She Got $3,500 For Her Blown Audi Turbo. Her Laywers Took Nearly $2 Million

• Final approval granted in VW and Audi turbocharger lawsuit.
• Settlement offers warranty and partial failure reimbursements.
• Older vehicles may see little benefit due to strict eligibility.

When the turbocharger in Julie Kimball's 2010 Audi A4 went out, she paid around $3,000 to replace it. The car was well out of warranty, and she had to get back on the road. That said, she decided to take Volkswagen to court over what she thought was a defective design.

What she likely didn't realize at the time was that, after more than three years in court, she'd walk away with just $3,500.

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Kimball originally bought the car new and alleged the turbo issue at around 63,000 miles after roughly a decade of ownership. A court threw out most of her case in 2023, but allowed her to amend and refile her claims multiple times. In the end, one surviving claim about negligent misrepresentation managed to succeed, but probably not the way she hoped.

Volkswagen didn't have to admit any fault or failure. It also didn't have to shell out millions for her either. Instead, it'll pay her lawyers $1.95 million, according to the filling. If Kimball really succeeded anywhere, it's likely in increasing warranty coverage for countless owners around the USA. Of course, even there, her efforts only go so far.

The settlement provides extended coverage for dozens of VW and Audi models, including anything from early GTIs and Passats to relatively recent Atlas and Arteon models. Some of the affected vehicles are now as old as 16 years, and eligibility hinges on strict requirements related to mileage, age, maintenance records, and the specific cause of turbo failure.

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Only Generation 3 vehicles qualify for a warranty extension, and even then, coverage is limited. The extension lasts up to 8.5 years or 85,000 miles from the vehicle's original in-service date and applies only when the turbocharger fails due to wastegate fork head and/or link pin corrosion.

Even if a claim is approved and records from an authorized VW or Audi dealer confirm that a faulty wastegate caused the failure, owners will receive only 50 percent reimbursement. If that specific detail isn't documented, the cap drops to 40 percent. For repairs done by an unauthorized dealer, eligible claims won't exceed $3,580.

For older vehicles where the extended warranty period has already expired, the settlement provides a narrow 60-day window after the notice date for potential claims, assuming mileage limits haven't already been exceeded. If your VW or Audi has had a turbo failure, now is the time to act.

Models Included In The Settlement