A4 and A6 brake failure, Plenum Chamber issue, possible engine failure.
Hi
Reference chassis numbers
A4
WAU _ _ _ 8E _ 2A014319 to WAU _ _ _ 8E _ 2A290809
WAU _ _ _ 8E _ 2A031486 to WAU _ _ _ 8E _ 2A290805
A6
WAU _ _ _ 4B _ 2N005022 to WAU _ _ _ 4B _ 2N121381
WAU _ _ _ 4B _ 2N006926 to WAU _ _ _ 4B _ 2N121375
2002, 2.5 A6 Quattro Sport, Auto, 124,000 miles. chassis number WAUZZZ4B22N090722
I would like to thank everyone for their posts regarding this issue.
Before Christmas I went to brake coming in to a roundabout and found the brake pedal rock solid and there was very little braking action. After the roundabout the brakes returned to normal. I called with my mechanic but, as he could find nothing wrong, he advised I should cautiously continue to drive until the problem reoccured.
A couple of weeks later my car sat out of the garage all day during some very heavy rain and when I went to put it in the garage the brake pedal was hard again. The next day I took the car out of the garage and again the brake pedal was hard, I washed the car and then took it for a run to the end of our lane to see if the fault was going to persist. I got no further than about 50 meters and the engine stopped with clouds of smoke out the exhaust pipes. I lifted the bonnet and the dipstick was covered half way up with grey oil but the filler cap was fine, black oil as usual. Confused, we towed the car back to the house and the next day my mechanic came out to look at it. After poking about the engine for a while he lifted off the plastic cover over the battery and we discovered the Plenum Chamber full of water.
I Googled the issue and about the fourth document I came across was a Service Action Circular from the USA and Canada, code JU/51B7.
https://wateringresssettlement.com/L...id=149&mid=669
This recall required the agents to write out to all the owners of A4s and A6s within a certain chassis range. The action required to sort the problem was to remove the Plenum Drain Tube which could become blocked with debris over the years and cause the chamber to fill with water which could then be sucked into the Brake Servo.
As the Plenum Tube was still in my car and was blocked solid with dirt, I phoned my local Audi agent, Isaac Agnew Audi to enquire why my car had not been recalled for this issue. Paul McClelland returned my call and when I asked him about the recall he denied there was ever a recall for this issue and redirected me to Audi UK.
I phoned Audi UK who also denied there was a recall regarding this issue and said the document I was reading was nothing to do with the UK. I persisted with Kelly Hathaway at Audi UK for three days until she eventually said that if I took the car to Isaac Agnew Audi they would look at it for them.
I arranged to take the car in on Sat. 22nd Nov. and was received by Sean McMahon who said there was no one who could look at it until Monday. I had only left Isaac Agnew Audi 10 minutes when I received a call from Sean McMahon to say my car had had the recall carried out in 2008. I asked him to email me the paperwork, which he did. The description of the work done on the document he sent was "carried out 51B7 recall" exactly the same as the USA and Canada code.
A 12 day stand off ensued during which Isaac Agnew Audi prepared a report on the car, denied they had not carried out the recall correctly, after first denying there was a ever recall at all, and accused me of replacing the Plenum Tube in order to get them to replace the engine in the car. My mechanic advised me that if Isaac Agnew Audi had done nothing with the engine and the water and oil mixture was still in the engine it would destroy it, if had not already done so.
As Isaac Agnew Audi had in fact done nothing but prepare a report, that they denied me access to unless I paid them £250, I decided it was best to remove the car from Isaac Agnew Audi, and did so on Thursday 4th Dec. A couple of days later my mechanic spent a couple of hours slowly ejecting the oil water mix, through where the heater plugs are fitted on the top of the engine, by slowly jerking the engine over with the starter motor. Eventually the engine started and after 3 oil changes I took it for a run. For the first 50 miles it didn't really want to go but eventually in recovered except for the servo which was a little strange.
The servo eventually sorted itself and the car is now running fine, if a little cool at times, it probably needs the thermostat replaced.
Richard Armstrong the service manager at Isaac Agnew Audi continues to deny they did not carried out the Plenum recall and did nothing to compensate me for all the trouble and expense I have had.
Looking through my service history, I now see there were excessive brake problems during the 4 years before this problem occurred. I also had an ongoing problem with an intermittent brake warning light over the past 4 years which no one could solve but has not reoccured since the Plenum Tube was removed.
My satisfaction levels with the people and organisations I dealt with regarding this whole saga, from 1 to 10, 10 being satisfied, are as follows:-
My mechanic - 10* saved the engine.
Isaac Agnew Audi - 1
Paul McClelland - 1 - very unsympathetic and dismissive.
Sean McMahon - 7 - helpful.
Richard Armstrong - 3 - listened but ultimately did nothing.
Audi UK - 1
Kelly Hathaway - 2 listened but ultimately did nothing.
I feel very annoyed that Audi have pushed this issue under the carpet, and still continue to do so. It's simply not good enough Audi. What should have been done is that all the affected owners should have been contacted and the plastic cover over the Plenum Chamber should have been replaced with one containing a warning to the effect that "failure to ensure the Plenum drains are kept clear of debris can result in brake and or engine failure"