I'm posting mainly to help out anyone that doesn't have full service history or cannot get proof of the oil used.
Vital statistics:
2011 Audi A4 B8 Avant 1.8 TFSI petrol
Approx 42000 miles on clock when it began consuming oil
Bought privately
Part non-Audi service history. One service stamp at 30,720 miles and another at 42,743 from independent garages.
I bought the car privately (so no recourse) and within a few months it started drinking oil. Over the next few months I read up on the problem on this forum. I took it in for the first part of the oil consumption test, where they drain and weigh the new oil that is put in for the test. Then told to drive 600 miles or bring it back before then if the oil light comes on. Mine was going through about 300 miles to a litre at this point. It of course failed the test and we had to take the car back after a few hundred miles. Bradford Audi were good with getting it in as soon as possible. I was then asked to submit all service history, which Bradford Audi took copies of and sent off to Audi UK. Then I was also asked to get proof of the oil used from the 2 services that were stamped in the service schedule. It turned out that this had been pointless as Audi (I think Bradford) chased it up to get further evidence. I had one garage that would put on letter headed paper what specification of oil had been used vw 504 00 and the grade 5w30 fully synthetic. I never found out if all of this detail was required. The other garage wouldn't help. I sent the one proof of oil from the garage which said, we serviced this car on 27/2/18 at 42,743 miles and put the above oil in it. Audi then needed further proof than this, and approached both garages to ask for it. Why I had been asked is beyond me. They wanted the original invoice with the exact specification of oil used!?! Both garages confirmed to them they didn't keep records back from that long ago (one was last year the other from 3 years ago) or didn't keep invoices with that level of detail on them. All of this took some time and after Bradford Audi not returning calls or giving timescales, I rang Audi UK and was assigned a case manager, Kerry, who specialises in the oil consumption problem. She explained that the delay had been due to chasing up the proof of oil. I then got a call from Bradford Audi to confirm the outcome and the cost. It was explained that because proof of oil could not be obtained that I would be expected to make a 20% contribution. I was told the total was £3581, 50% covered by Audi UK, 30% covered by Bradford Audi and 20% covered by me, equalling £762. Any of you that are quick with your maths will see that £762 isn't 20%. I queried this at a later point and Kylie agreed that it will be £716.
I then rang Kerry at Audi UK. I put every point that I could to her from this forum.
1) Audi have admitted there is a design fault with these TFSI engines, being that they designed the piston rings too thin and therefore no-one should be charged.
2) If this problem occurs on vehicles that have full Audi service history, then this is clearly a design fault and nothing to do with the grade of oil that has been used.
3) It is possible that the wrong grade of oil contributed to the problem but it is also possible that it didn't. Customers should not be footing the bill on a basis such as this.
3) A lack of proof is not evidence that the wrong oil has been used.
4) In the US, where there is no difference between the US and European model, the people have brought a class action lawsuit against Audi where they are now required by law to repair anyone's car with the problem, free of charge. Audi should not hide behind differences in legal systems to mitigate some of their costs.
5) I said that when I have had cars serviced previously, they will either write or tick oil change. I have never seen a garage put the exact specification on an invoice. I then asked in what percentage of cases like mine (service stamps are from independent garages, which Audi say they won't penalise customers for this) did they get the proof of oil they needed. She admitted not many, which then led me to put that basically Audi do the repair free of charge for anyone with full Audi service history and anyone else they charge for it and have to fight to lower the contribution expected.
6) In the FAQs asked by Audi employees that I found on here, I asked how this had been applied to my case:
When should I qualify the customer?
a. You should do this at the outset (prior to stage 1 repair) when you can evaluate the other
possible causes/individual circumstances.
b. Customers should be advised of the potential cost of stage 2 repair should it be required.
This should include a review of the vehicle’s service history. I pointed out that this had not been done in my case.
And:
Why are we being expected to support customers with any kind of contribution when there isn't a
complete service history?
b. We should be mindful that incomplete service documents may not be proof that the vehicle was serviced
incorrectly.
c. Incomplete service history may not be the fault of the current owner and this may be their first experience
of the Audi network.
7) Because my car MAY have been serviced correctly, at the right times and with the right grade of oil, but
because I cannot get proof then I have to foot the cost of something
that Audi have admitted is a design fault.
8) I explained that none of this was my fault. That I had bought the car in good faith. I have treated the car
well, have put the correct specification of oil 5w-30 fully synthetic vw 504 00, all 13 litres and counting of it it
since I bought the car.
9) It is also very arbitrary to ask for proof of oil from such a long time ago, when I have put so much oil in in
the last year and yet Audi have not asked for proof of the oil I have put in.
Almost all of my points were met with: Audi apply a criteria to each case and once applied, the expected contribution is asked for.
I asked if I could appeal the decision or complain or have my case reviewed again and was told no as Kerry was a manager who specialised in this problem and that my only course of action was to go to the Motor Ombudsman. I spoke to the Motor Ombudsman and they said that I either need to wait at least 8 weeks or I need a final response from Audi. They provided this via email and I intend pursue this through the Ombudsman.
I ended with saying this was a pretty poor way to treat new customers that had bought into buying a premium brand car and wouldn't buy another Audi ever again.
Once I took it in, they said that the spark plugs had carbon build up on them and the water pump had a leak. They said that any work they would carry out would be free of labour charge. Carbon build up on the spark plugs may not necessarily have been caused by the oil problem and so I was told I would need to pay if I wanted it replacing. I realised that I should have said that if I was being charged for the oil that may have been put in the car, then they should pay for carbon build up on the spark plugs that may have been caused by the oil consumption problem. Although I didn't want to hand over any more cash than I absolutely had to, I agreed to having the water pump done and said I would replace the spark plugs myself.
The only silver lining (of sorts) was that when it came to payment, they only wanted £519 + the cost of the water pump. I quite happily paid this thinking that it was the third correction/mistake when it came to telling me or charging me and so I'm quite happy to not tell them I was expecting the cost to be £716 when I shouldn't be being asked to pay for any of it at all.
It's now been a month since the repair. Oil hasn't gone down yet but not holding my breath! Can I say a huge thank you to the creators/moderators/everyone who contributed to this forum for its invaluable advice. Apologies this is so long but I thought that I would try and summarise the last 40 pages for anyone in a similar position to me, hopefully saving a few people weeks/months of research!
