Audi refuses to honour freeway plan obligation to replace battery

On Monday morning (14 August) at 10:15, I got into my car to drive to the airport to catch a flight for a business trip to find the car dead. Given that I needed to get to the airport, I locked the car, closed my garage which can only be operated with the remote that has my car key attached to the same key ring and caught an Uber to the airport with a resolve to have the problem sorted on Wednesday afternoon when I returned.

On Wednesday when i arrived home and entered my house with the house key and car key I had with me the entire time and which needed to access my house, I duly called Audi Assist. They dispatched a technician to my house to jump start the car. He arrived quickly and stated when he arrived that given that the car has done 28,000 + km and is 3 years old, it’s expected that the battery would need attention at this stage (based on several reliable sources that I have chatted to and the experience I had on my previous Audi, this is the expected life span of the battery on a car such as mine).

I took my car into Audi Sandton on Thursday morning (I was told I couldn’t be helped on Wednesday afternoon when I called Audi Fourways and struggled to get a helpful person to assist with a booking) and was informed later in the day that the battery is indeed in need of repair but the cost of replacement is not covered by the warranty since, according to their diagnostic, I had left my key in the ignition for 20 HOURS! This is completely UNTRUE and I am shocked by this. I had been driving my car the whole afternoon on Sunday, the only way I can enter my garage and house is using the key attached to my car key ring so the key had to out of the ignition therefore. In addition, when I opened the car at about 10:15 on Monday morning the car was dead. Total ******* then that key had been in the ignition for 20 hours!!

Honestly, I am disgusted at the whole process so far and am unwilling to accept the story above or pay for the battery replacement which is in excess of R5000 apparently on a car that still sits well within its freeway plan at 28000km and 3 years old. Judging by the attitude of the staff at Audi Fourways and Sandton, it is clear that there is a very blatant attempt by Audi to cut costs and it is clear they are finding every means possible to wiggle your way out of freeway plan obligations.

I have voiced my anger and dissatisfaction at Audi Sandton. My car is still there and currently I have no car – I live alone and have no other car so am relying on lifts and Uber. I am unwilling to collect the car until this matter has been resolved.

BTW - the above is an email I sent to ********** to raise this issue. While I received an auto reply mail acknowledging receipt of the above email (I have the auto reply mail), when I followed up with the customer support contact center, they claimed they had not received it and were unable to retrieve when I was on the call. Lucky I called... The complaint was only then logged after which I was informed that they only respond in a window of 24 to 48 hrs of logging the complaint and so in the meantime I sit without a car that I am paying a fortune to drive from Audi - a car manufacturer that accuses its loyal customers of doing things they did not do to cut costs and not fulfill on warranty obligations.