All Activity

Nonsense. You asked a vague question about oil additives. "I'd appreciate any advice out there about oil treatments" were your precise words. That's not a technical question, nor is it framed in the precise terms one would expect from a supposed engineer. And when the replies failed to match your hopes of a magic solution you resorted to accusations of unhelpfulness and ignorance. An old adage comes to mind here: "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink." For an alternative argument consider the matter in a logical manner. If the snake oils you are investigating really worked, do you think Audi would have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on an engineered solution if a few bottles of thixotropic viscosity modifiers such as polyisobutylene were sufficient?

Hi Ian When I had my A6 it was on a tag with the spare keys.

Apologies Andrew - misinterpreted this to mean you couldn’t source a replacement! My mistake. Hopefully someone will be along to help you out. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hi, I have a A8 D2 3.7 quattro 2000 since last June, I need some parts or accessories for repair, and the part that I want it is the down grill of loudspeaker in right door. (I added picture). Its reference OEM is 4D00354051RS, but I can’t find it anywhere. Somebody can help me? Thank you so much. Melqui Bautista.

Hi I have an Audi a6 C7 with VIN WAUZZZ4G4CN056441 For the passenger side (UK) drive shaft would it be part 4g0407271a or will 4g0407271f also fit? Brand: A VIN: WAUZZZ4G4CN056441 Model year: 2012 Description: A6 Sal. TDI3.0 V6150 A8M Sales type: 4G20NH Delivery date: 25.10.2011 Production date: 30.09.2011 Engine code: CLAB Gearbox code: NKP

Okay just new , still finding my way around, thx

Interesting John, and fix. Just been listening to someone on YouTube with a Q7. They had sagging suspension overnight and replaced airbag suspension up front and the fault continued. According to them this was traced to insufficient tyre inflation. Now this got me thinking, hold on, this is a Q7, TMPS has been in place since 2012, so surely a incorrectly inflated tyre would have flagged an issue? Apparently there was an update to the story and it was in fact one of the self levelling sensors that was corroded. Would be worth checking them out that there’s no corrosion or damage before condemning the airbag.

Jason. I have merged your two identical topics. Please do not create duplicates. You won't get any extra attention by doing so.

I thought I'd reply to this as apart from being hopefully amusing it might help someone with a similar air suspension problem. Although it's about my 'forever car' I think one Audi air suspension strut and compressor system is much the same as another. A few years ago my 2005 D3 SWB W12 at 70,000miles started to sag at the front when left overnight. The compressor would restore the height and the orange and green lights would go off. But the tiny leak got worse and the compressor sometimes needed two goes at it, presumably because the thermal protection switch would cut in after much noisy pumping. Lots of air was lost from the system when the clever car tried to keep itself level by transferring air from the high pressured accumulator to the lower pressure leaky strut (see Audi SSP 292, P31). If overworked, the compressor or its relay will eventually fail. To locate the leaky strut, I put it in ‘jack mode’ to prevent level equalisation. Next day only the front driver’s side had bottomed out. I removed the under bonnet trim to expose the strut's upper mounting, slid the large dust cap back along the black wire, and did the same with the smaller dust cap underneath it. With jack mode off to restore pressure in the strut, I sprayed soapy water around the strut and poured about 15mls into the top of the mounting, not filling it above where the black wire goes in. No sign of leak from the strut air bag behind the wheel but foam appeared on top of the strut mounting. Diagnosis – the tiny top ‘O’ ring has failed, impossible to replace without major work and the garage rejoicing in a big bill for a new strut. I suspect this is the most common failure rather than the larger bottom ‘O’ ring or the tough air bag itself. I replaced the foam with about 20 mls of clear water. With a magnifying glass I saw a tiny stream of bubbles appearing from below the 18mm locking nut. So I put jack mode back on and waited a couple of days till the bubbles stopped when the pressureless strut had bottomed out. Then I sucked out the water and left it to dry thoroughly. Then I injected a layer of some tough ‘CT1’ sealant. After a day to harden, I added another layer….then another. Then, jack mode off to restore pressure in the strut. Sadly, it didn’t completely cure the leak, but it took around three days to sink rather than just overnight. But a little later the WABCO compressor finally failed, rattling away uselessly. Although access is via the wheel arch for most A8 cars, it is impossible for the W12. The front bumper has to expensively come off. So I bounced it along to my capable indy to do this and the compressor, reconditioned with my repair kit from ‘bagpiping andy’, is now silent. I could live with the leaky strut, remembering to put a bespoke 30cm x 12 x 6 wooden block under the jacking point with ‘jack mode’ on if unused for a few days. It’s important to leave the car in ‘jack mode’ so the compressor doesn’t have to replenish the whole system every time the car is used. Amazingly, a few weeks ago (at 76000 miles) I noticed the car no longer sank onto the block, even after well over a week. Somehow the amazing CT1 sealant (incidentally good for repairing trainer soles!) seems to have almost sealed this top end leak! I hope this story helps someone with a similar problem as I don’t believe I’m the only one with O ring failure which a garage would probably resolve with a new strut and a hefty four figure bill.

Hi thanks for your reply. I will have a look

Hi Gareth, I have searched under the bonnet. I have had A3s before but the Quattro is different. I have been looking for the housing with a 32mm nut holding the oil filter housing, but it isn’t under the bonnet. I haven’t taken the under tray off yet.

Got back in the car, after pulling the telephone fuse out. MMI comes on, I now realise I've never seen the Audi screen before, it must have been always on, and now it's stuck in a boot loop. MMI logo for 10 seconds, then black screen. MMI reset didn't help. I'll look at it tomorrow..

Welcome Andrew, Where are you searching and struggling to find one? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hi, I’m new to this forum so just finding how to navigate the site. I have a 2015 A3 Quattro. I need to do an oil change but I am struggling to find the oil filter. Can anybody help?.

Will do 🙂

Hello again Andy, Thank you for confirming you will respond to the forum with the outcome of your experiment, but I thought it worth repeating the question since, even at that stage, you were making it clear that you were dissatisfied with the forum responses. My response included a number of questions which I note you have neglected to answer, but still…. I’m not speaking for any other members on here, but your assumption that we are not like your Honda forum advisers who get their hands dirty. I can assure you Andy that that certainly doesn’t apply to me, and I could brag for hours about my restoration, and other engineering skills developed over more than 5 decades - none of which were associated with my profession - but I choose not to. I feel I must apologise for the resultant dissatisfaction experienced, even though I’m not really reading much into what may be termed honest opinion. It might be worth sitting down with a couple of glasses of wine and just looking forward to hopefully positive results from your experiment. If it works long term - great. If it doesn’t, it’s only money that has been thrown away, and no one has been hurt. Good luck and contentment Andy. Kind regards, Gareth.

My car has been in multiple garages for the n/s/f sagging when parked. No error codes, leaks or sensor issues. Audi dealership have swapped the pipework and the car is still dropping. Now they want to strip out the carpets, seats and check the rest of the pipework. The say it could be the shock absorber but it’s not certain. So where do I go with this. They are quoting £1689 for the shock but when I search genuine parts i can see you can buy this for half the price. Can anyone confirm a price for Audi Q8 front shock absorber.

What's with the rudeness? You don't like the answers use Google, Facebook etc. makes me question what research you did in the first place regarding these engines. Alternatively, take it to a garage for a proper diagnosis like every car owner who isn't mechanically minded has to do.

Well, I need someone who is technically literate Steve Q! I asked highly technical questions and was hoping for highly technical responses. Unfortunately, I don't think this forum is up to it. Being passionate about Audis is all very well but I think it's better to think of them just as glorified VWs, warts and all.

Checked the fuses - the car was drawing 8amps without the engine on. Systematically going through the fuses, here were the issues; Slot 25 passenger side - Telephone. Was drawing around 4-5 amps even though the car has no phone 🙂 Slot 21 driver's side - blank but has a 5 amp fuse in it, drawing around 1 amp. Any idea what this is? Slot 39 driver's side - Door control front right. Not really an issue, the door was open to check the fuses. Once I've received the MMI mechanism and fit it to the car, I'll check again. But either way, this is a huge difference already. Let's see how it goes 🙂

Changed o2 sensor (bank1 sensor 2 OBD reading says not receiving data ) still getting same warning light any ideas

Bless ya, please keep us posted on how you get on

I've tried to help you, and I haven't been negative just advised you. I'd missed the part about no smoke or smell. With no smoke or smell it could still be a leak. I find you're not being particularly nice when I've tried to help you. We're passionate about the Audi brand and are enthusiasts but not all mechanics! I did some Googling for you which is where my advice has come from. As I've never used any of the products you have are mentioning I can't advise. Please note as moderators we are all volunteers and try to help in our spare time.

Ah right, might be worth not fitting one just in case it melts.

Keep us posted on how you get on