2017 Audi A3 etron sportback charging CABLE issue.

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Hunchopeki

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Jun 1, 2021
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Hello everyone, hope all is well and everyone is staying safe. I purchased my Audi a3 sportback around a month ago, and upon final delivery while he was showing me all the features of the vehicle, I found the right speaker to be slighty pushed out and out of position. I noted that to them when I saw it and my sales rep told me he would make an appointment today to get that fixed and for me to bring in the car later in the week. Another issue we also saw later that day when I went to give the car its first charge, I noticed a bit of corrusion at the tip of the outlet and it was overall in pretty rough shape (where you plug it in the wall). However it didnt bother me at the time so I went along and charged the car (didnt look to bad/anything hazardous to plug in). After charging it for around 2-3 weeks, I started to notice that when I would take out the wall outlet, there would be a slightly odd smell, resempling a hot glue gun being burned. As charging the car progressed, so did the smell at the tip of the outlet and the corrusion that had been already started. Fast forward to now, I have contacted and talked to the local Audi dealership where I purchased the vehicle.

They responded to my email as follows:

Upon speaking with Justin we did talk about how this is something not covered under factory warranty due to the fact there can be outside influence that effects its reliability/longevity, similar to tires not being covered under warranty in the case of a road hazard etc.
 I did call our electrician and he has informed me that it is most definitely not the charger that is the problem but where it is plugged in. Although there is not much I can do in terms of compensation I can suggest that you should perhaps have an electrician look at the receptacle to make sure connections are good and the outlet can handle the output that the charger requires. I have attached a video below that breaks it down better than I can. This is something you should get looked at right away. I hope this is helpful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL1TM4X ... lectricMan

However, both the OUTLETS that are stationary on the wall I use to charge the car have NO damage done to them. Only the actual plug is damaged (on the Audi charger). Furthermore I stated to the sales rep that I use two outlets in two different locations, and both have the same problem! To further my troubles, I purchased the absolute best warrenty package for the car, and it is was over $3k. They quoted me $400 to now fix the charger. Getting to the speaker problem I had initially found and how it ties in, when I expressed my anger about how my first problem with the car and I already had to pay for it despite having the best warranty, they refuted me and told me that they fixed the speaker free of charge. This is ridicoulous! The speaker should have not been broken upon arrival in the first place! He was not doing me any favours. I am now extremely troubled, as their is not a chance in the bright blue sky I am going to pay for this charger, but that is exactly what they are saying for me to do. Any advice, or what my best case scenario is/what to mention in my reply? It would mean the world.

For people getting this far, thanks for the read, and ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED! Have a great day.
 
I hate to say it, but I can see where the Audi dealer is coming from in this case. A bad wall outlet (probably at the previous owner's house, since it sounds like your outlets are fine) can cause excess resistance in the circuit, which will dissipate as heat into the cable, causing damage. Sometimes you see melted wall outlets, other times it's the charging cable that takes the brunt of the damage.
Audi isn't going to honor a warranty on something they can't control, and they can't control the outlets in the owner's garage.

As for how to fix it, I'm assuming you're using the stock Audi cable:

A3-plugs-848x600.jpg


The plug end is removable and interchangeable to support different outlet styles. Sounds like you just need a new one of those rather than replacing the whole assembly for $400.

For example, the 120 V US-style plug has an Audi part number of 7PP.971.678.D. Looks like they're about $130 (which is ridiculous for what is essentially a short extension cord, but then again it's Porsche/Audi/VW pricing).

7pp-971-678-d_.jpg


Or you could get a new Duosida unit with the 120 V adapter for $180: https://duosidaevchargers.com/

Screen_Shot_2019-11-18_at_10.31.34_PM_720x.png
 
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