Magnet

Hello Shaun, There has been some issue about valves in the ABS causing the traction light to come on. I'm not sure whether it would interfere with the brake lights - but possible I guess. Probably others on here will be able to help you out with other advice, but this may be worth doing a search on. If it does prove to be this, then VAG do/did do a part replacement of the offending section of the ABS unit. Not cheap of course, but you should be able to get some discount at some dealers. I hope other members here may be able to help with some advice. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. May have got this wrong, but aren't there two brake (light) switches on these? Worth checking, and checking the other one if its there?

Hello Ian, Welcome to the forum. It certainly seems you have your head around what you are doing, and I too would suspect that the recent lambda sensor fitted by the previous owner might well have been the much cheaper generic type rather than a genuine VAG one. Understandable I guess, if he knew he was selling the car. Swopping them is an option as you say, or seeking more specialist advice/assessing equipment via. an independent. A small investment there might save you in the long run. Generic sensors can sometimes be identified by slightly different wiring colours and usually more 'cobbled" looking connectors. If it turns out this sensor is the offender and you know they cost £180 from VAG, it may be worth shopping around to see what discounts you can get. I have bought quite a bit off one dealer with discounts and good service, and I am happy to share this with you should you need it. No doubt there will be other dealers offering such discounts. Good luck in getting it sorted. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Anvi, Mark has also been there, tried it, by the look of it, and it would seem we are both on the same wave length. Great that you have two keys, but I'm not sure from what you say, whether both keys behave the same. There has been a fair amount of experience to show that DIY type attempts to reprogramme don't work for all ( to be kind) and whatever we think, the solution lies with those who have the necessary equipment to re programme them. If it has to be fixed then it's getting the wallet out time it seems. I did advocate finding an independent since they are very often more accessible to be able to talk with, rather than just being able to talk with the front desk at main dealers. OK, take your point about Audi dealer/s being a rip off, but you have to consider they invest vast amounts of money to set up and maintain their businesses, and it just ain't cheap to do that. Shopping around main dealers and independents, and doing the homework is generally low cost/free so that would be the best advice I could offer, unless anyone comes up with a 'for free' solution for you. Good luck in getting it sorted. Kind regards, Gareth,

Hello Avni, My experience with these remotes is that 'left unattended" for some time, can render them inoperable except as a key, and you will experience just what you are experiencing irrespective of fitting a new battery. There are numerous documented accounts on how to DIY re programme the remotes. I've tried them all, and some I've thought of! - with my original spare remote. No luck. I think you will find this needs to be plugged in and re synchronised. An independent might be able to assist. Can we take it you only have one remote rather than having a spare as well? Just asking since if you have two, then you may be able to get both done at the same time, for little more than you will pay for one. My recommendation is not to use £ shop batteries in the remotes. You could be lucky and they last, but just not worth the risk. Kind regards, Gareth.

Well done you. Just proves it only takes 1 in 60odd million to want to buy a car we want to sell. Just goes to show then. Thanks for letting the forum know and good luck with your next purchase. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, Apologies for putting a potential dampener on your sale , but I guess you are not putting this car in part exchange possibly because of the considered low offer. Perhaps I'm wrong. What I would realistically be asking myself is how many buyers are out there who have access to a cool 26 grand in their pocket and are looking to buy your car. It might be wise considering that if there is someone out there then they will be buying you car without access to dealer finance, without being able to part exchange their current car, and most importantly with any warranty. Knocking £200 off may be some sort of incentive, but..... Yes, I know all of this is pessimistic, but what are you going to do if it doesn't sell, and you have two vehicle to insure etc. Etc. The main reason for me to be mentioning all of this is, that if you were to put in part exchange then it's gone, if you don't, and you can't sell it, you can't go back to the dealer and expect them to buy it ( well at least at what they are offering you now) - the boat will have been missed. Apologies if I've got this all wrong, and genuinely, I wish you all good luck in finding your buyer. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Justin, Perhaps this may appear to be a daft question, but is this creaking problem less if a problem in wet conditions? My feeling is that this is a dry bush issue - and there will be numerous ones, and well worth getting an assistant to listen to try to find out which corner emits the noise. I see the car is about 3 yaers old, and it would probably benefit from a dosing with a WD40 type spay on all bushes and moving parts anyway. Obviously pay respect to shielding the brake discs from any overspray. I have found that GT85 (with PTFE) to be a good/better? alternative to WD40, and being Welsh it matters that it is cheaper. I understand sales in Scotland have gone through the roof, whereas WD sales are in decline! Only joking. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Kal, From the school of eliminating the simple things first, I would not consider major wallet-affecting issues before first eliminating that the battery is not the cause of your issues. Prior to the stop- start technology, original batteries usually lasted a good 10 years. Now, with so called intelligent charging batteries, stop-start, etc. who knows how long they will last. I would normally have suggested you get your battery's efficiency checked by say Halfords, but I 'm not sure with this modern technology. Probably worth having a word with your local indi first. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dom, I think Trevor is spot on with his advice to check for obstructions, and to carefully lubricate all pivot points - -ensuring you have plenty of 'backing' rags around where you are gong to spray with the fine tube on the WD40. An assistant with their own WD would be handy for this job, so both sides can be dealt with at the same time. If that fails, it might be one (which one!?) of many micro switches in the system. These are very often very simple plastic things and not too long lasting. If you still have problems it might be worth doing some searches on local car (classic car even) trimmers. They are often clued up on such things. Or try a trusted independent who should be able to fault trace this for you. Good luck, Gareth,

Hello Martyn from the Homeland, It sounds as if you have been around the common causes for this - quite often the under-seat connector which suffers from dust and dirt etc. My advice would be - don't fiddle anymore! Just take a trip back to the nice dealer rather than ring them and ask them to sort it for you. A car with an inoperable/ suspect air bag system must be termed as being unsuitable for purpose and they have to fix it. Just be pleasant and non demanding, as we Welsk folks are! Whatever you do, do not mention code readers and fuses and wires and personal fiddling - recipe for 'you've messed it up' The car is 10 years old, and chances are the original battery has now expired and been replaced and this may well have had an influence over this problem. Good luck - I'm sure they will sort this for you. Don't think you are hassling them. If not let us know,- well let us know anyway. Kind regards, Gareth

Hello Robert, I think you are wise to consider this as being an important aspect of the car's continuing maintenance. 155k miles in 6 years is high, and one would assume that that mileage may well have been covered via. long individual trips where all the mechanical components are happily running under best conditions - so minimising wear. Taxis however are likely to cover in excess of this on generally short trips, so thereby hangs another story! For some reason, I'm taking this to be automatic, and if so, I would be surprised if Audi have any service recommendations for the gearbox and as you say, go with the 'sealed for life' concept. Many manufacturers now do, but fluid and filter changes at your mileage is looked upon as worthwhile. I believe that the filters are internal and you will need to buy gaskets etc. for the auto sump pan, of course, as well as the correct expensive fluid. May be worth your while talking with a well respected local indie. who would be familiar with this, and it is probably well worth going down that route since you can take the opportunity of having the gearing set up again on the computer - re flash? Manual gearbox? Again worth changing at your mileage. A lot easier, but drain plug?? If not , they will need to resort to the oil suction method often used to remove engine oil. If it has a drain plug to drain the oil off then always ensure the refill plug is able to be removed before draining - other wise you are in great difficulties! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Nigel, In the olden days! These instruments would have been fed by a voltage stabiliser which pulsed a voltage to them to prevent the fuel gauge reading in particular, jumping around when the car cornered or went over a bump and the fuel level sloshed around. These could prove to be problematic and give the type of issue you have. I would guess there is probably a built in modern bit of curcuit technology which now does the same thing, and yes, it might be in the actual instrument panel - but maybe not. If it were mine, I think I would be popping this around to a local trusted independent for a bit of advice. I'm sure they would have come across this sort of thing before. Taking instrument panels out is not really where you might want to be unless you have to. Good luck with getting it sorted. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Dan, Not wanting to pre judge what the OP is going to say when he fills in a bit more detail, but if this turns out to be a noise when the car is on the move, then I would certainly not discount this being tyre associated without removing the wheels and getting all surfaces of the tyres thoroughly inspected by a good local tyre company. Simply looking at the outside and judging if the pressure is OK would not be sufficient. We were told that this car is 11 years old but has covered only 16k miles, and I guess there is a possibility that the tyres might still be the original ones. If so, I would say it's definitely time to get these closely inspected before looking for any other component faults. Kind regards, Gareth.

It's probably me, but I'm rather lost with the description of the symptoms here. From tyre type noises (assumed to be at actual road speed ) to tinkling EGR valves - presumed when revving the car while standing. So it would help if we know if this sound is when the car is being driven, and is speed associated, or if being revved at standstill, or on the move. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ian, I would agree with Trevor and Steve, but I would question "specialist in Essex". Not wanting to cast doubt on anyone's business concerns, but just wondered whether this is a clutch specialist or an Audi independent. If a 'clutch specialist" I would be temped to seek advice and read reviews - I guess most are OK, but..... It it were mine, I would be finding yourself a local Audi independent (if these aren't) and getting their advice. If you have to spend - and it seems you may have to- then I would advise spending once and wisely, if you are going to keep the car. There are some highly variable aftermarket replacement clutch assemblies on the market, and personally, I would only go for LUK clutches. Cheaper might just end up as just cheap! If it is the dual mass flywheel at fault then you may be wise to get this attended to without delay, since when they do decide to part company then there can be major damage. Sorry about all the bad news. Good luck with it. Gareth.

Hello John, Sorry to hear about your continued problem. The garage's reference to slightly low compression on two cylinders is of interest. Have they told you which two cylinders show this slightly low compression? If not, would you be able to find out from them, since if this is on two adjacent cylinders then your problem could be explained by a faulty head gasket blowing between the two cylinders, and introducing opposing compression across to the neighbouring piston. Would you be able to let us know? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Miguel, Now with more knowledge about the symptoms then probably ignore the trial of using Quantum oil, and I guess it's worth a try with a good quality 5/40 fully synthetic. If you do find any issue with the breather system, then it would first be worth simply continuing with the Castrol Edge to see what happen. Others will offer more informed information, but do I recall some comment about some if these engines using oil? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Miguel, Perhaps a couple of questions if you don't mind:- Have you actually been changing the oil yourself or getting oil changes done? If yourself, what brand of 5w30 have you been using? Are there any signs of blue smoke on acceleration, or evidence of any oiliness at the end of the exhaust? Has this oil burning suddenly occurred, or just gradually getting worse, and if so, over what period of time/mileage? Others more experienced than me with this particular engine will possibly discount this, but have you looked at and cleaned, the crankcase breathing system - if it has one- which I would have thought it has. Once we know a bit more, it might be worth changing the oil using the recommend grade which I would believe to be the 5/30 fully synthetic you are using, but using the Quantum brand which VAG recommend. I would invest a bit more and use their Longlife 3 grade. If it then still uses oil then I guess you could try a good quality 5w/40 fully synthetic oil and see what happens with that. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Brad. In my book, if it has a Econ button then it effectively has air conditioning- although I think Audi prefer to call it climate control! I believe Econ pressed, means the air con. will not come on. You should be able to confirm air co. by looking for the large section flexible gas pipes (with tyre type valve) leading to a compressor. Not sure how long you have had the car, but I would expect it would benefit from a re-gas every few years to ensure an adequate supply of cold air through the vents. You are right in thinking that the air con. should automatically cut in if the temperature is set to Low, but I believe it should also cut in at any time when the outside temperature is higher than the selected inside temperature, and the control set to Auto. Sounds like you will be need a re gass Brad. There were offers about- if you come across any good ones could you please let me know since our two cars would benefit from this too. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Logan, It sounds as if you made the right decision - for you - by not buying that particular A5. I too follow Steve's good advice re service history etc., and for an independent check if you are spending that sort of money. One thing I would add with any used vehicle purchase is to contact the last registered owner, since thereby hangs the true story behind service history. Steve may well be getting bored by now with this comment from me!! You can have service history up to the hilt, but it does not protect the vehicle from haviing a history of issues. Seat? I agree with Steve on the good value for money. Skoda - the same. You just have to look at what the taxi drivers are using in our area. One word of caution with a basic little Seat - who has owned it? Small cars are very popular as courtesy cars and even day hire, so beware of one owner and one hundred drivers! Might be registered to VAG which is a bit of a dead end trail to find anything. Hire cars- look for Alphabet as an owner, who I'm pretty sure are Hertz. Of course, this is only one of many, but worth doing your homework. I think at 6 months old you can forget about the favourite history of ex demonstrator - too old I would think. Mileage just under 10k sometimes points to end-of-hire period mileage restriction. Hope some of this helps, Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dave, Apologies in advance for the unhelpful content of this reply, but as nice and appealing it might be to fit 'non-standard?' wheels, the unfortunate reality is that it could affect your insurance premium. Maybe not, but probably might, and at least you would be wise to take advice from your insurers, before committing yourself to buying any alternative wheels. Such things can be ignored, but you take a risk, and the risk could just result in the your insurance being invalidated. On a positive note, you could look at period brochures (or contact Audi) - not sure what year your car is - and check what alternative wheel sizes were offered when the car was new. If 19 inch turned out to be listed, then things become a lot brighter, and if you retain this official information, then I would see no need to let your insurers know. Of course, you would then need to find a set of these original Audi alternatives. I guess aftermarket 19 inch alternatives would certainly dictate you having a need to inform your insurers. Kind regards, Gareth.

Not sure if this tarnishing of the plasti-chrome may be aggravated by the trend to have cars washed cheaply, with no personal effort, by our friends wealding pressure lances loaded with high clean chemicals such as truck cleaners. Known to wreak lacquer. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Phil, I would think Darren on here would be your man to suggest what is wrong, but I guess your assumptions may be possibles. Wondered if the delayed starting is accompanied by excessive diesel smell or some smoke when it does actually start. Also if you have had it plugged in to see what fault codes may come up. Darren will no doubt make some valid suggestions, but I just wonder if all other things are OK on the fuel supply side, if one ie more of the injectors may be starting to give problems. There is a relatively simple (with the right equipment) test to check these. Kind regards , Gareth.

Hello John, Well done you. Reasons why? Now don't get too enquiring of us on here!! The logic of Audi is not ours to question. Might be something to do with northern hemisphere built cars being used in the southern H! We hear that the water circulates down the plug hole in the opposite rotation with you - so who knows. Trust all is trouble free for you from here in. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks again Steve, for passing this on, and I'm pleased that you too think this deserves to be aired in a prominent position (right at the top of the shop?) on the forum. Many thanks also for your kind comments. I think the forum members are eager to help one another as best they can, and I often wish I knew far than I do, to sometimes offer better quidance, but I think we all try. Kind regards, Gareth.