First, the oil in our 2012 Audi A8L was too dirty. Then the oil in our A8 was clean but too full. Now we are pleased to announce that the oil in our A8 is both clean and at the correct level.
One day after our routine service visit we received a warning that we had too much oil. That was yesterday. So we drove the car straight to Audi of Santa Monica and told our advisor that we wanted the issue remedied:
"Do you need a ride anyplace?"
"Nope, we'll wait for it."
Just about 90 minutes later our phone rang:
"Your car is ready. We drained the old oil and filled it with the correct amount."
It was a good thing that we changed our mind and didn't wait after all. I sure wouldn't want to be the guy stuck in the Audi lobby for an hour and a half. We are back on the road nonetheless. As you might expect, no charge for this visit either.
Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager @ 8,622 miles
lostboyz says:
03:58 AM, 01/20/12
This is a problem with "free" (aka included in the sticker) service, when they screw up, what are they going to give you?
I would find a new dealership from now on. Considering the service you get from hyundai for a car that costs far less, this is unacceptable.
noburgers says:
05:08 AM, 01/20/12
you'd think they could siphon it out of the filler cap they way you guys used the Blackstone oil condition tool in 5 minutes so you don't need to wait at all. Maybe they still can't determine the proper level even if they do that, with only a slow to respond electronic dipstick. They suck. That's how they treat you and it's over $100K car?
kain77 says:
05:51 AM, 01/20/12
So, two trips and nearly four hours of service later, all is well with an oil change. Got it.
jeepsrt says:
06:38 AM, 01/20/12
So no more pictures of the service valet? :(
esoterica says:
06:42 AM, 01/20/12
There is so much wrong here it boggles the mind. First, why did it take the car a day to report the over-full oil?
Second, why would you expect the service to take less than the 2.5 hours you were quoted for the oil change originally? Did you think that it would be a proportionate amount of time to only drain part of the oil?
Third, why *did* the service take less than the 2.5 hours originally quoted? There's still a huge difference in a 1.5 hour service vs. a 2.5 hour service, especially since most people I know are about as keen to sit in a car dealer service lounge as they are to go to the dentist.
half_ton says:
07:34 AM, 01/20/12
This is going to be an interesting remainder of the 11,388 miles. Can't wait for the next oil change.
nefariousnigel says:
07:38 AM, 01/20/12
Hope they don't forget to tighten the lugnuts when you get the tires rotated...
bimmerjay says:
07:48 AM, 01/20/12
It's a good thing the car has an oil level sensing system, otherwise you'd be driving around with it overfilled until the next person checked the oil. Amazing that the dealer would screw up something so seemingly simple.
fordson1 says:
08:06 AM, 01/20/12
Yeah...except that if it were me, the next person checking it would be checking it in the dealer's parking lot, and I would know it was overfilled before driving a foot. This car went in for the change at 8,587 miles and the oil level was corrected at 8,617 - so it was driven with the level too high (how much too high? Who knows? A dipstick would tell you...) for 30 miles. You can cause a lot of premature bearing wear with oil that's been whipped to a froth in 30 miles.
Not impressed that the system took that long to reveal the level was too high, and then gave a vague "too high" message at that.
And yes, this is still another reminder that dealerships, no matter how expensive the car, do NOT have their certified master techs doing oil changes and tire rotations...and for that reason I would also be checking drain plug tightness and making sure they reattached any underbody cladding they had to remove to do the change.
esoterica says:
08:13 AM, 01/20/12
"You can cause a lot of premature bearing wear with oil that's been whipped to a froth in 30 miles."
+1000.
ed124c says:
08:52 AM, 01/20/12
There are no Audis on my potential buying list. And there never will be. Of course, the fact that I can't afford even an A3 has a lot to do with it.
half_ton says:
09:38 AM, 01/20/12
What about your turn-signal-fluid? Did they check that?
gslippy says:
11:21 AM, 01/20/12
This could have been a 15-minute stop - including paperwork - if they had just sucked the oil out through the dipstick.
Oh, wait, this car doesn't have a dipstick, which means the only recourse is to drain it all out and start over. What an arrogant manufacturer, thinking this system is somehow better.