The dealer says the sludge buildup caused something to seize and the timing chain went. The engine is shot. does this make sense with a car with 47000 miles
2007-02-27 03:03:01 · 6 answers · asked by paul w 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Makes ➔ Audi
Good news,
Your car should still be under the 50,000 limited / 60,000 powertrain warranty. So it will be a free repair because timing belts are not scheduled to be changed until the 75,000 to 105,000 mile mark.
And yes, the timing belt has been known to break at such low mileage, because they CAN break due to any number of reasons. It doesn't always happen because the belt is old. The main cause for the V6 is due to the water pump seizing, the idler roller seizing, the belt being shredded over time by jumping one of the rollers, or the tensioner applying too much pressure as it ages. Not engine sludge. I suspect the mechanic isn't correct on the issue, because if the engine just seized, the belt would still be intact, it doesn't continue trying to turn after the engine dies. It is an outside force that causes them to break, and then the engine continues to run out of synch until it dies a few seconds later after it has smashed the piston heads against the valves. If he suspects oil sludge, just look at the oil then and see if it's clumpy. Look under the oil filler cap on top of the engine. And since you didn't say if any warning lights came on, then it can only be something else that caused the belt to break.
As for the sludge problem, it was a BIG issue only for the 1.8T VW / Audi engines. There were a lot of warranty repairs and they ended up extending the warranty. People who had all their oil change receipts or owners manuals stamped by the dealer, got reimbursement for new engines.
People blame it on 2 reasons.
1. Incompetent dealers using everything but the proper mandated 502.00 - 505.00 spec VW/Porsche 5w40 oil. Look in your owners manual. Audi / VW clearly states to use only 5 or 10w30 if 5w40 is not available. And 10w30 is not recommended for long term use. But hey, what does the owner care? It's free oil, and they don't plan on keeping the car long, so use whatever oil the dealer wants to put in it.
2. Incompetent owners going 10-15,000 miles between oil changes on dino oil(blame dealer or VW for not enforcing using proper synthetic oil again). This would be rare for Audis to go over this mileage since they have a service indicator that comes on a little before 8-10,000 miles. VW on the other hand does not have this dash indicator. Audi also had free maintenance every 5k miles up to the 50k limit, but maybe some didn't know about it.
Since then though to cut down on costs, they extended the maint. intervals to 10k miles. Meaning you only get 5 dealer visits for oil changes instead of the previous 10(which is bad because of inferior oil that they expect to last that long). Bad brake pads / rotors and other stuff you can bring in to be replaced anytime.
The oil you should be using in this car is 5w40. Mobil 1 0w40 meets the 505.00 specs as well. You can also go to the link below and order the pure European brand 5w40 oil. They stock Pentosynth and it costs the same as the Mobil at $6 a quart and comes with the German oil filter as a $65 package I believe. I switched to Pento since I heard Mobil changed their formula.
Links below are for ECS tuning to buy oil / parts, A6 forum, link to the sludge letter VW mailed for Audi A4 and VWs. Like I said, no issues have really been raised for the V6 and sludge.
2007-02-27 14:29:58 · answer #1 · answered by abfleet 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
No way! The timing belt on those cars do break but not due to sludge. If the sludge was that bad you would have a low oil pressure warning long before it would seize a motor. What they are saying does not make any sense. However when the belt goes it can do some serious damage and it can cost more to fix than a new motor. If it where me I would find an independent Audi shop and take the car there as your dealer sounds like they are out for more money. Also I would ask for the number to the factory rep and call them. This kind of stuff is just not right and it almost sounds like they are trying to get out of a warranty problem. If you have followed all the scheduled maintenance they need to pay for it.
2007-02-27 11:36:50 · answer #2 · answered by uthockey32 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No it does not make sense providing you used a high quality oil.You should have been using a fully synthetic 10/30 grade oil.I own an Audi that has done 135,000 miles with no mechanical problems.Also they have timing belts not chains.
2007-02-27 11:15:54 · answer #3 · answered by mick 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it makes sense if you dont change the oil, or if you use a really really cheap oil, like Penzoil. i've scooped Penzoil out of a engine before.
2007-02-27 11:46:04 · answer #4 · answered by JimL 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
did you change the oil every 3 to 5 thou miles... if u did it doesnt make sense
2007-02-27 11:08:02 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
I never had that problem. If it's under warranty, then that's why we have warranties. Was it their oil, or their tools, it's their problem, not yours.
2007-03-02 12:40:31 · answer #6 · answered by w w 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋