8Y Service Intervals

[aloha_from_brad]

I'm not new to this, but I'm definitely a little confused on what's right for my situation.

2023 8Y w/ 8k miles

I'm considering Audi Care but was told by the dealership that I need to use each of the services that I've paid for in the package at the recommended interval, whether that is time or mileage based. I'm also being told that the car needs to be serviced once a year regardless of mileage. I can understand an oil change yearly, that is normal, but the other time based services are just that - TIME BASED SERVICES - it should be time or mileage, whichever occurs first.

Brake Fluid - every 2 years regardless of mileage
Front Diff - first 20k then never again
Spark Plugs - 30k or 3 years
Torque Splitter - every 40k or 4 years
DSG - every 80k

So my question is this - what happens if my car only has 25k on it at the 4 year mark? That would completely defeat the purpose of buying Audi Care, right?

My other question is - do I need to be doing any of these services at the mileage intervals regardless of whether I've met the time cap?

I'm not trying to do the bare minimum here, as I typically over service my cars, meaning I'd rather do things earlier and more often to take the best care possible. I also don't want to be throwing money away. Audi Care is 100% worth it if I was going to be getting yearly services performed at the mileage intervals requiring that service, but just doing the service for the sake of having purchased a maintenance package seems wild.

Thoughts?

[GTItoS4]

Your dealer is correct -- the services are treated as annual services, regardless of mileage. 10K at year 1, 20K at year 2, etc. My last S4 aged out of it's Audicare package and I couldn't get the last service done. Dumb, but how it is unfortunately.

If you don't drive it much, and don't want to have them do the services early (by mileage), then maybe skip Audicare.

I'm going in for my "20K" service with only 10K miles in a few weeks. I'm curious how they will want to handle the front diff fluid change, but I suspect they're going to do it. Not sure about the clause in the parenthesis here:

Per the Audi website: https://maintenance.audiusa.com/#/search
Front Differential - Change MTF
Only once at first 20,000 miles (only if required according to Standard Inspection and specific process in Elsa)

[aloha_from_brad]

Your dealer is correct -- the services are treated as annual services, regardless of mileage. 10K at year 1, 20K at year 2, etc. My last S4 aged out of it's Audicare package and I couldn't get the last service done. Dumb, but how it is unfortunately.

If you don't drive it much, and don't want to have them do the services early (by mileage), then maybe skip Audicare.

I'm going in for my "20K" service with only 10K miles in a few weeks. I'm curious how they will want to handle the front diff fluid change, but I suspect they're going to do it. Not sure about the clause in the parenthesis here:

Per the Audi website: https://maintenance.audiusa.com/#/search
Front Differential - Change MTF
Only once at first 20,000 miles (only if required according to Standard Inspection and specific process in Elsa)

If you only have 10k @ 2 years, you should just be doing an oil change & brake flush. The front diff isn't due till "first 20k" and has nothing time based tied to it.

I'd image if the car is 5+ years old, hasn't reached 20k, and the front diff hasn't been serviced, you prob want to go ahead and do it. But then again, if it was that critical, Audi would have tied a time based increment to that specific service.

Audi Care seems to tailor to those who drive their cars 10k or more per year.

[robotvoice]

I definitely wouldn't wait until 80k to do the DSG service. I usually do those closer to 40k intervals.

[Rod Paine]

robotvoice is correct!
You need to involve 40k intervals to insure proper service times.
-Rod

[GTItoS4]

If you only have 10k @ 2 years, you should just be doing an oil change & brake flush. The front diff isn't due till "first 20k" and has nothing time based tied to it.

I'd image if the car is 5+ years old, hasn't reached 20k, and the front diff hasn't been serviced, you prob want to go ahead and do it. But then again, if it was that critical, Audi would have tied a time based increment to that specific service.

Audi Care seems to tailor to those who drive their cars 10k or more per year.

Everything you said is true and makes perfect sense if your services were a la cart. But that hasn't been my experience of how Audicare works -- you've prepaid for those service packages, so you get them at your annual services. If you drive 15K a year, you don't get to pop in once at 10K miles, again at 20K, and then again at 24 months and say you'd like just your time-based services performed, and then again for your 30K stuff.

[aloha_from_brad]

Everything you said is true and makes perfect sense if your services were a la cart. But that hasn't been my experience of how Audicare works -- you've prepaid for those service packages, so you get them at your annual services. If you drive 15K a year, you don't get to pop in once at 10K miles, again at 20K, and then again at 24 months and say you'd like just your time-based services performed, and then again for your 30K stuff.

Here's the exact fine print on Audi's website:

"Audi highly recommends that a maintenance service be performed every 10,000 miles or 12 months, whichever occurs first. Actual recommended service intervals and scheduled maintenance services vary based on vehicle model, model year, and mileage. The Audi Care 10k/20k/30k/40k prepaid scheduled maintenance package for model years 2020 and newer will expire at 52,000 miles or 60 months from the original vehicle in-service date, whichever occurs first. All subsequent Audi Care prepaid scheduled maintenance packages for model years 2020 and newer are valid for the mileage/time stipulated in their Audi Care contracts. See your Audi dealer, vehicle maintenance program booklet, and/or Audi Care Terms and Conditions for details."

So, you should be able to use whatever you want up to the 52k or 60mo mark unless your contract says otherwise. I'd imagine the dealerships would align with the stipulations on Audi's website. It's also a "recommendation" to service the car yearly, but again, nothing should be done unless you've reached the time or mileage based threshold. Whatever you end up not using would just be left on the table.

I could be wrong here, but it's looking like those who drive 40k miles within 5 years would benefit from having Audi Care. Otherwise, it might be a good idea to just service the car a la cart as leaving unused maintenance via Audi Care would just be a waste. I'd need to calculate what each service costs and estimate the miles I'd be at by that time. The big one is the rear diff service.

[S3DUDE]

Your questions are very relevant and important because the service plan from Audi and the time, the mileage and the use is so variable that it often makes you think if buying a service/maintenance plan is the way to go or not. I have a Audicare plan on my wife's 8Y RS3, she puts a lot of miles on her car(like minimum of 50 miles/day).

When I was presented with the option of the first 10K maintenance inspection paying out of pocket vs with the Audi maintenance plan there was a significant savings with the Audi Care however if you don't drive that much or that hard you would be better off just doing a third party maintenance. On our 1st 10K we don't think that the car was completely looked over. For instance, the air filter was dirty and you live in Arizona like me and we get a lot of dust storms.

I think that if you are not meeting the goal of mileage I wouldn't bother with the Audi Care. I have taken my Audis before to a third party shop nearby and they have been more reasonable with the maintenance plan. I saved a good chunk of money this way. The oil changes are expensive at the dealer, they are in the $160 range. You can do these yourself for a fraction. You being in the Phoeniz area there are a lot of well known reliable shops that can do all the maintenance, that would be another option.

[aloha_from_brad]

Your questions are very relevant and important because the service plan from Audi and the time, the mileage and the use is so variable that it often makes you think if buying a service/maintenance plan is the way to go or not. I have a Audicare plan on my wife's 8Y RS3, she puts a lot of miles on her car(like minimum of 50 miles/day).
When I was presented with the option of the first 10K maintenance inspection paying out of pocket vs with the Audi maintenance plan there was a significant savings with the Audi Care however if you don't drive that much or that hard you would be better off just doing a third party maintenance.on our 1st 10K we don't think that the car was completely looked over. For instance, the air filter was dirty and you live in Arizona like me and we get a lot of dust storms.
I think that if you are not meeting the goal of mileage I wouldn't bother with the Audi Care. I have taken my Audis before to a third party shop nearby and they have been more reasonable with the maintenance plan. I saved a good chunk of money this way. The oil changes are expensive at the dealer, they are in the $160 range. You can do these yourself for a fraction. You being in the Phoeniz area there are a lot of well known reliable shops that can do all the maintenance, that would be another option.

Yeah. I've decided to just do the work myself. I'll prob have a shop do the front diff and torque splitter services, but other than that, I'm just going to do my own oil changes, filters, brakes, etc. Audi Care really only is good if you meet the mileage goal like you said. It's ridiculous that you can buy maintenance package and have it expire before you get to use the damn thing. I may have the dealer do the oil changes at 10k intervals, and I'll just do them at 5k in-between.

[S3DUDE]

Yeah. I've decided to just do the work myself. I'll prob have a shop do the front diff and torque splitter services, but other than that, I'm just going to do my own oil changes, filters, brakes, etc. Audi Care really only is good if you meet the mileage goal like you said. It's ridiculous that you can buy maintenance package and have it expire before you get to use the damn thing. I may have the dealer do the oil changes at 10k intervals, and I'll just do them at 5k in-between.

Exactly. It is worst if you don't meet the mileage and there is even a much worse scenario on other car makers where you buy the maintenance plan, gets included on the purchase of the car and gets added as a total financial package with the car and therefore you pay it with the car payment and often you sell the car or trade it and you lose it all.

I think that you are going in the right direction. Do what you can do on your own and whatever you can't tackle then have the dealer do it or a third party shop do it. I have been in a few shops in Phoenix that work on VW /Audi, you have a few choices.

[aloha_from_brad]

Exactly. It is worst if you don't meet the mileage and there is even a much worse scenario on other car makers where you buy the maintenance plan, gets included on the purchase of the car and gets added as a total financial package with the car and therefore you pay it with the car payment and often you sell the car or trade it and you lose it all.

I think that you are going in the right direction. Do what you can do on your own and whatever you can't tackle then have the dealer do it or a third party shop do it. I have been in a few shops in Phoenix that work on VW /Audi, you have a few choices.

I've been wrenching for a long time, so I can prob do it all myself, but I don't have VCDS. Some services might be harder or flat out impossible because of that.

I was kicking myself for not including Audi Care during my visit to the finance office. I'm now seeing that it was a blessing in disguise.

[S3DUDE]

^^ I think you can add the maintenance plan even months after buying the car. For us it was offered on the first 10k service. I basically rolled the 10k maintenance bill into the cost of the 4 year maintenance plan. I purchased the Hex cable for VCDS for 3 VINs and I haven't use it yet but I will. There are tons of great videos from people on this forum that walk you through. I know Vancity Audi guy has a few videos. Do what we discussed earlier, do as much maintenance as you can feel comfortable with and leave the rest for the dealer or third party shop.

[AdamSheikh]

I've been wrenching for a long time, so I can prob do it all myself, but I don't have VCDS. Some services might be harder or flat out impossible because of that.

I was kicking myself for not including Audi Care during my visit to the finance office. I'm now seeing that it was a blessing in disguise.

Highly recommend picking up a VCDS cable or OBD11 dongle, even as a simple diagnostic tool should you ever need.

[aloha_from_brad]

Highly recommend picking up a VCDS cable or OBD11 dongle, even as a simple diagnostic tool should you ever need.

I do have an OBD11. That does most of what I need. Have used it on several VWs. Life saver.

[S3DUDE]

To the OP. After reading your post again it makes me want to compare the maintenance intercal with the previous model RS3. Doing the DSG service at 80K is a long ways. Also, the 20K front diff then never doing the service again is also concerning. The brake fluid makes sense and I recall doing it.

[GTItoS4]

Here's the exact fine print on Audi's website:

"Audi highly recommends that a maintenance service be performed every 10,000 miles or 12 months, whichever occurs first. Actual recommended service intervals and scheduled maintenance services vary based on vehicle model, model year, and mileage. The Audi Care 10k/20k/30k/40k prepaid scheduled maintenance package for model years 2020 and newer will expire at 52,000 miles or 60 months from the original vehicle in-service date, whichever occurs first. All subsequent Audi Care prepaid scheduled maintenance packages for model years 2020 and newer are valid for the mileage/time stipulated in their Audi Care contracts. See your Audi dealer, vehicle maintenance program booklet, and/or Audi Care Terms and Conditions for details."

So, you should be able to use whatever you want up to the 52k or 60mo mark unless your contract says otherwise. I'd imagine the dealerships would align with the stipulations on Audi's website. It's also a "recommendation" to service the car yearly, but again, nothing should be done unless you've reached the time or mileage based threshold. Whatever you end up not using would just be left on the table.

I could be wrong here, but it's looking like those who drive 40k miles within 5 years would benefit from having Audi Care. Otherwise, it might be a good idea to just service the car a la cart as leaving unused maintenance via Audi Care would just be a waste. I'd need to calculate what each service costs and estimate the miles I'd be at by that time. The big one is the rear diff service.

Follow up from my 2 year, "20k" Audicare service (I had 10k miles). The dealer, who is excellent and I do trust, confirmed with Audi that the diff fluid required changing at this service. I might do it again myself closer to 20k, but for Audicare to cover it, it had to be done at the 2 year interval. The dealer also said they looked into the technical service details in the electronic/online service manual and there is a bit more to the decision of when to change the fluid than just "20K miles". YMMV! Interested in what others are experiencing in a similar situation.

[sleepy_rs3]

does the 8Y RS3 have a diffrerent front differential than the 8V? I'm aware of the rear torque splitter being different, so that would certainly explain why the front diff may be different, but I was hoping someone here could confirm. I'm asking because I've always been perplexed by the 8V front and rear diff not being 'officially' serviceable and 20k intervals for the 8Y is quite frequent compared to other services (DSG, haldex).

[GTItoS4]

Audi says it's a one-time service at 20k. So presumably some break-in process for it.

I don't know that you can find a part number for just the front differential (since it's buried in the transmission), but the two transmissions (8Y vs 8V) have different part numbers from my poking around... which may be meaningless differences or may explain the very different fluid change intervals.

0DL300013E018 (8V)
0DL300014E003 (8Y)

[sleepy_rs3]

Audi says it's a one-time service at 20k. So presumably some break-in process for it.

I don't know that you can find a part number for just the front differential (since it's buried in the transmission), but the two transmissions (8Y vs 8V) have different part numbers from my poking around... which may be meaningless differences or may explain the very different fluid change intervals.

0DL300013E018 (8V)
0DL300014E003 (8Y)

Thanks. My fear is that it is the same front differential and Audi learned that there should be a break-in diff fluid service change then implemented the 20k service on the 8Y without mentioning anything to the 8V community.

[GTItoS4]

Yeah, but the factory-fill fluid could have changed as well. Too many variables to know why the service difference between the two.

[aloha_from_brad]

does the 8Y RS3 have a diffrerent front differential than the 8V? I'm aware of the rear torque splitter being different, so that would certainly explain why the front diff may be different, but I was hoping someone here could confirm. I'm asking because I've always been perplexed by the 8V front and rear diff not being 'officially' serviceable and 20k intervals for the 8Y is quite frequent compared to other services (DSG, haldex).

Apparently Audi had issues with some of the 8V front diffs and changed it for the 8Y. Like GTI said, there is a break-in period where material can become suspended in the fluid. Audi decided it would be best to service the diff in the new gen.

[sleepy_rs3]

Apparently Audi had issues with some of the 8V front diffs and changed it for the 8Y. Like GTI said, there is a break-in period where material can become suspended in the fluid. Audi decided it would be best to service the diff in the new gen.

interesting. when you say 'changed it' do you mean the servicing or the differential itself?

[aloha_from_brad]

interesting. when you say 'changed it' do you mean the servicing or the differential itself?

I just mean the servicing. Apparently the 8V didn't have a service interval on the schedule, so you were never supposed to change the diff oil. Now it's required at 20k. I remember reading somewhere that some people had issues with the front diff failing on the 8V. I'm not sure if it was a sealed until or not.