PJG

Hi Gareth, I use Audi's Flexible Service which means that they only see the car every two years. The cost of my latest service was £399 including parts. Viewing this as about £200 per year it looks quite reasonable. Also I know that I am getting genuine Audi parts. Back to cambelts, perhaps the question should now be, "How long will a water pump last?" Then the advice would be, change the cambelt when the water pump is changed. At least a failing water pump won't spell instant disaster for the engine. For Audi to now say, across their entire range that uses such belts, only mileage counts, they must have confidence in them and I expect that is backed by extensive research, advanced technology and user feed-back and warranty claims. Audi UK seems now to be aligned with Audi Germany.

Update. This morning I delivered my A3 Sportback to my Audi Main Dealer and signed for the following work to commence: normal service plus cambelt and water pump change. I left the car in their care. About 10 minutes after leaving I received a call from Audi advising that Audi UK no longer recommend cambelt changes at 5 years and a mileage only limit now applies (about 130,00 miles). They offered to scrap the worksheet I had signed and replaced it with just the normal service. This I gladly accepted and they refunded the prepaid cambelt fee I had paid. I understand that this change to cambelt servicing has been communicated to all Audi UK dealers. Needless to say, the Free MoT for life offer was withdrawn. It will be interesting to hear if other members are now receiving the same advice.

In reply to Magnet, The US Audi dealer can be found by this link https://www.prestigeimports.net/service/your-guide-to-audi-scheduled-maintenance-intervals-and-procedures/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=iiEfW1QCajASVeZAzZQvIn8V4nqGjB91ypkTQVDoW4c-1682625050-0-gaNycGzNC-U The associated link for the Audi A3 2015 is here https://di-uploads-development.dealerinspire.com/prestigeimportsredesign/uploads/2015/12/Audi-Maintenance-Schedule-Model-Year-2015.pdf You may need to copy and paste these urls. My car will be 8 years old this year and has only 43000 miles on the clock. At the last service the Audi dealer did ask about getting the cambelt changed but I just pointed out the service handbook information that did not mention a time interval and he made no further comment. The belt has not been changed yet. My previous car was an A4 1.9 TDi 2005. Cambelt was changed after 57k miles and 5 years. That car is still around and has now covered 120k miles with no further cambelt change. It is easy to inspect the belt on this model and it still looks to be in excellent condition. I find all the conflicting information quite bewildering.

I have been following the discussion about timing belt changes. Looking at Audi sites in the USA only the milage limit is mentioned and never a 5 year time limit. Why is this?