[Guest]

Took delivery of my 2.0 TDi Se at the end of January. Since then, this is the list of problems I've had with it. Wondered if anybody else has run across these - they're not all resolved yet, six months later.

1. MMI oil level indication worked OK for the first six weeks or so, then started giving erratic readings, dealer fiddled around with it for months, and eventually gave me a dipstick. I can get a vaguely plausible reading off of the MMI if I open and close the bonnet before trying to get the reading. If I'd believed the the MMI initially, I'd have been running (or not!) with a dry sump.
2. Noticed that the offside wiper arm was rubbing on the trailing edge of the bonnet. Bonnet had a groove worn in it. Bodyshop repair job.
3. Nearside front passenger rubber door lining split in two places when about eight weeks old. Replaced.
4. Trim on driver's door handle splitting away from the window switch panel after about 12 weeks. Handle replaced.
5. Satnav voice prompts are utter rubbish. If I believed the Satnav voice instructions at roundabouts, I'd be driving in circles. Even when the map is (correctly) showing, say, go straight on taking the second exit, the Satnav tells me "now turn left" as I join the roundabout. Award winning? I don't think so. No fix.
6. After about 5000 miles, it developed a low level continuous whine that varies with engine speed. Dealer acknowledges it's there, but has no idea what's causing it.
7. Tailgate sometimes won't close when the button is pressed, has to be manually closed then works OK for a while. No fix.
This is my sixth Audi, and, needless to say, my last!

 

[Guest]

And I forgot to add:

8. Satnav pronunciation of a lot of UK street names (and some place names) is unintelligible. Dealer admits it, but no fix.

9. In the last three thousand miles or so (it's got 10000 on it), the steering wheel's developed a really annoying loud squeak when you're shifting from one lock to the other when manoeuvering at low speed (eg parking).

10. Spurious warnings of obstacles from the front parking sensors (shows an obstruction when there's nothing there).

11. Parking brake sometimes doesn't release when you pull away from stationary; according to the dealer, that's a feature of Audi electric parking brakes. Until you get used to not relying on it, you get to stall the engine occasionally.

This car has spent weeks in the dealer in the last six months, and it still has problems! It's a real shame, because I really like the car. If it wasn't for this tale of woe, I'd be buying another one in two or three years - but after this lot, there's no way I'm prepared to risk buying another Audi.

 

[Kaine]

G_Marconi,

Sorry to hear about your problems - not what you want to hear I guess, but this kind of story is quite common for any new car release. All new car launches are plagued with problems as they are always launched to meet market demand and not when the quality problems are fixed. This doesn't help you of course, and doesn't excuse AUDI whatsoever, however I think this the real problem.

Its a real shame however, as of course as you say it puts you off buying the brand again in the future.

Personally, I would consider rejecting the car and asking for a replacement Q5 - one without your Friday afternoon glitches. This is definitely worth pursuing in my opinion - ask your dealer to 'support' you with this - its key to get your dealer on your side and don't treat them as 'AUDI' - remember they are just a dealer. I would ask them to advise you how to go about rejecting the car and getting a replacement due to all the problems it has - then gauge their response.

Kaine

 

[Timd]

G Marconi

I have a Q5 3.0lt Tdi S line i have rang my dealer several times about the oil level on the MMI alway reading full and sometimes saying level too high and i have not put any oil in it in 7000 miles from new.
I have now owned ten Audi TDI cars all of them have used oil?

 

[Guest]

Kaine,

Yes, I think I'm getting pretty close to that. I've just picked it up from having a Satnav software upgrade (apparently just released) which was supposed to fix the issue of incorrect voice directions. Just to check, I used it on the way home. At the first roundabout the correct route was to take the third exit (a clear right turn). It was shown properly on the route map, but the voice command as I entered the roundabout was "Now turn left".

What I didn't mention on the first post was that the last time I bought an Audi (three years ago, an A4 estate) I'd had it three days when I went out to it one morning and it was dead as a dodo - the battery was so flat, even the central locking didn't work. The dealer came out and couldn't jump start it, so dragged it off on the back of a transporter. A week later, they called me and said they were replacing it. So this is two duff Audi's in a row!

The dealer is generally pretty good. It was their response to the last duff Audi that kept me as a customerto the point where I ordered this Q5. The difference this time has been that these problems have appeared over a period of time, so it's a bit like the death of a thousand cuts......!

 

[Guest]

Timd,

Sounds pretty much like my scenario. I've had five Audi diesels in a row (after converting from petrol in about '99), a mix of the 2.0 and older 2.5 engines, and my experience with them all was that they used oil quite quickly in the first few thousand miles, which was what made me keep an eye on the oil level and notice the problem. What worried me about it was that I could get no convincing reassurance from Audi that, if the oil level became critically low, I'd actually get a warning - which is what lead them to give me a dipstick. I think I'd be a bit worried at 7000 miles!

What seemed really odd to me was that the system worked "by the book"for the first few hundred miles, before it started the erratic behaviour (including level too high warnings). It started to misbehave after I'd had an MMI hang, that I had to use the "three button reset" to get out of. After that, the console oil level display (as opposed to the MMI display) that you're supposed to get when you switch the ignition on after the bonnet's been opened (according to my manual) disappeared, never to be seen again, and all this other stuff with MMI level display started.

Part of the problem with getting any kind of resolution to this stuff seems to be that the dealer's techs seem to understand very little about the MMI, and Audi support seem incapable of believing that anything could be wrong or that their customer's description of symptoms could be right! It might be more useful if the support people would actually get out into the real world and see some of this for themselves......

If I was you, I'd get them to check your oil level with a dipstick!

 

[david]

Re the satnav voice instruction at roundabouts I have exactly the same problem ans was about to post the problem when I saw yours. My Q5 goes in regularly to Tonbridge (Kent) Audi for rattle issues so I will speak to them tomorrow and let you know their take on this.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

Re The SAT NAV issue, my brand new Q5 has the same issue, and it is a known problem that Audi AG are working on. The issue is a positioning one. What the SAT NAV voice is trying to do is to tell you when to turn left off the roundabout. So for example if you where taking the third exit, as you went past exit two you would then turn left off the roundabout on to exit three. Great in principle for large multi exit roundabouts, but not working in practice as the GPS positioning is not telling the voice when to issue the command. The issue is further complicated on small roundabouts as there is no real need to turn left.

So all in hand with the boffins at AG, but no fix date yet.

Squirrel

 

[Guest]

I had my Sat Nav s/w update (not maps) on Christmas Eve to solve this issue and I can confirm it now works very well. It was not quite straight forward as a DVD also had to be sent from Germany (to be used with a software download) but the guys in Basingstoke Audi did a great job!

 

[Secret Squirrel]

Gam,

You don't happen to have the update reference do you. It would be useful to try and chase this through my Audi Dealer.Though with my Car being built in Jan 10 I would have thought it would have been loaded by the factory.

Squirrel.

 

[Guest]

I will look in the morning and post the details here.

 

[Guest]

I , like Gam, had the GPS software upgrade installed by my local Audi dealer and it does seem to have cured the annoying ?turn left? problem.
Unfortunately the voice pronunciation / voice commands still leave a great deal to be desired.

Plea to Audi:
This is a premium vehicle so I think it?s fair to demand that a built-in GPS system should outperform a cheap portable GPS unit. Regretfully this isn?t the case with the current software revision I have installed.

For the record my original software version (with the ?turn left? problem) was:
HNav_EU_P0014_D1
The updated software / firmware details are:
HNav_EU_K0022_2_D1
In case there are any regional variations I am based in the UK.

Gam, I don?t know if this version tallies with the one installed on your Q5?

 

[Guest]

My software version is HNav_EU_K0023_D1 which interestingly looks like a slightly newer release.

To be honest on the whole I have found the Sat Nav very good - my main issue is more with the TMC which does not appear to get updated as often I would like but thats probably not an Audi issue.

Fo info I am also in the UK.

 

[daddydave]

I am just about to order a Q5 to replace my Land Rover Freelander 2 HSE and i am not going to get the Audi sat nav. The Land Rover system is ok but an update DVD is ?300 for the new roads and it still gets junctions wrong and is slow at complicated roundabouts and junctions. For what i need i will be buying a Tomtom or similar.

Just the 6 month wait to put up with.

 

[Guest]

Gam thanks for confirming your software version which does appear to be a slightly newer version than the dealer installed on my Q5. Interestingly my upgrade was done mid-Feb 2010 so it looks like the disks used by my dealer (Audi, Warrington) were slightly older

than the one shipped for you on Christmas Eve.

I assume that the poor pronunciation of street / road names still exists with the newer firmware upgrade

I agree that most TMC issues are unrelated to Audi. In the UK, the TMC service is essentially free and, as such, it suffers somewhat from poor support. This is a real shame because it could be such a major asset in reduction of the serious congestion problems which constantly plague the UK road traffic networks.

Daddydave, don?t worry - the 6 months wait for your Q5 will soon fly by and, hopefully, be well worthwhile.