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Hi all,
Got a new A7, 2019, a few months ago. My Pre Sense started acting up, and it appeared there is some issue and as per Audi “acc is out of adjustment, and needs adjustment”. The worksheet from them states a bill of $600. I have not picked up my car yet, but will do so tomorrow. Do I need to pay the bill ? Doesn’t Audi take care of these issues, esp when the car is brand new ? I have not talked to my dealership yet, but will definitely confront them if I have to pay tomorrow. Any experience ? Any ideas ? Much appreciated
Sameer K
Warranty coverages vary from region to region, but in the US/Canada the warranty covers any defects for 4 years or 50k miles. Thus this should be covered unless the problem was caused by something you did like hit something that threw the sensors out of alignment
Let us know what happens. I’m betting it will be covered
Thanks ...
unfortunately not covered.. not disappointed cos it’s only $600, but more upset cos of their attitude. A walking, talking 85 k car doesn’t upset their equilibrium on a flat road. So elevated it to Audi USA, once again to keep my principles intact, and they will investigate . In any case the car should be fixed tomorrow. The dealer blamed it on “external forces”, but I made my point clear that for 84 k they ought to take more responsibility given the fact I gave Audi almost 220 k of my cash in the last 2-3 years, A7, Q7 and prior to the A7 an A4 that I terribly loved n miss too...
Thanks again
Originally Posted by chicagoA6
Warranty coverages vary from region to region, but in the US/Canada the warranty covers any defects for 4 years or 50k miles. Thus this should be covered unless the problem was caused by something you did like hit something that threw the sensors out of alignment
Let us know what happens. I’m betting it will be covered
Thanks ...
unfortunately not covered.. not disappointed cos it’s only $600, but more upset cos of their attitude. A walking, talking 85 k car doesn’t upset their equilibrium on a flat road. So elevated it to Audi USA, once again to keep my principles intact, and they will investigate . In any case the car should be fixed tomorrow. The dealer blamed it on “external forces”, but I made my point clear that for 84 k they ought to take more responsibility given the fact I gave Audi almost 220 k of my cash in the last 2-3 years, A7, Q7 and prior to the A7 an A4 that I terribly loved n miss too...
Thanks again
The dealer needs to tell you which specific sensor was affected by external forces, and what type of force would be needed to cause that. Typically, it would need a broken windscreen or a collision - one sufficiently forceful to have caused body damage. Other external forces may include modifying the car, typically with suspension / wheels / tyres being outside OEM specs.
The full system on the C8 models is very complex, and powerful. The zFAS centralised processing system is continuously plotting a (very large) virtual environment within which the car is operating, and it uses all of the 24 sensors to do this. The downside is the system gets upset if even one sensor indicates a problem. Or, to put it another way, if there is a problem with one sensor.
Audi, nor their dealers, should never be able to get away with the suggestion that normal driving conditions can somehow affect sensor alignment. This is not a wear and tear item, such as braking systems, or wheel alignment. The sensor housing should be sufficiently robust to keep the sensors aligned - if they aren't then Audi needs to specifically exclude sensor alignment issues within their warranty documentation, and they need to add sensor alignment to their service schedules. So then people know up front just what they are getting into.
The other issue is that I have read that the equipment needed to achieve sensor alignment is expensive, and a mandatory purchase for dealerships. I can imagine some dealerships out there might be keen to extract a return from that cost.
Absolutely agree with your decision to escalate this with the distributor - I'd be asking the same question. Which sensor, and why. Good luck.
Thank you for the detailed response. Very informative, and extremely intelligent. I’ll surely drag them as much as I can, but once again it’s not just about the costs, but rather a matter of principles. I did escalate it, and am not too hopeful but then once again need to make an example out of them. You cannot be brushed aside, especially when you’ve spend 85 k of your hard earned cash on a vehicle... thanks yet again..
Originally Posted by Glisse
The dealer needs to tell you which specific sensor was affected by external forces, and what type of force would be needed to cause that. Typically, it would need a broken windscreen or a collision - one sufficiently forceful to have caused body damage. Other external forces may include modifying the car, typically with suspension / wheels / tyres being outside OEM specs.
The full system on the C8 models is very complex, and powerful. The zFAS centralised processing system is continuously plotting a (very large) virtual environment within which the car is operating, and it uses all of the 24 sensors to do this. The downside is the system gets upset if even one sensor indicates a problem. Or, to put it another way, if there is a problem with one sensor.
Audi, nor their dealers, should never be able to get away with the suggestion that normal driving conditions can somehow affect sensor alignment. This is not a wear and tear item, such as braking systems, or wheel alignment. The sensor housing should be sufficiently robust to keep the sensors aligned - if they aren't then Audi needs to specifically exclude sensor alignment issues within their warranty documentation, and they need to add sensor alignment to their service schedules. So then people know up front just what they are getting into.
The other issue is that I have read that the equipment needed to achieve sensor alignment is expensive, and a mandatory purchase for dealerships. I can imagine some dealerships out there might be keen to extract a return from that cost.
Absolutely agree with your decision to escalate this with the distributor - I'd be asking the same question. Which sensor, and why. Good luck.
No freakin idea 🤔... paid 599, got the car back, informed Audi USA, and they will “investigate”, whatever that means.. having said that looking forward to the customer satisfaction feedback so I can really grill them.. would get the word out regarding the less than satisfactory performance of not only the dealership , but also Audi USA...
Originally Posted by chicagoA6
Just out of curiosity what would be the external forces?
07-24-2019, 09:33 AM
Regarding coverage, warranty
