Reliability issues ?

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m3gha

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2017
Messages
6
After almost 6 months and 8500 miles, I've already had to replace 2 modules in the car under warranty. The first one was called 5F module that had to be replaced because the MMI screen was acting weird and sometimes wouldn't even retract. Another time, it stopped charging at a public level 2 station after filling up to around half the battery. I thought the charger was faulty (the station went offline) and connected the car to the one next to it. The moment I connected, that station too shutdown on its own :oops:. The check engine light (called something else in Audi parlance) came on with an error that read "AC charging system fault please contact service" and I rushed to the nearest Audi service. It took them almost a week to figure what went wrong. After consulting with specialists in Germany, they replaced the j1050 charger module which fixed the issue. Luckily, both issues happened under warranty. The service advisor said he also had another e-tron come in with a faulty air conditioning compressor.

Mine is a 2016 premium ultra (US spec) with nav. I hope they've fixed these nagging issues on the 2017. I'm from a state that has adopted CARB (California Air Resources Board) standards so I'm banking on the 15 yr/150k warranty on emission components and 10yr/150k warranty on the battery after the Audi warranty runs out.

If anyone else had similar/other issues with the car please share...
 
I got my car at end of January 2016 and had multiple issues:

Hood latch defective - The car was actually delivered to me with this problem. 7 days in service while they contacted Germany for a fix.

Check engine light - 14 days in shop, something about a battery fault which may or may not have been fixed by a software update. Was never clear about this.

Numerous problems getting the e-tron app to work - Problems assigning me login access at first, then later intermittent reception issues which let me to bring the car back several times. They finally swapped a communications module which fixed the problem. A few months ago I found couldn't log in from my phone anymore, probably related to an app update. I've given up on this.

Within the first 5 months, my car spent a total of 27 days in the service dept. Since then no problems, hopefully it's all sorted out now. I did manage to get Audi to compensate me something for all the inconvenience. I asked for a warranty extension but I could only get the equivalent of a couple lease payments.

On top of all this, the Audi sales dept submitted my registration incorrectly, which caused a lot of headaches getting my DMV HOV sticker.

Despite all these issues, I really do love the car -- but my major fear is what will happen down the line. I prepaid a 3 year lease so at least I have the option of giving it up if I start experiencing more problems.
 
I've had mine almost a full year now (Feb 28th) and driven it over 28,000 km (17,500 miles) and haven't had any serious issues so far.
Only the radio (B&O) system has given me a couple of issues. There would either be no sound or the B&O specific settings would not be available or the setting revert back to default. After restarting the car, the issues with not having sound was gone. This has happened less than 5 times over the year.
The car has been great and my only regret is that I have to reduce the number of times I drive it, since I'm leasing it for 4 yrs / 80,000 km (I really don't want to pay the extra per km charge).
I'm averaging about 3l/100 km over the past year.
 
My 2017 is currently in the shop due to the check engine light coming on. It needs parts related to the charging system which are coming from Germany. It has been there for 10 days and they say one part won't be in for another 5 days. Car has 650 miles on it.
 
I've had mine since June 2016 (~8k miles) and the only issue I have has is the Ipod connection does not always work. Every once in a while, I click over to listed to my music and the AMI just looks like it's in a loop and never recognizes the ipod attached. If you look at the Ipod, it shows it is connected to Audi system. I need to unplug and re-plug it in and all is fine. I have stated this to the dealership but am not pushing it as it's more of an annoyance than a real problem.
 
We picked up our 2016 last September, so a full 6 months at this point, with just under 5000 miles. Totally flawless so far, other than a couple of interior rattles or buzzes on rough roads.
 
3 months, about 4000 KM's, just got a check engine light this morning. Ugh. Car seems to be working fine, taking it in tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed it's something simple....

Ian
 
Goodish news, faulty AC switch sensor, or something. Booked a follow up to fix, free coffee and car clean. Could be worse! :)

Ian
 
I've had my car 1 week and check engine light has come on twice and turned off on its own. Heated steering wheel keeps coming up with a malfunction message. To the dealer I go next week....
 
I have owned a 2017 for about 12 days now, 1600 miles. At 1150 miles yellow warning engine light came on. Drove to dealer. Checked codes, no faults, reset with clean car.
Today, Pre-Sense light came on and then off, no apparent reason. Later same day, mmi display went off. Later came back on when restart.
Driver window will not auto up or down when pressed fully, though passenger window does work.
I do enjoy the car and will keep if becomes reliable. Rather concerned at this point.
This is my 4th A3, other three were TDI's. Hate the clean diesel was not clean.
 
Mine has been in shop now for almost 3 weeks waiting for a part that is not available. Related to charging system. Symptom was check engine light. Area Audi (corporate) parts manager now involved to try to get needed part. I'm patient but getting antsy....Car has 657 miles on it.
 
Just wanted to report I'm having the same issue. My check engine light came on @1800 miles, and there is an issue with the charging system. The part needs to come in from Germany, so I will be without a car for 10+ business days. Beyond frustrated - I've owned the car for less than 3 months.
 
2017, 6 months and 6000 miles and no problems. Seems like the problems happens pretty quick or not at all.

Friend of mine had a charging module go out right away. That was an easy fix. Then a transmission problem that was computer related. All that happened within a month or 2
 
2017 Premium. Bad tires (flat spots) Pirelli Cinturato P7. Car spent 14 days in service because the road force machine at dealership was not working. e-tron app on iPhone not working properly, it does not update on real time or when plugged or better yet..never, I have called several times Audi Customer Care without a resolution.
 
2016 Premium Plus, 19K miles. Early on the MMI would spontaneously reboot itself. This hasn't happened again since the 5K service. Maybe they flashed an update.

By the 15K service a couple of the LEDs in the left rear inner brake light assembly had stopped working. Easy replacement once the part came from Germany.

Take care of your LED light assemblies. They are horribly expensive. My wife couldn't stop from about 20 MPH and hit a deer in the first week we had the car. (Well, the deer ran out in front of the car). The deer took out the hood, grill and one headlight. The car took a chunk out of the deer's shoulder and it bounded off.

The LED headlight was US$3,500 and has to be replaced as a unit. All that was wrong was the lens was cracked. Total repair cost was US$4,500 parts, paint, and labor. (And I had just signed up for my typical $1,000 deductible policy).

Remember back in 1973 when the US mandated 5-MPH bumpers because replacing those beautiful chrome steel bumpers was too expensive? Ha! Ha!
 
Howdy! I'm concerned to see others with similar issues. My 2018 e-tron is my 8th Audi and its been a disaster. Since I got it 8 months ago, its been in the shop 6 times for a total of 12 weeks. So far the main ECU had to be replaced as the car basically lost all power while on the highway. The heating system was replaced, several sensors, and now the battery management system is dead. The dealership (Audi Brampton in Canada) has been super accommodating but Audi Canada basically told me "it is what it is and we'll continue fixing it". I have a pre-order for the etron SUV but I'll cancel it!
 
My 2016 has over 61,000 km and (knock on wood) I've not had any issues so far. The only time my e-tron spent time in the shop was when the shifter knob had to be replaced. My car had the s-line shifter and the dealership said that they had to install the e-tron knob.
I've only had to do the regular maintenance otherwise.
 
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