Premium Vehicle, Non-Premium Support: My Experience with Audi South Africa

Over the past few months, I have experienced what can only be described as shocking customer service, support enablement, and escalation management from Audi South Africa and Audi Bryanston regarding what should be treated with care and serious concern.

My vehicle was initially taken to Audi Bryanston due to persistent squeaking and grinding sounds coming from the braking system. After investigation, I was informed that the brake pads were the issue. The pads were replaced, and I was assured the problem had been resolved.

Less than 24 hours later, the exact same sounds returned.

The vehicle was then taken back for additional work and further investigation. Despite this work, the issue still persisted. Audi Bryanston then escalated the matter to a so-called “specialist flying technician” brought in to assess the vehicle. His conclusion? “Nothing is wrong with the car” because he could not reproduce the sound.

Ironically, when I collected the vehicle, I reproduced the issue myself within 8km of driving. The Service Manager personally acknowledged that something was clearly wrong with the braking system. This immediately raised concerns around the quality and credibility of the specialist assessment that had delayed progress for weeks.

What is even more concerning is the operational model behind this process.

I was informed that any meaningful corrective action or further technical recommendations could only be approved or actioned by this single specialist technician. Apparently, there is only ONE individual in the entire country capable of authorising or driving these investigations. Because of this bottleneck, I was told I would need to wait another month for him to return and reassess the vehicle after his failed initial assessment.

A month-long delay for a braking system concern is simply unacceptable from both a customer safety and operational perspective.

I escalated the matter to Audi South Africa in the hope that they would: • Enable the dealership with greater autonomy to investigate and resolve the issue • Address the obvious single point of failure in their support model • Provide meaningful escalation support and customer communication

Instead, over a month later, I am still sitting with no actionable resolution.

My case (02354405), handled by Thembela, has repeatedly been delayed despite multiple self-committed deadlines and assurances that feedback and Audi SA’s formal stance would be provided. To date, every promised delivery timeline has been missed. Numerous escalation attempts through colleagues, emails, and follow-ups have yielded little to no action.

This experience has exposed major concerns around: • Customer communication and accountability • Escalation management processes • Technical support enablement • Single-key-man dependency risks • Overall customer-centricity within Audi SA support structures

As a long-standing believer in premium brands delivering premium service, this experience has been deeply disappointing.

Customers should not have to fight this hard to get a potentially safety-related issue properly investigated.