Magnet

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.

There we are Scott. So you’ve learned something new today then! Glad the forum was able to sort it for you. Bodges are bodges, fault finding is an art! Kind regards, Gareth.

Manual or automatic Carcharel? Kind regards, Gareth.

Same action suggested.

Hello Scott, Before doing any bodges, check for breaks in the wiring in the fluted rubber section where the harness runs from the body to the boot. Quite common for there to be issues there, due to the flexing of the harness as the boot is openes and closes - particularly in cold weather, when the wires become more rigid. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Apologies Peter, but this would be difficult to diagnose without access to the car, and could be anything from a poor fuse contact, through to any number of sensors. I note you say you have only bought it last week, so there should be some redress there from the seller. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Lee - understand the principle here. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Lee, OK, I give up! Audi would have topped it up for £15, rather than you buying it at around £7. Audi would log their addition of the correct oil, so reducing any argument about oil consumption in the future (which there is likely to be). The bonus to you is that you have saved around £8 on a vehicle which recently retailed at many tens of thousands of pounds! But there again, I guess £8 = one (free) McDonalds. Apologies - I’m being cynical. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Lee, Sorry to hear of your issue. I just wondered if you really were serious in rejecting their action of adding oil to the car when it was shown to be necessary. Telling them not to bother will potentially hamper any subsequent claim you may wish to make, since you are condoning using the car with a low oil level. Obviously your call, but is this risk worth taking to save £15? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Robert, I too missed the ‘just bought’ bit. Private sale or dealer? If dealer, you should certainly have redress, but do not ‘fiddle or try to diagnose’ anything, otherwise you could be judged as having a part in its failure. Simply, notify the selling dealer by e-mail and ask them what course of action they wish to tread. I would not be doing this by phone or text. If private sale? Does not necessarily discount redress. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mark, Might be worth adding some Redex diesel additive and some non supermarket fuel before embarking on your ‘Italian Tune’. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Robert, As Cliff says - the cause of your issues could be laid at the door of more components than you could throw a stick at, and again as Cliff says, trying to advice on any of these components ‘remotely’ will be no more than a black-art guess. I think it’s great that you are intending to carry out the repair of whatever is wrong, but you first have to identify where the problem lies - back to paragraph one! Without a correct diagnosis via. having the car inspected locally, then you will end up throwing good money in the wrong directions, so pessimistically, the answer to your question of ‘what’s wrong’ is highly unlikely to lie within this forum. If this were mine, I would be investing in an hour’s services of a trusted local mobile mechanic with a view to correctly identifying the offending component, then deciding that you can then rectify the problem yourself. Kind regards, Gareth.

You are joking Mart - aren’t you? This post is not far off 4 years old!

Hello Rob, To answer your question - ‘Do I need a new battery’:- my answer would be, simply, do you have any good reason why you do not wish to invest in a good battery? You may know that the battery was renewed x years ago, the brand is good, so you don’t think it would be the battery which is at fault. If you don’t have any evidence which points to being able to eliminate the battery, then yes, invest in a new one. Invest is the operative word, so do so by only buying a premium brand such as Varta/ Bosch, making sure you buy their blue or silver topped versions, with a minimum of 4 years warranty. These can be bought on line, mail order, from specialists suppliers such as Battery Megastore, Tanya etc. I tend to buy off their EBay listings where you get them post free - usually next day delivery. Personally, I would not be tempted to buy any other make. Hope this helps. Kind regards, Gareth.