My son was driving home yesterday on I595 in Florida, when a check engine light come on the instrument cluster. He proceeded to find a place to pull off the highway when he heard a noise from the engine and the engine stalled. He opened the hood and checked the oil and discovered the oil level was above the mark on the dipstick. When he attempted to restart the car, the motor just gave a whining sound but would not start. He had the car towed to Champion Audi, where a service writer indicated he thought the timing belt was broken. He had the timing belt changed 18,000 - 20,000 miles ago by the same dealership. When the warranty company representative came out to inspect the vehicle today, he reported that the reason for the failure was insufficient lubrication to the heads, which resulted in burnt camshaft bearings and the camshaft itself, which caused the camshafts to seize and cause the timing belt to break. He also indicated that there was a considerable amount of sludge in the heads. The warranty company denied the claim, stating that the lack of lubrication to the heads resulted in engine failure, and is therefore an exclusion to the warranty. My questions are these:
What caused insufficient lubrication? If it was lack of oil, then what was the cause of the lack of oil if the oil level when checked the day before was above the line on the dipstick?
If the lack of oil to the heads was caused by an oil pump failure, then is the engine failure covered by the warranty?
THAT IS THE QUESTION! When I asked the Warranty Representative, he replied there was no indication that there was an oil pump failure. I then asked him how he can determine that there was no indication of an oil pump failure, if the representative never dropped the pan to inspect. He then stated that I would have to authorize Audi to drop the pan in order to check the oil pump.
By the way,,,,,,,,,,, the charges incurred for that service are your responsibility! Nice, I said. So, can I ask you one more question.
If I authorize Audi to drop the pan in order to inspect the oil pump, and if in fact the oil pump is defective for what ever reason, then is the Warranty company responsible for repairs to the motor? He stated that he would not commit to that, but that the Warranty company would reopen the claim for further investigation.
Not sure what to do at this point,,,
Any suggestions, bring 'em on!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
My son was driving home yesterday on I595 in Florida, when a check engine light come on the instrument cluster. He proceeded to find a place to pull off the highway when he heard a noise from the engine and the engine stalled. He opened the hood and checked the oil and discovered the oil level was above the mark on the dipstick. When he attempted to restart the car, the motor just gave a whining sound but would not start. He had the car towed to Champion Audi, where a service writer indicated he thought the timing belt was broken. He had the timing belt changed 18,000 - 20,000 miles ago by the same dealership. When the warranty company representative came out to inspect the vehicle today, he reported that the reason for the failure was insufficient lubrication to the heads, which resulted in burnt camshaft bearings and the camshaft itself, which caused the camshafts to seize and cause the timing belt to break. He also indicated that there was a considerable amount of sludge in the heads. The warranty company denied the claim, stating that the lack of lubrication to the heads resulted in engine failure, and is therefore an exclusion to the warranty. My questions are these: What caused insufficient lubrication? If it was lack of oil, then what was the cause of the lack of oil if the oil level when checked the day before was above the line on the dipstick? If the lack of oil to the heads was caused by an oil pump failure, then is the engine failure covered by the warranty? THAT IS THE QUESTION! When I asked the Warranty Representative, he replied there was no indication that there was an oil pump failure. I then asked him how he can determine that there was no indication of an oil pump failure, if the representative never dropped the pan to inspect. He then stated that I would have to authorize Audi to drop the pan in order to check the oil pump. By the way,,,,,,,,,,, the charges incurred for that service are your responsibility! Nice, I said. So, can I ask you one more question. If I authorize Audi to drop the pan in order to inspect the oil pump, and if in fact the oil pump is defective for what ever reason, then is the Warranty company responsible for repairs to the motor? He stated that he would not commit to that, but that the Warranty company would reopen the claim for further investigation. Not sure what to do at this point,,, Any suggestions, bring 'em on!
- Kevin G., Pompano Beach, FL, US