avoiceoreason

I own a 2011 A5 and the service due message read 20 days or 3,000 miles to next service. I won't drive another 3k miles for 6 months, but the 20 days is now up.

Up to now all services have been performed under Audicare, so I haven't really cared, but since I drive only ~7k miles per year, I am starting to front-run a lot of the services.

I think the service due monitor must be set for annual checks.

So the question is do I really need to do the 55k service even though I'm at 47k miles just because its been a year since the last service? At this rate I'll be doing the 65k service at 54k miles and the 75k service at 61k miles!

I do have an extended warranty under a CPO deal, so maybe the answer is yes, lest I void the warranty. But $500 for a service that doesn't need to be done for another year if based on mileage is making me wonder.

bagwell

doesn't matter if it's the time or mileage, whichever comes first -- even if you drive a measly 50 miles a year you still should change the oil every 365 days minimum.

superswiss

The scheduled maintenance as laid out in the service manual is as follows:

1st service: 5000 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first.
All remaining services: every 10000 miles or 12 months, whichever comes first.

AudiCare covers these services whether you do them time based or mileage based. Don't try to outsmart the service reminder. If it says you are due for a service, then you are due for a service.

avoiceoreason

Yeah, I hear what you're saying. But even when I owned a BWM 650 I didn't have to service it annually other than an oil change. (of course it was in the shop every four months because it was a piece of crap ... but that's another story)

Take a Honda - go in for service every 15k miles or so with an oil change when prompted. Audi wants me to go in every 7k? Just because a computer clock is set to ding every year?

I know, I know, don't compare a Honda to an Audi - German, performance, luxury, whatever differentiating superlative you want to interject. But still, outside of an oil change, a $300 - $700 service every year seems like overkill for a car driven relatively lightly.

I'll do it so I don't screw up my warranty, but I just hate paying for unnecessary services that are almost certainly pushed to the earliest end of necessary to help pad the service department's pockets. (grumble, grumble)

lyleswk

2 comments, one probably inflammatory:

1) Difference between driving a modern Motorcar and driving an appliance.
2) If you do maintain at those intervals, you will end up having a car like my previous Audi A4 with 223K and my current Mercedes with 267K.

avoiceoreason

Just like my appliance that has been maintained at intervals 2-3x as long!

I would get similar responses when lamenting the awful reliability of my BMW, all of which essentially boiled down to, "you bought an expensive car (i.e. modern motorcar), you shouldn't expect it to work!" Always seemed a bit counterintuitive. Or "if you can't afford the service, don't buy the car!" Which is really just beside the point as affording it isn't the issue.

In any case, I didn't read your response as inflammatory. I always appreciate others' perspectives.

But you have to admit that some service items by definition should be maintained/replaced based on use not just the passage of time as that is the definition of wear and tear. I wouldn't replace my brakes at 10k miles just because two years have passed. So doing the 75k major service at 60k miles or so in a couple of years seems front running necessity a bit.

superswiss

I agree. Replacing certain mechanical parts based on time, rather than mileage is questionable. Fluids however degrade over time whether you drive the car or not. You are always free to just take in the car for an annual fluid change (engine, transmission etc.) and do the bigger services based on mileage now that they are coming out of your pocket. I do that with my wife's car. She only drives about 3k miles a year. I most often just do a little service annually that's mostly just replacing oil and filter and do a checkup.

avoiceoreason

New Audi dealer just opened up conveniently close to me. Just spoke to the very pleasant service person there who got a tech on the line to walk through my situation.

He recommended just bringing it in for an oil change for now and come back when I actually reach 55k which will probably be right at the year mark when service will be due again anyway.

Seems like a reasonable/sensible approach to me.

avoiceoreason

Thanks. This is just what the tech recommended I do. Being it's a new dealership, I was happy to hear that as an approach as it shows they're being honest and not just trying to drive service revenue.

lyleswk

A little more productive comment this time

On my Benz, the service included (by memory, but you get the idea) wipers, cabin filter, oil obviously, brake system flush (every 3 years), coolant flush (every 3 years), etc. At my Benz dealer, you could opt out of any of it and reduce the cost considerably. I did some of that myself and saved dollars. I did all the work on my Audi myself. Sounds like your dealer may be amenable to that and I will be asking the same of mine.