Ad Blue tank

[Nuje]

At least you got a nice loaner; our A3 e-tron is in for some recall work on the battery casing and they gave us a 2016 A6 Progressive.
$60K MSRP on that car and it doesn't even have a backup camera (?!) And no lane assist, adaptive cruise, and basically a bench seat cut in half for the front seats (ok - maybe some exaggeration there, but given that all of these were present on our $40K A3, I'm honestly shocked that an A6 would/could be so de-contented).

Can't wait to get our car back (plus, having to pay for gas to just drive around town like some kind of animal...feh!)

 

[Jxarchive]

"To me this is really a programming fault on VW side. There should not be a countdown or lockout when the proper amount is still being dosed and the NOX efficiency is within the range. The warning can still be present, but it should not lock our engine start when dosing and NOX efficiency is still within normal range. I don't see how that would violate any of the EPA rules."

Agreed. I wish that there was an aftermarket programming fix. Thanks for all other the info as well. Far more detail than I've been given.

I was only recently offered a loaner. I thought I could leg it out until the end of March, and I would much prefer my VW being driven every couple of weeks.

 

[Cuzoe]

Ideally there would be something that simulated that tank heater to the ECU. As was mentioned, the dosing would remain monitored. More ideally, VAG would come up with that device.

The system can obviously be deleted in a tune. But an aftermarket tubevoids the warranty. But since aftermarket tuners were able to do it, you would think it would be trivial for VW to do it and roll out and ECU flash that is reserved for cars that are waiting this part.

Of course VAG being able to create the software and having that software certified legal is a different matter. Presumably it would end up being cheaper for VAG to just make a device to simulate the sensor. That we just need to be approved as a minor modification, dealer installed, that doesn't actually impact the already approved ECU software.

Of course I'm thinking through this in real time, and I imagine regulators would quickly ask the question how long it would be before someone cloned the device. But assuming there's also a countdown if the dosing is incorrect, it won't matter if they clone that device anyway .

 

[Mowog]

I was assured over and over that the tank would be in by the end of March. A few weeks ago, as others have noted, that was pushed back until the end of May. I imagine once May rolls around, it will be pushed back again. Last May, I was initially told it would be about two weeks or so, so I took my car home. I've only driven it about 400 miles since. The battery drains quickly and is often dead. Now there is an oil light on. VW should be responsible for all these related issues. I have my doubts.


So my Golf has been at the dealership for over a year and the current ETA for the part is 3/31! ( I'm not holding my breath)

Just got this email from VWoA

Dear Mr. A : This will acknowledge receipt and response to your request to have your vehicle repurchased by Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. “VWGoA”. We sincerely apologize for any service-related difficulties you may have experienced with your vehicle. We have thoroughly reviewed the service history of your vehicle under your state specific laws and federal laws. VWGoA has determined based on repair orders reviewed, your vehicle history does not merit a settlement under these laws. VWGoA will continue to work within the terms of any applicable warranties to address any verifiable concerns. If your vehicle is still experiencing concerns, please contact an authorized Volkswagen or Audi dealership to schedule a service appointment.
Sincerely, Nina A. Customer Resolution & Retention

"based on repair orders reviewed, your vehicle history does not merit a settlement."

If they are basing their decision solely on the repair orders for my car (just this one) then it's a very reliable car. I guess the length of time it's been sitting at the dealership waiting for a part (over a year) doesn't matter. I've been driving this rental car for about 11 months and the bill is well over $10k. This whole DieselGate thing is costing them a fortune.
My car has been at the dealership sitting in the same spot with a dead battery for over 6 months. I checked the odometer (that was lots of fun since the battery was dead. I had to use my jump box so that the dash would light up). It looks like it's been driven less than 20 miles in the last year. I guess they couldn't really drive it since it was "No Start in 30 miles" when I dropped it off. I don't know what I expected but it gets worse the more I look into it.

Last time I talked to the service manager I asked for the procedure for returning a car after service, he assured me that it existed and that he would get me a copy of it. Still don't have it. He said they would take care of any problems and my car would be returned in better condition than when I dropped it off. Again, not holding my breath.

I like the last sentence of the email from VW " If your vehicle is still experiencing concerns, please contact an authorized Volkswagen or Audi dealership to schedule a service appointment". If someone had just looked into the case they would have noticed that it's still sitting at the dealer.


I really like the car and I had planned to keep it for a long time, but I'm really concerned about what problems it may have after sitting for so long.


So has anybody's car been fixed or are we all still waiting for a def tank?

 

[moon1234]

Got a call from the Audi dealer. He said he was told the tanks are shipping in week 25 of 2023. That would be July or there about.

Wife has put close to 6000 miles on the 2023 A4 loaner. It will be due for an oil change By the dealer before the tank shows up. At this rate she will have put 10-15k miles on their A4 by the time July rolls around. I can’t image what they must think when it takes this long. If they get $35/day allowance this is a grand a month to the dealer. It is almost what the payment would be over a five year loan period.

Essentially VW/Audi is buying us a new car for the time it takes to repair the A3. The dealer will still probably make more money on the deal. They seem to sell the loaners when they have 10-15K on them for just a few grand under MSRP. If that is true they are making thousands on using new cars as loaners.

 

[turbobrick240]

VW must be very relieved that dozens of these cars are dropping out of warranty with each passing week. The pain (for them) will be over soon.

 

[Cuzoe]

I don't know if people going over 165k in their Mk7s is something that VW can really count on. I think they will be relieved when we get to 2026 and the 11-year mark starts hitting for cars that were sold pre-scandal. And then some more relief, 2028 when the 11-year hits for cars that weren't registered before the scandal.

 

[turbobrick240]

I was really thinking of all of the commonrails. But yeah, I'd forgotten that the MK7s had 11 years/ 165k miles on the warranty. I bet about half of the MK7s will hit the mileage cap before the age cap. The TDI owner demographic may be aging and racking up fewer miles though. I know my driving habits have changed quite a lot over the last few years.

 

[Cuzoe]

Same, my commute is down to under 4 miles round trip. Prior to my son being born the car was only really seeing miles put on during spirited canyon/mountain drives once or twice a month, and even then only in good weather months. You won't catch me out there in cooler temperatures risking it all with my summer tires.

Fuel prices went way up of course, and diesel here in California is more expensive than unleaded. If I was in the market today I probably would have pick up the TDI unless the price was really good, and car prices aren't really good now, lol. Even before we moved my 60 mi commute in traffic would have been perfect for an EV, even one without great range since I'm able to charge at home.

 

[gearheadgrrrl]

Same here- Retired so I don't actually have to drive anywhere and during COVID mostly visited the parks and did scenic drives. Used to put on 4K miles a year going to Florida for the winter but lost the place there to hurricanes, flood, and greedy landlords. Any day with good weather is an excuse to me to go for a drive or ride, but this winter (ain't over yet) it snowed or blew snow just about every day so my driving tended to be a resupply run on the one day a week the roads were clear. couple weeks ago I topped of the TDI and filled the 6 gallon fuel can for my diesel tractor, went back a week later to refill the now empty fuel can and TDI took less than 2 gallons to top off! Gonna have to work harder to put on the miles, 2015's got only 64K miles and got a year old minivan in the garage with only 5K miles!

 

[amsoiltek]

Same, my commute is down to under 4 miles round trip. Prior to my son being born the car was only really seeing miles put on during spirited canyon/mountain drives once or twice a month, and even then only in good weather months. You won't catch me out there in cooler temperatures risking it all with my summer tires.

Fuel prices went way up of course, and diesel here in California is more expensive than unleaded. If I was in the market today I probably would have pick up the TDI unless the price was really good, and car prices aren't really good now, lol. Even before we moved my 60 mi commute in traffic would have been perfect for an EV, even one without great range since I'm able to charge at home.

Both petrol and diesel are the same price in the Victorville area. Today I paid $4.99 and gas was the same.

 

[740GLE]

Still 1.20-1.50 premium for diesel vs RUG locally has been for >year now. Current local station is 3.38 rug, 4.69 D2.

If we are doing a drive for a drive sake and don't need the wagon (dog hauler), we'll still take the Passat with the TDI.

 

[skudak]

I just got my 15' Golf back from the dealer yesterday after a diagnosis and I need this tank replaced. the service advisor told me that it's "on backorder indefinitely" and something about vw switching manufacturers. He told me they didn't have any loaners until next week or two, but after reading this thread I think I'm going to go back and push for a rental or something. Any advice on what to tell them? Has anyone gotten theirs taken care of recently or is everyone still sitting and waiting? I'm also curious if anyone has taken their VW to an audi dealer for warranty work. I'd much prefer an Audi loaner over a rental lol. Last time VW gave me a rental it was a Nissan versa which was incredibly bad.

My car is overdue for a state inspection and will not pass with the cel on, which means I can't legally drive my car until it's fixed. Normally I wouldn't mind but the local cops on my commute pulled me over last year for an expired sticker (I was still in the 14 day window to get it done, but it was still annoying)

 

[Nuje]

Be careful what you wish for. My wife's A3 e-tron had to go in for service and they gave us an A6 (slightly newer) as a loaner, but it was the base trim that lacked lane assist, adaptive cruise, no backup camera, no CarPlay, seats that felt like padded church pews, was a total pig to try and park, and got ~10L/100km (almost double what our e-tron does on the gas engine).

We couldn't wait to be rid of it; we'd have taken any Golf over that thing.

 

[herbie2]

I just got my 15' Golf back from the dealer yesterday after a diagnosis and I need this tank replaced. the service advisor told me that it's "on backorder indefinitely" and something about vw switching manufacturers. He told me they didn't have any loaners until next week or two, but after reading this thread I think I'm going to go back and push for a rental or something. Any advice on what to tell them? Has anyone gotten theirs taken care of recently or is everyone still sitting and waiting? I'm also curious if anyone has taken their VW to an audi dealer for warranty work. I'd much prefer an Audi loaner over a rental lol. Last time VW gave me a rental it was a Nissan versa which was incredibly bad.

My car is overdue for a state inspection and will not pass with the cel on, which means I can't legally drive my car until it's fixed. Normally I wouldn't mind but the local cops on my commute pulled me over last year for an expired sticker (I was still in the 14 day window to get it done, but it was still annoying)

Hey In New Hampshire, I have a 15 Golf Sportwagen sitting at a Vermont dealership for almost a year . Under the extended VW emissions warranty if they cannot fix within three days they have to provide you with a rental. Im on my third VW Taos, terrible uncomfortable seats. I suggest calling VW Customer Care to help prod along the rental. VW Corporate gave me one date and now seems it's always extended by another 30 days. They now say the part will be shipped toward the end of June. The DEF tank replacement we all need. It's a tremendous let down and a drag, just want my car. Good luck and hopefully you don't have to wait as long.

 

[herbie2]

Still waiting in Manchester Center, Vermont. VWOA called me on 4/20/23 to say the part, a DEF tank replacement would now be end of June instead of end of May 23. Im on my third VW Taos rental with terrible seats and fastly approaching ONE YEAR sitting in the parking lot, dead battery, mouse living above neoprene battery cover and now a dead mouse odor in the car. I want my car repaired. The bad will Volkswagen of America has created is like a life changing event. It the worst kind of advertisement anyone could want. Don't buy another VW product !

 

[Nuje]

Friend of mine works at a dealership here on Vancouver Island. A couple months ago we were chatting and he mentioned they had three of the AdBlue tanks sitting on the shelf (he was as bewildered as I was).

 

[herbie2]

Hey Man, Thanks for sayin/reply, im glad im not the only guy going out of his mind Maybe one day I'll get the part

 

[moon1234]

Got a call from the Audi dealer. He said he was told the tanks are shipping in week 25 of 2023. That would be July or there about.

Wife has put close to 6000 miles on the 2023 A4 loaner. It will be due for an oil change By the dealer before the tank shows up. At this rate she will have put 10-15k miles on their A4 by the time July rolls around. I can’t image what they must think when it takes this long. If they get $35/day allowance this is a grand a month to the dealer. It is almost what the payment would be over a five year loan period.

Essentially VW/Audi is buying us a new car for the time it takes to repair the A3. The dealer will still probably make more money on the deal. They seem to sell the loaners when they have 10-15K on them for just a few grand under MSRP. If that is true they are making thousands on using new cars as loaners.

Status update:
The Audi dealer called and said we have to return the 2023 A4 loaner. Apparently it was promised to some golf event months ago. We were NOT happy. They took my wife to enterprise and had her pick out a vehicle. The choices were not great. She chose a Hyundai SantaFe.

Talk about a downgrade! The dealer rep seemed embarrassed. They gave my wife a $250 gift card. She told them “I would rather keep the car and you keep your gift card. I brought you an Audi and you’re asking me to take a car that’s less than half the value and luxury of the one I brought you. I can guarantee you everyone I know will know about this level of service and how customers are less important than a golf outing where these people are NOT customers.”

For a company like Audi, word of mouth of bad service treatment will kill future sales. Wife wants her car fixed and returned. Said she will NOT be buying another Audi. That leaves BMW I guess. Both of my older sons own 335d sedans. Wife thinks they are fairly nice. I’m not sold asboth of the boys deleted the cars and put down pipes on them so they sound like trucks to me. Early 20s boys. I hope they grow out of it. That said both of their cars have over 200k miles on them and not any engine or emissions (or lack there of) problems.

I think she will gravitate towards either a 2018 328d or an x5 diesel. Can no longer trust Audi to actually take care of its customers. Couple friends at work had service on their BMWs and they always drove away with a similar or better BMW as a loaner. Even the local VW dealer will just go get a car off the used lot If all the allocated rentals are out.

 

[Nuje]

Yeah - that seems pretty low-end. Audi's projected brand image is luxury, so to give customer a Hyundai (no offence, but just not in the same market segment) is really poor. They must have some used inventory that would be comparable.

Getting customers is hard; keeping customers is not - if you treat them decently.

 

[skudak]

I forgot to update here. I talked to VWoA and they talked to the dealership who magically came up with a loaner the next day. I've had the loaner Taos for about 3 weeks now, they told me they still had no ETA of the part being available. I'm hoping the post above about end of June is correct... Anyone else hear an ETA?

 

[740GLE]

I forgot to update here. I talked to VWoA and they talked to the dealership who magically came up with a loaner the next day. I've had the loaner Taos for about 3 weeks now, they told me they still had no ETA of the part being available. I'm hoping the post above about end of June is correct... Anyone else hear an ETA?

Which dealer did go to? My local is Quirk in Manchester.

Also once the dealer found out VWoA was paying im sure that greesed the wheels

 

[Jxarchive]

I think we should begin asking VW to repair anything else that resulted from our cars sitting idle this long. I need a new battery at a minimum.

 

[Lightflyer1]

Can't hurt to ask. IIRC some have said they have gotten some things done, included.

 

[herbie2]

Has anyone had their DEF tank repair/part come in ? My local dealership still maintains the part will be shipped June 30, 2023 according to their data. Does anyone know if we as the customer are responsible for the LABOR to install the tank ? Ie Part is covered under warranty but not the labor ... Thanks for any insight. Yeah my battery is gone too plus maybe a whole set of Pirelli tires due to maybe flats spots on the tires, oh isn't this fun

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

My understanding is that if it’s covered under the emissions warranty both parts and labor are free. At least that was my experience when I had a part in the DEF system replaced twice.

 

[herbie2]

Thanks for the input man, still hoping my shipment date of 6/30 doesn't change

 

[skudak]

Which dealer did go to? My local is Quirk in Manchester.

Also once the dealer found out VWoA was paying im sure that greesed the wheels

I went to Autofair in Merrimack, almost went to Quirk but my friend is the service manager there and I didn't want to give him a headache haha

I think it was more like VWoA told the dealer they're legally obligated to give me a car per the settlement. The customer service rep at VWoA said it was unacceptable when I told him that I was driving around with a cel on and the dealer was aware.

 

[moon1234]

Status Update:
Audi Madison called and said there is now no ETA on the DEF tank. Wife returned crappy Hyundai SantaFe from enterprise and was given a 2023 Q5 premium plus. I think she hopes the car never gets fixed at this point. By the time this is done she could write an auto review omost of the 2023 models, lol.

I stop at the dealer and drive the car 20-30 miles every couple weeks to keep the battery charged and wear off the rust on the rotors. I rest the no start in x miles with vcds, but it only adds 200 miles or so. I bet eventually that won’t work anymore at some point.

 

[skudak]

Just called my dealership for an update (and to schedule the 10k mile oil change on the loaner lol), I am #24 on the list to get a tank. When I brought the car in on May 15th I was #36 in line.