Audi "Zero Recall" Gearbox Failure Confirmation Case

Some consumers complained that Audi, the luxury car brand with the highest sales volume in the Chinese market, had problems with burning oil, leaking oil, and transmission failures. It communicated with Audi through a variety of methods, including Audi dealer service hotlines. Has not been resolved. Some dealers stated that compared with competitors, Audi has always been slow in the implementation of after-sales services and related products. Dealers can only pay for their own after-sales service. Audi has always dealt with "cases" for the quality problems that have arisen, and has not involved such solutions as recalls. Audi has maintained a record of “zero” recalls in recent years, and this does not mean that Audi does not have quality problems, but instead changes the solution to “internal recall”.

“When my car is in normal driving, there will be a shift and setbacks. If there is frequent traffic jams on congested roads, it will also lead to flameout and brake failure. In addition, there will be leakage of organic oil.” An Audi car advocated to Mr. Japan Economic News, a reporter complained. Mr. Zhang’s car is a 2010 2.0TQ5 equipped with a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

According to the data provided by Carren.com, the vehicle quality and service tracking station of the China Quality Association User Committee, engine complaints account for 20.12% of Audi's overall complaints, and gearbox complaints are as high as 35.42%. Judging from the complaint cases, the main problems of Audi focused on the burning of engine oil, oil leakage and gearbox failure, but Audi officials have not been able to completely solve this problem.

"We don't particularly understand these situations. We need to collect the information and transfer it to the after-sales service department." A related person from the public relations department of FAW-Volkswagen's Audi Division responded to the "Daily Economic News" and believed that the quality problems that occurred were all cases.

According to industry insiders, in fact, problems such as oil leakage can be solved by replacing a seal, but Audi's attitude towards this issue is not positive. It is understood that Audi has soothed the emotions of the owner of the vehicle in certain ways. Therefore, Audi has always dealt with "cases" for the quality problems that have arisen, and has not involved such solutions as recalls.

Gu Huanyu, a famous brand expert, said in an interview with the reporter of “Daily Economic News” that brand building and consumers’ rights and interests have repeatedly failed to attach importance to Audi, and its development in the Chinese market will have a “growth barrier”.

Burning engine oil is still unsolved Gear problem Resumption Burning oil is an old problem that Audi has not been able to solve for years. Mr. Sun from Tongliao City, Inner Mongolia, has been plagued by "burner oil" Audi for many years. His car is the Audi A6L2.4L, purchased in 2007. “Our people in this area have a lot of Audi cars. Every time we go to the 4S shop for maintenance, everyone is discussing this situation. According to my observation of the Audi owners around, the burning of oil on the 2.4-liter car is particularly serious. Mr. Sun said.

Every time I go to Shenyang Aotong 4S store to do maintenance, Mr. Sun will exchange experience with other Audi owners. “If you often travel in the urban areas, it is not obvious, but if you run long distances, basically, the 2000-km oil warning lights will Light up."

“The 4S shop said that using 1,000 liters of oil to consume 0.5 liters is the 'national standard'.” Mr. Sun believes that the 4S shop’s reply is cheesy and ridiculous. “According to this amount of consumption, my car is always ready to have an oil can, which is to drive a tractor. There is no oil tanker on the road."

“My car had oil leakage. Some time ago, the 4S shop had just changed the seal gasket. The current situation has improved.” A Wang Wang owner in Beijing told the “Daily Economic News” that his A4L is in use. At a mileage of 5,000 kilometers, the phenomenon of “seriously burning oil” first appeared. Later, this phenomenon was eased after reaching 10,000 km, but oil leakage occurred later.

"The temperature of the automatic transmission is too high, which can easily lead to the aging of the seal ring, which is one of the reasons for transmission oil leakage." An unnamed auto maintenance professional told the "Daily Economic News" reporter. He believes that by changing the supplier channels and refining the production system, the probability of such problems can be greatly reduced.

However, this issue has not been well controlled. Complaint information from an Audi dealer shows that burning oil and leaking oil are not individual phenomena.

An Audi brand dealer told the “Daily Economic News” that Audi had a long history of “burning oil” problems in the Chinese market. In addition to the “burning oil” issue, it has been difficult to solve, and Audi's transmission problems have surfaced again.

Mr. Car claimed that the 2010 section of 2.0TQ5 had a normal driving distance of 50,000 kilometers, and was still within the warranty range of Audi "two years and unlimited kilometers". However, 4S shop refused to meet Mr. Zhang on the ground that he did not regularly visit the store for maintenance. Its gearbox warranty application.

Mr. Zhang told the “Daily Economic News” reporter that he had communicated with Audi through various methods such as the Audi dealer’s service hotline, but the issue was not resolved. In the case of repeated negotiations, Mr. Zhang had to pay 7000 at his own expense. Yuan had repaired and maintained the 4S shop, and the problem was alleviated after the vehicle was repaired.

Mr. Li of Shanghai purchased an Audi A6L in April 2010. During use, there was a leakage of the water pump and abnormal noise of the gearbox. After inspection by the 4S shop, the gearbox was damaged to be repaired. However, this 4S shop does not have claims to pay for maintenance records in the 4S shop with over 10,000 kilometers of the car. "The 4S shop clearly stated that the transmission was maintained at 60,000 kilometers. The car is now only 55,000 kilometers open and it has not reached the maintenance deadline." Mr. Li said that he subsequently resolved the problem with the 4S, but he was reluctant to disclose the solution.

According to the statistics of the Renren.com network, up to 35.42% of the gearbox complaints are very high for a single brand. According to a survey conducted by the Daily Economic News reporter, problems with the gearboxes of Audi models include vehicle instability, acceleration, brake jitter, and computer board problems.

"Complaints to the Audi Quality Service Center (FAW-Volkswagen Customer Care Service Hotline) have never replied to me." Audi's owner, Mr. Sun, told the "Daily Economic News" reporter. Similarly, the Audi Q5 car advocate also told the "Daily Economic News" reporter to communicate with Audi through Audi's service hotline and other methods, but the problem has not been solved.

As many years of complaints have not been resolved, Audi's loyalty to brands has been greatly reduced. Mr. Sun's Audi A6L has been used for nearly five years and is also facing replacement of models. He would have liked to see if the “burner oil” situation has been solved through technical means in the next-generation models. “It was later discovered that it was still 'burning', including Q5.” For this reason, Mr. Sun dismissed the idea of ​​buying Audi again. Due to quality problems, the "irons" users are shaken. This is a problem that Audi faces.

Sales growth is alarming as distributors pressure on the limit Gu Huanyu told the "Daily Economic News" reporter that in the face of the competitive environment of luxury cars, the "advantage barrier" that Audi had previously accumulated is being broken, so in Audi Internally, it is of utmost importance to keep the first position in the Chinese luxury car market.

In this case, the Audi brand was re-magnified based on the problem of vehicle quality itself.

“Dealers push quality issues to manufacturers. When it comes to other things, they still have good service attitudes. When it comes to burning oil, the attitude becomes coping with it.” Mr. Sun is rather angry about this. And distributors are the same, they are all aware of this issue."

In contrast, the service plans launched by competitors have become increasingly refined, and Audi dealers have also complained about this. An Audi brand dealer told the “Daily Economic News” reporter that compared with competitors, Audi has always been slow in the implementation of after-sales services and related products. “This is related to Audi's management system in China and it is also not possible in the short term. fixed."

"Distributors can only pay for their own after-sales pay, and we can do nothing about it," said the Audi dealer. It is understood that the above Audi dealer told reporters that as long as the customer to maintain the car, it is free to add oil, which includes the Audi car has been out of warranty.

According to statistics, FAW-VW Audi sold more than 30,000 vehicles in the Chinese market in February, a year-on-year increase of 66%. Behind this alarming growth figure, the pressure on Audi dealers has already reached its limit.

“The key to the series of measures such as whether or not to recall or upgrade the service is not related to the mandatory requirements of the relevant policies, but the attitude of the company itself to consumers.” Gu Huanyu told the “Daily Economic News” reporter.

Since the recall of the ignition coil in 2008, although the burning of oil has been unresolved and oil leakage and gearbox failures have become more frequent, Audi has maintained a “zero” recall record in recent years. On behalf of Audi, there was no quality problem, but the solution was changed to "internal recall."

In August 2010, FAW-Volkswagen implemented an internal code 94E9 for some Audi models. The new Audi A6L2.4 and 2.0T models for the mid-term production between the end of December 2008 and the beginning of May 2009 will have their LED. Daytime driving lights are subject to an internal recall of a wide range of high-frequency faults. This action did not disclose to the public. The service consultant was responsible for checking the chassis number of the vehicle when the relevant vehicle was to be maintained at the 4S store. If the chassis number of the vehicle was within the scope of the repair, the headlight assembly would be replaced.

"Internal recall" has always been a chronic problem that cannot be solved in the auto aftermarket. The reason why we use undisclosed "hidden maintenance" behavior is that we fear that recall behavior will affect the brand image and product sales, but in the long run, the accumulated problems cannot be solved. In fact, the degree of damage to its brand is even more incalculable.

At the advent of “3.15,” the government’s relevant departments’ “Three Guarantees” service policies and recall regulations for the auto industry are all stepping up negotiations. It is reported that the above regulations are expected to be introduced in the near future.