snagitseven

This just illustrates how dealers can differ from one another. Some will go out of their way to satisfy the customer and others will come up with excuses why something can't be done. There's a cost to everything and some dealers will drag their feet to avoid the expense line, while at the same time, giving the appearance of trying to help to get their positive Audi customer ratings which have significant financial implications from AOA. Playing this game is short-sighted in my opinion.
When you hit the wall, you just have to keep pushing the dealer and sometimes AOA.

snagitseven

There's no list I'm aware of but the latest reported C7 A6 MMI versions on the forums are K0566 for MY2012 and PO566 for MY2013.

Joemci

I would think that the upgrade would be covered by AOA under the warranty. Without doing a quick Google search I would have continued thinking that maybe what I experienced was just a unique problem and hope that it doesn't happen again. But now that I found this information, I can't really understand why they wouldn't want to fix a problem that appears to be covered by a service bulletin put out by Audi. Just seems like bad customer service to me. Anyone know if Audi covers the cost of this, or is it on the dealer?

gravi

I am a bit confused and maybe someone can clarify: Based on reading this thread it seems like regular upgrades to the system are not covered. I find it hard to believe that unless there is a bug customers are not eligible for normal improvements as they are released. Upgradeability is the norm with every other car manufacturer, heck every other product that involves software. In fact I remember reading or hearing that every service interval dealers check for available software updates. Can someone clarify if Audi customers are never really entitled to ongoing upgrades?

snagitseven

I believe AOA policy is to not reimburses dealers under warranty for customer at request software updates. If a problem is stated that is covered under warranty and if an update corrects it then the dealer is reimbursed. This would also be true if an update is a "required" one for all cars of the model/year. Still, the VIN will tied to the update in the system. Unfortunately, my experience with Audi is this is not infallible and the VIN may not be assigned correctly.

That said, if a dealer refuses to cover the upgrade because either the VIN does not register as update eligible or the customer just wants it, the dealer will do the revision - they will either bite the bullet and cover the time or convince AOA to reimburse them. That's why it's important to not give up. Nothing is entirely etched in stone and being firm but nice often goes a long way.

Joemci

I understand that the policy would be for AOA to not pay for a requested upgrade, but if a customer is showing problems that look like they will be fixed by an upgrade, I am at a loss as to why they wouldn't cover it. Just makes me think that the service rep and technician are not very persistent in trying to get something fixed and covered under warranty.

That is the exact opposite of my experience with my Lexus dealer that is actually owned by the same family as the Audi dealership. They would go out of their way to find a service bulletin or recall to cover an out of warranty repair.

lostnspace

I'm coming from Lexus too (2008 IS 250 AWD, 2011 GS 350 AWD) and I never had to "beg" service to fix things. They never tried to sell me on things I didn't need but would fix things that I may have not been aware of. From my experience over the last year, service with Audi is not on par with Lexus as far as customer service is concerned.

spoon2000

My understanding is that dealerships (of all brands, not just Audi) usually have to walk a fine line when it comes to warranty repairs. On one hand, dealers are typically happy to do warranty repair work since it generates income from the "home office," in this case, AOA (although the labor rate for warranty work is lower than the labor rate dealer would charge a self-pay customer). At the same time, the home office carefully tracks warranty work payments, and if a particular dealer is doing more warranty work than others on a comparable mix of vehicles, the home office is likely to want to know what's going on and whether the dealer is doing unjustified repairs. Dealers that are reluctant to do things like MMI upgrades may be skittish because they've just been called out, and others may know they have more latitude. Or their computer that does MMI upgrades may be down and the dealer may not want to admit it, etc.

Service writers are also tracked, and some may be reluctant to fill up the shop ticket unless absolutely necessary. Individual customers and vehicles are monitored on some level as well, with those who are known whiners or nit-pickers likely to be viewed with suspicion. When a service writer looks up a particular vehicle in the dealer's computer system, the first screen will invariably show the total spend on warranty and non-warranty repairs, as well as various other coded information about the customer. Owners coming in for their first service visit are likely to be treated with kid gloves in the hope that they return for self-paid repairs, etc. A dealer may "eat" the cost of a repair for a customer who overpaid for the vehicle when purchasing it, etc. (same reason dealers often throw in "free" floor mats).

There is a lot of discussion about calling AOA for assistance with dealers and car issues, but usually there's a middle-level person that can be involved as well, and that person is the regional service rep. (for lack of a specific title) who is the liaison for a bunch of dealers in a given geographic area. I've had issues in the past with other vehicles (replacing an engine on a Ford) where the regional service representative has been super helpful in getting things resolved or on giving the dealer service department the green light to proceed with a given repair. Again, for better or worse, a lot of things can get factored in, such as customer past loyalty for both sales and repair work, likelihood of future new vehicle purchases, whether the customer has taken good cosmetic and mechanical care of the vehicle, the customer's personality, the customer's personal circumstances, etc.

In the Ford case I experienced, I had a vehicle with a blown head gasket (and thus a ruined engine due to bent piston rods that resulted from coolant filling up the cylinders so that the pistons couldn't move) that was one model year removed from being covered under a TSB program that would have allowed me to have repairs covered. I pleaded my case with the regional service rep., sent pictures to show how well I'd maintained the car, etc., and in the end, Ford agreed to split the cost with me to drop in a new engine. To this day I still remember and appreciate the gesture and as a result have very positive feelings toward Ford.

snagitseven

I recently discovered my dealer had changed the way management compensates their service writers. They are now on commission if you can believe it. In order for them to earn the same as their previous salaries, they must sell additional services. They are now compensated the same way as salespeople. Not sure if this a a local decision or if Audi has a hand in this. A bit unnerving.

Fortunately, I've been doing business with them for many years and I have a good relationship with all of the writers and the service manager. Could be somewhat scary for new customers though.

s4str

I commend your faith in your fellow man. But when it comes down to a service writer making their quota and "bringing home the bacon," or taking care of me because they think I'm a wonderful guy, I'll go with bacon every time....especially if they think they can slip an unnecessary service past me. Call me jaded, but it's saved my butt doing business (not just car repairs) over and over again.