Alternator failure related to mild hybrid system?

[fiddyk23]

I've been seeing more and more posts across FB and multiple forums about people having the alternator failure related to the 48v mild hybrid system and wanted to see if anyone has had this issue and how their experience has been. I know in USA they have announced a TSB with an extended warranty for 7 years but I am trying to get more info from Audi UK but not getting anywhere. 

 

Has anyone had this issue and if so has Audi fixed it (if out of warranty)? 

 

It seems to be that this issue is not preventable and will happen regardless and Audi have not identified a fix. Its a bit stressful and seems to be quite dangerous because you can lose power while driving at any point. 

 

See TSB here: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2023/MC-10233377-0001.pdf

[Steve Q]

Audi UK will deny all knowledge. Look at how the emissions scandal was handled in the US vs UK 

[Poweller]

Hi,

I’ve just had this exact issue diagnosed on my 2020 Audi S4 which has just hit 60k miles so just out of warranty. Audi are refusing to cover it - £1900 to replace.  One of 3 big issues that have recently developed since I hit 60k miles,  including a planetary gearbox failure, (£11k- they’re covering that!) and an ad blue system fault- £2200 to sort and won’t cover that. Really expected more from an Audi, it’s a proper nail! 

Edited November 23, 2023 by Poweller

[Steve Q]

Wowzers. Sorry to hear of this situation. Glad Audi are fitting the highest bill. They should be covering that other bill too

[Poweller]

After I quizzed them on the alternator failure they admitted this is a known issue and that the other warning lights could have been as a result of the defective alternator. They then said they could just clear the gearbox fault code, despite telling me it is undriveable in the first instance! I asked them to replace the alternator, I’ve got them down to £1100 but still don’t think I should be paying a penny!
 

there is a class action lawsuit in the US on this very issue but Audi UK don’t seem to be taking it very seriously!

https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2023/audi-electrical-system-malfunction-warnings-lawsuit.shtml

cheers

 

 

 

[Steve Q]

In Europe vag get away with everything compared to the US. 

[fiddyk23]

On 11/26/2023 at 2:33 PM, Poweller said:

After I quizzed them on the alternator failure they admitted this is a known issue and that the other warning lights could have been as a result of the defective alternator. They then said they could just clear the gearbox fault code, despite telling me it is undriveable in the first instance! I asked them to replace the alternator, I’ve got them down to £1100 but still don’t think I should be paying a penny!
 

there is a class action lawsuit in the US on this very issue but Audi UK don’t seem to be taking it very seriously!

https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2023/audi-electrical-system-malfunction-warnings-lawsuit.shtml

cheers

 

 

 

Yeah I have been following this topic on facebook groups which is what prompted me to raise it here. I am sorry to hear you had this issue and what you are experiencing is my primary concern that since this issue looks like it is inevitable, Audi will refuse to help. In reality they should be covering it because it has become a TSB in Audi USA. If you search online on fb or reddit or other forums it is the same 48v mild system along with alternator used in various 3L cars as well as even the RS models like the RS6. 

 

If I was you I would fight tooth and nail for this and if it helps here is the OFFICIAL technical service bulletin given by Audi USA themselves about the work being done under warranty and they have a way of checking to see if the system failure is what caused other issues; 

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2023/MC-10236583-0001.pdf

Edited November 28, 2023 by fiddyk23

[Poweller]

Hi,

Audi have confirmed this morning that it will be fully covered under warranty- they are extending the warranty period to 7 years, same as the USA. Sounds like there are parts availability issues though..Got there in the end, thanks for your help. 

Edited November 28, 2023 by Poweller

[fiddyk23]

10 minutes ago, Poweller said:

Hi,

Audi have confirmed this morning that it will be fully covered under warranty- they are extending the warranty period to 7 years, same as the USA. Sounds like there are parts availability issues though..Got there in the end, thanks for your help. 

Hi @Poweller thats great news. Is that everything included and what dealership are you getting the work done with if you don't mind sharing. 

Just trying to make sure that when the time comes for my A7 to get hit with this issue I have as much info as needed.

If you get any info about what the solution involves it would be great, from what I have seen across the pond it seems to be that they just replace the part (usually after a lengthy wait) but the part itself is not revised but the same one so it could happen again.

Are they sharing any communication about this?

[Poweller]

Hi @fiddyk23, yes, everything included under the warranty extension- the dealer is Hereford Audi. 

I’ve been told 4 other parts are needed in connection with the alternator replacement, but there is a delay with these so waiting for an update from the dealer.  I’ll try and find out some more info when I pick it up.

cheers 

 

[Steve Q]

On 11/28/2023 at 2:08 PM, Poweller said:

Hi,

Audi have confirmed this morning that it will be fully covered under warranty- they are extending the warranty period to 7 years, same as the USA. Sounds like there are parts availability issues though..Got there in the end, thanks for your help. 

Glad you got sorted 🙂

[Liza m stewart]

Hi, I now have this problem with my Audi A7. I am 5 months out of warranty and the car has 27000 miles. Can you confirm that Audi covered the costs for this? I have tried my local Audi dealer and they said it is out of warranty so I’ll have to pay. 
many help is appreciated 

[ASHAH12]

I have a Audi Q7 2020 with just 30k miles an dout of warranty by 4 month. I've had the same issue with the battery warning light coming on. AA engineer has stated its the known problem with the Alternator. I've booked it in with the dealership so let's see what they say.

[ASHAH12]

On 2/1/2024 at 2:56 PM, Liza m stewart said:

Hi, I now have this problem with my Audi A7. I am 5 months out of warranty and the car has 27000 miles. Can you confirm that Audi covered the costs for this? I have tried my local Audi dealer and they said it is out of warranty so I’ll have to pay. 
many help is appreciated 

Hi Liza, I would recommend you use download the US bulletin on this known issue. It's been accepted by UK Audi so present that and do not back down until they replace the Alternator.

[Stevey Y]

52 minutes ago, ASHAH12 said:

Hi Liza, I would recommend you use download the US bulletin on this known issue. It's been accepted by UK Audi so present that and do not back down until they replace the Alternator.

Hi the Americans are bang on it just like Mercedes, BMW, Audi have these built in problems that they are aware of and just hope we will all go away, the reason the dealers are so reluctant to change anything is that the parent company Audi  will do everything in there power to shaft the dealer for the repair money for both labour and parts cost, had this years ago when I had a MK4 MONDEO which developed an oil leak which was spraying all over the turbo, at first they refused to honour the warranty because the. garage I use at my request had used Millers XFF oil which they claimed was inferior so I rang Millers and they sent a technical rep down who explained that XFF exceeded the pass rates of Ford oil so therefore it was actually superior to Fords own oil and further buried them by explaining Millers had just started supplying oil for the new RS Focus, so the dealer rapidly back tracked and did the job, they had the car for eight days, when I told my local garage they said they do the same job three or four times a week and it takes three hours, common problem apparently, yes they are lovely to drive, solid and well built in most areas but the company that builds them are profiteering scum, unless all the owners with these problem club together and take them to court this situation will persist.

Steve.

[Poweller]

On 2/1/2024 at 2:56 PM, Liza m stewart said:

Hi, I now have this problem with my Audi A7. I am 5 months out of warranty and the car has 27000 miles. Can you confirm that Audi covered the costs for this? I have tried my local Audi dealer and they said it is out of warranty so I’ll have to pay. 
many help is appreciated 

Hi Liza

Audi have recently covered the cost of replacing the alternator on my 2020 S4, it was out of warranty. They refused at first and after a bit of a battle with Audi UK and the dealer, they backed down. Apparently the warranty on the alternator has been extended to 7 years as in the USA.

good luck! 

Ross 

[Mark2]

I have a 2021 RS6 and have just experienced Starter/generator failure without warning all electrics failed, the drive was disengage, the handbrake would not work , I could not close the windows and was stuck on a hill in the rain. Why is there no warning that the battery is no longer being charged. Up to now cars have had an ign light which came on or the ammeter showed discharge. At 32000 miles on a £100,000 car this could have been dangerous if I had been on a motorway. Lucky I took out  extended warranty, but refusing to take car back until Audi have a ‘warning’ fix.

[fiddyk23]

Sorry to hear that @Mark2, I’ve read so many people talking about how it’s sudden and could be so dangerous. I’m considering taking out an extended warranty after my warranty finishes in a few months, do you think they would’ve covered this even if you didn’t have the extended warranty package? I’m hearing mixed answers in the UK fb groups

[ASHAH12]

5 minutes ago, fiddyk23 said:

Sorry to hear that @Mark2, I’ve read so many people talking about how it’s sudden and could be so dangerous. I’m considering taking out an extended warranty after my warranty finishes in a few months, do you think they would’ve covered this even if you didn’t have the extended warranty package? I’m hearing mixed answers in the UK fb groups

Hi the Alternator on the mild hybrids is covered now from Audi UK for 7 years extended and unlimited mileage. My Q7 is being repaired as we speak under the same issue.

[Mark2]

I have told my Audi dealer, who has given me a courtesy car, I am not picking my car up until Audi UK confirm that they are working on a software upgrade to give drivers warning on how long their battery will last after chargining fails. If my catastrophic failure where the drive was disconnected, had happened on a Motorway or worse a Smart motorway then my and my passengers could be toast. My wife is now scared of going back in the car.

[ASHAH12]

1 minute ago, Mark2 said:

I have told my Audi dealer, who has given me a courtesy car, I am not picking my car up until Audi UK confirm that they are working on a software upgrade to give drivers warning on how long their battery will last after chargining fails. If my catastrophic failure where the drive was disconnected, had happened on a Motorway or worse a Smart motorway then my and my passengers could be toast. My wife is now scared of going back in the car.

I respect that. I'm lucky ours broke down in a car parking lot whilst picking kids up from school. 

[fiddyk23]

Absolutely valid concern. My concern is that no one seems to be talking about Audi about whether this issue is actually getting fixed or just repaired. What I’m saying they’re just replacing the broken alternator but are they actually replacing it with something that doesn’t happen again in the future because so far I think they are just putting the a new same part in

[Mark2]

I agree, I am pressing my dealer, who is sending my 2 page failure report to Audi UK, to tell me how many other customers with theses systems have had failures. Somehow we need to get this into a wider audience but understand few motoring journalist will,pick it up as it is the motor manufacturers who are their bread and butter. Maybe I will write to Private Eye.

[RSW]

Hello @Mark2, thanks for sharing this. Did you get a response from Audi UK on the BSG MHEV fault? I was about to purchase a 2022 RS6 but heard of this issue when looking at recalls. Not usually worried about issues occurring as I have experienced a fair few recalls on a number of performance cars -to be expected to a degree given the engineering/complexity- but this one feels different. Given our somewhat questionable smart motorways the thought of getting very little warning before the car starts to shut down simply sounds dreadful. Appreciate all cars breakdown, blow outs happen etc but having this as something that can happen with limited warning, resulting in a complete car shut down seems unacceptable, certainly wouldn't be comfortable taking kids on long journeys with that as a background nag. We are surrounded by smart motorways where I live and despite pushing on the issue with the Audi dealership -not unsurprisingly- they seem reluctant to provide a definitive position on whether the issue is recognised, whether it has been fully root caused and whether the replacement component(s)/software fixes have been fixed in the event it occurs vs like for like replacement with the prospect of a repeat. Disappointing as I was really looking forward to buying this car. Completely agree with your position on not taking the car back until they can definitively answer your questions. Would be good to hear where you get to on this, good luck!

[Mark2]

Audi UK rang me on Sunday. The long and short of the conversation was- There is no European vehicle Construction requirement to provide an indication that the battery is not being charged ( despite having 156 warning lamps in the manual). The fact that Audi do not consider this failure to be a safety issue really worries me. When I asked if Audi would prepare a software fix I was told this car is 3 years old and designed 5 years ago so very unlikely. So thanks for spending £100,000 now just !Removed! off.

This failure is not specific to RS models but all models which have the hybrid 48/12volt system. Audi have now instigated a 7 year warranty on this starter/charger. What they need to do is come clean about it and advise owners what to do if the yellow battery light comes on, which is TURN EVERYTHING OFF then DRIVE TO YOUR NEAREST AUDI DEALER. 

I was thinking of selling the car but have decided because I know so much about this problem I can handle any future issues. What would I replace it with which does not have all this electronic crap?