Hello.
Had I found this discussion earlier I would be £1500 richer. Following the lockdown, I too received the "Start/Stop system fault" and the "Brake servo: restricted" messages. Since the message also said "You can continue driving" I did. But not for long before I received a red warning that basically said STOP NOW. I don't remember exactly what it said but it was clear that I couldn't "continue driving". My car went into the shop 5 weeks ago and I just got it back yesterday. The total was around £3000 and but dealer reduced it to £1500 as a goodwill gesture. I took a printout of this tread and highlighted the following to the service manager:
There are around 40 of us who have had this issue and documented it
Many of us experienced the issue after our cars were parked for the lockdown period
Many of us were just out of the 3 year warranty period
The message said we could continue to drive when this is clearly not the case
As expected, he was not at all interested and I ended up paying the bill. Now I will contact Audi, the DVSA and Motor Ombudsman.
On a side note, they put a sticker on my car door "This Vehicle Has Been Sanitised". After parking at my house I noticed that this was clearly not the case. There were strands of hair from my dog and some water and coffee spots on the centre console. I called them and asked what they do to sanitise the vehicles before returning them to their customers. First I was told that they thoroughly wipe down the inside of the car and door handles. When I said that this had not been done on my car he then said that they only wipe down the surfaces they touch. Well the radio was on, which I never use, so I know that they touched the centre console. When I told them this he then told me that they only spray the surfaces. How could he change is response 3 times? He then offered to come to my house with one of his guys and show me what they do. I figured he was coming to cover his !Removed! so I told him to save it for the people who come to visit him. I contacted my local MP who has forwarded it to Environmental Health.
With all this said, the main point i want to make is be careful and make sure you take some sanitiser with you when you pick up your car or point out any issues while you are there.
Keep safe and thanks for all the information you have posted. Hopefully I can contribute more.
