Stevey Y

Hi, OBD Eleven for the diagnostic and try youtube for any repair info, Haynes probably haven't got round to that one yet. Steve.

Hi the difference between 5w-30 and 10w-40 are minimal as the flow/viscosity rates are pretty much the same when starting, BTW the w denotes winter, where the 40 scores more highly is in the upper temperature conditions as its viscosity remains constant up to 50 degrees Celsius where the 30 is only good up to 30 degrees celsius. therefore if you do a lot of town or fast driving the 40 is the better option as it gives better protection for the engine components that are under higher thermal stress, where as the 30 will not. Zero 30-40 oils were developed for the high performance market where engineering tolerances between crank journals and pistons are a lot finer than in standard cars therefore instant oil pressure is essential when cranking to prevent bearing knock, its all about the additives that are put in friction modifiers, molecular stabilisers, viscosity stabilisers, each oil has to pass within the modules used to test the quality and the results are passed on to trading standards so if there is ever a problem with the manufacturers oil the manufacturer can rely on those figures to produce the evidence that their product is good enough. Couple of years ago I went to a local oil additives manufacturers open day with a mate of mine who worked for Ford, when we arrived the first demonstration was with two identical engines in test cells, one was filled with oil straight from the refinery with no additives the other engine was filled with Sainsbury's oil, they were both started and within three minutes the engine with no additives seized solid whilst the other was running quite happily, we were shown what happens when oil overheats and by the end of it we were in a lecture theatre being shown all about pass rates on test modules, these are governed by the brands requirements and looking through who had the highest pass rates it made shocking reading the top five pass rates were Mobil, Millers, Fuchs and Sainsbury's who had demanded the highest pass rates in each module, some such as Castrol, Halfords, Asda, and good few others were way down the ratings as they had asked for lower pass rates to keep it cheaper to produce, its the additives that cost the money. 10w-40 is not a lot thicker than 5w-30 its in the temperature ratings at the top end that are the main difference Regards Steve.

Hi its perfectly ok to swap from fully synthetic to semi synthetic as long as its the same spec or you can even use a slightly thicker grade of semi synthetic or in fact mix the two at a push without any detrimental effect on the engine, both semi/fully synthetic start life as the same thing, mineral oil, semi synthetic is processed much the same as fully synthetic its pushed through pressure chambers until it converts into gas where the impurities such as sulphur are removed and friction inhibitors are added as well as flow additives and other molecular thermal stabilisers. Fully synthetic is processed twice hence the higher cost as it has at the end of the process had more additives including detergent to keep the engine clean, if you look at vehicles that are used in countries that always have high daytime temperatures often as not the manufacturers recommend a thicker oil as this prevents the oil ever reaching critical point and cracking which means the oil molecule structures collapse and the oil reverts to its native state, carbon, the flip side of this is Mobil 1 which has so much friction inhibitor in it as well as thermal stabilisers it will never ever reach critical point as whatever the temperature reached it will maintain its molecular structure and not crack, the downside to semi synthetic is that the oil change intervals are reduced due to it degrading more rapidly. Steve.

Hi you mentioned frosty mornings, the higher end models tend to have a more sophisticated set up I.E it turns on automatically to clear the screen etc on the hot side, but be advised if its that cold a lot of aircon systems won't work because the ambient temperature outside is already cold and it does not want the radiator cooling fan running for the cold side of the aircon as this will !Removed! the engines ability to get to running temperature, believe me this year of A6 has a problem getting to running temperature as it is because of the massive radiator. Steve.

Hi it is not that frightening once you get your head round what it is and how it works and if you have Vagcom you are better equipped than most, please let us know how you get on as most people post to try and get advice and then disappear into cyber space, its a bit like watching Pulp Fiction for the first time and there is a power cut half way through. Steve.

Hi could be if its manual handbrake that one of the cables is seizing up, it sounds like the pads one side are binding worse case scenario is that its the calliper that side these normally misbehave as not many people change brake fluid so the water builds up in the calliper and rots the piston so it won't retract properly. Steve.

Hi could be if you buy an aftermarket switch these are normally fitted with whats known as a shunt which would make them plug in and play as they are fitted with a device that conforms to the ECU/BCM expectation strategy, its the same as recon alternators, anything to do with ignition is likely to upset the anti theft system. Steve.

Hi chances are it's the same part but with a different coding, try and see if it will give you the long coding for the new part and then go into the part coding sub section and see if you can recode the new one in to the BCM. Regards,Steve.

Hi OBD Eleven is good its cheaper to buy and as far as I am aware has no subscription if you don't want to go down the VCDS route. Regards Steve.

Hi pull it off before it falls off and use what I did, my mirror heater works perfectly still and at around twenty pence for the instant gasket used represents a cheap and permanent repair. Regards Steve.

Hi Malc, I like the statement under tuned, thats whats known in the trade as the reliability factor the car manufacturers always bump up the BHP when testing to insane levels until engine components systematically fail they will address these problems by using another stronger component or beefing up things like con rods etc then when they are happy that these things will no longer break in that level of tune they then reverse the tuning by about 40% this is the reliability factor, they then go on a massive road trip through various climates throughout the world testing thing such as aircon performance and dust sensitivity of climate control, we then get to colder hemispheres where the cabin and engine cooling systems are trialed for efficiency and passenger comfort over what ends up as starship milage, all this data is logged and collated to give an overall assessment of the vehicles suitability for every market they are ever likely to sell their cars in, small design changes for colder climates are made by the addition of engine block heaters and fuel fired cabin pre heaters. As for the remap that is a personal decision, I am not a massive fan personally but there are others who will tell you whatever I say is rubbish but from what I have witnessed over my lifetime they can be a complete disaster, go faster chip boxes at the lower end of the scale all work on the same principle, they go between the fuel rail and the fuel rail temperature sensor these devices send back a signal to the ECU that the engine is cold so the fuel enrichment device stays on, yes you get more power but the end result is over fuelling which gets fuel into the sump oil and destroys the oil lubricity in record time this = premature engine wear. We then get to the type of remap that involves removing the ECU and replacing microprocessors in the unit all well and good until you consider that the two most expensive production parts on a car are the interior and the microprocessors in the ECU they pay top dollar for the latter to gain the reliability they require, the one thing I know for certain is these companies cant afford the same microprocessors although they will tell you theirs are better than the manufacturers this is rubbish as the manufacturer sourced microprocessor is capable of executing a command ten times faster than microprocessors on a commercial airliner. Then there is the remap device through the OBD port these were always less problematic as the map can be retrieved to the loading device and the car goes back to the normal mapping, as I say its a personal choice but you cant get away from the old advice, if you want fast buy factory fast as they have spent billions developing fast and reliable and would not leave massive power gains on the table for some company to pick up with some trick software and charge you £300-500 to install, do you not consider that people like Audi would not rather have that themselves by selling a retrofit software, they won't do it because remaps inherently involve more fuel at some point which raises emissions and eats into the reliability factor, plus the fact they would have to have a statutory warranty can you imagine how many people would be screaming when it goes horribly wrong, just look at the current emissions scandal. well thats my ten pence worth and realistically not everyone would agree, thats the privilege of democracy and free speech. Regards Steve.

Hi possibly the lift pump in the fuel tank that would throw up those sort of codes, whats the milage?

Hi now we are getting somewhere it is possible the boost pressure sensor is defective but the Turbo whining is never good, what code did you come up with?, its hard to diagnose a problem from your armchair if you don't have ALL the information available. Regards Steve.

Hi I don't think putting Mr Muscle into the EGR will do it any favours, thats an old MK3 mondeo trick plus you have to drill a hole in the vane casing to put the stuff in and then tap the hole fitting the correct size screw and heatproof washer, you mentioned that the Turbine was squealing thats not good and a sure sign its about to go terminal, if you are getting boost at slower speed the actuator is probably ok but the Turbo itself is not. I think you are probably looking at a new Turbo unless you have any EML lit up in which case I would get the codes read before spending any money. Regards Steve.

Hi, I agree with Magnet, I have never changed a belt on an Audi but they all work on a similar principle the pre tensioners attached to the seatbelt spool will have some sort of explosive cylinder attached to yank the belt to a stop when you have a collision, the push button bit with the clip has the same thing which when activated pulls any slack in the belt back to keep you pinned to the seat. I have no idea about the torx bit sizes you may need but suffice to say that a good quality kit will cover most required sizes, the other thing I would do is disconnect the battery a couple of hours before working on this to allow the airbag module to drain down as you will be removing the multi plugs under the seat to facilitate the seat removal the plugs are invariably to do with the airbag system and if removed with a live electrical connection could activate the seat airbags or spike the airbag module, with regard to the anchor if that goes off due to the presence of current that is more than capable of removing portions of fingers, finally checking if your new anchor will need coding to the vehicle. Steve.

Hi Michelle, sorry to hear of your continuing problem but at least the recode has eliminated the battery as the source of the problem, based on your first post does the press the brake pedal to start keep appearing even when the car won't start? if so the pedal switch may be the problem as this lets the ECU know when its safe to start but I cant think why that has not thrown a code up but instead counted all the start failures, only thing I can suggest is try the mobile diagnostic as it is probable that they have a more in depth software that will expose the real problem. Regards Steve.

Hi I wouldn't take it personally, but in view of what you said in the first post there is not much to say really, other than yes it is indeed a lovely car and you hang around what looks very much like the Old Plough Car park on the A128 near Bulphan, try publishing some history of the car since you have owned it, any problems you have had with it or even any road trips, unfortunately most people who post on here have a problem and need advice on how to fix it, I don't wish any problems on you or the car but you might be better served getting in on conversations in the general chat section they are very friendly on this forum and for what its worth Welcome to the forum and I hope the combined knowledge of the members will one day be of help to you. Regards Steve.😃

Hi sorry for the late reply, the picture you supplied is indeed a boost sensor, if yours looks like that you are in, either way scrub the dirt off and get the part number then go fishing on eBay plumb in the Audi part number and it will give a good range of choices this way it will be a lot cheaper than the thieving scrotes at Audi or Eurocarparts. I am pretty sure that this item is plug in and play and won't need coding, I will check, if you have a problem deciphering which number is the part code either post a picture of your cleaned part so I can see the numbers or email me the VIN for your vehicle and I can't the number off of my system, Do not remove the old part until you have a new one as the pipes can be awkward to remove because they are crusty and may need persuading with a bit of hot soapy water Steve.

Hi Kev, sorry to hear of your problems, not that sixty is a problem, from a personal point of view I would be selling the cars that are run of the mill as if you look at the cars that were about when we were younger some of them now are making telephone number prices, I would keep the more exotic engined models as they might turn in a fair profit in years to come. Regards Steve.

Hi Conal, here goes fire up the VCDS go to Select top left corner, then go to 60 trunk electrics, go to 16 security access enter code 12345 and press do it, if code is accepted go to 10 adaptations and choose the functions you want there are four options depending on how long you want to press the button, highlight the option you want and it will tell you if it is active if inactive activate by pressing the drop down to activate and press do it, you might have to do this twice to get the other option you require. This worked on my A6 and I have no reason to believe it won't work on the A4, no coding required just adaptation there are a lot of different functions hidden away there because they were not chosen when the car was built, I know a lot of people talk about the green menu which is really only an engineers menu and if you get it wrong you can easily terminate the MMI. Steve.

Hi Michelle I am amused at garage number ones explanation for why you don't have to recode the battery its BULL as most of the cars I have owned since 2009 have had to have the battery monitor/counter reset when you fit a new unit, this is how the charging system works, the battery is coded to the car from new as the battery gets older it requires more charge from the alternator this is supervised by what is known as a smart charge system this will keep upping the voltage as it senses the battery becoming less able to maintain its optimum charge therefore it requires charge more often, this function ceases to be of any use once the battery cells become incapable of holding more than 68% of its charge therefore it makes it impossible to start as this draws the most amperage which in theory will drain whats left of the battery power quickly and cause the charging system to work far harder to catch up which at that point it never will, so it goes into its own protection mode, won't start, everything else will work until the battery is depleted. Now if you replace the battery without recoding yes everything will work but the smart charging thinks the battery has risen from the dead and carry on trying to charge at the higher rate which causes problems with the electrics, when recoding the software system VCDS will ask for information as to the make of the battery but mainly what amp hour and the cranking voltage and as long as its a couple of volts/amps within the original specification you can tell it that the replacement is the same as the old battery which makes the smart charge system happy as it now knows it has a new unit and this will only require less charge as it will have good storage capabilities, settling down will never happen as the charging system is not sophisticated enough to have self analysis capabilities so you have to tell it, the second guy seems a more tuned in proposition, I wish you luck. Steve.

Hi its a group that the members all add information to an app, example where average cameras are on your route, where there are traffic jams on your route, but more importantly they supply information about where the police have set up a mobile speed trap where they won't have normally, worth having its saved my licence on a number of occasions especially when you are coming down the motorway a bit tired it raises quite a loud alert way before you get to the site. Its called WAZE, I really hope you enjoy the new car be lucky. Steve.

Hi, the first thing I would check is the catalyst as often as not with some of these lunatic mapping boys they fillet the cat and anything else in the way then do a remap I suspect thats why the previous owner has sold it as the engine ages it becomes harder to keep the emissions down, normally these remaps leave the emissions within acceptable limits unless other elements within the exhaust system have been tampered with. Any reputable mapping companies such as Bluefin would have a suitable remap for your car but the problem is they are not cheap so check the physical items first, if you can contact the guy you bought it from and find out what was done and where it was done that would help, but again the problem is that a lot of these so called performance modifiers take the ECU out and change the chips in the unit which renders the unit scrap as once modified there is no road back the easiest route is buy a ECU from a scrapper that is the same year and model with the same part number as yours and get it coded to the car either way it won't be very cheap, the oldest advice in the world is if you want fast buy from the factory fast. Steve.

Hi, pay attention to average speed camera signs, and get Waze installed on your phone, other than that enjoy!