Piston/Ring replacement cost

[tropheusman]

Hey there, fairly new member here. I am hoping you all can assist me in a few questions about my 2010 A5.
I bought this A5 in Jan with 93kmi. On my 200 mile trip home it burned through 1/2 quart of oil, or so I think. I was unsure if it was topped off to begin with. Anyhow, after burning through a quart every 700-1000 miles I brought it to Audi to have an oil consumption test. They made an appointment for me and gave me a loaner. I only made it down the road about 2 miles before they called me and told me that this vehicle already had an oil consumption test and they couldn't do anything for me since it had 94kmi and was out of the extended warranty. Yes, I know, I know, I should've done my homework and realized these engines had this issue, so please be kind in the comments. Anyhow, I explained that they did replace the turbo at 69kmi because it was ruined by oil and that this was just an extension of that issue. I also explained that the previous owner kept meticulous records of all his service. They would have none of it and sent me on my way.

This is why I will never own another VAG product. I got burned in 2003 when I bought a 2.0L Jetta that burned a quart/1000kmi with only 23k and VW told me that was normal. I should've learned my lesson.

At this point I have 97kmi and the vehicle is burning a quart every fill-up, which for me is about 300kmi (crappy gas mileage because so much oil is gumming up the system). I am afraid to drive it now since after only a 100 miles or so the spark plugs on cylinder 2 is so coated in oil I get a severe misfire.

I paid $11k for the car and put $2k into it already to fix the timing chain tensioner issue, before it broke. I also replaced the exhaust because I was getting a cat OBDII code. So I am sitting on a $14k driveway ornament now. It is unsalable in this condition, and I would never do to someone else what was done to me and sell the car knowing it used oil like a long beach lifeguard.

My questions are these:[*]How long would it take to do a complete piston and ring job?[*]What would you expect the price to be to replace the pistons and rings and all the necessary seals/gaskets/bolts/etc to complete the job?[*]While the work is being done I also plan on having them replace the thermostat. What would be that cost? I think my estimate has them leaving the engine in the car to do the job.[*]I am sure the valves are carbon'd up severely with this oil issue. What would be the going rate to clean them as part of the larger job?[*]Should I have the head resurfaced as part of the job?

My estimate for all of the above items is $4400. This seems a bit steep. I somehow have it in my head that this is an 18 hr job. My garage charges $95+/hr.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, especially for those who were in the same position as me and were forced to pay for the work out of pocket.

[wkhanna]

sorry for your woes.....

one suggestion might be to go to all the audi dealerships near you & (V discretely) see if you can find a mechanic who does work on the side who might be willing to take on the job...

[tropheusman]

Thanks wkhanna. That is a great idea.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Audizine mobile app

[shonseb]

Also I would recommend you contact Audi of America and plead your case. If they do nothing, you've lost nothing except a few minutes of your time.

Also where in NY are you located?

[tropheusman]

It is worth a try.
I am about 30 miles north of Albany in Saratoga Springs

[manguyen]

Curious as to why it already had the oil consumption test done and nothing was done about it. I ended up unloading my Q5 due to similar oil consumption. (1qt for every 300 miles) The car was tuned so Audi denied the warranty work, even though they covered for the multiple oil consumption tests.

[Crucible35]

^^^ may not have been burning through as much oil at the time of the test.

I would suggest as above, fight it out with AoA and go to other dealerships. Wasn't there a warranty extension on this to 100K miles?
My '09 A4 had the pistons and rings replaced at the dealership free of charge when I was 60,000 kms (Canada) beyond the expiration of my warranty.

[tropheusman]

The extended warranty was 8 years or 80kmi under the class action lawsuit.

As far as nothing being done under the original consumption test, Audi said it passed the test. Of course I have no idea for sure because that was done under the previous owner and they won't admit they sold me a car they knew had an oil consumption issue.

[dpd0779]

Similar issue for me, I bought a 2010 A5 with 56k miles about a month ago. Although I'm not burning through oil as quickly, I've put about 750 miles on it and the MMI oil level is about half way down. The last owner had the oil consumption test done at 45k miles and it passed. Based on the records it was consuming .25 quarts per 1000 miles which the dealership deemed within tolerance. The previous owner brought it back again after the oil light came on about 1000 miles after an oil change but the dealership told him it was no longer in warranty so they could not do another oil consumption test unless he paid, which he refused and then traded it in apparently to the same dealer.

So at this point I'm left with a couple options. I can take it back to a local dealer where I live and see what if anything they can do, no doubt they will do another oil consumption test. I called around to a few local dealers to speak with folks in the service department to get an idea of how they handle the oil consumption issues, they all play a little dumb and explain it as if there are other reasons it could be burning oil, almost as if Audi has given dealerships a playbook on how to respond. What bugs me is these were clearly engines that were manufactured with flaws and like anything else with a flaw they should have been recalled and fixed if the owner wants to bring it in. I've seen some people on here post about getting the stage 2 fix even if the vehicle i out of warranty, maybe I'l get lucky and get some help from Audi or a local dealership, I'm not optimistic though.

[vtraudt]

Was hoping to find some cost estimates for the ring replacement job. If not here, can some link to info on it?
Job done with engine in?

[findalex]

There's a guy who specializes these type of repairs and posts on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMK...UvP0I19w6I9qSA

I think he's in your neck of the woods, or at least he can give you a good estimate. He's done quite a few of these repairs based on his videos.

[RockJGC]

There's a guy who specializes these type of repairs and posts on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMK...UvP0I19w6I9qSA

I think he's in your neck of the woods, or at least he can give you a good estimate. He's done quite a few of these repairs based on his videos.

I would never let that guy touch my car. In my opinion, he's a hack. I used to like his videos, but he's proven himself to be something that I originally thought he was not.

[Theiceman]

Was hoping to find some cost estimates for the ring replacement job. If not here, can some link to info on it?
Job done with engine in?

no, engine has to come out to replace pistons and rings

Sent from my SM-G973W using Audizine Forum mobile app