Magnet

Hello Maria, It won’t do any harm to get get an aerosol of contact cleaner and spray the fuse boxes and wiggle all the fuses. Of course, it could be anyone of the harness connectors that has dirty contacts. Kind regards, Gareth.

That would have been my exact description Jon. Kind regards, Gareth.

Can I be excused from thinking these are spring pad seats rather than suspension bushes?

Thanks Barclay, Yes, I appreciate posters get e-Mail notifications, but any lack of acknowledgement to posts or e-mails suggest a lack of interest in any reactions posted. Anyway… Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Anthony, Thanks for joining. ‘Do I have a problem…..’. The answer would be yes, but probably not a significant one. It isn’t that the car is very sensitive to low temperatures, but the battery would be, and my stab at it is the battery is now bordering being substandard. Is this the original battery by any chance? Kind regards, Gareth.

The original poster never returned to the forum after posting, so it’s been a complete waste of time responding.

‘The good news……’ - really! There are many variations of ‘vapour’ being emitted from exhausts, most of which are undesirables. What garage in Cardiff is that then, so I can avoid them? Unless they are having you on! Kind regards, Gareth.

What is the content and detail of your post then Stephen?

Hello Jack, You say your first new set of pads wore the inside pad to a wedge shape - something significantly wrong there then . When you say the calliper has been ‘changed’ - with a respectable branded new one? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Carlos, The original poster hasn’t returned to the forum for over two years. If you don’t get any response from him within the next couple of days, could you please compile your own post with all the relevant detail. Kind regards, Gareth.

Well I guess you need to get one Shane. Should be a selection on EBay, or even on-line copy-? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Shane, The information you want should be in the owners handbook. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Pawel, This really will be a guessing game in terms of replies, so if it were mine, I would be searching for a trusted diesel specialist in your area and seeking their advice. I have found diesel specialists are the go to source, rather than ‘ordinary’ garages. You may get some recommendations at your local taxi ranks. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Adrian, Many thanks for coming back on this. When you initially outlined your ongoing issues, my first thought was head gasket. However, you said your mechanic had pressure tested the coolant system and ‘nothing was found’. Now you find after spending wedges of funds, that they now tell you that the H/G is indeed at fault and is allowing the coolant system to be pressurised by the pressure of combustion - good isn’t it! It seems like money has been spent unwisely! If it were mine, I would be untrusting any further tests and rectification to another garage. Hello Nick, If this were mine, I would be finding a local trusted independent and getting a second opinion on this before committing to anything. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Allen. Apologies for asking, but obviously I wouldn’t have if you’d mentioned. Let’s hope someone might come along. Might be worth enquiring at your local garage. They usually know the ones to avoid. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Ian, Not a bad bit of maths then for 8 o’c on a Monday morning, and all to no avail. They say to wear the old ones out first, and it saved your brain having a headache - only joking. Not joking:- £1.40/ litre and 60mpg and you want to save money . We’d snap you had off here for that. And I thought the Welsh were tight! Anyway, well done for exercising my brain. Good luck and kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Pawel, When you say it doesn’t happen very often - what doesn’t happen very often? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Ian, So it’s maths time on a Monday morning then! 3,000 miles at 60mpg uses 50 gals of fuel. If ( in caps) you would hope for an optimistic 10% improvement in mpg then you would save approx. 4.5 gals on your 3,000 mile round trip - or around £36 at current U.K. prices. Cost of chipping? Maths points to needing to travel approx. 8.5K miles to recoup per £100 chipping cost. On-cost for increased insurance premiums -? This will obviously add to miles needed to be covered to reach the cost neutral point. Is a 10% increase realistically achievable? I think I would be pleasantly surprised if it was, and not too disappointed if it wasn’t. Your current 60mpg would be happy-days to most across the motoring spectrum. I think you’ve now got something to work with Ian. Incidentally - average diesel cost/litre in S of Spain? UK is around £1.80/ litre at the moment. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ian, Apologies for returning to this, but what engine do you have in your 2017 A3, and what is your current average mpg, and a description of your typical journey? This may help to guide others whether your mpg is typical or not. Many thanks again and kind regards, Gareth. Rather academic I suppose, but with the increases in fuel prices over the last year, I guess we are all driving Rolls Royces, in comparison with what we were getting previously in miles/£.

Hello Allen, Can we take it you have done a Google search for auto electricians in your area? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Ian, I guess it’s a set of economics then, whereby you work out the cost to chip, then what mileage you need to cover to get your money back (based on an anticipated mpg improvement). Then consider the possible (probable?) increase in insurance premiums going forward, which adds further mileage to arrive at the cost-neutral point. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ian, Am I right in thinking increased fuel efficiency is your primary aim when considering chipping your car? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ricardo from the homeland. Just search for a thread ( within the last two weeks ) dealing with a very similar potential purchase to what you are asking about. Most of the advice you will need will have already been offered there. Perhaps you could let us know what you think, and how it pans out for you. Kind regards, Gareth. Here goes:- ‘2013 3.0 ltr ……’ poster was Gary W. Different model, but same principles apply.

OK, the situation is now clearer. On-line links for aftermarket parts are notoriously unreliable, so repeating my earlier advice - simply contact (first off) Bilstein and KYB technical help lines and follow their help with the part numbers you will need to look for - assuming S Line ones are available - but at least you will know straight from the horse’s mouth. Does all of this make you think twice about lowering this car? - and from my side, why? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paddy, Just wondered if any of the advice given to you is, or will be of any help? We notice you have returned to the forum and no doubt have read it. Kind regards, Gareth.