Anyone experience or otherwise hear of this issue? Took the car in for its final Audicare service, and they found a differential leak on inspection. Cost to fix: $3500 for a new rear axle. Getting close to selling this thing.
Wasn’t there a TSB for this? If I remember correctly they would just replace the seal, why did they replace the whole thing?
Ya there is a TSB for it. A few google searches show that it affects my model year (2011) in particular. If I remember correctly from the tech, there’s no way to really fix the leak other than replacing the axle. They gave me a printout of the problem, which I’ll try to post here later.
Maybe they changed it. I know I had the leak repair on my 2010 when I still had it but the leak had come back. Guess they couldn’t find a better way to seal it.
Sucks
The rear inner CV joints leak. For a while they were just throwing new boot kits on but it appears that Audi has changed the whole axle. I would have to assume that it is because they changed the axle to fix the leak.
There was a TSB for leaking axle shafts. I had the problem on my 2011.
Dealer replaced axles under warranty and it fixed the problem.
When the problem was first noticed (fluid around differential) people though it was the differential having the problem and some of them were replaced. Turned out to be the axles seals.
^^ Thnx - welcome to AR.
I guess the question is whether this is in need of immediate repair, or whether I can sit on this for a bit while I make up my mind. I am considering trading the car in for something different (and more reliable).
Thank you. I joined a while back and just realized that was my first post.
From everything I’ve read the leaky seal will lead to eventual axle failure. How soon is anyone’s guess. Could be 10k miles. Could be 100k miles later.
If it were me and I was paying out of pocket I would look in replacing the axle boots to seal them back up.
Or just wait until they actually failed (excessive noise, actual break perhaps, etc).
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Damn, sorry to see that, do you have the sports differential?
When i decided to sell it was because needed synchros and a clutch. It had 80k on it and the suspension could’ve used a refresh. i figured the value was going to drop like a rock soon and the ~5k the car needed was too high of a percentage of the cars value to justify. 3500, depending on you miles and I’d really think about a replacement car.
I do. In addition to a whopping 21,000 miles :
Damn, sorry to hear that Cloch.
Guessing you’re just out of warranty? I’d definitely try to fight this one out with Audi since it’s a known issue and your car is so low on miles.
Ya definite bummer. The reason my car is still at the dealer is because they were trying to work with Audi to cover some or all the cost. No dice. Audi wouldn’t offer a dime. Mind you, all this is coming on top of the fiasco last year when they made me buy a new ecu (b/c I am tuned) to address the faulty starter. We’re talking thousands of dollars here in about 15 months. It has really soured me toward everything - I just want out. No fun anymore.
And ya, I’ve been out of warranty since last summer.
At this point you would be spending tons of money on something that hasnt fully broken yet. You might be able to get several years more out of it. After all its suposidly bad now. I would just ask them to fill the fluid back up to the needed level and monitor it best you can.
I have a big beef with paying for something that audi already knows is bad or broken and wont replace it. This has a TSB and they still wont pay. That sucks. I say drive it until it really brakes your going to be spending the same amount of money any way. Might as well try to get more life out of it. I still can emagine that the best fix for a leak is a new unit. That sounds like they are lazy to me.
Damn, a pretty brutal stretch. The sports differential is really expensive to replace if it breaks. On the order of 10-11k installed I believe (http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/524083-Sport-Differential-Issue-Not-covered-under-warranty). So I would be hesitant to trust driving it hard for the foreseeable future if it is leaking. There is no reason to own a car like this if you are afraid to push it IMO.
While my issue is much more related to my modifications and abusive driving than yours, I was surprised how quickly and decisively they told me to take a hike. Not even wanting to work with me at all. Dealership and AoA.
I don’t think a $4000 repair is justification for replacing a perfectly good car that otherwise has no problems. That would be the sales tax on a new car. I had to make this decision when I realized the stock clutch was hopelessly inadequate for tuned power (sell the car or invest in keeping it).
Sunk cost theory is a bitch.
No doubt AoA’s shitty attitude towards modified cars has been a big turn off recently. I thought I’d be in an Audi for a long time, but I will no doubt consider other options when it comes time to purchase my next vehicle(s). There is definitely not another manufacturer that is so rigid when it comes to modifications. I completely understand where they are coming from, and while some of it is justified, I think they should be more open to covering unrelated issues or things they know are known issues. It is alienating their core customer base of enthusiasts. While maybe small, it’s a very important part of their clientele.
If they are going to be so strict, they should go the route of other manufactures like Ford, BMW, Toyota and Nissan, and offer their own performance parts and upgrades. The whole thing is a big miss on Audi’s part.
I think it’s pretty clear that Audi is more interested in selling allocations in China where for 2x the price. But recent vehicle sales in China are tanking, and Europe is still having problems recovering…so we’ll see if the attitude changes. Doubtful.
All they are doing to enthusiasts is encouraging sensor spoofing and lying about modifications.