RS4 Clutch Exploded

[befunky]

Hi all,

Had my first service on my RS4 Cabriolet last Monday. Service was quite expensive by reading most of the other comments by yourselves. Mine was £480.....Not good.

This was not the worst thing though, on my journey home driving down a dual carriage way (taking it easy) tried changing from 3rd to 4th and my clutch pedal got stuck half way and then would not go into gear. Stopped the car and smoke appeared from the bonnet!. Car has been with Audi for a week whereby they believed it was a hydrolics issue and now they are saying the "clutch exploded"!!. They are now saying its wear and tear... So I have to pay!!

So questions (considering they are quoting me between £1000-1800 for new clutch)
Has anyone had this before?
Can anyone suggest why a clutch would go after 14,000 miles (when mostly sitting on the m11 into London everyday) and drive quite sensibly most of the time and never been on trackday (yet!)?
Does anyone know what the expected mileage out of a RS4 clutch is?


Could do with some help !

[Daz]

How can they claim that the clutch exploded and then say it's wear and tear - wear and tear would result in a slipping clutch - not an exploding one. Sounds more like mechanical failure.

Can you post a cost break down of your service? It seems very high. Which dealer was it?

[befunky]

So you have the same opinion as me ! Fighting it like mad! Has not been slipping at all.......

I have not got it on me its in the car as I was on the way back from the service..... lol

Southend Audi.........

I am quite pied off as you can imagine as I only had the RS4 Cab for 6 months and just paid out for a new S3 as well. Just told Audi they can have both cars back sitting on their dealership within 24hrs if they want.......

[Daz]

I've had my cab nearly a year now and have done about 13,000 miles and not had any problems with the clutch. I'd certainly fight it. A clutch should last considerably longer than that.

[befunky]

Thanks for your comments much appreciated

[Love_iTT]

...Can anyone suggest why a clutch would go after 14,000 miles (when mostly sitting on the m11 into London everyday) and drive quite sensibly most of the time and never been on trackday (yet!)?
Does anyone know what the expected mileage out of a RS4 clutch is?

I would hope more than 14000 miles!!

Utter rediculous that the Dealer should say that this is due to wear and tear. I tend to think that sometimes it's an almost knee jerk reaction from them when a consumable part of the car goes that it is associated with wear and tear. Sure, you have used 14000 miles of clutch but that doesn't mean that it is time to renew it. Give Audi CS a ring and don't accept any crap from them, a high value vehicle like yours should give you better service than this even if it is a consumable part.

You also say that your car had been with the dealer for a week with a hydraulics issue, was this to do with the clutch? If it was then this is even more rediculous, while the car was in their hands and there was a problem with the clutch ie worn out, then they could have easily found out if the clutch was slipping then.

Graham

[befunky]

Thanks again for your comments. I have written to Audi CS twice now with no responses (although supposed to be coming back within 24hrs so the website says!). I wanted to write to them as I have a couple of complaints (including the large scratch down the passenger side skirts that appeared after my service!) I wil give it till tomorrow before I phone again at least I can give them a rollocking for not responding also!. I have just never heard of an exploding clutch before, surely if I had a clutch problem it would have been slipping before it went?

I must admit I am pritty pied off with the service I am getting considering I have spent £92,000 with them in the last 6 months........

[Love_iTT]

...I must admit I am pritty pied off with the service I am getting considering I have spent £92,000 with them in the last 6 months........

And so you should be.

Unfortuantly, you are dealing with two people at the moment and that is your dealer (who sounds inept if they are not only helping you with the clutch but also appears to have put a scratch on your car and is now denying it) and also Audi CS. You need to get Audi CS on your side with this one I think rather than the dealer - from what you have said I don't think they are going to be much use to now or in the future.

If you do not get a positive response from Audi then I would then go to the next step of Trading Standards and even Watchdog.

If you want my opinion, I think it will end with Audi paying for this but they will say it is a 'Good Will' gesture, this way they can look as if it is not a problem with their product but are helping out a loyal customer.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Graham

[simple1]

Suggest you do a few things, get the dealer to download the fault log on the car, it will show speed, revs, temps etc and can prove that it was not your driving causing the problem. The next thing I would do is shout loudly here and other forums and once up on site, call Audi UK customer services, tell them what and how it happened and inform them the press, et and other forms of publication will be informed. Last of all, they need to strip the car to establish what is actually broke, if they have alreday done this, get a third party engineer to inspect all the parts, if there is any sign of heat/wear, they will be able to establish if this has been through bad driving. Lastly, scream 'not fit for the purpose' at the dealer principal.........

[Love_iTT]

Suggest you do a few things, get the dealer to download the fault log on the car, it will show speed, revs, temps etc and can prove that it was not your driving causing the problem. The next thing I would do is shout loudly here and other forums and once up on site, call Audi UK customer services, tell them what and how it happened and inform them the press, et and other forms of publication will be informed. Last of all, they need to strip the car to establish what is actually broke, if they have alreday done this, get a third party engineer to inspect all the parts, if there is any sign of heat/wear, they will be able to establish if this has been through bad driving. Lastly, scream 'not fit for the purpose' at the dealer principal.........

Absolutely.

Graham

[befunky]

Cheers guys I will let you know how I get on!

[t_urbo]

Quote.
Lastly, scream 'not fit for the purpose' at the dealer principal.........

Ive been down that path and to be honest unless its a brand new car it just does'nt have any effect and they know it. The Law protects dealers and it just ends up costing you money on lawyers.
If the car is new and has a fault you can ask for a refund but only if you do NOT allow them to try and repair it. If you allow them to try and repair the fault (regardless of what it is) your screwed.

[RI_RS4]

On the early production run of the car there is a known problem with the clutch vacuum assist line, which controls clutch actuation. The symptom that occurs is that the line collapses and squeezes off the vacuum, at the same time as you are depressing the clutch petal. This causes the clutch petal to go totally stiff. I'd bet that this is what happened to you when you shifted, causing you to miss your shift and the clutch to blow. I received my car in July in the US and many that were delivered around that time and before had that problem. In fact, they held up quite a few cars in port later that summer to fix the problem before cars were sent to the dealer, after the issue was diagnosed.

Anyone that has an early RS4 can test for the problem by letting the engine idle out of gear and then double clutch as fast as you possibly can. If the clutch petal stiffens at all on the second clutch, then you have the problem.

Ask your service department and Audi CS specifically about this problem. It is a known issue on early vehicles, and never received a TSB, although the vacuum line has been replaced with a new part in later production.

[befunky]

Just an update for you guys.......

I am still awaiting a response back from Audi CS. To be honest they are getting on my nerves and actually making me feel like I dont want to have the car back even though I bloody LOVE it!!

Just for info as well I found on another forum the following:

Has anyone herd of a clutch problem on the RS4. Mine went out only after 2800 miles. The hydraulic lines collapsed and the clutch pedal was stuck to the floor. Audi replaced the lines and took the car out for a spin and it happened to them as well. After three weeks they replaced the lines the pump and the clutch. All was fine car drove great. And then I just got back from a trip and the only way to shift the car in to first or reverse is to shut off the car, which disengages the pump <beep> in to the desired gear, and then start the car. Audi told me the first time that they had replaces one other line. The car now has about 3800, I don’t want to have to go through this every thousand miles. What should I do???

By the sounds of this it has the same symptoms that I have had although after the pedal got stuck I had the clutch explode!

I will keep you guys informed of how I get on........

NOT A HAPPY CHAPPY!! They will have had my car for three weeks on Monday.

[rogerscott]

sorry to read about your clutch problems, my clutch exploded after only 1900 miles was replaced by dealer a few months later had more clutch problems and had some pipes replaced. don't think you should have to pay for a new clutch after only 14000 miles even if it had heavy use becauase that what the car was intended for ! but audi dealers can be very diffcult fell out with my local dealer before i ordered my rs4 and now have a round trip of 100 miles for service. also i would write to audi uk not just phone them good luck