2009 Audi A5 exhaust

[meu02169]

Currently have a 4.5 year old A5 coupe where the centre section of the exhaust has split and is now hanging off the car

It was my understanding that these systems were stainless steel and as such they should last the lifetime of the car. Can anyone clarify if that's the case or are they still classed as a consumable part? Essentially wanting to confirm if I have a case with Audi to stump up the replacement costs as it should not have failed?

Overall really disappointed to be in this position - the last car I had to replace an exhaust on was over 10 years ago on a Fiat - not a premium German car renowned for "quality".

Thanks in advance.

Edited by meu02169 on Saturday 23 August 11:48

[Cupramax]

You carefully omitted how many miles the cars done. If its 40k and the car has full dealer service history then I'd be onto Audi customer services, if however its been to the moon and back and had back street servicing no chance...

[meu02169]

Apologies I forgot to say that the car has full Audi history and has covered 62k miles, therefore only average miles.

For that reason I am of the opinion that's it's a fault that lies with Audi rather than a consumable at this stage, however it would be good to get others thoughts.

Thanks.

[blueg33]

Exhaust on my 2007 A6 was still fine after 7 years and 116k miles.

I wonder if yours has had a knock? Have you owned the car from new? If not, it may have had a light rear end knock thats been repaired

[meu02169]

This is my first Audi but previously had a number of BMW's of approx 6 - 9 years old and over 100k miles where the exhaust still sounded and looked like new.

I bought the car used from Audi and owned it for the last 3 years so I know a large majority of the history. There's no evidence of any shunts or other damage which could have caused it.

From what I can see it looks like corrosion is the cause but off outside just now to get the car up on ramps and have a better look.

[Dr G]

158k mile A6 in currently; original exhaust.

Failing at that kind of mileage is very unusual unless it's had a really good whack.

[meu02169]

Thanks all for your responses.

I got the car up on the ramps to have a good look at the exhaust. From what I can work out it's not initially been a failure with the exhaust itself but the two steel clamps that hold the joining piece between the centre section and rear section. These were corroded beyond recognition and it seems madness to install a pricey stainless steel system then add a couple of cheap steel clamps that are inevitably going to fail.

Once the clamps failed it allowed the joining piece to slide loose and as a result the centre section was able to fall to the ground. Unfortunately most of the damage was sustained limping back to the house as there was nothing I could do so I now have a considerable hole in the pipe. The main thing is I have been able to secure the pipe again making the car safe.

Cheers.