2013 Audi S7 4 DR AWD

Due to this oil sceen being clogged, the turbos were starved for oil and subsequently failed. There was no warning for this and oil was changed regularly per the service manual. I was stranded 80 miles from home. The car began running poorly and then would not run at all. There is a service bulletin on the problem but Audi of America has not yet done anything about my repairs.

While traveling home on the interstate from the airport, my vehicle suddenly started to run very rough and the engine felt like it was going to stall at low idle. I had decreased acceleration capability. No warning lamps illuminated, but it was obvious something was wrong. I limped the car to my local Audi dealership and left it there for an inspection the following morning. I was contacted by a service advisor the next day, who told me one of my turbochargers failed (specifically, he stated the impeller fin had too much play and was rubbing against the walls of the housing) and the other turbocharger would likely fail soon as well. I was shown a video by the technician confirming this was the issue. The service advisor told me there was a technical service bulletin produced by Audi referencing this issue, TSB 2044640/2. That bulletin states "Damage to the turbocharger is rarely directly the result of turbocharger failure." Known causes listed include performance increases by tuned ECM, non-compliance with service intervals, incorrectly fitted oil filter element, poor oil supply of turbocharger, and leaks in intake tract. The vehicle has been serviced regularly and meticulously by the same Audi dealership form which it was originally purchased since it was brand new. It has not had any performance modifications. I feel the factory oil strainer from Audi is deficient and led to the premature failure of the turbocharger and my unsafe experience on the highway. The service advisor stated the turbocharger should have lasted much longer and could not explain why it failed. The replacement cost is approximately $12,000.

INITIALLY I WAS DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE (I-95) AND COULD FEEL THE CAR RUNNING ROUGH OR MISSING. AFTER I EXITED THE INTERSTATE AND MERGED ONTO THE HIGHWAY (SR405) THE CAR STALLED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT. WOULDN'T START AT FIRST AND AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS IT FINALLY STARTED BUT WAS RUNNING REALLY ROUGH. LUCKILY I WAS ONLY A MILE FROM THE HOUSE AND WAS ABLE TO GET OFF THE HIGHWAY AND LIMP HOME ON SOME BACK ROADS. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO AUDI THE NEXT DAY AND THEY DIAGNOSED THE ISSUE TO BE A FAILURE OF THE TURBOS. REPAIR TOOK 21 DAYS AND THEY HAD TO REPLACE THE TURBOS AND THE OIL SCREENS.

I HEARD A POP SOUND WHEN ACCELERATING AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND I LOSS A LOT OF POWER. I CALLED THE AUDI DEALER AND THEY TOLD ME TO DRIVE IT IN. I LEFT IT WITH THEN AND THEY TOLD ME THEY COULDN'T REPLICATE THE ISSUE AFTER A COUPLE OF WEEKS. I WENT TO PICK IT UP AND THE PROBLEM STILL EXISTED. I WENT BACK AND GRABBED A SERVICE TECH AND WE DROVE IT AROUND THE BLOCK TOGETHER. HE ASKED THAT I ACCELERATE AT WHICH POINT WHITE SMOKE STARTED POURING OUT OF THE BACK. WE DROVE IT BACK. THEY DIAGNOSED IT LATER AS BEING A BLOWN TURBO. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO A DIFFERENT SHOP TO REPLACE THE TURBOS AND THEY SAID THE ENGINE WAS DESTROYED AND ALL CYLINDERS WERE MARKED. I TOWED IT BACK TO AUDI AND THEY TOLD ME THAT BECAUSE IT HAD AFTERMARKET PARTS THEY WEREN'T RESPONSIBLE. THEY AGREED TO FLUSH THE OIL SEVERAL TIMES AND SELL IT AT AUCTION AS IS WHICH COST ME TO LOSE NEARLY $30,000. THEY WERE LIABLE FOR THE PROBLEM BECAUSE THEY HAD THE CAR BEFORE THE CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. THEY MISS-DIAGNOSED WHAT WE ALL KNOW NOW WAS A FAILURE OF THE PCV VALVE AND A CLOGGED OIL SCREEN. IT WAS ON A DRIVE WITH THEM AFTER NOT DIAGNOSING IT THAT THE TURBOS HAD A CRITICAL FAILURE AND TOOK OUT THE ENGINE. THIS WOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN AN ISSUE HAD THEY PROPERLY DIAGNOSED THE FAILED PCV AND OIL SCREEN PROBLEM. THEY PRESSURED ME INTO SETTLING WITH THEIR PROPOSAL OR ELSE THEY THREATENED TO RETURN THE CAR TO ME AND DO NOTHING.

THE TURBOS BLEW AT 71074 MILES, RENDERING THE VEHICLE INOPERABLE NEARLY 500 MILES FROM HOME.

I EXITED THE HIGHWAY, MERGED ONTO A 4 LANE HIGHWAY, AND MOVED TO THE CENTER LANE TO TURN LEFT. THE ENGINE SHUT OFF AND WHEN RESTARTING WOULD SHUT OFF AGAIN AFTER A COUPLE OF SECONDS. THIS MADE IT NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO TURN LEFT OFF THE HIGHWAY. THERE WERE MULTIPLE VEHICLES APPROACHING AT 50 MPH. AFTER HAVING THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALER I WAS INFORMED THAT THE TURBOS FAILED AT 69,000 MILES. I CHECKED ONLINE AND FOUND MANY PEOPLE WITH THE SAME 4.0 TWIN TURBO ENGINE HAD THIS FAILURE. MY OPINION IS THIS FAILURE IS PREMATURE, DANGEROUS, AND SHOULD BE RECALLED.

WITH 68033 MILES ON MY AUDI S7 THE TURBOS FAILED AND REQUIRED TO BE REPLACED. THE FIRST INDICATION OF THE PROBLEM WAS WHEN THE ENGINE SHUTDOWN IN TRAFFIC AND I HAD A HARD TIME STARTING IT WHILE STOPPED IN A BUSY CITY TRAFFIC LANE. IT TOOK 3 ATTEMPTS TO GET THE ENGINE STARTED BUT IT IDLED VERY ROUGHLY ALMOST QUIT RUNNING AGAIN. I WAS ABLE TO LIMP THE CAR HOME, BUT WAS NOT SURE OF THE ENGINE WOULD QUIT AGAIN IF I LET IT IDLE.

TURBOS FAILED AT APPROXIMATELY 82,000 MILES DUE TO A CLOGGED OIL FEED SCREEN. TURBOS WERE STARVED OF OIL CAUSING ONE COMPRESSOR SHAFT TO BREAK IN HALF AND THE OTHER TO HAVE EXCESSIVE SHAFT PLAY. THIS CAUSED A NO-RUN ISSUE AND RESULTED IN BOTH TURBOS HAVING TO BE REPLACED ALONG WITH THE OIL SCREEN. THE VEHICLE BEGAN RUNNING POORLY AT HIGHWAY SPEED AND WHEN IT CAME TO A STOP, STALLED AT A BUSY FREEWAY INTERCHANGE. AFTER MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS, THE CAR WAS ABLE TO START AND LIMP OFF THE ROAD WHERE IT WAS TOWED FROM AND DIAGNOSED AT A MECHANIC

BLOWN TURBOS RESULTED IN CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE. I HAD TO PAY LABOR OF $10,500 AND WARRANTY PAID FOR NEW ENGINE. HAPPENED AT APPROXIMATELY 72,000 MILES. VEHICLE IN GEAR WITH FOOT ON BRAKE AT A FAST FOOD DRIVE THROUGH.

BOUGHT MY CAR WITH 77,000 MILES ON IT AND WHEN I REACHED 81,000 MILES MY TURBO CHARGER FAILED. THIS SEEMS TO BE COMMON ISSUE WITH THIS YEAR VEHICLE, SO COMMON IN FACT, THAT THERE'S BELIEF THERE MAY BE A DESIGN FLAW IN THE CAR. BELOW IS A DESCRIPTION OF THE ISSUE. WHILE GOING COMING BACK FROM THE GROCERY STORE (DRIVING NORMALLY ON A SATURDAY) I NOTICED THAT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT APPEARED. THE CAR CONTINUED TO DRIVE OK SO I WENT AHEAD AND DROVE HOME AND PARKED IT. THE FOLLOWING MONDAY I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER, HOWEVER WHILE ON THE WAY TO THE DEALERSHIP, I STARTED HEARING A SPORADIC KNOCKING NOISE WHENEVER I STEPPED ON THE ACCELERATOR, AS WELL AND ENGINE HESITATION. AFTER ARRIVING AT THE DEALERSHIP I REQUESTED THAT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT BUT CHECKED AND ALSO THE NEW NOISE I WAS HEARING THAT MORNING. I GOT A CALL BACK FROM THE DEALER THAT THE DRIVER SIDE TURBO FAN WAS KNOCKING AGAINST THE INNER HOUSING CAUSING THE NOISE. I WAS TOLD THAT THE TURBO WAS GOING BAD AND NEEDED REPLACING.

FAILURE OF BOTH TURBOS WHILE DRIVING THROUGH A RURAL SECTION OF TOWN. VERY ROUGH IDLE AND SUBSEQUENT STALL OF ENGINE WHILE IN TRAFFIC. UNABLE TO RE-START OR DRIVE WITHOUT KEEPING THE GAS PEDAL DEPRESSED MAKING IT VERY DIFFICULT TO REGULATE SPEED AND NEGOTIATE TRAFFIC. LATER FOUND OUT THE TURBO FAILURE IS DUE TO DEFECTIVE OIL FEED DESIGN FROM THE MANUFACTURER.