Leaderboard

Just a quick update on my case — I picked up the car on Tuesday. All the repairs, including diagnostics, were fully covered under the 7-year extended warranty. The newly installed BSG also comes with an additional 3-year warranty. To my surprise, when I collected the car, I found a generous gift box from Audi in the boot. It included jackets, a hat, a bottle of Moët champagne, air fresheners, a backpack, a cup, a key ring, a cleaning kit, and a few other thoughtful extras. Overall, Audi really stepped up and handled the issue to the standard I expected. I've learned my lesson and decided to take out the extended warranty plan with Audi — better safe than sorry! All in all, I’m pleased with how everything was resolved and back on the road with renewed confidence.

The jacking points close to the wheel arches are the only reliable way to raise the car without damaging the chassis. Although a tow ball may be strong enough for the job the load is liable to bend the chassis a little. In some cars it is also possible to jack under a few other places such as a strong cross member or very close to the outer end of the track rods, but you really need to know what you are doing, so I do not recommend it. In any case case jacking on the suspension would prevent removal of the axle.

Worth spraying PlusGas penetrative release on the glow-plug recess prior to dropping off. Actually better to work on them while car engine is warm, as tackling a cold and potentially seized plug is a world of pain if it snaps. A smear of ceramic grease on the thread before tightening too.

For context what mileage and age of vehicle? though the common conception is glow plugs never need to be changed until broken this is not true from a mechanics opinion. the constant hot and cold expansion as well as metal on metal corrosion can cause them to seize in place. Rule of thumb for most cars is every 120,000km (100k miles) or 5 years to avoid large repair bills. labour can and will vary but as a rough estimate I’d expect 1-2 hours plus parts. You should never replace 1, replace all 4. it’s just common for running issues after this or the others to start playing up not long after if you don’t replace all at the same time. If they don’t come out easily expect 3-4 hours labour.