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Francis007

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Francis007 last won the day on November 22 2022

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  • First Name
    Frank
  • Location
    Hampshire.
  • Audi Model
    Q8
  • Audi Year
    2023

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  1. Just as an aside to my recent post on our road trip to Germany, thought I would like to just make a comment on Audi build quality verses other premium German makes. Whilst there,my Missus and I were invited out to a restaurant one evening by a good long standing German mate and his wife. We were staying in a hotel near the small town of Aerzen in Lower Saxony and the restarant chosen was located in the city of Hamelyn about 15 miles away....so a reasonable drive there and back. Our friend works for Britas, the water purifcation and the Company has recently suplied him with a new model C class Mercedes. It was ablack Estate model and I think badged c180D Our friend was rightly proud of it and it had most of the bells and whistles that all recent cars now have. Big tablet type screen in the middle that controls almost all functions, cameras and fancy lights with shutters. And it was pretty quiet too for a diesel engined car and had a reasonable amount of torque. However, the abiding memory for me as I sat in the passenger seat was how poor the build quality was compared to my Audi. And I know the 2 cars are in difeerent price ranges but I truly believe, being in quite a few model Audis from A3's to A6's that the integrity of the build in the entire Audi range is on a much higher level than the stuff Mercedes puts out The Mercedes switch gear was flimsy and made of cheap plastic, the doors must weigh half the weight of the Audi door. They shut with a terrible metallic clang. The door releases were cheap and plastic and the fancy round air vents were flimsy an didnt work with decent precision So, in my opinion.....and it is only a personal opinion, I think the Audi brand build quality far surpasses Mercedes and BMW at the moment. Which is a good job really as all of us here chose Audi eh !!! Oh and I didnt let on to our friend. The car was his choice and he was mightily proud of it and if we all chose the same brand car it would be a pretty boring world out there.
  2. Glad to be of service Trev ! You have got to plan another trip and then tell us all about it. As you know,it's a different world over there.Driving is still enjoyable. One thing I forgot to write is that I was flashed 3 times by speed cameras whilst there. I await what will drop through the letter box in the next few weeks with interest 🤔
  3. Not sure whether anyone will be interested in this but I just thought I would post my musings on our 4 week tour to Germany in our Q8. We just returned on Wednesday after crossing over on the Shuttle four weeks ago and making our way to Dortmund for our first overnight stop . Then we headed south to the little town of Parsbeg in Bavaria whjre we stayed for several days. Then up into the mountains of Bavaria to stay at Berchtesgaden for 5 days. We then crossed back to Berlin for a few days and then onto the wonderful city of Dresden where we stayed for a week. Finally we headed to a favourite Schlosshotel of ours in Lower Saxony whe re we stayed for 8 days. And then a leisurely drive heading for home for the same overnight in Dortmund before we spent 3 days in the little Belgian town of Ypres. I have a great Uncle who is buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Cemery at Tyne Cot. If anyone wants to visit a site that will take your breath away visit this cemetry. The number of young British Tommies buried here who perished in the mud of Paschendale wil make you weep . I have to say that although my missus and I have been touring Germany in the car for many years the road network of the country has deteriated a little in the last few years. Not so much you understand as the apalling state that the UK roads are in now. Many more speed restrictions and repairs on their Autobahn sytem now. However the overiding opinion was that their autobahns, their A and B roads are still in a superb state compared to our roads. Great signage,billiard smooth surfaces, well engineered cambers etc. Also the standard of driving on the Autobahns is so much higher than here. Precise signalling to either come out in a lane or back in again and an almost 100 % compliance to speed restrictions . The only thing I would say is that if you do get in the big boys outside lane on the unrestricted stuff to overtake slower traffic, even though you are probably doing 120 mph, the fast boys behind doing 140/150 plus will try to bully you to get back inside ! And also just maybe the UK registration and sticker does provoke some just a tad ! The car went well. We ticked over from 8000 miles to over 1000. Comfortable and just about fast enough. We had theusual software gliches that any Audi owber recognises nowadays. Lost the top screen one time as it just got stuck trying to initialsie. Then I lost my user identity " thingy " at start up one time so when I started the car my preference didnt kick in. Nothing too nasty and all sorted by a quick reboot by starting the car up again. The most annoying thing was a repeated loud bong and red warning triangle and exclamation mark in the drivers panel warninf of " limited visibilty " ! This came onquite a few times on the Autobahn when the minimum visibilty was at the very least 300 metres and more. God bless the EU eh in forcing he manufacturers in giving us that. Hope ths is of interest. If not just ignore. Frank
  4. Hi Will. That's a shame but a saving grace....maybe...is that the Q8 has a pretty big boot Also, a top box would surely spoil the lines of the car ! I've been mightily pleased with both my Q8's so I wish you many happy, enjoyable and safe miles in your splendid new car. Frank
  5. Hi Will. Sorry to hear that. I am on my second Q8 now, the first was purchased in 2020 when there was a model called a ' First Edition ' I believe. If I remember correctly the model line up for the U.K then was S Line, followed by Firts Edition and then Vorsprung. I'm pretty certain ,roof rails and a sunroof were both extras on the S line and First Edition and only standard on the Vorsprung which had practically everything on the options list. I did have a look at a Firts Edition at a dealership in 2020 and it was a 50 tdi rather than a 55tfsi which is the model I had decided on. And I'm pretty sure it didn't have a sunroof. The Firts Edition models were replaced after 2020 with a Black Edition which I have now, purchased new in June 2023 Both the roof rails and panoramic sunroof were extras on the Black Edition and not options I required so didn't order. Audi are notorious on renaming models and adding small bits of kit. My Black Edition was model 23.5 which was soon followed by 24 model which did have heads up display, park plus.....and a panoramic sunroof ! Buto of course they raised the price ! Its a game all the manufacturers play to try and persuade you to buy the latest model. I'm not surprises that roof rails cannot be fitted retrospectively as it would involve drilling that could affect the integrity of the structure. Can you not go back to the dealer and explain and exchange for a Q8 with roof rails. Had a quick look at Autotrader and about half of the Q8's listed on there do have roof rails. Anyhows...Good luck.
  6. Hi David. I had this happen to me twice on a previous Q8. .MMI screen just went completely blank. However, on both occasions, I did the factory reset as recommended by pressing for about 20 seconds on the radio on / off button and it worked both times. Screen came back to life. I replaces my 2020 Q8 with a new one in June 2023 and have had no problems with this current car....yet !
  7. JSon. Sorry to hear about your problems with your Q8 and the 48v system. On previous posts I did write that in my first Q8 in 2020 I almost always turned the start / stop system off as I thought it didn't achieve anything significantly and it was a nuisance. It was only later that I was informed that in doing this, I was disabling the 48v mild hybrid system. So in my current Q8 I haven't disabled the start/ stop at all and therefore the 48 v unit is being used I haven't had any problems with it at all so could you please keep us updated in how Audi is responding to your fault. I hope its sorted for you soon. Frank
  8. Gareth. Forgive me...that was me that ' liked ' your post. It was my way of thanking you as a Moderator for being detailed and logical in asking questions to always try to help fellow Audi owners out
  9. Morning Nigel I parked my car up in old Portsmouth last night to see an old ex RN friend. It was bitterly cold there and after a pint in the pub down on the Hard, I walked back to my car and noticed that I too had the same condensation in both my headlishts that you have experienced. So, it does look as though it's a normal occurence with these units that " breathe ! Frank
  10. Hi Nigel Sorry for keeping this running but I promise I will give you some peace and quiet afer this reply ! Many thanks for the pics. It does look like condensation doesnt it although I am suprised it has got into the sealed units. Best to keep and eye on it I think in case it gets worse and you have your new car warranty to fall back on. Re your comments about the German Autobahns. Think the Germans are not so much fun as they used to be as we have been travelling reguarly to Deutschland for over 30 years now and we have noticed how more and more restrictions are being applied to the Autobahn network. Presume it might be something to do with Olaf Schutzs administration having to rely on a coalition with the Greens to stay in power. We travelled about 2000 miles in our three weeks and I would guess that probably only on about a third of the Autobahns we used were without a speed restiction. It was always a rule that the older the autobahn, the greater chance that they would have a restiction of 130 Kph. Especially the very old one with only two lanes. However even newly built ones like the last 150 miles from Dortmund to Dresden that used to be derestricted have now a speed limit on them. I think I managed to keep our British end up by occassionally gunning my boy up to 120 mph when I could and when it was safe obviously. But I still got mullered by Porsches, Bmw's and the occassional company car VW Passat Estate that would have been chipped ! Also the UK sticker attracted the attention of the occasional German driver who decided it was a sign to have a go. My cowardly gene has now kicked in since I got into my 70's and 120 mph is enough for me now. Also, my last point. If anyone thinks that the the rash of road works on our Motorways and our roads are peculiar only to the U.K please think again. We travelled for many miles on autobahns resticted to two lanes for road works ( with no actual sign of anyone working ! ) and 80 kph speed limit. And on the way home we got caught in utter traffic gridlock as bad as anything experienced in the UK, 20 miles from Dortmund where we managed to travel about 20 miles in 2 hours....and in biblical rain ! Anyhows, it was nice to chat and have fun with your glorious Q8 Frank
  11. Evening Nigel Apologies for asking the age of your car when it was in your profile ! I'm 76 years of age so I will blame that ! If possible, could you detail a bit more about the " foggieness " your headlights are experiencing please ? And what precisely does the manual say about that it ? I am intrigued as I said in my initial reply that I didnt experience anything like this in my first nor in my present one. My car is parked up outside in our driveway each night as it's too darn wide for our titchy little garage and I have just gone out to have a look what the headlights are like. We live in the New Forest in Hampshire and temperatures are dropping pretty rapidly this evening so you would suspect that if there was a problem, it would show up. However they are both clear and dry. So I suggest to do what Gareth has already said and ask your supplying dearlership to investigate under warranty. Apart from that , may I ask how you are finding the car after previously owning a Q7 ? The two Q8's are my first foray into the SUV sector. Up to 2020, I owned either Porsches, BMW's etc in my younger days and as I grew older, I owned 2 wonderful VW Phaetons followed by an A8 But with ageing joints it seemed to make sense to finally own an SUV. Not sure I could lower myslef into a low slung car anymore ! And it has worked. My wife and I use our Q8 for longish driving tours to Deutschland . We have just returned from a 3 week tour to Bavaria, Dresden and Lower Saxony and the car was sublime, both on bendy country roads up in the mountains and on the fabulous Autobahn system in Germany. It's quiet,comfortable, well engineered and just about powerful enough I think. I would have liked to have changed up to an SQ8 but the pension would not allow.....nor would my Missus who said I would probably kill myself now with over 500 bhp ! Apologies for the length of this. I do tend to go on rather now. So, I hope you sort this problem out and I wish you many happy,safe and enjoyable miles in your wonderful Q8 Frank
  12. Afternoon Nigel. I'm on my second Q8. First purchased in 2020 that I owned for 3 years and 40,000 miles and my present one, that I took delivery in June this year and just ticked over 5500 miles. Both bought new and both 55TFSi. I haven't had a problem at all with the headlights so I suspect that you have problem with your particular car. May I ask how old it is and is it still under warranty ? Hope you sorted it out. Frank
  13. Cheers Steve. Just had a look at the Autologics website and it looks impressive. Think I will get in touch to see if they can disable it permanently for me. I agree with you, dont think the Audi dealership would do anything due to EU car safety legislation. As it's set up on my car, it truly is intrusive and in some scenarios could be downright dangerous. We are off for a month long road trip to Deutschland in October, driving up into the Bavarian Alps, then back to Lower Saxony before heading north to the Baltic coast. I do not want this system kicking in when I dont want it to on our trip. Thankyou again
  14. May I ask a question about the Audi pre-sense system please ? Is there any way of getting into the software andturning the system off permanantly ? May I explain my problem ? I have lived in a small cottage in Hampshire for over 40 years. I have a driveway with a narrowish turn in that has two 4ft.metal posts which frame the gate. In over 40 years and in many cars, I have managed to turn into this gateway without once hitting the posts !!!!! Even now at my great age of75 years ! My previous Q8 had pre-sense and not once in hundreds of turn ins to my home did it ever activate. However, on my new Q8....with pre-sense.....on every occasion I get home, it activates and slams on the brakes. I take the same angle of turn and at the same slow speed. When it firts did it, I honestly thought I had hit the far side post, such was the force of the braking ! So, I looked into the Audi owners manual and it looks as though I can turn the sensitivity of the sysstem down a bit but this only lasts on the cars cycle. As soon as you turn the engine off, it seems to revert back to max sensitivity. It is a pain and makes you look foolish when the car slams on for no apparent reason. So, any ideas please in switiching it off permanently ? Many thanks in advance Frank
  15. Steve Just been having some more thoughts about your problem with the 48v mild hybrid system on you car. This is not a criticism of you at all but can I say that I did know that all Q8's sold in the European market had the mild hybrid system and it was well documented in all the Audi literature that I read plus the many road tests and review I read before I decided to buy a Q8. That doesn't help you of course at the moment with your particular problem, I realise that. But Audi did highlight the system as it was their way in pretending that this car was a " hybrid " in some way orform and therefore te car was " eco-friendly " ! An absolute nonsense in my opinion with a car with a V^ engine pushing out 340 bhp. On thinking about my experencies with the system I have realsed overnight that I was being a bit disingenious with my reply to you in saying that I had never experienced a problem. The fact is that in my previous Q8, the firts two things I did when I got in the car on start up was to disengage the lane departure system which was a !Removed! nuisance and also to switch the stop/start system off because that.....in my humble opinion.....was a pain the bum too . It was only after about 24,000 miles and two years of ownership, I ound out that in switching off the stop/start system , I was also disengaging the mild hybrid system too. And I found out that supposedly the 48v battery could give me a few miles more MPG and a little more brake horsepower ! So, in realising I might be missing out, in the final year of ownership, I only switched off the lane departure. In my current car which is barely 2 months old , I have not switched the stop/start system off once so I am using te 48v battery and I have had no problems. As I think SteveQ has stated in a previous post, if you are still within the firts 30 days of ownership, you can return the car if you are unhappy with it, so then of couse I think you must do that. Frank
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