Bobbins

Hi Steve, thanks again - really helpful. It sounds like you've got the ideal arrangement with your indie who'll let you watch/help - worth its weight in gold! maybe jump this to my post in the Technical forum? - so do you feel, even with owners being 'mindful' of what to do to try and protect against ( or at least reduce chance of ) DPF etc. problems, and also being prepared to chuck some money at DPF cleaning every year - it is still just best to steer away from a 2.0 ultra altogether? Reasonably involved cleaning I am happy to handle, but disassembling replacing EGR cooler etc. will be beyond my limited skills!

Hi Gareth, yes guess typical experience. Yes agree a lot rests on how well 'handler' communicates with the technician. Receptionists Just seems a wasted opportunity - for Audi to show how well / how professional they could be etc. Positives: really useful to get the technician's feedback that the brakes / discs - and general underside ( bushes etc. ) all seemed good, and especially good that he commented on the pads etc. having lots of life left. ( so that totally exceeded expectations ) In the past they've just given a wear %, and then used that to drum up work without actually say how close to the 'limit' parts actually were. Coffee, biscuits, friendly reception staff, + an old newspaper to read!🙂 5 miles from home! ( so biscuits and coffee = mileage for 10 miles!🙃 Also - health check paperwork gives you a bit of lovely Audi headed paper to add to a service history!🙂 Also you get a car wash, and a bit of vacuuming😀 Negatives - overall - just generally lame/carelessness/unprofessional ( but yes...it was free! ). So if you're careless when you're trying to demonstrate professionalism to 'win' a customer, and you stuff up ( albeit little things ) - doesn't bode well for when you do an actual service. I'd gone into it absolutely expecting a pure money spinner, but now I'm actually more wary - purely because of the lame handler, and now wondering what they might they be like if there was a problem with actual paid-for work? Future: I might ( just just just ) might consider using the main dealer, purely for basic oil changes servicing - ( frustratingly the car has a 100% full dealer history so feel I should at least consider it! ( yes I may well be a lemming, following the other lemmings... . Warranty on the car require audi approved parts, local indie quote was about £75 cheaper than audi to do the oil change - so weighing up if the extra £75 on Audi, just to maintain the complete service history can be justified! ) (( don't think I'd be able to consume £75 of the coffee and biscuits if car did go in.....but could try😆 ) But - as I'd expect majority of us do - I'd use an independent for everything else.

Now not so good😞: Repair Garage had a mix up, and their supplier had told them slave was external, hence low replacement quote. However, Slave is internal to gearbox. ( SteveyY😊 - whatever the emoji is that 'you were spot on' ) So their repair Quote became £2,400 ish ( included some 'betterment in a flywheel and clutch ) Seller no to local repairs, said return car to him and he'd fix, or give full refund (( less mileage deduction - tad peeked at the proposed mileage deduction - given grief all this has caused😡 ) (( Don't know what mileage rate he is proposing to deduct, and equally I need to list my expenses / mileage to get quotes etc. etc.)) Just in case, and to have a 2nd opinion in writing - I got 2nd opinion from Mr Clutch ( good reviews for local franchise ) as my preference to get it fixed locally. MrC stated that it is master cyl is losing pressure, and is the fault ( SteveyY😊, 2nd credit to you ) But, in addition they noted the flywheel was vibrating, and so should be replaced, & was possible cause of the Master cly loosing pressure. Written quotes to selling garage. ( Flywheel + clutch + slave, and also the master cyl = £2,100 ( all in ) (( so bit cheaper than the orignal repair quote, even factoring in flywheel and the Master )) I also made a goodwill offer of £350 towards the repairs ( on basis I get a bit of betterment out of it - though my understanding is you must replace clutch etc. when you replace flywheel - so the clutch was always going to have to be replaced if flywheel being done = so clutch should not technically be regarded as 'betterment'. Selling garage don't want to spend that much, so can is being returned for refund. Quite like the car, and had been considering increasing my goodwill offer to contribute bit more to see if that meant Dealer would pay for repairs - as car has full Audi history, great bodywork and interior, very recent cambelt and adblue pump, and numerous bushes, and pads/discs. But .....EML also came on😞, with P200200 code ( hence my post in the Technical Forum ) - so to consider taking the car back would mean: clutch, dm flywheel etc. + master + a DPF clean + possibly sensors + unknowns ?) so stretching the comfort boundary! ( also now have a sticking wing mirror ( elec fold in version ) that will not automatically unfold when you turn on ignition - I can get it to unfold using the fold in / unfold button - but it's seems another sign of gremlins?😧

Hi, There is loads of info on the DPF problems with Audi 2.0 diesel Ultra engine around the forums. Could we collate them to one Technical thread.🤔 Essentially the question is: If you want to buy an Audi with the 2.0 diesel Ultra engine: Can you protect yourself, or are you MAD?😐 Are there day to day, cost effective ways you can reasonably 'manage' life with a DPF Ultra to avoid major disaster? 😊 Absolutely NOT a mechanic🤐 - just putting down notes that I've seen: Your Driving style - avoid short, stop start city journey if you can. Once a week do 20-30mins continuously at say 2500-3000 revs 'cleaning drive' to get exhaust temp up to burn off soot; Branded fuel, Q would using the higher grade e.g. Shell V power etc. have any benefit? if you notice your car starting a self regen during a journey ( idle revs rise to a. 1000 ) then take car for the 20-30mins at 2500-3000 revs 'cleaning drive'. if you notice a self-regen starting when you park ( fan running, lots of heat, smell of burning...get back in car, don't just leave it parked ( as unlikely to achieve a full regeneration) and do the 20-30mins at 2500-3000 revs 'cleaning drive'. Fuel additives ( Q. ones that just 'help maintain', and ones that 'clean'; Every tank? Ad blue - does the brand make any difference? Ad blue injector - cleaning the nozzel; Get an OBD reader to monitor DPF info. - Q what specifics to look out for? What related sensors prone to failure, and that it's wise to try replacing - before you go into more expensive fault finding Shorten intervals between oil changes ( 6 - 7 - 8 k? ), and use correct oil spec; Do you factor in getting the DPF professionally cleaned, and if so on the car / off the car? Basically - if you are careful and proactive - can you consider buying a 2.0 ultra....... or is it just a certain time bomb waiting to go off ( probably on a friday, in winter, at rush hour, with unsympathetic passengers )!😧 Maybe people could add in their experiences, and what was done on their cars that fixed DPF problems?😀 Thanks!

Tried a free health check recently ( Nov 2025 ). Technician's video was actually excellent - e.g. he gave the pads/dics measurements but more importantly actually gave a comment to clarify their condition: 'lots of life in them! Amazed and equally grateful for his helpful / informed assessment. However, the service 'handler' then leaves voicemail to say there is some damage to undertrays and priced for then.....they were superficially scuffed, no cracks, all fixings intact! Also priced for a front bumper vent grill - that I already told them I had bought but just hadn't fitted it. Noted down the service due timescale incorrectly. Noted down that the first aid kit was 'missing'......but it was in the rear armrest ( isn't that where they always are on an A6 avant? ) Mentioned that to the service handler - not bothered, didn't even comment - like trying to talk to a teenager glued to a screen. Then on collection there was no actual conversation / discussion on the findings when I picked up the car - so it's as if it is an almost entirely pointless exercise- the handler sticks some stuff on the quote, they expect you to ignore it....everyone has had an almost total waste of time ( apart from nice coffee + biscuits, and a car wash ) Seems an utterly self-defeating exercise by Audi - as most people feel the health check is just a moneymaking scam. If they bothered to throw in a miniscule bit of common sense / basic good business practice. So actually allow to have a straightforward chat with the customer - explain they have to note everything down they spot - but equally, they totally appreciate that some items ( e.g. replacing a scuffed undertray ) is functionally unnecessary etc. Give full information - so a customer can make an informed decision - e.g. this is the dimensions of dics / pads / trye tread etc. etc. and so that that is likely to equate to X no. of miles left in them ( obviously with a caveat on depend how you drive etc. ). Now we've informed you - would you like to get them done now or wait until later? Bother to ask the customer if any recent work has been done rather than just blindly quoting for work based on mileage / age. It just seems such epically stupid / short sighted business practice - unless the majority of the public are lambs to the slaughter, and just blindly follow their 'recommendations' for work? Coffee was good, technician info on brakes helpful and reception staff very friendly. Actual service manager / handler - largely just a waste of time!

Hi Dan, hope you got it resolved. Could you let us know what the outcome was, and, if there was success cleaning it - how was it cleaned/fixed. Seems there are quite a few ways to attempt to clean the DPF while it's still on the car?

Spartacus - ( are you still doing the gymnastics? ) yes agree it seems very very unlikely that Audi won't just wriggle their way out of it😕, but the price match is on Audi UK main website, as well as some main dealers websites - so surely someone might have got it agreed🙂 Maybe we should have it as a forum challenge?😄

I've had good feedback on here for Carly - but at the same time watch out in case you consider them - they have a really, really shabby sales practice, and as part of the check-out process you immediately lose any right to return the scanner or cancel subscription! ( this is even after I had contacted their customer service to ask about what features were included - and they suggested I could buy it to see if it was what we needed - obviously knowing full well that if it wasn't suitable for us we'd be stuffed and have to keep it! )

Gareth - hi - yes, repairer has said on my A6 ( C7 2.0 manual ) the Slave cylinder is external, hence the £250 quote. I'm trying to leave things to the experts to diagnose. My dilemma is the other advice out there, in particular the advice / personal experience of SteveyY and master cylinders......🤔 I've tried to get it agreed that while the repairing garage have quoted to replace only the Slave cylinder, they are doing that as they think that is the most likely solution. But, it's being done on the basis they are not guaranteeing that a new Slave Cyl. is a certain solution, and so further work ( i.e. master cylinder ) may be necessary. Appreciate that should always be buyer's right anyway ( if the 1st fix hasn't worked ) , but, seemed worthwhile getting it down on paper - don't suppose it will hurt🤔, and might make it bit harder for seller / warranty to try and wriggle if further work is actually needed. Cliff - hi - yes mindful of time passing. The 'repair train' ( - aka the diagnosis & repair process ) - is already moving along - just a bit slowly. Quote has already been submitted to the selling garage for agreement; Selling garage had acknowledged, & said they'd consult warranty firm and revert this morning; No reply this a.m., so I 'nudged' seller, saying I'd expected seller to cover costs himself ( rather than looking to get a warranty firm to pay ) so as not to hold things up ( and separate matter if he wants to seek getting the money back from the warranty firm - that shouldn't affect me/getting car fixed ); Seller agreed😀, and has sent funds to me - so I can pay repairing garage once slave fitted; Repair garage given go-ahead to proceed 🙂, and! they'd had a booking cancelled, so they might get to my car tomorrow 🙂🙂 so 'good day' today!

Gareth - thanks - I was basing the request for Audi/OE parts to maybe stand a chance as we're i the 1st 30 days - so selling garage bit more likely to be helpful. I'd hope if the Audi part is agreed it would get fitted - as it's an Indie near me that is quoting for the repair - not the selling Garage. Bit of progress (?): Got a quote - Seems modest at £250 to replace the slave ( parts, labour, & vat all included ). The assessing repair garage proposed replacing the slave cylinder as what should be done first ( + flush ). But appreciate Steve you had made it clear you felt the master cylinder was most likely the cause. ( Assessing garage said master cylinder much more awkward to replace / less likely cause ) Any advice on how to move this forward - is it worthwhile getting noted in writing somewhere that replacing the 'slave' is proposed as the probable solution ( but if the fault re-appears within X days( ?) then the next item to replace would be the master cylinder / further repair work can still be claimed? Thanks for any thoughts.

Yes, totally agree😄 ( you missed off choice of biscuits! ) - getting to actually have a conversation with the mechanic is gold dust. Though front desk staff at the main dealer were absolutely exemplary - friendly / cheerful / helpful.

Hi, anyone had any joy with getting a Price Match from Audi on servicing costs ( i.e. to match a better price you've got from a local independent etc. )? Presume it might be simpler seeking this on just an Oil Change Service - as that rules out lots of the 'inspections' in the Oil change with Inspection) Think the general terms are: that its a like for like service - so you need the Indie quote to specify they'll use audi oil and filter etc., and be VAT registered, with particular tax code to show it is from a 'proper' garage - not a 'mate' Tried local Main Dealer here - only to be told the servicing prices on their website are a 'price match'. When I said this seemed confusing, given I'd not submitted any quote for them to try and 'match', and the price match process is outlined on the main Audi UK website - I was just told they have already 'price matched', and went into detail about how their work was by Audi trained personnel. I get it is a dealership's choice if they want to offer a price match ( as per the way it is set out on Audi UK main website ) , but bit surprising / frustrating to get what seems dippy feedback.

Steve - thanks. Presume I can insist the repairers use OE master cylinder + Audi Brake fluid ( or failing that I'll look for the Comma ESP4 you'd suggested. Fingers crossed diagnosis and getting repair agreed doesn't prove to be too much grief!

Steve - thanks very much again! Hopefully not sadly - but I'm stuck with Carly! ( bought it before I'd spotted the scam about being impossible to return ) Will take a look at VCDS. thanks😎

Stevey - thanks very much. So master cylinder and the flush/fresh fluid. Nothing in the history I have for a new clutch. Car has been to main dealer for 9 out of 10 general services. Previous owners have done cambelt a. 10k ago, and Ad blue pump at independents. My concern is that as I'm expecting the seller garage to cover the costs in full ( does that sound like what should be happening? ) - I was expecting them to be reluctant. I'd presumed as a worst case they'd just say no to any works, until the pedal drops again, or, to only authorise the fluid flush and refill only ( or worse just a bleed ) as a first step. On the other hand, I'd presume the worst case for the dealer is if the car is rejected and returned to them for a full refund, but with now another owner recorded on the V5. Presume if a hire-car was involved that might be an incentive to make sure the repairs are thorough and quick - rather than !Removed!-ing around nibbling away at it to try to expense?

Phil - thanks for tips: See the STP you mentioned is a 'regenerator' is that stronger than the general additives that 'helps' the car to maintain the DPF? Did you use them pretty often - I'm trying to go into the C7 dpf world with my eyes as open as they can be! 🤔 So my shopping list for 'DPF life' is: OBD reader for soot etc. levels; branded fuel; DPF fuel additive; shorter oil change intervals, trying to avoid granny-ing the car around town in slow / low revs, short journeys; and making sure to do a high revs for at least 1/2 hr ( 2500 - 3000 revs?? ) weekly. DPF: I'm a bit concerned about the DPF - as the car did 2 long A roads on saturday ( 1/2 hr each way, over 2500mm revs ) & then 2 x motorway journeys on the sunday ( 1hr each way, 70mph over 3k revs ) then did 2 short town drive of 6 miles on the monday - and went into regen. I'd thought the motorway drives would have given it a good clean? Is this a bad sign? MyCarly: Reassuring to hear your experience of Carly seems so good. Just found a youtube with pretty surprising feedback on the Carly sales policies - e.g. the split second you buy it, their procedure means you are instantly cancelling your option to any refund ( for the reader or the subscription ) - even if unused and within 14 days! )). Then also looked on Trustpilot - to find countless issues with their returns / customer service / auto renewals......😦

Thanks for the Carly info.🙂 just ordered one as there was a black friday deal, delivered pretty quickly, arrived in about 2 days.

Alfie, i've found the oil level procedure a bit erratic ( on 2013 C7 ) - I believed I'd followed all the requirements - sometime it would show me the oil level, sometimes not! Realise that's a very non technical answer, but my experience was to keep trying, maybe drive for a bit longer first etc. - and eventually I hit the right method!

Steve - thanks very much indeed - really helpful to know about the consumer same fault / 30 days. Will def. ask for Comma ESP4. Car is on 120k, pretty much a full main dealer history. Car is going to a local garage ( I've found & seller agreed ) for diagnosis this Monday - so hopefully the master cylinder together, with a flush and new fluid will be straightforward to agree with the selling garage. Thinking that will be more acceptible to them than replacing a slave cylinder? ( Presume if it turns about to the be the slave - then sensible for me to pay to get clutch replaced at same time ). I couldn't see any leaks on the exterior of the master cylinder looking from the footwell. How 'enthusiastic' is the Audi price for their brake fluid? ( guess might ba bad as main dealer just quoted approx. £270 for a brake fluid service ) Any thoughts / advice on what happens if the diagnosing garage can't find / see a clutch pedal fault - and the pedal is functions normally for them? Presume I'll just have to drive it until the pedal fails again? Then not pull it up, and just wait and call the AA to confirm the pedal is flat on the floor again? Don't relish that as a plan of driving a timebomb in a city! Lots of places it would be very unpopular to break down!

Thanks for all the feedback, really helpful.🙂 If the clutch pedal has been pulled back up - and is currently staying up - are there ways the repairing garage will be able to make a certain diagnosis ( e.g. between master or slave cylinder )? (( rather than simplistically just saying replace 'everything - master / slave / seals / flush & refill fluid )) Asking as I am getting close to the end of the 30days from purchase. (( I'm taking it there is much much more incentive for the selling garage to get a fix done now, rather than having the car 'rejected' and returned )). But if I go past the 30 days - then the situation changes, and I'm into the 1st 6 months period - should I expect it will probably be much more challenging trying to demonstrate the fault was there at time of purchase etc. / getting the seller to agree to more repair work. agreed - and even more so if it is related to the clutch ( as a wear and tear item ). Is there any way to try and safe guard against Stevey Y's example above - e.g. if they replace master cylinder now (within the 30 days); and it seems fine initially - but then it turns out the Slave is faulty say 2 weeks later 😞( after 30 days has expired )? Do we get it agreed in writing that the work now is an anticipated fix, but if the fault returns within X days then it's still the same issue - and still treated as within 30 days or is that like trying to fid rocking horse poo?😉

Hi Magnet - thanks for reply. All the legal info. I've found suggests a buyer can reject the car if there is a reasonable fault, and I'm not obliged to give them a chance to fix it. ( That changes once I'm more than 30 days past the purchase date ). The Car Dealer was good, and came back straight away. He suggested either I can get a local garage to quote to repair the problem, and Dealer will send that quote to his warranty Co......which sounds bit open-ended. ( seems to hinge on the Warranty Co. accepting the claim, rather than the dealer agreeing to do repairs to avoid my 30day right to reject. ) Or, I can take the car back to the Car dealer ( annoyingly about a 1hr drive + having to get train home...plus how long will they take to fix etc. ) for him to fix. The problem is intermittent - I pulled the clutch pedal back up, and it stayed up and had pressure. I called AA, man came out - but just said if the car is working fine there were no tests he could do. I just have to wait until it goes again( !!! ) - but, if I call AA again, the 1st thig they would is try pulling the pedal up, and if it stays up - then that is all they'd do. Can anyone advise if there are any actual tests the garage can do ( pressure test for a clutch fluid leak? _ - to demonstrate a fault clutch system is losing fluid?

Hi, car is a 2015 A6 C7 manual. Driving normally, in a traffic queue. Went to change gear - but at first clutch pedal would not depress. Tried again it did depress - but stayed flat on the floor. Using my toe, I managed to pull the clutch pedal back up - and it stayed up ( didn't drop to floor ) and then worked fine! Any suggestions on what problem is. 2nd part of the query is about Consumer options: The car was bought from an independent dealer less than 30 days ago, ( less than 500 miles driven ) and ( as a separate aspect ) it came with a warranty ( so not 'sold as seen, or as spares repair etc. ). I'm presuming the warranty is a side issue - and the main thing is the car has failed within 30days of purchase- so can it be claimed not fit for purpose? Any suggestions on how to approach the independent car dealer Do I have to give them the chance to fix it, or can I 'refuse' the car and return it, and for a full refund?

Hi, car is a 2015 A6 c7. The MMI seems to turn on normally. Driver turned off their bluetooth pairing, so passenger could connect their mobile to the car via Bluetooth. The passenger started playing songs - and the MMI initially worked fine - showed the track name etc. on the screen that was playing. But - when the next song came on ( i.e. the phone was sending a playlist to the car, and automatically playing the tracks in order, no one was manually skipping tracks etc. ) - the MMI screen didn't change, it still just showed the previous song. Is there a way to re-set something? - or is this an MMI fault that needs repair? Many thanks

Think Audi still gave you the hard ( paper copy ) of the manual, - it's just a nice 'toy' to have in the MMI.

weird! Is there a way that it can be uploaded to the mmi, or is it just as it comes when it leaves the factory? ( I appreciate it's a pretty trivial feature though in the scheme of things! )