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Capetonian Themba Mabase has been in heated talks with Audi South Africia after his three-year-old Audi TT caught fire earlier this year after numerous visits to dealerships for repairs. Wheels24 will bring you all the details about this matter later this week.
But it seems more problems regarding burning Audi models are being posted on social media.
Earlier in June Alex Poltera posted a video via social media of his Audi Q3 which had caught fire. Poltera is the executive chef of The Snooty Fox Restaurant at Fern Hill Hotel in the Midlands, KZN.
His tweet cautioned a warning to fellow Audi drivers: "Here is my Audi Q3. The report from Audi was inconclusive, and they have subsequently 'washed their hands' of me. Just a friendly warning to be aware and careful. This is becoming a frequent trait of what used to be a good brand."
Wheels24 has been in contact with Poltera and we've included a response from Audi SA regarding the incident at the end of this article.
Poltera said: "What do you expect when you buy a premium car from a well-known German dealership? Good service? Quality vehicles? Intensive, knowledgeable servicing staff? Care for the well-being of the people spending money on their cars? The list for me, goes on quite extensively.
"Unfortunately, Audi South Africa has shown none of these attributes and has proven to me to be one of the worst, big corporation companies I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with.
Image: Alex Poltera / Facebook
"Audi owners beware. Three months ago, my two-year-old Audi Q3 caught fire. A quick explanation of what happened: Upon changing gears from third to fourth, the clutch stuck in and I stopped the car. After stopping the car and an attempt to put it back in place, smoke started coming out of the sides of the bonnet. I lifted the bonnet and could see flames under the front area of the engine. The fire grew and engulfed the entire car."
Read his full post below:
Audi SA responds
Audi SA told Wheels24: "Mr Poltera’s Audi Q3 fire investigation concluded that a specific cause could not be established and was also not related to any factory fault in the vehicle. Mr Poltera has since been compensated by his insurers for the loses.
"Audi South Africa cannot stress enough that the Poltera and Mabasa cases are both completely unrelated and separate cases. Both vehicles are different models (Audi Q3 and Audi TT), and in their nature have major technical differences in terms of vehicle make-up, hardware and parts. Both vehicle are also different in terms of age and mileage.
"Both of these fire incidents are completely unique in circumstance as well. Mr Poltera’s vehicle burnout originated directly in the engine compartment whereas Mr Mabasa witnessed smoke within the dashboard of his vehicle before his vehicle burnout.
READ: Audi, Porsche recall close to 300 000 SUVs in the US
"It is also incorrect to assume that the recent Audi fire cases of Poltera and Mabasa are related to the worldwide preventative campaign for the coolant pump.
"The campaign is a safety measure to proactively replace the coolant pump which may become blocked with deposits from the cooling system on certain models. Models affected are the Audi A4, A5, Q5, and A6 with the 2.0l TFSI engine which was produced between 2012 and 2017. This preventative campaign is totally unrelated to the fire cases of Poltera and Mabasa."
