Audi A3 2.0 TDI Fuel Cooler Fault

Hi

Just wanted to report the following to see if this is a common problem.

My friend has just had an audi main dealer fail her A3 2.0 Tdi car on MOT reporting that the fuel cooler (Located under the drivers floor pan and looks like an aluminium plate with fins) had been hit and the front bolt had ripped out of the floor pan. They wanted £350 to replace the bolt and told her it would cost in excess of a £1000 if it fell off. This she refused and took the car away as it sounded suspicious.

I checked the car myself and found that the cooler was undamaged with absolutely no sign of impact damage or even a blemish. Yet the front fuel cooler stud had pulled out of the floor pan and the cooler was hanging on the rear stud and fuel pipes with the front of the cooler being prevented from falling on to the road just by snagging the plastic undersheild of the car. (Please see the attached photo)

Having examined the hole left in the floor pan I can see that the gauge of the material is so thin that it was most likely that this front mounting stud would fail. Furthermore, I believe that these mounting studs are likely to experience repeated stress, due to the heat range that this alloy cooler experiences in comparison to the steel floor pan that it is rigidly bolted too.

A search on this site has shown that others have experienced the same problem, which leads to a general conclusion that this is possible a very serious design fault with the car.

If you have experienced the same problem I would like to hear it and what you did to remedy the problem.

Cheers!