Audi service book

This article is for you who own an Audi or are considering buying one. The service itself is rarely what annoys. It's the documentation: who has registered what, where it is and whether you can find it on the day the warranty or the sale price depends on it.

How often does an Audi need service?

An Audi follows the manufacturer's own instructions. Typically, the car is recalled after driving kilometers, usually somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 km, depending on the service schedule on your particular model. If you drive a few kilometers a year, it is instead an annual interval, usually every year or two. Since 2017, the myAudi app has been able to remind you of this on Audis produced from mid-2014.

You can choose your own workshop, so you decide where your Audi is serviced. Pay attention to which spare parts and oil are used: with some manufacturers, the warranty is void if original or OE-approved parts have not been used.

How service is registered today

Previously, the registration was a stamp in the paper service book. Audi has moved away from this, and with good reason: a service book that was at home or lost left gaps in the history that could not be closed afterwards. You still get an invoice after each inspection, but few people keep them for twenty years, and a pile of invoices rarely provides an overview.

Today, the workshops register online, and this applies to both Audi's own workshops and the independent workshops.

Audi's own digital service book

Audi launched the "Digital Service Schedule" in 2012, and thus began the transition from paper to digital registration. Since then, Audi's recommendation has been that the service performed is recorded there.

The information is stored centrally at Audi and copied from there to the car. Therefore, you can see the service history in the car yourself through Audi connect. This is a strength as long as you have the car, and it is worth knowing that the history lives in Audi's own system and covers what is registered there.

Is it a requirement to use Audi's own service book?

No. Many garages and car owners have got that impression, but it is not Audi's own digital service book that is the requirement.

The requirement is the documentation. If you end up in a warranty case, you must be able to show that the service intervals have been complied with and that the work has been carried out according to the regulations with approved parts and oil. Where that documentation is located is not the decisive factor. That you can find it is.

Why your Audi service history matters

A warranty case is the obvious occasion, but not the only one. If the car is to be sold, a coherent history is what moves the price, because it gives the buyer the assurance that the car is maintained. The odometer reading is stored with each registration, so a history with dates and mileage is also the best protection against tampering with the odometer.

If you buy a used Audi yourself, the opposite applies. You can assess the condition of the car yourself when you stand in front of it. You can only see the maintenance if it is documented.

If the history is scattered or has gaps

This is common, especially on older cars and on cars that have changed owners or workshops several times. Part of the history can be in Audi's own system, part at an independent workshop, and part can be lost along with a paper service book.

In the Digital Service Book, your Audi can be searched for on the number plate. The lookup covers registrations from the manufacturers' own service books, including Audis, and from the workshops that are connected. If there is service that is not included, previous inspections from a paper service book or old invoices can be entered, so that the history accumulates on the car instead of being in three systems and a folder.

When your Audi changes hands

Add the car to your own account while you have it. Your own car's history is free for you as the owner, and the service that is carried out in the future is collected on the car. Then you will have the documentation on the day the car is to be moved on. If you are considering a used Audi that you do not own yet, you can buy a service certificate on the license plate before the purchase.