Magnet

Hello Debbie, Many thanks for being in touch with the forum. A good question, and in my (in caps) experience, the rear high intensity lights only illuminate when the headlamps are on. Perhaps a daft question, but is he failing this because they flash on when the sidelights are on? If he is, would this be a justifiable failure?? Personally I would not think so. Could you let the forum know the exact wording on the failure certificate? Since the failure doesn’t apply to the front side lights, we won’t complicate the issue by discussing that aspect. If this were mine, my first port of call would be to consult the all important handbook, to check the described operation of the rear high intensity lights. If you can show that they operate according to that procedure, then I would be returning to the MOT station - armed with this procedure. If they work according to that procedure, and the tester is still adamant that yours justifies a failure, then I would be informing them that you will be challenging that failure via. the VOSA procedure. Perhaps you can let us have the answer to the failure wording, and let us know how this eventually pans out. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ben, Thanks for being in touch with the forum. Wondered if your post is meant to advertise your TT for sale. If so, I’m sure you will appreciate that you need to include at least a basic description and price. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Noel, My personal opinion is that you are going about this the wrong way around, and your logic is from the school of ‘throw everything at it in the hope (in caps) that the problem goes away’. A potentially costly and frustrating route. Of course, others may reasonably disagree with my opinion, but the add-on disadvantage of your plan is that you are likely to be replacing very serviceable original Audi parts with possibly not so long term serviceable, aftermarket parts. I still stand by my original advice of first getting this car re- inspected by another garage, and in your case, I now would suggest you approach a recommended Audi independent, and seek their diagnosis before doing anything. At least, they should be able to isolate the source of the issue. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Noel, I think my first port of call would be to get the car inspected by another trusted garage, to get a second opinion. If they come up with the same diagnosis then, if it were mine, I would be wanting to know inner or outer, and just replacing the defective part. Appreciating that genuine Audi joints may be expensive - even at discount - you could consider a quality aftermarket brand such as Febi - who may do the joints. I know they do hubs. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Noel, I’m wondering what is wrong with your driveshafts to warrant needing to renew them - they are normally long lived components. Inner or outer joints problematic? I’m not sure if this information is still going to be valid, but I had a driveshaft reconditioned some years ago on a non-Audi, by a Birmingham company which I think were called Driveshafts U.K. Not sure whether they are on your bad-review list. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Griff, Of course, all forums depend on a two way dialogue, and sometimes posters raise a question, and don’t return. I can’t excuse lack of responses, but I’m sure you will appreciate that trying to diagnose the cause of an issue, without being able to inspect the vehicle, and armed simply with a brief description of the problem, can be a tall order. I notice you post in relation to a 13 month old post, and I wonder if you have a similar issue with your car, or your comments are just picked up as a general opinion. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, I think it’s clear that the message is to not worry about it, but just enjoy it. The depreciation due to mileage will be far less than the ‘cost to change’. As the others have indicated, maintenance is king, mileage isn’t. Just an additional pointer. Our local executive hire operator covers in excess of 70K miles per year in each of their cars, and guess what, queuing buyers are generally associated with the drivers - who know the cars have had a quiet life, with the mileage being covered at optimum operating conditions. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Darren, Thanks for being in touch with the forum and for asking your interesting and meaningful question. Some may consider, that simply ‘getting the cambelt changed’ is the only action which needs to be worried about, and have little concern about the quality of the components used, particularly since some aftermarket suppliers are fond of using/misusing the term O.E. So taking this one step at a time - water pump? Main dealer only, without exception in my book. Others may have different opinions, but I might even be prepared to leave the original, rather than replace it with an unknown aftermarket one. Belt kits? There are some well respected aftermarket brands available, but again, from preference, I stick with main dealer kits for this critical application. If I have deviated from this on occasions, then I use Gates belt kits ( but not their water pumps), since Gates were/are the OEM supplier to many of the motor manufacturers. I have a genuine Audi kit here for the older 1.8 engine, and although the belt box is covered in Audi logos, the belt within the box is branded Gates. Appreciating main dealer parts are expensive, it is possible to buy (mail order) at discount, which then make the kits and water pumps more attractive price wise in comparison with aftermarket. In my book, it’s a question of buy once and wisely, particularly for critical applications. For Audi parts at discount, you could try Audi Parts Direct (at Cardiff Audi - Mon Motors) or Aberdeen Audi. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. It’s always worth changing the serpentine belt at the same time, using Gates if you must deviate.

Many thanks for the clarification Bob. Dare I say, not so bad as £795 for one!? Just as a comparison, I paid c£450 about 3 years ago to a local diesel specialist, who removed 2 injectors from a Freelander, had them reconditioned and recalibrated, and then refitted them. Kind regards, Gareth.

Apologies - just realised this post was posted in August last year! Still, the same recommendation applies.

Hello Adam, Thanks for being in touch with the forum. As I see it, you are questioning your garage’s diagnosis of your issue - and there is nothing wrong with double checking, if you have valid reason to disbelieve such diagnosis. As Cliff says, it would be very difficult for anyone on here to ‘guess’ the possible causes, without access to the car. If this were mine, I would not be bothering with ‘normal’ garages, but seeking advice from a recommended, trusted, local diesel specialist. As I keep repeating, to a point of boredom, ask around your local taxi rank for recommendation on local diesel specialists, since taxi owners depend on good service at reasonable rates. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Steve, I think you will find that recommended oil viscosity ranges in the handbook are based on operating temperature conditions - i.e. the climate in which the car is normally used. Kind regards, Gareth.

Or a faulty replacement part.

Hello Lee again, Apologies for contradicting, but I’m sure you with have the necessary respect for your warranty not to use a ‘thicker’ oil than that recommended by Audi. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Summy, Many thanks for being in touch with the forum. Perhaps I can relate a tale which may help to put things into perspective for you:- When our humble A3 needed its first set of replacement pads, our daughter - who then owned the car- had a set of ‘quality motor factor’ pads fitted. Immediately the braking efficiency was considered to be seriously below par in comparison to the original Audi pads. She put up with them for a couple of months before replacing them with genuine Audi one. Salutary lesson! In fact I am just renewing them again, years later with Audi one. So, in my experience, I see no point in deviating. If price is the issue, then I would debate if ECP ( even with their discount codes!) are the cheapest opinion, like for like with their competitors. In fact, their subsidiary - Car Parts 4 Less - are often cheaper than them. If you want genuine Vag at discount, then it would be worth trying Aberdeen Audi, or Audi Parts Direct, at Cardiff. Hope some of this helps. Kind regards, Gareth.

Good news Bob, Apologies, but you don’t seem to have let us know what you actually had done for £795. Kind regards, Gareth.

The suggestion of obtaining a quote from a main dealer Steve, was to simply arm Robert with enough information to allow him to compare his garage’s quote with that of a main dealer. Kind regards, Gareth.

I’m being pedantic here, but diagnosing an issue with one ( in caps) injector - by a non franchised garage - and replacing that one injector with a genuine VAG one = £795? Yes? My question would be Robert:- Have you sought a quote for the same work at an Audi dealership? If this were mine, I would be seeking out a trusted, recommended, diesel specialist (not an ‘ordinary’ garage) and getting an estimate there. Most diesel specialists are set up to recondition and recalibrate injectors. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Recommendations for diesel specialists? Ask around the taxi ranks. These chaps are usually knowledgeable with such services.

Hello Robert, Thanks for being in touch with the forum. We aren’t talking £795 per injectors here - are we? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, So can we take it that the coil light isn’t on now? If so, I would be leaving well alone if the car is running well. If the light returns, then I would be taking this to a trusted local diesel specialist, rather than an ‘ordinary’ garage. Sell it? ( because of this fault) - I most certainly wouldn’t. You may simply acquire another vehicle with a different fault! Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Ian. It’s always helpful to have the detail. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ian, Probably a cynical opinion, but the relatively recent promotion of winter tyres in U.K. - seemingly an understandable legal? requirement in certain countries, was then followed by a so called cross climate tyre. These tyres are reputed to be suitable for summer and winter use, but the logic would follow that these are a ‘compromise’ tyre. The question to ask then is - do we have a significant number of snow days across the country in an average year, to justify moving to a compromise situation throughout the remainder of the year? As I see it, the answer to that question will be the decider on whether these tyres are generally needed throughout the average weather over the year. Kind regards, Gareth.

A considerable amount of work gone into this on your part Kev. Shame the original poster hasn’t returned to the forum since first posting the plea for help. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Rosanne, I don’t see this as an impossible task, and I would go with Kev’s suggestion. To save us pointing you to where you may have already tried, could you let us know what avenues you have already been down. Kind regards, Gareth.

Sounds like a belt issue. Like the description! Kind regards, Gareth.