mak156

So I took the trim off again as it was still squeaking. Am I correct in saying that the end of the airbag is missing a clip? You can see the clip further left, and there is a hole and tag at the end of the airbag that would suggest it should be clipped?

a lot looks similar so this is useful. thanks for the link!

Hi Jason, thanks for posting. I actually managed to open it last night. the A-pillar is one long piece that goes all the way back past the B-pillar. I needed to open the front end of the c-pillar trim to get to a fixing that was holding the A-pillar in place. The way to get to it is to remove the reading light first which is pretty straighforward (pry it open it from the pointy end of the light as there is a spring clip there). Once that was out I was able to access the fixing holding the back end of the trim piece. I was able to open a lot of the a-pillar - however the front end is held with a cable tie at the base (strange, but definitely factory as I check the other side and it was the same). it's also pretty well connected to the airbag. But I was able to open it enough to get some adhesive backed foam on the a-pillar itself so hopefully that might do something for me. if not at least i know how to get back in - but patience is wearing thin! i'll see how it goes and will post an update if necessary in the off chance it might help someone in the future.

Hi all. Have posted before about a squeak I'm trying to sort in my 2015 A8. Looks to be the a-pillar trim piece. I tried removing it but it looks like I need to remove the trim piece behind as well to get at the last fixing. I took the handle off said piece but it still felt pretty solid and I didn't want to force it. Any advice on it would be much appreciated. I have everything else off the a-pillar trim so this is the final piece hopefully!

It's not too bad at all. I wouldn't be the handiest but this level of trim removal was fine for me. That video is great

I managed to fix the actuator as well with cable ties. I was reluctant to use super glue as it has zero workability. At least cable ties can be reversed. Anyway, 2 cable ties were enough to hold everything together. Was able to thread them through so that they didn't impact on any moving parts. A replacement actuator is £250+ so it's a tidy fix for a while. If it fails in the future I'll be sure to post an update. Pics attached for anyone's reference

Just wanted to update in case it helps someone else. I took out the broken actuator including the duct. As mentioned previously the fins in the passenger air vent were all disconnected. As it happens, removing the actuator provided access to the back of the vent. I found the missing connector piece in the duct as well. After a bit of fiddling (connector piece asymmetrical) I managed to get it back onto the fins and they all work perfectly again. Thought this might be useful for anyone with the same issue. The amount of trim that needed to be removed to get access was fairly ok too Pic below of the connector back on the fins!

Its very badly designed as you say. The 4 screw points are very undersized to take the twisting load through the mechanism. It's mightn't be the cleanest solution but I cable-tied the actuator back into place - a temporary fix for now but it does feel solid enough. I also found the connector piece that links the fins in the vent together. I think I can access all the screws without taking off anymore trim, albeit with difficulty. I'll hold tough for now though and see if a few of my problems are sorted. Thanks again for your help!

You legend. Opened up the dash to find the actuator that controls the 2 flaps hanging down like the video above. Pic attached. This this might be the root cause of the annoying squeak I posted about previously also. Thanks for your help!!

thanks for the video - hadn't seen that before. My problem is that the fins in the unit that direct the air are not linked - the small plastic horizontal piece that should connecting them is missing. Crazy that the whole trim piece has to come out to get that part of it out. It can stay broken! I must check if the two fins closing the vent as shown in that video work as well - I suspect they don't

I noticed the directional fins inside my passenger vent aren't connected together meaning the are all pointing in random directions. I see replacements are readily available on eBay, but before I pick one up, I looked at a video of someone removing an A8 dash and it looks pretty involved to get the vents out? From what I gather the whole centre trim piece needs to come out?? Is that right?

I recently bought a 2015 A8 with 70k miles before Christmas. For the most part the car has been a joy - its really comfortable and I'm delighted with the way it drives. HOWEVER, the experience is being ruined by a number of squeaks from what appears to be door panels. From what I can tell, the main culprits are the passenger side where the door closes onto the side of the dash (where the vent is); the driver door where the latch is, and the driver side passenger door where the hinge is. I bought strips of foam which are adhesive backed but they're not really sticking to the dimpled plastic material. Just wondering if anyone has any alternative suggestions that have worked for them in the past? And before people say "turn up the radio", I've tried to ignore the squeaks - but I have sensitive hearing at the best of times so its proving difficult.

It's probably rich by €3-4k but if the service history is exemplary then that would justify a bit. Ya the road tax here is ridiculous. Hence why I was sniffing around a few W126s....€56 tax for anything over 30 years old.

Looks like they have but will check the mileage. Of course the only unavoidable problem I have is the road tax. In Ireland it's €1800 😫

It's a garage sale. 2 owner car. Garage specializes in classic and performance cars so it would be typical stock for them. I haven't been to see it yet as I want to before armed with the kind of info you've given me there which is greatly appreciated!

Hi all, I've been considering an older/classic car for a while and was lurking around the Mercedes W126s for a while. However, I recently came across a 2002 Audi S8 (D2) for sale not far from me and while it's not of the same classic vintage of the W126 - it's really got me thinking as I've always loved the earlier A8s. The car in question has 125k miles on the clock and has had all the major servicing done recently including a gearbox oil change. It looks like this was done previously at 84k miles as well. From what I understand the gearbox is one of the weak points on one of these so it seems that it's in good shape. Asking price is €16k - which is rich enough for it, but if it "needs nothing" then it mightn't be too bad. Just wondering what else I should be looking out for when considering one of these? Would I be better off going for a well spec'd A8 of the same vintage instead? My first car was an Audi A4 1.9TDI (B5) which I absolutely adored so I've no doubt I'd love another one from that era. Thanks as always for any help/advice!