles? Since the car does not have a service indicator I am assuming it cannot calculate long life service intervals, despite the manual and service history suggesting it can??

[steve.link]

I have a 3.0 TDI and it has done 17000 miles from new when it advised a service was due in 1000 miles.

Car is not driven hard and is mainly motorway miles

[a8 tech]

it calculates in dash adaption channels.A8 has never displayed service information.Ask the dealer to check adption channels 40 to 48 to confirm whats going on

[Gerbil]

it calculates in dash adaption channels.A8 has never displayed service information.Ask the dealer to check adption channels 40 to 48 to confirm whats going on

Many thanks for the advice. I will give it a go, but not 100% confident in my dealer!

Wrote to Audi UK who assure me that the display will show me the service interval (as in the A6 etc), but everywhere I have looked says the A8 will not show the service interval!! So leaves me none to confident about Audi UK either.

The car written service history (log book) shows almost exactly 9500 miles between every service. I think the original owner drove the car hard, (20" wheels!) but I am very laid back and do a lot of motorway miles. (and changed wheels to 18")

I'll see if the dealer will check the channels, as I need to take the car in for a cam belt change in 3000 miles.

Interestingly dealer says the CAM needs to be changed at 80,000 but Audi UK say 75,000. I have been so unlucky with this car that I will pay to have cam changed at 74,999 just in case!! I think if the variable servicing is correct at 9500 miles then the car has been driven hard and the cam may be suspect - do you agree?

[steve.link]

I think it must be set for fixed servicing if all intervals are 9500 miles. I don't see why an Audi dealer can't change it over for you.

You need to persevere with them as they don't sem have have detailed knowledge of issues like this

Good Luck!

[Gerbil]

I have just had the CAM belt changed and asked dealer to check the variable servicing again. Everything is set correctly for variable, but the count looks like it is on track for 9500 miles again :-(

The dealer is contacting Germany for some advice!!

Audi UK very generously helped with the CAM belt cost which was a very nice surprise!! My maintenance contract was signed before Audi lowered the CAM belt interval.

One very satisfied customer on that front as the full cost of the CAM belt change was scary!

[Gerbil]

DEEPER and DEEPER

8,000 miles after the last service and the display flashed up "Service due in 1,000 miles"

Another 9000 gap.

My local dealer never came back with any advice, but I had a discussion with another dealer following a slight blip over some coil packs.

The dealer promised to look at the A8 to check all of the settings, then mentioned that the Audi Dialogue data base shows my car as having fixed servicing, even though the service history shows long life. Dealer explained that the variable service system allows the engineer to input upper limits on the variable servicing for mileage and time. On the A8 it should be 20000 miles or 24 months, so if the car sensors do not indicate a service is due but one of the threasholds are reached the car will ask for a service. He agreed that the evidence suggests mine is set to 9000 max

I have the car booked in for the next time I am in the Midlands - I will update if I get an answer.

Should be interesting as this dealer serviced the car before I brought it (when it had done 9000, 18000, 27000, 36000 and 45000 miles...........)

[jkwade]

i'm looking at an A8 at the moment.

It was serviced (rang Audi today) at:

19k
39k
59k
77k

So looks like the 2yr/20k mileage thing is right.

Should be spot on, would hate to have to pay for a service every 9k

[Gerbil]

Check what work was done at those servies. On my Petrol V6 the gearbox oil was changed at 40k and the Cam belt at 75k. The Cambelt cost around £1k in a main dealer!! So you would not want to pay for that either. Local dealer explained that they had to take off a fair bit of the front of the car to change the Cam - hence the very high cost!

Not sure if this would be the same for a deisel car though - but the service history book says what should be done and when.

Great car though.

[Gerbil]

it calculates in dash adaption channels.A8 has never displayed service information.Ask the dealer to check adption channels 40 to 48 to confirm whats going on

A8 Tech - I have booked the car in with the dealer in Northampton. Whilst making the booking he checked the "Dialogue System" and says it suggests the car is set to 9000 mile servicing. He suggests that the variable servicing can have limits set to time and mileage, so after a set interval of time or mileage the service indicator will kick in. eg: He said if ordinary oil was used the car could be set to indicate a service after 12 months, even if the oil sensor etc said the car was okay. Likewise he said some lease companies do not like letting the cars go too long before servicing so a maximum mileage can be set.

Any idea how you can see the maximum mileage setting?

[a8 tech]

The dash insert adaption channels hold all the information required.
Access to these via diagnostic connection address 17

[Gerbil]

I got Northampton to check the channels etc. they say the car is set to max at 22,000 miles; 24 months which is correct.

The senior technician says they have a few 3.0 petrol A8 and they come in at around 9-10k between services. The deisels can do significantly more.

Are there any petrol owners out there who can confirm that that is the case?

The did do the 80k service with a brake fluid change and gave me a reasonable discount - so I guess I will have to live with it and just budget for 9000 mile service intervals

:(

[Micha_elD]

The senior technician says they have a few 3.0 petrol A8 and they come in at around 9-10k between services. The deisels can do significantly more.

:(

Hmmm ... the cars that come out of that dealer only do 9-10k between services. Wonder what they would be like if they were taken to a different dealer?

Maybe I'm just being cynical, but I have a petrol 4.2 that does 20k / 2 yrs between services, can the 3.0 petrol really need twice as much servicing?

[Gerbil]

Hmmm ... the cars that come out of that dealer only do 9-10k between services. Wonder what they would be like if they were taken to a different dealer?

Maybe I'm just being cynical, but I have a petrol 4.2 that does 20k / 2 yrs between services, can the 3.0 petrol really need twice as much servicing?

Thanks for your comment, it is useful to get another Petrol driver's view.

This was the second dealer I have tried. My local dealer is quite small and handles very few A8, but the second dealer is a big one, and for example had 5 A8s around the service area on the day I dropped mine off. They have both confirmed that the computer is set correctly.

The question I would like to ask - if anyone knows - is: What else could be faulty if the computer read out says long life servicing has been correctly set but the car is flagging EXACTLY 9000 miles between services?

I have no idea how the previous owner drove the car, but in the 25k miles since I brought her, the car has been driven mainly on motorways and has had three services exactly 9000 apart - something must be wrong.

[Gerbil]

Well we finally parted company. I took the A8 to 103k. Despite my best efforts with three seperate dealers I never managed to get the service indicator to do anything but flag a service at 9k miles. Still the new guy has a car which has never run on old oil!!

Replacement is a Jag XF with a diesel engine. 14k service intervals - not variable!!