RJL

Dear Audiworld,
Hello all. I'm requesting any thoughtful advice. On Aug 30, I picked up through a lease, a brand new 2012 A6 from a dealership in Massachusetts. Beautiful car - quartz gray, Premium Plus. On Sept 3, I had to bring it back in due to a fog lamp warning light illumination; unfortunately, dealership couldn't fix it right away. As this is a new model year, dealership had to follow protocol and include Audi in to investigate. So on Sept 7, I brought it back for more thorough diagnostics checks. On Sept 8, I'm told that they can't fix the fog lamp problem, and more importantly, now there is a problem with the transmission. Subsequent calls later and it is determined that there is a mechatronics issue and the unit needs to replaced. As the part in question is VIN-specific, a new part has to come from Germany. The car has been in since Sept 7 and based on dealership's best guess, the time needed to get a new part may be as long as end of September. To date, the car has been in the shop longer than in my possession.
To be fair, the dealership is doing what I think it can to help the situation (calling Audi for an ETA on part, loaning me a car, etc.) - they seem like they're genuinely trying.
I have called Audi Customer Service but my expectation is pretty low on resolving things that way. ACS is probably in protect-mode.
I have a 5 year old girl and a wife whom I want to ensure are safe in the car, and must admit that for a car that was only 4 days old, to have this magnitude of a problem is pretty disappointing and concerning.
This is my 4th Audi, so clearly I'm a fan.
Thoughts anyone? Any serious advice would be appreciated.
RJL

The G Man

I would start documenting the time in the shop. By the time Audi gets the part, it will be almost 30 days. If the new parts doesnt fix the problem, you should be qualify for a buyback under the Massachusetts lemon law.

RJL

Appreciate the reply. I have been documenting the dates in the shop. Given what appeared to be everyone's surprise that this happened on a new car, I think the dealership and Audi are going to watch this one carefully too...
RJL

AutobahnA6

Hmmm, I am buying in MA as well... any insights into the dealership?

RJL

I tried to be veiled on who I got the car from, but feel it appropriate to recommend Bernardi Audi. Ask for Diego Zalewsky - tell him the Asian dude with the problematic brand new Quartz Gray A6 sent you; he is a good man. Years ago, I thought the Clair Audi people were good, but that dealership is gone. I've never had good pricing nor good post-purchase experiences with any other Boston area dealerships; still, you ought to ask for price quotes at least to keep Bernardi honest, just in case.

RJL

Barry626

Surely you cannot feel your child & wife have zip to do with your fog light problem.
This is a very minor issue & will be fixed as soon as your dealer gets the parts in.
Your car is more safe than most cars on the road & you have no need for concern!
Your concern should be getting a loaner car from your dealer @ no charge to you...Good luck!

RJL

Not a technical guy, but my concern is not the fog lamp, it is the "mechatronics" part relating to the transmission. I've googled around and it has a control function. Is this a worry, or isn't it? The fact that it must be specific to each car suggests it is important.

In any case, to have any problems like these when all I did was drive off the lot is hard to accept.

Hoping for the best at this point.

jetinder

Everything is specific these days I find, everything "substantial". It took 6 weeks to get a new rear screen for my 8 last year "because it's new", and that was 6 months after deliveries of the A8 started. There are always a few glitches, but at least the dealership were diligent enough to check over the entire car.

Good luck with the car though. Have you had a word with the sales person or their manager ? They usually have access to an area manager from Audi who often has better ties with Audi Germany and what REALLY is going on than Audi technical.

Jet

The G Man

Was the car driveable with the mechatronics problem, or is the mechatronics unit the cause of the fog lamp out warning light? Under tha Massachusetts new car lemon law, the problem has to render the car un-driveable or it has to be a safety issue. If the only problem is the lamp out warning light, then it does not qualify.
By the way, I am from MA too and I got a better price from Herb Chambers than at Bernardi.

RJL

Thanks G Man. Long time ago I bought a Bimmer and Herb Chambers easily gave best price. When came to Audi, had a different experience with HC, not so good.

On the mech unit, I was led to believe they were unrelated issues (mech unit vs lamps). Dealership (advised by Audi presumably) said to me they were not going to put me in the car on the road unless mechatronics unit was replaced, which suggests the car was not driveable or not safe to drive with faulty unit. Additional commentary from service was that the faulty mech unit was leading to weird temperature control in the cabin too. Whatever the issue, the dealership was sufficiently puzzled to lead to their course of action.