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What Caused Recent Check Engine Light? - 2015 Audi A3 Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited October 2015 in Audi
imageWhat Caused Recent Check Engine Light? - 2015 Audi A3 Long-Term Road Test

No one wants to see a check engine light. When the CEL illuminated in our 2015 Audi A3, seemingly without cause, we made a trip to the dealer for the diagnosis.

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Comments

  • ebeaudoinebeaudoin Member Posts: 509
    You guys ought to have a CEL reader. Relatively small investment for an auto journalism publication.
  • kirkhilles1kirkhilles1 Member Posts: 863
    I'm sorry, but I REALLY have to see a breakdown of that $372 charge. Is there even such a breakdown or is it the whole "staggering $270 to fall into the labor column" that you indicated in the other column. $160 per hour. Jeebus. These "inspections" shouldn't cost you anything. The whole point of dealerships doing them (FOR FREE) is to find in-warranty work they can bill for. Otherwise, just wait for the thing to fail already. It has 15k on it, not 250k.
  • diigiidiigii Member Posts: 156
    $372 46 for an oil change and tire rotation? Ridiculous!
  • nate001nate001 Member Posts: 102
    No included maintenance with this car? Its included when you buy a Volkswagen but not an Audi?
    If I were to go to a dealer for a service it should include these checks each time: Hoses, Belts, Fluids, Steering & Suspension components. Most of these are visual checks and don't take long, Total labor should be no more then an hour and parts should be less then $100

  • kirkhilles1kirkhilles1 Member Posts: 863
    Haha, I was searching the web and found this site you guys might be aware of that had some good tips that maybe you should look into:

    http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/avoid-getting-ripped-off-on-repairs-and-maintenance.html
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    It's about $90 high per the Edmunds Maintenance Guide, which estimates $280.74 for a Beverly Hills zip (hey, 90201 is the only LA zip code I know). Not too far out of line in other words.
  • dvanosdvanos Member Posts: 52
    edited October 2015
    diigii said:

    $372 46 for an oil change and tire rotation? Ridiculous!

    Agreed total ripoff!!
  • DebunkerDebunker Member Posts: 49
    Just had the dealer do the ten thousand service on my 2015 GTI. It included everything you describe here, and the cost was around $100.
  • s197gts197gt Member Posts: 486
    that is crazy expensive.

    you might also check into a bluetooth obd2 adapter and whatever phone app would work best. i used torque for android and a $15 (or less) bluetooth adaptor for the obd2 port. read all my bmw codes. and it resets them, too.

    and i used the free version of the app. saved me $60 at an indy repair shop. i went ahead and bought the app as thanks. less than $20 i think...
  • thecardoc3thecardoc3 Member Posts: 5,840
    Codes should NOT be cleared until the issue that caused the computer to generate a trouble code has been fully investigated. There is a lot of back-ground information that also gets reset when someone clears codes that could have been very helpful as part of the diagnostic process. What's more is the fact that when codes do set, they can block other tests from running. It's not uncommon for more than one code to be getting generated on a given vehicle, and with the progressive nature of OBDII someone clearing codes could hide the other codes that would have otherwise been retrievable and could have played a role in being able to diagnose all of a vehicles problems the first time.
  • schen72schen72 Member Posts: 433
    s197gt said:

    that is crazy expensive.

    you might also check into a bluetooth obd2 adapter and whatever phone app would work best. i used torque for android and a $15 (or less) bluetooth adaptor for the obd2 port. read all my bmw codes. and it resets them, too.

    and i used the free version of the app. saved me $60 at an indy repair shop. i went ahead and bought the app as thanks. less than $20 i think...

    That's what I use too. I had a failing cat on my old '99TL which would trigger the CEL. Over the years, I could monitor how bad it was getting by simply resetting the light and seeing how long it took for it come back. Eventually when it would come back on almost instantly, I knew it was time for a new cat as it wouldn't pass the bi-yearly smog test in CA.
  • barich1barich1 Member Posts: 143
    A full synthetic oil change, tire rotation, and inspection at my Mazda dealer is like $75. Plus a $20 Castrol mail-in rebate at least some of the time. Luxury brands sure do overcharge for everything.
  • jakek66jakek66 Member Posts: 60
    My '16 GTI with the same engine doesn't require a 15,000 mile maintenance - why does the Audi? Plus most dealers include 5-years of maintenance with purchase... Seems like a steal, Also the A3 doesn't seem like much of an upgrade inside or outside.
  • thecardoc3thecardoc3 Member Posts: 5,840
    jakek66 said:

    My '16 GTI with the same engine doesn't require a 15,000 mile maintenance

    So when are the required service intervals?
    jakek66 said:


    Plus most dealers include 5-years of maintenance with purchase... Seems like a steal

    Well that's one way to put it considering that you paid for it inside of the purchase price........

  • msmayatsmsmayats Member Posts: 1
    I bought a brand new 2015 Audi A3 on December 2014.
    In Year 2 it was jittering so the dealer had to replace some parts in the engine.
    In Year 3 the dealer replaced the whole engine.
    In Year 4 the engine light goes on.
    My car's spent more time at the dealer for non-service related issues than with me!
    Time to get rid of it.
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