Magnet

Hello Elaine, Oh dear, dear. I just see proven needless expense in the wrong directions and fearful diagnosis from here on in. Can I just ask some questions:- Does the car get up to an indicated normal temperature say within about 3 miles, and does it remain at that temperature during continued use, without the gauge dropping or moving towards the hot? Does the car play use any coolant? Engine type/size? Mileage? How long you have owned it, and was it once providing heating during your ownership? Kind regards, Gareth.

Pleasure Patrick. All these things are sortable, despite being very frustrating in their effect! Just as an afterthought:- Any in-boot systems such as Sat. Nav. unit, or CD changers? These can be problematic due to damp issues causing ‘white corrosion’ on printed circuit boards which can partially short out to the unit casings. Hope 2020 is kind to you. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Peter, Sorry to hear of your unfortunate experience. I think you are wise to consider this possibility, and you would discount it at your peril. As I see it, your car had been stolen and your insurer would have been notified. In effect, your NCB/future premium, will have already been compromised, so claiming for sorting out the lock situation (to minimise the risk of a further claim) should rest with your insurers. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Patrick, (New) Battery going flat (on two occasions) while standing for 6 days = problem which needs to be investigated. Since you have already confirmed you have had the battery and alternator checked and confirmed to be OK, then the next check will be to assess the parasitic drain which is sapping the battery while standing. In other words, something is remaining ‘running’ when it shouldn’t be - after the car has been switched off. Finding out what it is, can be a bit of a protracted investigation whereby the current drawn on the battery is measured after it has been standing for a minute or so (to allow the alarm to fully set). This should generally be no more than about 50 milliamps. If it turns out to be as I would suspect, then it’s likely to be a lot more than that. Assessing it will obviously depend on you having a suitable meter and the electrical knowledge to understand the results. In effect, it entails removing each fuse in turn until the unacceptable battery drain reduces to an acceptable figure. You will then have found the offending circuit, and you will then need to find which component is remaining ‘running’. Simple option, invest in the service of an auto electrician for an hour or so. OK, you could invest in a trickle charger rather than an auto electrician! So doing so will be just like keeping topping up a tyre which has a slow puncture - rather than getting it repaired. Having said all of that, it would be worth checking the obvious, such as glove box light not going out, boot light same. Good time to check will be after dark when glows may be evident. Original sound system still in place rather than a replacement one? Replacements and DIY wiring can be an issue. I would not discount an alternator fault simply because the alternator output has be checked as OK. Alternators can still allow current to leak back through them on standstill, even though they can still provide an acceptable output. Disconnecting the battery (if you have radio code - if coded) is an option, but you will lose the alarm and may? lead to a need to reprogramme the key fob. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on Patrick. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Martin, Someone from the Worcestershire area posted a roof issue yesterday, and I suggested to try Jack Smith at Swansea as a worth a phone call first attempt. Your location as ‘Wales’ may render seeing them an impractical option, if you are up north, but... Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steven, In my opinion, we can discount large wheels and ‘skinny’ tyre as having an adverse effect on ride quality. 60 profile is about as good as it gets. Are tyres run-flat or not? It wouldn’t surprise me they are, and if so the stiffer side walls will affect the ride. If they are, could you fit non run flats to your wheels?? Consult local tyre specialist. To me, reducing tyre pressures in an attempt to improve ride quality would certainly not be recommended and is likely to adversely compromise handling. Yes, I appreciate you don’t drive fast etc., but...... Way forward? If I were in your situation, after checking whether tyres are run-flat or not, I would check (via. VIN search for the example) whether the car has been built with harder sports suspension or not. OK other owners on here may give you their opinion, but it’s your (in caps) opinion that matters, so why not road test other similar models to eliminate whether they are the same as yours? If they are, then at least you know there isn’t anything wrong with yours. ‘Audi should have better ride comfort...’ or words to that effect. SUV’s of any make can have a tendency to be top heavy and ride quality has to be compromised to improve handling characteristics. In the end Steven, only you can decide if not losing money is more important than having a vehicle that suits your particular needs. Other potential buyers? I guess the dealer is protecting their identity and the dealers opportunity to sell an alternative vehicle to them. I see this as water under the bridge and water doesn’t go backwards. Perhaps you could fill in the questionable bits for us so anyone else with similar discontents in the future will have experience of how things panned out. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steven, Sorry to hear of your disappointment with the car. Shame. Is it different from when you first road tested it? I appreciate your logic of reducing the tyre pressures, but personally I would not consider this to be a good option,since it is likely to adversely effect the handing of the vehicle. Re. possible ride improvements, could I ask what the wheel and the tyre size are, and if the tyres are run-flat or not. Wheels and tyre sizes can have a/an (significant?) effect on the ride - certainly more so than reducing tyre pressures. It may be possible to reduce the wheel size and then increase the tyre profile to aid ride quality. Re. not wanting to change it:- most dealers will often accommodate such discontents - OK not without some loss, but often within the bounds of acceptability to both parties. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Brian, Sorry to hear of your issue with the hood. West Midlands garage? Sorry no, but there is Jack Smith n Swansea ( not a million miles across country) who specialises in hoods and has been at it for years, so might be worth at least a phone call - although diagnosing problems at a distance is always a black art. Can’t recall his contact details, but Googleable, and I think he has a good reputation with the MX5 chaps. His rates are cheap enough to make a journey well worth while. Genuine back street garage, one man band, so if this type of set up is not for you, then give him a miss. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, I think you have answered your own question, by simply asking it. Logically of course, once, twice, 3 times and so on, depends on how much metal had been removed on the previous occasion/s, and indeed whether -when you had this wheel refurbished - you had knowledge that it had never been refurbished before. You mentioned it has now been scuffed quite badly, which infers a fair amount of metal will need to be removed to smooth this off. The return question would be:- is it worth ‘taking a chance’? My view would be no - in preference to living with it (if it’s still structurally sound??) or obtaining a sound replacement for it. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks, Strange they should submerge such things in the coolant reservoir as original equipment. I wonder why they don’t simply add whatever the chemical is ( doubt silica) to the coolant fluid? Live and learn as they say.

Hello David, Never too old to learn as they say......’Perforated bag of beads in the coolant expansion tank to boost the coolant’. Could you enlighten us on the makes of these vehicles which come with these bags as original equipment? Also, in what way are they supposed to ‘boost’ the coolant. Hello Michael, David mentions possible thermostat or water pump causes. Could you let us know if the car gets up to Normal (90) on the gauge after a couple of miles or not? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Craig, Many thanks indeed for coming back to us - unfortunately few do, so the thread remains of little use to anyone experiencing similar problems in the future. Great news and diagnosis on your part. One question I would ask Craig, is do you know the make of the problematic air filter which was fitted to the car? Many thanks again and kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, No need to be disappointed in yourself. Plastic trims and the need to lever them off (as opposed to simply pressing them in during assembly) is always a wing and a pray job, particularly when doing so in cold weather when things are more brittle. My slant on such things is ‘Show me a man who makes no mistakes, and I’ll show you a man who doesn’t do anything’. I’m old enough and daft enough to have learned more by making mistakes than by doings things without problems! You are in a recoverable situation here Paul, with a chance of recovery with a >£4 expenditure on Araldite. Good luck and kind regards, Gareth.

If it were mine James, I would certainly need to know that:- they did actually measure the oil pressure, and what that reading was at idle and at say 2000rpm, and of course confirm the measurements were taken after a 10 mile run - if they weren’t and the oil wasn’t up to its operating temperature then you will need to expect the readings will lower even more. If indeed they did measure it, they must be able to confirm it was within acceptable limits, otherwise it would not have made logical sense to have renewed the sensor. If it isn’t within acceptable limits then you are obviously in trouble, and need to urgently investigate why - to minimise the risk of inevitable engine damage. Sorry, but I cannot suggest any other course of action based on what you tell us. Kind regards, Gareth.m

Apologies for appearing pedantic James, but it is a fairly common belief that an engine is up to ‘normal operating temperature’ when the coolant reaches Normal, but it isn’t - until the oil reaches its normal operating temperature - which is usually a few miles later. Same advice apples:- get the actual oil pressure measured at this point. This will tell you whether you have an issue or a false indication. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello James, I wonder if you can give us a bit more detail about what you mean by ...’when engine temperature is up’. Do you mean as soon as the coolant temperature gauges reads 90/normal, or some time after that? My next move would be to get the actual running oil pressure measured after at least a 5 mile run - preferably 10 mile. Kind regards, Gareth.

It depends how important heated seats etc.(really) are to you. Some sound advice given to me many, many years ago when looking for a particular ‘extra’s pack’ with a secondhand model - without much success- was get your cheque book out and order a new one to the specification you want! So perhaps you can broaden your search and not exclude cars which don’t have the mentioned extras you want. Petrol vs diesel?? Of course, diesel has had some very bad (justified?) press, and we can anticipate that bad press will extend to petrol in the not too distant future, so does excluding diesel (really) make as much sense as we think it does? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Donkey! ( well that’s a first), Welcome to the forum. I think you are answering your own question by questioning your concerns. My questions are:- Are you buying this particular car because you like the look of it? Does your driving style warrant a better road holding harder type suspension, or would you prefer to have a more comfortable ride? If the latter, then if I were in your situation I would be seriously thinking twice about by a car with inherently harder sports suspension, leave along larger diameter wheels. The logic concerning larger wheels goes along the line of:- a car is designed to give a compromise between ride comfort and handling - often 17 inch wheels are the chosen design size, which allows a reasonable tyre profile ( ‘depth of sidewall’ in effect), so you end up with an outside diameter of wheel and tyre of x inches, and importantly, this has to remain the same. So you increase the wheel diameter to 18 inches, which means the ‘amount of rubber’ has to reduce so that the outside diameter remains the same. Increasing the dia. to 19inch decreases the rubber depth even more, and obviously has a detrimental effect on ride comfort. Ultimate bone shakers are those with say. 21 inch wheels and virtually little shock absorbing rubber, but 19 and sports suspension?? If you add to this, the much harder tyre sidewall construction of run-flat tyres ( now a very popular OE fitment on sports type suspension variants) then the ride situation gets even worse. Everyone to their own, but cars are often bought with lowered/harder suspensions and fancy big wheels, because they appear attractive to the passer-by. But the passer-by never rides in them, and the driver never sees the so called attractiveness of the car - from the inside- so is it all worth while!? Well worth having a good think. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Julia, Welcome to the forum. Frequency of oil changes? Good quality modern oils are capable of close on 20,000 miles of service between changes. How often you should change it will depend on the type of driving you do - long continuous runs, infrequent short runs with stop/starts etc. We have a very ordinary A3 which covers a mixture of both the above, and on average covers about 8K miles a year, but I change the oil annually, simply because (doing it myself) it’s not expensive. Using good quality oils and filters is obviously important - if you were in the UK then I could suggest makes, but..... Brakes and braking? Again good quality components are the best starting point, and should pay dividends by longer life. Having driven vintage cars for more years than I care to remember, my driving style has been one of ‘anticipation’, so I tend not to leave braking to the last moment. Getting a good mileage out of good quality components should be enhanced with this style of driving. Kind regards, Gareth.

Buying and just replacing the broken part, is an option worth keeping in mind Paul. Other option? - how ‘clean’ are the breaks? If they still mate together well, then it might be possible to glue them back together. There would be little to lose apart from the cost of the glue! If going down this road, personally, I would not use any of the super glues or other American originating ones, but try Araldite (not the fast setting one - red? tubes) available (in the blue tubes) from the likes of the Range for £3.99. I have been using this glue since I had hair, and always found it great. Just mix equal quantities from both tubes. Does take about 24hours to cure, but I find the bond is worth the wait. Even if the breaks are not that ‘clean’ so the join is not really seen when glued, you could always apply a small amount of filler and silver spray it all over to get a good match to the original/ surrounding parts. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, I guess as things go these days, although around £100 is better off in your wallet, it’s not too unreasonable a price in terms of interior bits for cars. Obviously the only alternative is the secondhand supply chain. Might be worth Googling this route, and you should come up with something like Partsfinder and others on which you register your particular ‘want’, and this gets circulated to their subscribing breakers, who contact you directly if they have the part you want. It might be well worth considering the possible pitfalls of the secondhand market against the expected saving over new, to make sure it’s worth the saving. Kind regards, Gareth.

As Cliff suggests:- You can register your ‘Want’ on Partsfinder or similar sites, which breakers tap into and reply directly to you if they have one. Kind regards, Gareth.

Reciprocated best wish to you and your Trevor. Keep up the good work. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Abhi, It’s a fact of life..’If all else fails - consult the handbook/instruction book!’ 22k, 2 year old and not serviced, just doesn’t sound right to me, but other opinions may differ. Personally, I wouldn’t be arranging to get it serviced in the next few weeks, but treating it with some urgency, or at least making (recorded) enquiries urgently. Leases and any lack of/late servicing can be quite brutally dealt with at the end of lease, and best not to get into that argument. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Abhi, Many thanks for coming back. Back to your original post, I guess we now need to know exactly where the indicator was pointing when you decided it ‘...was quite low..’. We would also need to know/confirm what quantity of oil the handbook quotes as the correct quantity to be added once the warning alert comes on - at Min? The answers to these two questions should allow you to get a better assessment of your overfill. 2 years old and not yet serviced? What mileage has the car now covered? If as could be suspected, it’s on a Longlife service schedule then it’s likely it should be serviced around 18K?, but I would have thought there would have been a time limit (whichever come first) and 2 years would seem sensible as that time limit. Anyone got any specific experience with this particular model year? Kind regards, Gareth.