20k+ miles on my Autotech internal kit with no problems.
Have sold 60+ Autotech kits in 2010 and not had 1 back under warranty, have fitted probably more than 100 kits over the years, again not one warranty issue. In this time we have had 5-6 cars come in with failed original fuel pumps/pump components on 100% standard cars.
The problem seems to be the actual seal not the internals, and again, only when the software demands a higher pressure.
So seal+software is the problem, the pump internals themselfes are just a stepping stone. Regardless, as a UK distributor of Autotech parts I am today sending them an email, I will update you with their response
Thanks Dave, I also sent Autotech an email yesterday asking for their thoughts on this.
With regard to the OEM seal and the sw requesting too much fuel pressure as far as I know all 2+ maps request 130 bar. One thing which crossed my mind is that maybe the RS4 valve could make this issue more likely to happen as this will allow the pump pressure to go up to 136 bar.
As you said above I think people need to bear in mind how many pump internals have been fine for 10s of thousands of miles versus the number that have failed. I bet in reality the failure percentage is less than 1%.
What is of interest to me is for the pumps with seals that have failed I would like to know a few things:
1. What SW were they running and for how many miles?
2. How were the internals installed?
3. How has the car been driven?
4. How many miles did the pump have on it before the internals were installed?
On a separate note I would like to know if the spring engergised seal (the failing seal) can be replaced? There does not seem to be VAG part number for it but it does not mean it can't be done. Perhaps this is something you could look into and maybe offer as a service?