Dear Gareth
Thank you for your response. Apologies that it has taken me so long to reply. In the intervening period I raised a complaint with Audi UK and Marshall Motor Group, who own the franchise that had serviced my car.
As regards the points you raise, no, the car does not have stop/start and, for the first nine or so years of its life, had been mostly garaged and subject to occasional use at weekends and for long touring holidays. However, since the pandemic and "work from home", there have been more frequent short journeys. I take the point that the belt would have been subject to more stresses in those recent years.
Understood about trusting a main dealer. I guess I believed they had the technicians, tools and the knowhow to ensure the car was kept in top condition, and that that (and a full, Audi service history – I was never sure how long I would keep the car for) was worth paying the extra for, but I now see the error of my ways. In truth I don’t have much mechanical awareness (albeit I now know more about this particular subject!), hence it would never have occurred to me ask the dealer about things that they weren’t recommending replacing, or to raise the fact that, as the car was aging, was there anything that should have been replaced, but hadn’t. As you infer, their previous actions suggested that they would have “advised belt change” in order to make money.
In response to my complaint, the dealer said that they rarely see failures of the ribbed belt – supposedly they only see it a couple of times a year. Apparently, over the last 20 years or so the materials that are used for these belts have changed and, for that reason, they don’t suffer the wear and tear of previous fan belts. They said that, from their perspective, it was not clear if the belt had failed of its own accord, or if there had been wear on the rollers or pulleys which had caused the belt to disintegrate. Seems to me that wear on the rollers/pulleys is also something that could have also been picked up at the last service.
Audi UK who, it appears, spoke to the dealer as well, responded by saying that they couldn’t guarantee that components wouldn’t fail, hence why they provide warranties, but apparently they monitor failure rates on all components. They confirmed that there is no time/distance interval given by Audi for the ribbed belt to be replaced. Whilst goodwill payments could be made, as the vehicle was over 10 years old, they (both the dealer and Audi UK) were unable to offer any goodwill support. They said I could refer my complaint to the Motor Ombudsman, but I see little point in doing that.
So, I guess I will just have to put this one down to experience. It has substantially knocked my trust in Audi and their brand. I was looking to replace the car, given that I will get clattered by the extension to the London ULEZ (if not for that, I would keep the vehicle and run it into the ground), and would have happily considered any VAG brand. But now I think I will look elsewhere, and consider other options. And, when it comes to servicing, try to find a trusted local garage.
Kind regards
Bill