[halfbytecode]

Originally Posted by androdev

Thanks, that is good to know and makes sense. In that case mounts, nuts, bolts require changing. Why do they also change connecting rods and plates?

Here is how I would explain the Rs Lakh bill:

Actual part requiring replacement:
One side suspension mount: Rs 15K
Bolts and nuts and labour: Rs 10K

Unnecessary parts replaced:
One side plates and connecting link rod: Rs 15K
Bolts and nuts and labour: Rs 10K

Total cost for one side suspension job: Rs 50K
Other side suspension job as bonus: Rs 50K

My only explanation for this type of repair is that Audi engineers don't expect the suspension to go bad this soon. The mounts they use are fancy and provide excellent ride but can not take the abuse of Indian driving conditions with unexpected speed breakers, potholes, etc.

I looked up some of the part numbers mentioned in the invoice. The parts at numbers 16, and 19 costing about Rs. 14K each are engine mounts, and not suspension parts. The retainer plates at numbers 17, 20 are transmission retainer plates.

Connecting links seem like they can actually go bad in five years, considering it is a 2011 car and assuming they have not been changed previously. I looked up the part, and it has rubber bushings on both ends of the links.

However, I have seen some, if not most, luxury car dealers in India trying to rack up the bills as much as possible. This may well be the case here too.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by coolboy007

Am surprised that the bushes gave away so soon, if i remember correctly, you also had a shock absorber or some thing changed in warranty. VW/Skoda do not cover suspension bushes or any rubber parts (like gearbox mount) under extended warranty and seems this same policy is being carried forward by Audi.

If your car is going out of warranty soon, why do you want to get the repairs done at the authorized workshop? Mumbai would definitely have a lot of local garages who can do such a work as A6 is a good seller and the cost of doing this repair would be less than half of what Audi is quoting you. It is a well known fact with these germans to find a good local garage when the warranty runs out.

You're right - a few pages back I had mentioned the Air Suspension failure which was promptly fixed under warranty.
Re: independent mechs - trust me, I am on the look out for a reliable mech since a while! Issue is finding a good mechanic whom I could trust the A6/other Germans with. While there are lots of references in the Mumbai Directory, finding someone who has experience with Germans and who has proper parking is surprisingly difficult!
Sunil Shanbagh is one guy who I've heard great things about - but keeping in mind parking woes at his workshop, I am a little concerned sending the Audi to them.

Any references would help!

It was sent to the A.S.S. partly due to the fact the car was under warranty and the issue cropped up after a recent service, and partly because dad is more comfortable with them when it comes to the servicing of these vehicles. Until I can find a good independent, who can service the Laura and the E60, it will be difficult to change his mind.

Originally Posted by Luv_Jaiswal

I suspect something really fishy here. If you have taken so much care of your car and even if we assume that either one or more of the many drivers there at the service centre drove your A6 roughly, the bushes can not start making noise all of a sudden. For the bushes to start making noise the struts and the bushes take on a lot of beating and then start to give up. And man, at 33,000 kms? Seriously? The bushes on my A4 are wearing out for the first time near the 49,000 kms mark and that too due to it facing quite some spirited driving.

I can vouch for our driver's credibility - he is by far one of the better people on the roads, maintaining road discipline, barely honking (only if someone jumps out), without any major incident in years, and who slows down for bad potholes. In the past he drove the W211 E270 and the E60 (both of which didn't require any suspension work, barring the E60 recently - after 7 years and 50Kkm - owing to it's stiffer set up).

Heck, the Laura too didn't require any suspension work barring a minor job up until now (60Kkm), which sees the same daily commute as the A6 + much much worse!

Originally Posted by halfbytecode

I think I should comment on the nuts, bolts, clamps, that are usually changed. There is some truth to it. VAG is known for using stretch bolts and nuts almost everywhere on the suspension. Torquing them down involves stretching the threads, for a firm "hold".

Thanks for sharing this - I wasn't aware of the same.

Originally Posted by androdev

Why do they also change connecting rods and plates?

Here is how I would explain the Rs Lakh bill:

Actual part requiring replacement:
One side suspension mount: Rs 15K
Bolts and nuts and labour: Rs 10K

Unnecessary parts replaced:
One side plates and connecting link rod: Rs 15K
Bolts and nuts and labour: Rs 10K

Total cost for one side suspension job: Rs 50K
Other side suspension job as bonus: Rs 50K

My only explanation for this type of repair is that Audi engineers don't expect the suspension to go bad this soon. The mounts they use are fancy and provide excellent ride but can not take the abuse of Indian driving conditions with unexpected speed breakers, potholes, etc.

This was one of the first batches of the A6 2.0TDi - and was imported as a CBU. It gave some typical troubles such as the A.C. and Air Suspension failure, some of which I am sure Audi has taken care of when localising the vehicle. Wonder if this would be part of it.

Also, they have mentioned that both the sides front suspension bushes have been cut.

Interestingly, dad had given the go ahead to the workshop yesterday, but they don't have the parts ready. I am trying to see if I can send it to another workshop instead.

[lamborghini]

Quite annoyed with the Audi Mumbai South dealer.
Last week our car's Steering jammed - and the dealer has given us an appointment for 8th November! That means the car is just lying idle for 2+ weeks waiting for a service appointment.

In the past I have complained a lot about VWAG service centers, but this seriously takes the cake! While I am happy to pick up another Skoda after my experience with the Laura (average service but manageable with quick response from the company - my service experience with Maruti and Toyota hasn't been remarkably better), this is definitely going to be the last Audi we buy - horrible service, poor reliability!
Our E270 also had spotty reliability, but at least the service experience was pleasant!

[AMG Power]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Last week our car's Steering jammed - and the dealer has given us an appointment for 8th November! That means the car is just lying idle for 2+ weeks waiting for a service appointment.

This is unacceptable by any standard. A two week waiting to take your car in for a routine repair job!!

I think this deserves a mention on the home page so that folks get to know how Audi treats customers after they buy their cars.

[lamborghini]

So finally sent the car to a trusted FNG - they took all of 2 days to fix the car and deliver it back - a fault related to a sensor. Hasn't even sent me the bill (unlike these ASS who insist on a DD/RTGS before releasing the car, and ensuring that they always release the final invoice at the last moment so your car spends that extra night at the workshop for no reason).

Drove the car back home from work, and I must say - that even though the service is horrible and reliability is average at best; the car is still amongst the most comfortable options in it's segment! It cocoons you in silence, and the air suspension just glides over poor roads (sharp edges not as much, but undulations are very well taken care of) - the new E220d can't even hold a candle to this car in terms of ride quality!

What is clear though is that it isn't going to be as reliable as our old BMW 5 series (E60), so we need to be prepared for that; as well as the fact that an independent mechanic is going to be our best bet in maintaining the car!

Interestingly, this month also marks the cars 6th year with us!

It hasn't been driven much (40,000kms) as dad finds the rear seat a touch too low, driving pleasure isn't great (light steering), neither is reliability!
But the plus points still hold - even after 6 years; the car looks quite modern, ride quality is amazing as is body control, the engine is a workhorse, and the gearbox is very smooth!

The interiors don't make you feel special anymore (compared to the new Mercedes at least), but at a good price, this car could be a very competent comfortable limo to be chauffeured around in!

However, if someone were to ask me if I would buy another Audi - I honestly doubt I would. As an enthusiast, I haven't been able to connect with this car in the same manner as I did with the E60 525d, or the W211 E270 CDi; the reliability is average; and the service quality below average!
In fact, even dad who was an ardent fan of Audi is already thinking along the lines of a replacement for this as it's just not been able to maintain it's emotional appeal.

But as I mentioned above, for a non-enthusiast who wants a VFM package and excellent ride quality - it doesn't get better than this at this price point, especially with the 5 year service package and warranty that Audi offers.

EDIT: Just went through the thread, and missed out on a couple of updates that have taken place in the last 12 months.

After the suspension work was carried out with a INR 1L quote, the rear sun blind motor failed (Audi asked 1.25L to replace the same) as did the rear door child lock (some 20-30,000 IIRC). These jobs came up literally a week after the extended warranty expired, and Audi clearly doesn't believe in providing any form of goodwill warranty to a customer who has 3 VWAG products and in the past has owned 2 other VWAG vehicles (and unfortunately, the 6th VWAG vehicle was recently booked but let's not count that).

Net net, the total maintenance cost over the past 13 months (Sept. 2016 when suspension work was carried out, outside of extended warranty + work done post extended warranty expiration) is almost INR 3L (1.6L for child lock and sun blind motor + 1L for suspension + what I am assuming to be 30-40K for steering work that was just carried out but I am sure Audi would have charged a significantly more than the independent mechanic)!
That's 6% of the purchase price of the car spent on repairs within one year, on parts that ideally shouldn't fail and haven't failed on any luxury car we've owned in the past!!
This is not including 22K spent on a routine service, and 20K spent on a new battery.

Didn't spend even close to so much annually on either the BMW or Mercedes in it's last few years with us (8th - 10th year of ownership), with 4 workshop visits (September 2017 for suspension, November for service and sun blind, July for battery, and October 2017 for steering issue). Won't be surprised if this car is replaced sooner or later with another Jap or a BMW in the near future.

[lamborghini]

So the fault was traced to a faulty torque sensor - resulting in a bill of apprx. 32K.

Good to know I wasn't way off mark there

Took the car on a longish city drive yesterday, just wanted to add a note about the amazing stability! The CVT enables it to pick up pace quickly (as it maintains the rpm at a constant 2500rpm depending on how heavy you are with the gas), and the stability is quite impressive - even compared to some of it's peers!

If only the steering had more feel, I could see myself using this car a little more often!

[lamborghini]

Another day, another problem!





The rear suspension completely sits down when the car is parked for a few hours. It comes back up when the car is started thankfully, but it needs to be rectified before any serious incident occurs.
Third time the suspension has needed work in 6.5 years & 42Kkm. Yes, the car hasn't done a lot of trips since the last update but it is being used fairly regularly by dad to commute to office, most of which is on good smooth roads!

Definitely not sending it to Audi for repairs though.

Originally Posted by S350L-E240

Air suspension as good as it sounds has the worst failure rates, and when it fails I can close my eyes and see my past, I'm sure things have moved ahead a lot in last few years but still I'd prefer a normal suspension,

Guess you were right about this S350! It is something I would definitely like to avoid in my next car, but unfortunately all cars in this segment / higher come with air suspension in their top end trim (Volvo, E350, 6GT etc.)
Any one have any idea how BMW Air suspensions are performing in our market conditions?

[androdev]

Air leaking, get it fixed soon or compressor will burn out. If it's only one side that's sitting low then you just need to repair or replace one strut. Everyone with air suspension should be prepared for a day like this but this is too soon in your case.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by androdev

Air leaking, get it fixed soon or compressor will burn out. If it's only one side that's sitting low then you just need to repair or replace one strut. Everyone with air suspension should be prepared for a day like this but this is too soon in your case.

That's exactly what I plan to do. Calling for an estimate to see.

In the middle when I first noticed this issue a few days ago, I was contemplating switching over to a plain and simple regular suspension, but that may be a costly affair in the sense of importing the parts and getting it installed - and it doesn't make sense to spend so much as this is most likely to be the next candidate in the garage that is due for replacement... maybe in a year or two.

The compressor has already been replaced in the third year of ownership, followed by guide link and a couple other bits and pieces replaced in 2016. This is all on a car that rarely (like once in a few months) sees the other side of 80kmph, and does 16km a day home to office to home commute, and the suspension mode is rarely fiddled with. Heck! As you can see in the pictures, the car is very clean for something that has spent 6 years on Mumbai roads!

The W211 E Class, and the E60 5 series we had before this had probably one suspension related complaint in their 9/10 years and 70-80Kkm with us, going over the same roads and many worse roads (we used to take them out of town a lot more frequently than we have with the Audi - heck the Audi has never been beyond Pune)!

[lamborghini]

Got it fixed by my independent mechanic. Took all of 3 days, including an overnight stay to ensure the problem was solved.

Cost: Rs. 1.15L including taxes.

Car seems to be working fine as of now - just need to look into the rattles that have creeped up over the years.
Hoping there are no more nasty surprises in store, and that I get to drive it more often. Whilst not fun as the other cars in the garage, its a brilliant cruiser for those days when you just want to unwind and do nothing!

[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Got it fixed by my independent mechanic. Took all of 3 days, including an overnight stay to ensure the problem was solved.

Cost: Rs. 1.15L including taxes.

Can you perhaps share the details of the independent mechanic where you got it fixed here in mumbai ?

[androdev]

That's good to know, seems reasonably priced. What parts did you replace?

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by androdev

That's good to know, seems reasonably priced. What parts did you replace?

Both side rear air balloons / bags : Not sure what the technical term is for the same + labour and taxes.

The mechanic was explaining that as these are rubber parts, over time they deteriorate and start leaking. Our road conditions don't help!

[GT3]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

The mechanic was explaining that as these are rubber parts, over time they deteriorate and start leaking. Our road conditions don't help!

Is there any option to replace the rubber parts when they are slightly worn to stop any leak from happening.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by GT3

Is there any option to replace the rubber parts when they are slightly worn to stop any leak from happening.

They may last forever, so why would you want to prematurely replace. Manufacturers would themselves make it a scheduled maintenance if these are mean't be so. Even if the problem comes, it maybe due to failed compressor, leaking hose and need not be the air struts. I suspect Mumbai's coastal weather may have contributed to this issue in @lamborghini's case.