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Hello Alan, We’ve had a spate of ‘does anyone know the part number?’ posts over the last week. Doing a quick search on here should provide you with your next step. Having said that, in your case, I would just wander into your local main dealer and order what you want. They will be able to indentify them from their schematic. OK they may cost you a few more £s but will minimise the hassle. Regards, Gareth.

Manufacturer says 40mpg, real-world probably 30mpg with light right foot.

RAC have three levels of reports with most comprehensive one with diagnostics. However not cheap at £260 or so. Watch out for third party warranties, some will recommend service every 6 months which isn't practical. That said if you're doing 10k average. An oil change every 5k may work in your favour. VCDS can be purchased from Gendan. You'll need laptop to run it. Bear in mind Audi main dealer will charge you £150 or so to scan. Three VIN Version is fine.

Thank you, just to clarify I’ve been asking Audi Uk to confirm interval for my car from the start. However the independents plus an engine specialist have checked whatever systems they do for my specific car. There is no time limit and the mileage is 140,000. So I’m really unclear as to why it takes Audi so long to clarify the information as the manufacturer. I will see what they come back with as it’s only right to give them an opportunity first. i know an independent would be far cheaper and likely to get me back on the road.

Hi LUK/SACHS not much choice really as LUK own SACHS but SACHS are a little bit cheaper. Steve.

Hi I have lived in the world of high milage for twenty years and believe me I have never met anyone who changed a cam belt every 3-5k thats not practical, as you previously quoted you have not heard of cam belt breakages in Europe, thats because we rarely get anyone from Germany posting about this problem, it does happen as frequently over there if you look at their car sites they tend to keep things in house as do we, a prime example when I first bought my Passat the engine of which is fitted to Audis but under a different code, I wanted to find out about the oil pump drive as its a wet belt, absolutely nothing on any British web site, but go on the German sites and we have multiple wrecking around 100k + due to the belt letting go, VAGs official line is its a belt for life, I had mine changed with the cam belt at 80k and whilst my mechanic grumbled about doing it as you have to drop the sump to get at it the first words out of his mouth when I walked in was, you were right and he then produced the old belt that had a couple of teeth missing and was pretty crispy due to being boiled in oil all its life, why not believe Audis information?, because its based on cell testing data which will never replicate real life, the reason the older engines never suffered this was because they used Gates belts which were thicker and better made, they then went over to INA probably because they were cheaper but definitely not as well built, if you look at other OE brands they have used such as Dayco which is now regarded as aftermarket Dayco would still be one of my choices as its built under a Gates patent for their Gator Grip belt which was awesome. Steve

Very ingenious.

Apologies for the delay in replying - getting back up to speed after a September holiday... I picked up the convertible from Norwich Audi, paid my (not inconsiderable) bill, and set off home. As soon as I got on the A47, there was a muted backfire and the check engine light came on, the glow plug light started flashing, and the car went into limp home mode... I was back at the dealer in a few minutes - I was pretty sure a turbo hose had popped off. One of the techs stayed past his finish time to confirm the diagnosis, and re-fit the hose. Since then, it has been driving beautifully. I've been trying to use it as my primary transport, in order to test the work. I've done about 400 miles so far, and it has been faultless. I'm tentatively going to say it has cured the snag... I'll post again if there are any further developments. Mike 😎

If you bear in mind that the seller is telling you the truth when you have actually seen the evidence in writing, or when he his lips closed, you won’t go far wrong. If you don’t methodically carryout the pre-viewing procedure I suggested , and have the evidence to hand before you set off to view the vehicle, two things can potentially go wrong:- You will fall in love with it, and buy it irrespective, and you know what love can do. You will regret your purchase. There is a third possibility that you decide not to buy it after spending money and time to go long distances to view it.

Under the old guidance of 75K or 5 years, the all important caveat was ‘whichever comes first’. Under that dictate, the cambelt should have been changed last year. We have members on here doing less than 7k/a, so they won’t need to change the belt until the car is 20 years old - good luck with that! The fact that this recommendation has changed since the introduction of the engineeringly-averse stop/start system just renders this totally illogical. Has your car been operating on a working stop/start system since you have owned it Ingrid?

Yes it's sad but true that Audi standards in all stages of making and selling cars have dropped over the last two decades in its efforts to enlarge market share. Audi is still trading on its prestigious reputation from that time, but that can not last as more and more defects come to light.

You'll be lucky to get a straight answer. I meant more about their goodwill contribution towards repair. Timing belts will continue to snap unfortunately, but recommending 140k miles is disingenuous, considering all factors, temperature, driving style, start-stop, etc.

It read to me that you were not prepared to pay the bill, but I am glad that's not the case because that would be fraud. If you really want to be smart with money why take an eleven year old car to Audi? That does not make sense. Go to an independant VAG specialist or in this case a gearbox specialist as suggested by Chris, but never an Audi dealer.

Thanks Kevin, but I think you blow your own argument out of the water. This isn’t about mileage covered, but the now lack of ‘…. x years, whichever comes first’. That interval was taken to be 5 years.

Thermostat is certainly a cheap option to look at. I'll try that next and get back to you all.

My Audi app for my Q5 TDI states 140,000 miles with no age limit. I'll not be going that far but probably 80k ish if I still have the car unless my specialist tells me otherwise.

Welcome to the real world.

That’s unfortunate. No point asking their service reception team as VAG are constantly revising the intervals. It seems as a loyal customer, you’ve followed their advice and you’ve been let down. The thing is, when the timing belt is off, a mechanic can see if any pulley bearings are worn, plus the tensioner pulley is changed as a matter of course, plus water pump, etc. A visual inspection of the belt is pointless. So you have two courses of action. As car has been serviced by Audi there is a high likelihood they’d pay some goodwill towards repair, plus you’d have their franchise labour rate to factor in, or cut your losses and go to a VAG independent. See what Audi UK come back with first and go from there.

To answer that specific question, there is a small possibility that the timing belt has jumped a tooth on its sprocket and the engine has stopped in time to avoid damaging any valves, so the garage is hoping that a new belt plus retiming the engine will solve the problem. In reality there is a much bigger chance that either several teeth have been jumped or the belt has broken causing valves to hit the piston crowns. As for the other comments on belt life, I too believe it was a grave mistake for Audi to change its recommendations. VAG is not alone in making this sort of mistake. Look at the problems caused by Ford and others who have changed from dry belts to wet belts in an effort to eliminate an expensive crankshaft seal.

I don't love mine. Its my 1st Audi and been nothing but a pain in the butt since I got it. Expensive to repair, not really that good on fuel and a heater that does what it wants. Guess mine was just the Friday afternoon car.