Oil Leaks from Oil Cooler pipework due to corrosion

[Alastair Fulton]

I bought a stunning 2015 white R8 V10 Spyder in September 2018 with only 2500 miles on the clock. It now has 10k miles. In early March, it started to drop oil at the rear (on the block-paved forecourt of my house). I stopped driving it immediately and booked it into Audi Teesside in Ingleby Barwick for the 26th March. On the 24th, they called to say they were closing the workshop due to lockdown.

The car sat motionless on my drive until they called asking me to bring it in on the 1st June. Then they told me an oil pipe from an oil cooler was corroded at a mild steel-to-aluminium joint. Other similar pipes were also corroded. To repair them would cost £2000+!

I pointed out that Audi had goofed by connecting two disparate metals causing an electro-chemical reaction at the joint. It was therefore a design fault. They did not comment, other than to say that the could repair the failed pipework for c£600 but not the other corroded pipework as it hadn’t failed - yet. I protested and they consulted Audi UK who were intransigent. Eventually, I gave-in and instructed them to go ahead. By this time, I had been unable to use my lovely convertible - all through the glorious weather we were having.

Next they called to say that the necessary part was on back-order and would be available for 10 days. The 10 days became weeks until, on the 7th August, I called to say that I wanted to take my car to another motor engineer. I was then told that the part had actually arrived on the 5th. They had fitted it and run up the engine when another oil pipe burst. They we now going to replace all the corroded pipework “free of charge as a goodwill gesture”!

Earlier in this process, I consulted an R8 owners’ forum and discovered that others had experienced the same situation and had to pay for the repairs.

Also learned that VW AUDI had updated the mild steel pipework with stainless steel - somewhere between 2015 and Sept 2018 (when I bought my car!) I found on US forums that this fault was not uncommon and Audi had changed the mild steel components that rusted to stainless steel. I smelt a rat !

Clearly this points to a design fault which VW AUDI had recognised but not recalled the faulty cars.

I am now having discussions with lawyers with a view to suing Audi as follows:

• Audi Teesside - forvselling me a car with a serious fault;
• Audi VW - for the unrecalled design fault;
• Audi VW - for ‘loss of enjoyment’ of the car;
• Both for the associated cost of 6 months’ road-tax and insurance, damage to my driveway;
• Six months’ depreciation;
• And any other related claims.

Has anyone else encountered this/these problems?