Magnet

No jet wash with alloy wheel cleaner then. Surely, if the supplying dealer has rubbed these down on 3 occasions in an attempt to rectify the rusting issue then the time involved will already have grossly exceeded the cost of new replacement parts. If it were mine, I would be a trip to the Citizens Advice and take their advice on a reasonable course of action. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andy, I as not too pleased that mine on the 2006 A3 only lasted about 10 years before they started falling apart! Re. rubbing down and respraying:- I just cannot see the sense in doing that since the rust will never be removed by rubbing down, and I would anticipate that they have to be removed to do that. Why not simply renew them? As a matter of interest Andy, how is the car generally washed? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ben, I sympathise with your problem and your understandable concern, and I think you will be wise to along with Trevor’s advice. One thing I would add is that you may well need to change the actual wheel since the will have at least taken additional stresses even if they have not elongated - which I would be surprised if they haven’t. I can well understand your discontent with this tyre company, but I think you might find when you look at the receipt that there will be a recommendation to check and retighten the wheel nuts after x miles, so they put the responsibility for rechecking back on the customer. This statement is generally standard wording. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ray, It seems like you have worked really hard to rectify this issue. From the initial symptom of starting and immediately stalling it might point to an immobiliser issue - if the car is fitted with one, which I would suspect it is even though it is 20 year old. Perhaps you could let us know if an immobiliser is fitted, and if so, if you have investigated this as a possibility. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Nick, Cutting to the chase:- so Dunlop are crediting you for the ‘loss of mileage’ that results in you having to renew these tyres now rather than where they wear to the legal limit! Don’t tell us the compensation is conditional on buying replacement Dunlop tyre. Great and generous?? Not in my book. So simple question - if someone had lost your life as a result of these defective tyres, are we on the right lines in believing that the compensation would be the same? I doubt it. If it were me I would consider myself simply under qualified to discuss any technical or monetary detail with them, and would be leaving that to those with a legal background. Good luck with sorting it out, and indeed it would be great to know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Nick, I would strongly advise you to retain one (typical) faulty tyre. ‘BBC Watchdog may be my next port of call’ . If it were me, I would be alerting them of the issue while you deal with Dunlop. Perhaps you could let the forum know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mezaros, I feel you will need to give the forum more information about this problem if we are going to be able to help you. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dave, Sorry to hear of yet another example of issues with these tyres. As you will now know from studying this forum - you are not the first, and probably won’t be the last, to experience serious, potentially life threatening issues with these tyres. Although I sympathise with your misfortune, it must be said that the next move is up to you:- Do you now intend to change any other tyres of the same type on the car, before they endanger your and other road users lives? Do you intend to follow this up with Dunlop? It would be great to know how you get on from here. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Charlie, In my experience, displayed fault lights disappearing on switching off and switching on again is not uncommon. Maybe too simplistic, but such fault lights/messages can occur where the battery voltage or efficiency is below par. Appreciating the car is only 5 years old, batteries now have a hard life with stop/start systems and are more likely to suffer shorter service lives. Dont quote me! since I’m trying to get my aging brain around these systems, but there could now be two batteries fitted to your car. Where you stand with faults with a car bought as a private sale? It all depends on how the car advertisement was worded. If any ( particularly written) reference is made to its overall condition then the vehicle should match that condition. Verbal assurances - obviously more difficult to prove. Condition matching the advertised wording often leads to descriptions such as ‘drives, runs, stops’ , limiting the comeback on private sales. Good luck in getting it sorted. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Melanie, Difficult without have an idea of a budget. Perhaps a personalised number generally available from ‘reasonable’ prices up - possibly direct off the DVLA cherished number sale website. If that is too expensive then you would need let us know. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello ‘C’, It would be worth arming yourself with an aerosol of genuine contact cleaner and spraying this into the fuse box/ holders while wiggling each fuse. Although fuses may not be blown - due to a short circuit- there may be a high contact resistance resulting in an open circuit. Be careful how and where this contact cleaner gets to since I would not be convinced it doesn’t react with some paintwork. As mentioned earlier, check the bonnetbis firmly closed. Not sure if that applies to the earlier models, but certainly does to the later ones. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andy, Not absolutely sure, but the fault alert may be triggered by either an open circuit (lamp does not light) or a higher than expected resistance. Although the lamps work, it would be worth checking the cleanliness of all connections associated with these lamps. Contact cleaner would be useful. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Niall, Can we take it you bought these direct from an Audi dealer? If so, then they should obviously be returnable for a refund and hopefully substituted for the correct ones - perhaps the VIN will be required. Kind regards, Gareth.

It seems the original poster has not returned here since a few days after posting the problem some 8 months ago. Of course opinions vary, and I would certainly go along along with your sound advice Phil to consult a trusted auto electrician if checking and changing the simple components do not solve the problem. Where my opinion would differ in this particular case is that within the bounds of probability, it would be unlikely that a total of 3 batteries ( 2 new) would be unserviceable - particularly when they have been tested by three separate battery-selling outlets. It would have been interesting to know exactly what the problem was caused by. Kind regards, Gareth.

Would an ABS issue prevent the car from starting?

Hello Warris, It very much depends on what this maintenance package actually covers - you will need to read the small print and look for what is excluded. It may for example cover what can be termed ‘routine servicing’ but may (in caps.) is exclude wear and tear components such as brake pads and discs - it would surprise me if it does. Tyres? Personally, I would be surprised if this actually covers replacing your worn out tyres free of charge - but I could be wrong, and again the small print will give you the full story. My feeling is it covers (accidental) damage to the tyres rather than wear and free replacement. If it’s damage only then of course this cover would be dependent on buying your replacement tyres through the main dealer and the actual cover may be on a pro rata pay out for the amount of tread left rather than a full cost reimbursement. It really boils down to sitting down for a half hour and reading through it, and then deciding. Being cynical, the salesman will probably be earning a commission from signing you up to this, but.. Kind regards, Gareth. I appreciate the current culture seems to deal in £s per month, but it might be worth noting that you will be paying £576 for this over the 2 years it covers, so ....

Hello Radek, Sorry to hear of your issues. When you say you replaced the battery, did you have your old one checked first, and was the replacement a brand new battery which was fully charged when fitted? If this were mine, I would be checking the battery connections and the thick ‘main’ earths to the bodywork, then all the large fuses associated with the charging and starting systems, followed by the connections onto the starting motor - of course, observing all safety requirements associated with testing electrics. Unfortunately, if all of this doesn’t get you anywhere then you will need to seek an hour’s services of a trusted mobile auto electrician unless you have a more in-depth knowledge of these systems. Perhpas you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Simon, Sorry to hear of your plight. In the absence of alternative suggestions:- If you have breakdown assistance then the answer would be to call them out since they have the ‘tools’ to ‘break’ into your car. If you don’t then it’s likely local locksmiths may be able to offer similar solutions. Kind regards, Gareth.

It’s born of cost of part, cost of plugging it in to the computer system, and the likelihood of charging the one hour’s minimum labour at c£100/hour + VAT, Cliff. Great isn’t it? In my days (and dare I suggest yours?), life was so simple and dependable, and you just stuck a key in a lock and turned it unlock/lock the door. Once inside you turned a little handle and the window went up and down. Why is everything so complicated by so called automation. Have we become too lazy to carryout these tasks ourselves? The motor manufacturers seem to think so, and they must be right, since owners now go into raptures about owning a car with ‘T line spec. and Pink Edition’! Well you know what I mean. Come back Morris 1000 simplicity, dependability, and ‘fixability’. The opinion of an aging mind Cliff. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Alex, Very sorry to hear you have been experienced issues with this brand of tyres, and my opinion - for what it is worth - remains the same as recommended previous affected parties should follow. ‘I’m wondering what my best options are....’. If I was in your situation then I would read through the posts, and in the absence of any alternative advice from forum members, then I would follow my earlier recommended actions. To repeat that advice would bore, but if you are still in doubt after reading, then of course come back. If you just wait for Audi/Dunlop to do something without pressure from yourself, then unfortunately you may not get very far. Perhaps you could let the forum know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dennis, At least you now know the on-cost to you. Re. where is the other key? It is not uncommon for the second key to go astray with secondhand vehicles - particularly where it might previously have been a company car which was simply handed back at the end of the lease,and the leasing company were not too bothered about chasing it. How many owners has this car had? Before committing or collecting the car, it would be worth making contact with the last keeper ( while the dealer still has that information on the current V5). Always worth doing, and the source of valuable information. They might just have the spare key in a draw! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Suhail, More a couple of ‘may be s’ rather than a claim to fixing the problem:- Remove the fuse, then spray some genuine contact cleaner (should be available at your local motor factors) into the fuse socket and wiggle the fuse a few times, in a attempt to ensure the contacts in there are good and clean. Test for continuing problems at this stage. If this doesn’t solve it then peel back the flexible rubber harness covering around the harness linking the body to the tailgate, and inspect each wire for damage or splitting. It is not uncommon for cables to split due to flexing when the hatch is opened and closed - most of the damage actually occurring during the cold winter months when the cables are less flexing. The above are meant as eliminating simpler possibilities before moving on. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, I agree with Tobias - but no doubt you have that in hand/have already registered with some of these agencies. For what it is worth, my experience is that the agencies quote you optimistic ‘return to you figures’ with entice you to register with them. Once registered, they will suggest you pay for advertising in specialist publications etc. I would suggest you set reasonable expectations on what you will be prepared to accept for this number, and this should be based on the (small) percentage of owners which cover the likely market for it. Personally, I would also be advertising it on this forum - under For Sale- but including your asking price rather than leaving it open ended with ‘open to offers’. Good luck with its sale. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Andy, If you are indeed picking up a good earth, then it looks like you may have a voltage stabiliser type set up feeding into these gauges, and this could be giving you your intermittent fault. You will need to find a wiring diagram and check. Enjoy the trip. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Shaun, In the absence of any other replies, my views are that -as with all extended warranties- the devil (exclusions) are in the detail, and when paying a sum of money that many people pay to actually buy a means of transport, I would say it would be well worth spending an hour reading through the terms/conditions/ exclusions before embarking on paying this premium. It would be a great shame if you did ‘invest’ that amount of money for so called peace of mind, only to find your offending problem was not covered by this warranty. Boring to check it out, but it depends on how you see the importance of spending that amount of money. As a matter of interest, does this premium cover the cost of the (annual?) service as well? Kind regards, Gareth.