# S-Tronic oil change cost?



## UlsTTer (Apr 28, 2005)

Stealers have quoted around *£241* (inc VAT) for gearbox oil and filter change

Seems pricey to me ... is this the going rate ?


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## JBTT (Jun 14, 2010)

[smiley=book2.gif]

Seems about right , paid a lot for it in Paris , apparently it is a special procedure that needs to be done under controlled temperature etc etc

JBTT


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## micaerin (Nov 23, 2008)

surely this is the same as a DSG service they do on a VW Golf GTI, costs £170. may be wrong im sure someone will be along to confirm.


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## maxamus007 (Mar 9, 2011)

Instead of taking it to Audi, Take it to VW as they do the same thing on their DSG cars.
Will be cheaper and they use the same oils and technology!! 
VW & Audi are pretty much the same under the hood.

I get my brake discs and pads done by VW instead of Audi as its half the price! Discs are form a MK6 Golf and pads are from a Passat! You'd be surprised how much the two groups share interms of parts.....


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## Hadaak (Dec 25, 2008)

did my 30.000 km in a VW dealer who used to sell Audi. When I booked on the phone I thought they were still selling Audi. Bu when I got to the garage they told me they stopped doing Audi. Didn't bother me much especially that the price was 250€ instead of 600€ in an Audi stealership !! I'm calling them soon for the 60.000 km + Stronic service. Last time I paid 250€ for my Golf DSG service and that was at a mixed VW/Audi dealer  
Funny how VW was all over the place when I visited the Audi Ingolstadt factory


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## wja96 (Mar 4, 2010)

Skoda dealers are cheaper still. Exactly the same bits in most cases.


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## UlsTTer (Apr 28, 2005)

maxamus007 said:


> Instead of taking it to Audi, Take it to VW as they do the same thing on their DSG cars.
> Will be cheaper and they use the same oils and technology!!
> VW & Audi are pretty much the same under the hood.
> 
> I get my brake discs and pads done by VW instead of Audi as its half the price! Discs are form a MK6 Golf and pads are from a Passat! You'd be surprised how much the two groups share interms of parts.....


Cheers for that tip Maxamus .. got price of about £180 from VW Group .. so £60 cheaper than *RIP OFF Audi*


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## ScoobyTT (Aug 24, 2009)

Nice move. £240 was around the right price for an Audi dealer. I nearly fell off my chair when I had my gearbox oil changed, and that was one of those investigatory things where they "try" to solve a problem, take your money, and fail. :x


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## LEO-RS (Apr 13, 2009)

What is the timeframe on an S-tronic service? 4yrs/40k miles?


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## Hadaak (Dec 25, 2008)

or you can always try it yourself


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## maxamus007 (Mar 9, 2011)

*NEVER* take your car to Audi unless its a warranty issue!!
For servicing and everything else go to VW and you'll save a atleast a 1/4 or a 1/3 and you'll get better service too because my experience of Audi dealerships is that they are a bunch of [email protected]! Audi only care about sales- the after care is bad!


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## TortToise (Aug 22, 2009)

Given that there are issues around S-tronic reliability, I think that it's probably worth the £80 or so extra over a VW garage to get it done by Audi in the event that you might want to call on their 'goodwill' should something go wrong with the box down the line, out of warranty.

Of course, they might decline to show any goodwill no matter what or they may decide that VW are 'a safe pair of hands' (being part of the same group) and show goodwill anyway but I'd tend to treat this sort of extra cost like an insurance premium. It's only every 40k miles so it won't break the bank.


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## Philplop (Nov 22, 2011)

I would try to find a good independant garage. Will be a lot cheaper.

Audi and VW can charge extortionate prices, do a crappy job, give bad service, and they'll still get custom. Independent garages get work from earning a good reputation.

I know who I trust more.

Obviously it's finding a good one that is the trouble though!


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## Myttrocks (Mar 30, 2011)

Perth Audi did mine for £200 all in and provided good service, so not Audi dealers are bad.


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## wja96 (Mar 4, 2010)

If you use an approved dealer you can at least fall back on Audi UK customer services. Try that with an independent and see how far you get. There was a guy on here who has the diff disintegrate after having the oil changed at an independent. They swore blind they had serviced it properly, but it looked like they had drained it from the right hole and refilled it from the wrong one. Had an Audi dealer done that, they would probably have at least contributed to the cost of repairing it, if not just processed it as a warranty claim, instead of which he had to shell out for a new diff.

Independents look great on paper, but when they cock up, they tend to run into a world of denial where it's very hard to get something rectified.


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## maxamus007 (Mar 9, 2011)

TortToise said:


> Given that there are issues around S-tronic reliability, I think that it's probably worth the £80 or so extra over a VW garage to get it done by Audi in the event that you might want to call on their 'goodwill' should something go wrong with the box down the line, out of warranty.


Anyone who buys an S-Tronic without any warranty is asking for it!
Infact, i would never buy an Audi without warranty!
For a prestige manufacturer they are sh1te!

In the year ive had my TTC, ive needed a new mechatronic unit (£2,500), new rear boot parcel shelf (£350), new passenger side window regulator (£234)...over £3,000 in warranty claims in 1 year!!


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## ScoobyTT (Aug 24, 2009)

Spot on, Rembrandt  All parts have a MTBF. It's just a question of when the mechatronic will fail, and that's why I opted for a manual box. I still think it's a crap box though and surprise surprise Audi dealers are unable to find out why it's often as rough as a bear's jacksy. Premium brand :roll:


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## UlsTTer (Apr 28, 2005)

TortToise said:


> Given that there are issues around S-tronic reliability, *I think that it's probably worth the £80 or so *extra over a VW garage to get it done by Audi in the event that you might want to call on their 'goodwill' should something go wrong with the box down the line, out of warranty.
> 
> Of course, they might *decline to show any goodwill *no matter what or they may decide that VW are 'a safe pair of hands' (being part of the same group) and show goodwill anyway but I'd tend to treat this sort of extra cost like an insurance premium. It's only every 40k miles so it won't break the bank.


Err ... WHY give the stealers £80 extra when a VW garage use the exact same oil and technique as an Audi garage when replacing the oil ... it's just down to exorbitant labour rates with Audi that makes the difference ?

Ps: .. .what is Audi _'good will'_ ... can you explain please ?


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## easty (Aug 23, 2005)

not sure how many people have had experiences of Audi 'good will' but i did last week. They have decided to pay 50% of the overall 1200 bill for a new steering rack. Bearing in mind the car is well out of warranty and is a 2007 57 model TT.

I am not sticking up for audi one bit, although i am sure that if the car didnt have FASH it would have been a different story altogether.


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## JSoapy (Sep 14, 2011)

maxamus007 said:


> TortToise said:
> 
> 
> > Given that there are issues around S-tronic reliability, I think that it's probably worth the £80 or so extra over a VW garage to get it done by Audi in the event that you might want to call on their 'goodwill' should something go wrong with the box down the line, out of warranty.
> ...


Hi Maxamus. I've had my 6 year old V6 S-tronic Mk2 (with FASH) for about 6 months now with no issues. I'm starting to fret after reading all the horror stories about the S-tronic gearbox and window regulator problems. Trawling the internet for aftermarket warranties is a minefield. The only acid test of a warranty is someone who has used it successfully. Would you mind telling me who you have your warranty with and how much it costs. Regards Soapy


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## TortToise (Aug 22, 2009)

JSoapy said:


> Hi Maxamus. I've had my 6 year old V6 S-tronic Mk2 (with FASH) for about 6 months now with no issues. I'm starting to fret after reading all the horror stories about the S-tronic gearbox and window regulator problems.


Regarding the S-Tronic issues, seems to me that aside from random failures which can happen to any part, there are a small number of boxes which just aren't right from the start and they are the source of the many problem reports. They seem to be categorised by being slow off the mark when you lift the brake pedal (leading to 'the delay of death') and clunky through the low gears at low speeds. Invariably they end up needing mechatronic swaps.

Basically, you'll know fairly quickly if you have a 'problem' S-tronic of the sort that generates so many internet posts. If yours has been going for six years then it's not one of those boxes.

(Of course there is always the chance of failure as with any part and as the S-tronic is more complex than a typical gearbox setup so there will be an inherently higher risk of something going wrong and also a higher cost to fix. But that's a risk you take with any mechanical device)

I love my S-tronic and would almost certainly look for it in my next purchase but in the case of buying a secondhand car I'd want a proper, lengthy test drive to suss out any issues with the gearbox before committing to buy. With a new car I'd be very quick to report any issues back to the garage as well as informing them before purchase of my concerns about potential problems.


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## JSoapy (Sep 14, 2011)

TortToise said:


> JSoapy said:
> 
> 
> > Hi Maxamus. I've had my 6 year old V6 S-tronic Mk2 (with FASH) for about 6 months now with no issues. I'm starting to fret after reading all the horror stories about the S-tronic gearbox and window regulator problems.
> ...


Thanks for the reassurance. The one thing I have learnt with driving the S-tronic is that after sitting at a junction in N, selecting drive then taking my foot off the brake the car will roll backwards a couple of inches before it picks up. I treat that as a "feature of the model Sir." If you have your hand on the gear selector whilst in D you can feel the drive engaging and disengaging as you press the brake pedal. I get around this by engaging D with the handbrake on just before pulling away and have no problems. Also trying to drive off in 1st without a slightly jerky uplift takes a very smooth right foot. Reverse parking up an incline is an interesting experience which has to been taken carefully. But I'm still impressed everytime I drive it, the seamless gearchange (all you notice is the rev changes as it changes gear) with your foot partially down still amazes me. 
As regards a warranty, I have to decide whether I save my money and hope everything will be ok or pay a substantial amount of money for peace of mind. I realise that forums tend to be used by people to highlight problems and there are probably thousands of cars like mine which appear to be fine (for the moment)

All in all I love the car. The looks and the sound of the V6 still make me smile everytime I drive it. Long may it last.
Cheers Soapy


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## maxamus007 (Mar 9, 2011)

JSoapy said:



> Also trying to drive off in 1st without a slightly jerky uplift takes a very smooth right foot.


Mine is smooth. No jerkiness at all.


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## woodgnome (Nov 8, 2016)

JSoapy said:


> Also trying to drive off in 1st without a slightly jerky uplift takes a very smooth right foot.


Mine seems very sensitive when pulling away too but I wouldn't say it was jerky. With mine I think it's just a combination of a sensitive peddle, a powerful motor and a lead foot.


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## andez1781 (May 27, 2015)

JSoapy said:


> TortToise said:
> 
> 
> > JSoapy said:
> ...


if you apply light pressure on the brake pedal just enough to hold it the clutch will engage , it is designed to disengage the clutch through a certain amount of pressure . The feeling you get through your gear stick is a locking mechanism designed to stop you moving the gear stick when moving , what you feel is it unlocking when the brake is applied. Jerky take off is from you not allowing enough time for the clutch to engage as said above give light pressure (but dont do it unless needed due to clutch wear)


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## Skygod (Mar 1, 2012)

£149 for mine from an ex Audi Master Tech indie. Also did my transfer box, haldex and final drive oil, fuel filter, VCDS scan/tweaks & my MOT. All genuine Audi parts. Change from £450


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## Hadaak (Dec 25, 2008)

A bit off topic but might shed some light on the behaviour of the box, especially the delay. When you first slow down or apply the brakes then accelerate or downshift using the paddles, the box is somewhat going into lower speed mode and when you accelerate it takes sometime to change the behaviour and you notice the delay. This happens when you want to overtake, if you apply the brakes for some reason then you use the paddles to downshift, the box almost goes to neutral for a split second. The solution already mentionned on this forum is: before using the paddles to downshift you should accelerate a bit, the box gets ready for speed behaviour, you use the paddle to downshift and the the downshift is instant and smooth.


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