2010 Audi A5 water pump failure at only 8,000 miles

Here is some disappointing news about my new 2010 Audi A5.
My Audi left me stranded in Palo Alto, CA with a massive coolant leak. I can’t remember the last time I broke down in a car with less than 150,000 miles on it.
Here is the lesson learned: 1. Audi has quality problems 2. Roadside assistance is slow 3. The Audi Dealer needs customer service training

Audi Quality is disappointing
Water pump failure and a massive coolant leak at 8,000 miles? Hey Audi, cooling systems have been figured out since 1960. It’s car building basics and should not happen with a new car. Period.

How it happened
The first thing I noticed is that the heater did not work. I usually blast heat down low and 3 minutes into my freeway ride I still got cold feet. As I entered city traffic the tell tale signs of white smoke and the smell of au de coolant reminded me of days past gone – when I couldn’t afford new cars.
I pulled over and popped the hood.  Coolant was all over and the reservoir was empty. Did I get a warning message or low coolant signal? No. Luckily I was already at my destination so I just parked the car and went to my appointment.

Roadside Assistance takes too long
At 11:40 am  I called Audi Roadside assistance. At 3 pm I was in a renal car going home. Spending almost 3.5 hours to get home is not acceptable. I wasn’t stranded in the middle of nowhere, it was downtown Palo Alto.  The whole process should have taken an hour or less.
First I waited 30 min for the wrong tow truck to show up  – the car needs a flat bed truck because I have all wheel drive. Audi should know that. Then I had to wait another hour and 15 min before the right truck came by. The dealership had attitude but on loaners, so before I got a rental from Enterprise it was 3 pm.

High Call Volume Roadside Assistance line?
The roadside assistance number has a voice-mail system designed with self-service in mind. Press this button for that, type in your home phone number here (I guess I broke down at home), listen to this message first, etc.. I’m not calling to track my FedEx package, this is an emergency road side assistance line. Yes, this wasn’t a real emergency, but if I would have been stranded elsewhere at night I would be pissed.  It’s all very efficient – if Audi is expecting a high call volume on this line.
The Roadside assistance reps are friendly, but not very effective. The rep advised me to call the local dealerships to check if they have loaner cars available. Should you do this for me? The rep also promised to call when the tow truck is there.  Two trucks showed up but neither time did I get a call. I guess the automated system didn’t work.

Dealership Service Department needs training
The dealership experience was less than stellar. The service adviser enjoyed being argumentative. Do you work in Customer Service? Or maybe he was just annoyed that another Audi broke down. Ironically an “Excellence in Customer Service Award” for the same guy was hanging at the wall. I just stared at the framed award while he was talking down on me. Nice!

So, what’s the lesson leaned?
Braking down in the same year that my car was made constitutes a new record. Let’s see what 2011 holds.
This could be a one off bad luck scenario. But if I do break down I expect better treatment from the Audi dealer and more effective roadside assistance. Audi supposed to be a luxury brand.

Oh, and think twice about owning an Audi past the warranty period.  The Service guy explained to me that Audi makes millions of water pumps and I just can’t expect them all to be perfect. Oh, my bad.  I guess I was expecting too much from Audi. Thanks for giving me another attitude adjustment.

BTW, the car was fixed under warranty after two days. It still smells like burned coolant, although I brought it back for a second cleaning. The smart rep advised me to just drive until it’s all gone. Nice, job guys, I now have a new car that smells like my neighbors leaky 1986 Ford Ranger.