Hi all!

I purchased an A3 last year while they were still doing the maintenance plan for 50K miles. My question is this...Is tire rotation and balance at 10,000 miles part of the maintenance plan? My dealership claims they did it at 10K, but it doesn't show it on the receipt and the tires on the car have severely un-even tread, causing a horrible road noise. The dealership is trying to tell my wifethe reason the tires did that was because of the negative camber on the rear wheels (from the factory), which I know is total BS, it's from lack of rotation and improper balancing.

My wife has 17K miles on the car and the tire noise is un-bearable; it's been making the noise since roughly 12K miles.I called Audi and reported the problem to the dealer and they said there was nothing they could do, I would have to buy new tires. My problem is, if the tires were properly rotated and balanced, I wouldn't need new tires so soon. I also bought the tire warranty, but the dealer says that does not apply.

IF tire rotation and balance is part of the free maintenance plan, then I feel like they are responsible for the damage to my wife's tires and should replace them. And if for some reason the un-eventread wear is not related to rotation and balancing, then I have a defective tire, which should be covered by the tire warranty.

I feel like I'mgetting the shaft from my dealer and they don't want to take any responsibility, can any of you help me out here in proving my case? My wife has had all maintenance performed by the dealership, she takes it in every 5K miles for oil changes, etc. I mainly trying to find out if rotation and balance is part of the maintenance plan, cause if it is, then they should be responsible for what's happened. I do not feel like I should have to fork out $500+ dollars for new tires because of their mistake. Especially when I paid cash in full for the car last year.

Any help is greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

 

Let me guess....you have the Pirelli's on your car?

My dealer rotated mine at the 5k service, but it not at the 15k. I have the Conti's and still have plenty of life on the tires. I'm at about 16.5k right now. My tires really aren't any louder than the day I bought the car.

 

Not sure if it's actually part of warranty, but my dealerships rotates my tires for me. Personally, my tires only last 19k miles and they have even wear all around. I was glad to get some better tires on the car, so the replacement didn't upset me that much.

Good luck with your battle, but any part that is wear/tear, you'll never win the case.

Cheers!

 

Yeah, we have the Pirelli's on there...are they crappy tires? I've always thought of Pirelli's to be a good brand tire. I've never had a set of tires that lasted less than 30K, which is why I was pretty shocked when these started doing this....

I understand the fact that on a typical "wear" item that the dealership doesn't do anything about it, it's my responsibilty to address the issue, but I just feel like I'd have more "life" out of these tires before they started giving us grief. I feel that if the dealership rotated and balanced them when they were supposed to they wouldn't be doing this...at least not this soon.

So do you guys think I have a chance in fighting this battle, honestly? I'll go toe to toe with them if I have to, but don't want to waste my time with them if its going to be a long drawn out battle. Bottom line is I have to do something about the tires soon, it's driving my wife and I crazy listening to the road noise. I'd go to a different dealer if I could, but there's only one Audi dealer in Memphis, and the next one is almost 3 hours away.

I really appreciate your input, thanks!!!!
Travis

P.S. - Chef, your link for the A3 noobs actually helped me out a lot, I appreciate you doing that!!! I read through that tire thread and am printing it out to take up the Audi dealership.

 

The Pirelli's seem to wear REALLY fast on these cars for some reason. I was worried about my Conti's doing the same thing, that is why I started that tire thread to see if there was any kind of known problem. Most tire shops will let you purchase a lifetime rotate/balance package. I did that for my car and rotate/balance every 5k miles.

Memphis huh? My parents live in Collierville. When I lived out there (for a VERY BRIEF period of time) we lived in Germantown. I just THOUGHT the drivers in Oklahoma were bad!!! I never knew that highway shoulders could become driving lanes LOL. I did however like that it seems to be perfectly acceptable to park where ever you want, as long as you put your flashers on.

 

I don't live too far from Collierville, I'm technically in Germantown, just outside the Memphis City limits. I hate this town. Drivers are terrible and the crime is even worse. It's funny how you mention about folks driving down the shoulders, every morning on my way to work Iblockthose idiots from passing by (it's nice having a big truck) I'll see them coming and scoot over enough to keep them from passing in the emergency lane....all they do is slow traffic down by doing that, it pisses me off to NO END, LOL!!!

 

Yeah, when I lived there I was 19. Had a Mazda MX-6. It was broken into 3 times in the 8 months I lived there. Friggin ridiculous. 1st time they got my (crappy) stereo equip. 2nd time they got my radar detector. 3rd time they actually tried to steal my dang car. All 3 times were at diff locations. HATED it there.

Anyway, back on topic. Hope you get your tire situation sorted out. When it comes time to buy new tires, rotate/balance every 5-6k.