joe6

A dilemma I had recently when the car reached 3 years old. Main dealer servicing will always look good on resale but is expensive compared to independents and I do have a good one near me that service my son's gti and uses only vag parts. The a3 is just 3 year's old. After looking at a range of costs and convenience I decided to go for the audi all-in plan which covers 2 services and mots, 2 years warranty and 2 year's roadside assistance. If the car had been older my decision may well have been different. Using a good independent is always a decent choice to reduce costs but you should expect genuine parts to be used. The savings are in the labour charges. Not able to help with recommendations near you but I expect a member local to you can give you a pointer. Best of luck with your purchase and finding a reliable garage.

I fitted the audi factory reverse camera complete with all cabling myself (from audi dealer spares dept) and the only tricky part was getting the cabling through the hatch rubber pipe. Obd11 can sort out the coding. Cost me £300. Front sensors look a lot more complex and I did not try that. Good luck with finding a decent installer.

Need to turn the hill hold setting off and hold the car with the footpedal while turning the engine off.

Easy when you know how. AI got it wrong!! Hold the wiper blade in one hand with your thumb against the blade at the end of the wiper arm and the other hand holding the blade clip. Push with your thumb while pulling the blade clip and it should come loose. Was very tight.

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated. Videos on YouTube seem helpful and tried a couple of methods but not sufficiently convinced to force anything. Will keep searching and provide feedback in due course.

Sorry it is a mundane query. Having trouble finding how to remove and replace the rear wiper on my 2023 a3 8y. Not a fitment I have come across before and worried about breaking the plastic arm. Any help appreciated.

Not charged at my last (3 year) service in March. Perhaps ask them to give you back the old oil and take to a recycle site😁. Might make them rethink?

If it is like my 2023 a3 it still has the dip stick and no mmi oil check. I'm old school and prefer dip stick. Makes you look under the bonnet once in a while. 😀

If the tyres have not been changed then they will not be run flat. This was not in the original spec.

Thinking about the audi all in plan for the next 2 years. Just coming up to 3 years old and the plan is 2 services, 2 mots, 2 years warranty and road side assistance for about £950. Also noticed that spark plugs and air filter not included both douable at home! Does this seem reasonable cost? The warranty and roadside assistance are the main attraction for me.

Glad the chat was helpful and you got it fixed.

Check your oil level and consistency of oil. Another possibility is fuel leaking from the intake manifold/injectors into the sump so no visible leak but still the smell and a quarter tank would show in the oil level! If this is the case change the oil ASAP.

Fuel rail pressure too low and smell suggests a possible Injector failure. Do you have other symptoms such as misfire or very sooty exhaust that would point towards injector problems?

The guard you mention is an anti-syphoning device so does not affect filling.

Brake fluid change is not included in vag service plans. Audi recommend every 2 years from new while vw say 3 years from new then every 2 years. If you want to retain the audi 3 year warranty for the remaining year you need to at least check the maintenance schedule and make a decision based on that.

Quite a while since I had an a5 but I think it is at the front of the engine over the timing chain cover and camshafts. Can get gunked up if oil is not changed regularly.

Sorry to hear about your problem. A neighbour used to work in an accident repair shop. He said that if the chassis is straight the repair will likely be in the order of 10k given your description. London prices almost certainly higher. Before anyone will give an good estimate they will want to do a chassis alignment check as suggested earlier.

How do you find the brakes? Some have reported poor feel at times with a3 hybrids.

Alex if it is hybrid the vehhicle specification will mention a kW figure.

Worth checking prices with firms like carwow. Can get some really good deals at times especially if there are sales targets to meet. Many years ago got a Ford Escort xr3i at dealer buy in price.

I have used a puller in the past for a stuborn arm. Still have it. Better than a bent arm. About £11 from b&q. Cheaper on ebay

There are still petrol only versions of the a3 new 2026 plate the 116 and 150.

Find it interesting that the majority of tyre tests on mid range tyres exclude nexen? The one I found ADAC said for the price, dry performance was good but had lower ratings for wet.

Regards rewiring, looms are expensive and difficult to renew. I personally would find an auto electrician and splice in new cabling where needed using waterproof connectors.

Thanks for the feedback. Useful to know. There are cameras that have a wash function linked to the rear screen washer on the hatchback that I was thinking of trying bur did not want to mess with parameters so might try replacing it now.

Interested in this thread for future reference. Do people think this is a post 2023 hybrid problem/dsg software issue or more common on across the a3 range? Noticed comments about brake squeal/grinding on other threads. Not had any brake problems with mine so far.