A3 Timing belt failure

Bluey95 · 23-10-2008, 01:43 PM

Hoping someone can point me in the right direction here....

I have an A3 2.0 FSI (Oct 2003) with 84K miles on the clock. FASH except the last service 11 months ago which was done by an independent garage (really good place, trusted and do a great job (far better than Audi dealership has ever done in fact.)

Driving up the M6 last week and cam belt broke. My service manual states that cam belt change on this engine is scheduled for 115K miles.

To cut a long story short, I had the car taken to my trusted independent garage for assessment & repair rather than leaving with Audi to charge me £95 an hour labour. Diagnosis reveals that belt broken, valves bent, valve rails damaged and cynlinder head also damaged! Result, estimated repair bill of £2K! God knows what it would have been through the Audi dealership (they quoted over £2.5K without even seeing the car).

Now my question is do you think I can get any recourse from Audi for a contribution to the bill given the cam belt was 30K miles short of it's recommended change interval? If so what's the process? Anyone else had this issue?

Hope someone gets chance to reply.

Many thanks

Domus · 24-10-2008, 07:57 PM

I thought Audi had "revised" the expected life of cambelts.

Now down to 75k miles, or did I dream it?

shark_90 · 24-10-2008, 08:01 PM

Either way I think it should be done at 5 years old. I guess it could be argued that you might just be inside this. What does it say in the service book?

Tame Technician · 25-10-2008, 06:35 PM

Yes they recently revised all belts down to 75,000 miles or 5 years.

I have never know anyone successfully get any money out of audi when belts break outside of the 3 year 60k waranty. They do break on the cars where they say 100k+ miles. Old TT's I think the book says 120k, they are the most common failures. We do TT belts at 60k.

Although the memo did stipulate from 2004 on, so exactly the same car with exactly the same engine, thats 2003 rather than 2004 still technically has nearly double the service interval for its cam belt. Amusingly the memo states, this change is to avoid confusion for customers.

So sir dont be confused but your 53plate TT doesnt actually need its belt changed yet, oh hang on i'm sorry its got an 2004 chassis number, is well over due should have been done at 75k.

Sorry thats not much help, But thats what they give us at dealer level, what chance has a customer got.

Bluey95 · 26-10-2008, 04:05 PM

Thanks for all your replies.

The service manual states change recommended at 115K miles and the diagnosis from the garage was that rather than the belt going, it was the tensioner. Obviously the two go hand in hand hence why the garage was saying they always change the tensioner as well as the timing belt....

Sounds like I'd be whizzing up the proverbial flagpole by trying to get Audi to agree to any contribution......

So, one of those lessons i.e. never trust what it says in the service manual and get the garage on the hook at every service to check the timing belt from now on!

Thanks for your help.

23-10-2008, 01:43 PM	#1 (permalink)
Bluey95 Shank's Pony Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 3	A3 Timing belt failure Hoping someone can point me in the right direction here.... I have an A3 2.0 FSI (Oct 2003) with 84K miles on the clock. FASH except the last service 11 months ago which was done by an independent garage (really good place, trusted and do a great job (far better than Audi dealership has ever done in fact.) Driving up the M6 last week and cam belt broke. My service manual states that cam belt change on this engine is scheduled for 115K miles. To cut a long story short, I had the car taken to my trusted independent garage for assessment & repair rather than leaving with Audi to charge me £95 an hour labour. Diagnosis reveals that belt broken, valves bent, valve rails damaged and cynlinder head also damaged! Result, estimated repair bill of £2K! God knows what it would have been through the Audi dealership (they quoted over £2.5K without even seeing the car). Now my question is do you think I can get any recourse from Audi for a contribution to the bill given the cam belt was 30K miles short of it's recommended change interval? If so what's the process? Anyone else had this issue? Hope someone gets chance to reply. Many thanks

24-10-2008, 07:57 PM	#2 (permalink)
Domus Saab 9-3 Aero Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Manchester, a town near Bolton UK Posts: 754	I thought Audi had "revised" the expected life of cambelts. Now down to 75k miles, or did I dream it? __________________ Peter 01 S3- Gone, but not forgotten 04 S-Line Avant 05 MX-5 3rd Generation

24-10-2008, 08:01 PM	#3 (permalink)
shark_90 Selachimorpha Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 11,478	Either way I think it should be done at 5 years old. I guess it could be argued that you might just be inside this. What does it say in the service book? __________________ European vehicle Remapping and Diagnostics from Shark Performance Tuning - Immobiliser deactivation - PIN/SKC retrieval - Key coding - DIS/Cruise retrofits - Colour DIS/Maxidot/MFA+ dashboard swaps www.sharkperformance.co.uk Take control of your tuning with the new Self Tuning System from Shark Performance

25-10-2008, 06:35 PM	#4 (permalink)
Tame Technician Shank's Pony Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: East Anglia Posts: 20	Yes they recently revised all belts down to 75,000 miles or 5 years. I have never know anyone successfully get any money out of audi when belts break outside of the 3 year 60k waranty. They do break on the cars where they say 100k+ miles. Old TT's I think the book says 120k, they are the most common failures. We do TT belts at 60k. Although the memo did stipulate from 2004 on, so exactly the same car with exactly the same engine, thats 2003 rather than 2004 still technically has nearly double the service interval for its cam belt. Amusingly the memo states, this change is to avoid confusion for customers. So sir dont be confused but your 53plate TT doesnt actually need its belt changed yet, oh hang on i'm sorry its got an 2004 chassis number, is well over due should have been done at 75k. Sorry thats not much help, But thats what they give us at dealer level, what chance has a customer got.

26-10-2008, 04:05 PM	#5 (permalink)
Bluey95 Shank's Pony Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 3	Thanks for all your replies. The service manual states change recommended at 115K miles and the diagnosis from the garage was that rather than the belt going, it was the tensioner. Obviously the two go hand in hand hence why the garage was saying they always change the tensioner as well as the timing belt.... Sounds like I'd be whizzing up the proverbial flagpole by trying to get Audi to agree to any contribution...... So, one of those lessons i.e. never trust what it says in the service manual and get the garage on the hook at every service to check the timing belt from now on! Thanks for your help.