3 servicing questions

After the great replies to my first post (thank you) I'm going to ask another question!

I have a 2006 2.0TDI A4 avant. I bought it from a dealership in June 2008. The service book records an inspection service on 31/01/08 at 18,700 miles. Its now on 24,000 miles. The service message is on the dash.

So 3 questions:

How does the car know i need a service? I read in a previous post this is simply set for a date by the service centre, although when i phone audi they told me "it can tell the oil needs replacing" It seems a coincidence that it is exactly 12 months from the last service (the lights been on for a couple of weeks)

Does it need a service? Its done 5,000 miles but I guess it has been 12 months (although I'm sure 4 of those it was sat on a forecourt)

If I don't service it with audi (told it was £395 for what appears to be an oil change and pollen filters), and recommendations? I live in west london. A google revealed http://www.servicingstop.co.uk/audi_service.html which is £134 including pick up and delivery. I plan to keep the car for at least 3-4 years.

Many thanks

James

I can't answer the question, but I'll keep an eye on this as it's related to my issue.

I have an 07 A4 2.0TFSI, bought in November. In November 08 the service light appeared (12 months), yet the service book says it's on Longlife servicing and the dealer records state the same. The car has only done 8,500 miles (which is better than your 5,000 I admit!)

EDIT: I'd also say that I had a V5 Beetle before the Audi and that didn't get a service light on it until 18,500 miles; almost 3 years from new and my driving habits have if anything become more sedate!

Being sceptical, I assume something dodgy is going on, especially as during the year, whenever I pressed the button it told me the service was due in X number of miles/number of days i.e. November.......I feel a heated discussion with the dealer coming soon.

Paul

hi there

i may be wrong here but possibly its on time only servicing , instead of variable or mileage related . perhaps to get you back in more often . mines done 14000 miles and was on variable and states another 4000 miles to go

Guys, your cars are clearly still under warranty, so if you get it serviced at barrys back street garage then any warranty issues will not be honored!
And believe me you Need that warranty.

Forgot to mention, there has been lots of talk on here about these longlife services being rubbish, get them switched to yearly.
I'm sure somebody will come along and enlighten you as to why this is the case.

b7 service plan Quick summary

Pr number qg1 longlife 9000 min 19000 max or 730 days which ever come first.
Oil quality is measured in the sump by the sensor that calculates soot content and this is calculated in the dash and counted up from 0 until the criterion for high soot is reached,also the dash counts up the days.So when the adaption channel is reset the clock is ticking depending on the above factors.Topping up with more than half a litre of non long life oil will reduce expected interval time,also the bonnet switch is used as a reference point for top ups

Pr number qg2 Time and distance 12 months 10,000 miles.

Sorry James, didn't read your post properly. Just noticed it says that your warranty stays intact.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by a8 tech

b7 service plan Quick summary

Pr number qg1 longlife 9000 min 19000 max or 730 days which ever come first.
Oil quality is measured in the sump by the sensor that calculates soot content and this is calculated in the dash and counted up from 0 until the criterion for high soot is reached,also the dash counts up the days.So when the adaption channel is reset the clock is ticking depending on the above factors.Topping up with more than half a litre of non long life oil will reduce expected interval time,also the bonnet switch is used as a reference point for top ups

Pr number qg2 Time and distance 12 months 10,000 miles.

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So the fact my car counted down the service requirement to Nov 08 i.e. 1 year after purchase, shows the dealer is lying in completing the service book as "longlife" and also telling me this over the phone?

It wouldn't be so bad if the car didn't drink so much oil (yes I've used the correct oil).........I'm on the 4th litre bottle from new to 8,500 miles......seems like it's on a gradual oil change anyway!!

Paul

Hi,the dealer doing the last service may have not re-set the service using the Vag comp.It happens! Mine was serviced at 34000 just prior to me buying it and its currently showing about 660 days.It can stand for up to 5 weeks at a time when i`m offshore so this will affect the service interval.It monitors cold starts etc and lots of other parameters to work out the interval.Take it back to the dealer and get them to check the service regime its set to,and sort out why its showing service due.

To resolve this all the adaption channels for the service settings need to be read and evaluated to check whats going on.

A8 tech,

Sorry if it seems like I've hijacked this post with my own query, but I guess it should answer the OP's as well.

I have an Oct '07 2.0 tdi 170 with 16k miles on the clock (it was 13k when I got it in June '08). I drive about 10 miles a day and occassionally further at weekends. (I know it's probably not good for the DPF.):(

The service indicator is still saying 300+ days to next service! I believe I am on the long-life interval but given the type of drving I do I have a couple of questions;

a) Is it really that good for the car? and
b) I am concerned that by the next service I may be very close to being out of warranty if anything is picked up!

Should I change to annual servicing which will probably be about every 5k miles?

Any help much appreciated.

Tim

change to time and distance,this suits your ownership far better

Many thanks... much appreciated.:beerchug:

Shame my dealer didn't tell me this when I asked the same question!:aargh4:

No problem,some dealers are daft as more frequent servicing is more work for them.
I would do it like this
10,000 miles oil and filter
20,000 miles oil and filter plus pollen and air filter and fuel filter.
30,000 miles oil and filter
40,000 miles same as 20,000 plus brake fluid change
and so on,this ensures the vehicle is in tip top running and next time avoid the dpf option lol

It seems to me that with the right tools, you CAN switch back onto longlife, despite what i have read many times elsewhere. The reason i say this, is that i had an independent do a service and he reset it and it gave me a 10k countdown. After the 10k, serviced it but at an indy audi specialist, who told me someone had cocked up my service plan, and he'd corrected it using his laptop. I was convinced it was going to pop up asking for a service after 10k, but it actually came up at 20k miles, 15 months later. So it seems it IS possible

To comment on the servicing DIY option out of warranty. I do thie following. My car is a 55plate so out of warranty, and even using OE VW parts, its reasonably cheap to do a big serve every 12 months. Every March in fact i service it completely. 12 months is about 15k miles.
Every single year i do the following
LONGLIFE oil and filter, air filter, and fuel filter.
In addition, every 2nd yr, i change the pollen filter.
In addition, every 3rd year (thats this year) i do the brake fluid and coolant too.
In addition every 4th year (next year) timing belt change (at independent audi/VW specialist)

For longlife oil, air filter, and fuel filter I'm about £65
Brake fluid is cheap, as is coolant. i realise that with that schedule that i'm going to get a year (year after next i think) where i need to change absolutely EVERYTHING at one go, but even then, its going to cost under £100 and not £400+ as VW would charge.

I highly recommend DIY if your car s over 3 years old, and you plan on keeping it. Anyone buying a 6 or 7 year old car should appreciate a folder full of receipts proving you've done the work and you look after your car, more than some stamps in a booklet which imply you dont and do the minimum maintenance required.

I forgot half of the original reason i posted! :biglaugh:

What i was going to say to pompey was that if you only do short journeys, and wont cover more than 10 or 12k a year then yeah, Time & Distance service schedule (10K or 365 day intervals) does suit you better but even though its set for longlife at the moment, it WILL indicate you need a service before you get anywhere close to the theoretical 20k limit. I have once got mine up to 20k, but that was made up of 50 mile journeys at 40+mph , not stop start town driving.

Basically, wait till your next service is required, then ask for it to be set to 10k intervals not longlife. That way you wont be wasting cash doing your next service early. (i know i just said i do mine slightly earlier than i need to according to the longlife schedule, but thats DIY so its cheap anyway, and i enjoy working on the car)