— An Audi timing chain lawsuit alleges Audi and Volkswagen vehicles have defects that cause the timing chains to suddenly fail without warning, causing the engines to fail.
Filed by 24 plaintiffs from 17 states, the Audi timing chain lawsuit alleges the timing chain can jump a tooth in the camshaft and cause engine failure, leading to a huge expense for owners to endure.
Saying the defect resides in the timing chain tensioner system, the plaintiffs claim Audi and VW have continued to conceal the defects since 2010 and refused to inform buyers of the hazards.
According to the class-action lawsuit, the problem occurs to 2008-2013 Audi and VW models equipped with 2-liter TSI or 2-liter TFSI EA888 engines.
The plaintiffs say a normal timing chain should work for a minimum of 120,000 miles and Audi and VW know this because the chain system isn't included in the maintenance schedule. However, the lawsuit alleges the timing chains often fail before 120,000 and it seems to be a habit that they break shortly after the warranty expires.
The plaintiffs claim Audi and VW not only refused to acknowledge the alleged timing chain problems, but also refused to compensate certain owners for engine repairs. The lawsuit also alleges Audi and Volkswagen didn't offer loaner or replacement vehicles even though the vehicles were useless to owners.
A North Carolina owner of an Audi A4 told CarComplaints.com about the timing chain problems when the car left them looking at a repair bill of nearly $11,000.
"Our Audi A4 left us stranded 120 miles from home this past weekend. It would not restart so I had it towed to the repair shop. The repairman told us the Tensioner had failed and the timing chain had jumped some teeth which had caused serious (as in you need a new engine) damage. The Audi dealership quoted $10,716.98 for the repair. My engine would be fine today if someone had told me the Tensioner was a ticking time bomb that would destroy my engine." 2009 Audi A4 owner / Moncure, North Carolina
Another Audi A4 owner said that even though the engine was rebuilt in 2014 because of oil consumption issues, the engine was useless again a year later.
"2009 Audi A4 was recalled for oil consumption issues. Rebuilt in March of 2014. July 2015 timing chain tensioner failed causing timing chain to jump and drop a valve. Car is now sitting at Audi dealership with an unfixable engine. There are hundreds of examples of this part failing after oil consumption rebuild. This as a defect and very dangerous because car just stops running. Audi will not take any responsibility despite the mounting facts against the part." - 2009 Audi A4 owner / Walnutport, Pennsylvania
The proposed class-action lawsuit seeks to include consumers who own or lease 2008-2013 Audi and VW models equipped with 2-liter TSI or 2-liter TFSI engines. If certified, the lawsuit will also include anyone in the U.S. who used to own or lease the affected vehicles.
The Volkswagen and Audi timing chain lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey - Stockalper, et al., vs. Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Kantrowitz Goldhamer & Graifman, P.C., Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP, Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Olstein, Brody & Agnello, P.C., and Thomas P. Sobran, P.C.
