Magnet

Welcome Reece, I would add:- Don’t ignore checking and adjusting tyre pressures. Don’t ignore the affect of wear in rear suspension, resulting in a feeling of the ‘ tail wagging the dog’. Regards, Gareth.

Our humble little 2006 A3 has always run on Michelin - since new. A couple of observations noted when latest set fitted a year or so ago:- Thread depth at new was measured at little over 6.5mm. compared to near 8mm on earlier sets. ‘Grooves’ in threads now visibly wider than previous sets - so overall, less rubber for your extra money. Regards, Gareth.

I take it your 1.7v is a misprint for 14.7. If this battery is 12 years old, then we have really wasted our comments. Don’t even waste your time in getting it checked - just replace it. In case it helps, I’ve used Exide (premium) to good effect - available from Tayna and others. Have a look on EBay. Don't forget to get it coded to the car. Please let us know how you get on.

Welcome Sajid and sorry to hear of your subsequent issue with the car. Regrettably, you join a long list of owners who have suffered similar issues. In fact this forum has long since advised owners to avoid the recall like the plague, and ideally keep vehicles away from dealers in case they do action the recall when in for service or repair. It’s worth doing a forum search for ‘Recall’ - select ‘Everywhere’ from the drop down menu. Please come back to us when you have read of other member’s experiences. Regards, Gareth.

Welcome Yvee, Many thanks for joining. Please come back to us if you think the forum can be of help. Meanwhile, enjoy the car. Regards, Gareth.

Thanks for allowing us to attempt to help you Joseph. Starting at your start:- Alternator output at 14.7v - is that with the new/current alternator? You don’t clarify. No one has yet commented on coding the alternator to the car. ‘…charging seemed to stop completely’ - don’t understand - please clarify. If the battery was tested months ago and deemed to be fine, that does not mean it’s fine now, so back to the advice you asked for - reinforce- get it checked, and come back with its % efficiency, and it’s cold cranking current under load etc., before moving on to more complex possibilities. Brand of battery and coded to car at time of fitting?

Welcome Joseph, Two things to check before moving on:- Alternator output. Battery efficiency. Halfords stores should be able to test both items for you. Please come back to us with the results before committing to buy. The fact that the alternator was renewed 6 months ago, does not guarantee that it’s now serviceable. There are a lot of poor quality electrical items on sale. What were the symptoms which led you to renew the alternator 6 months ago? Same question re. starter motor 3 months ago -? Age and brand of battery and was it coded to the car if replaced during your ownership? Regards, Gareth.

Hello Jill, Worth checking the price of the same item at Audi Parts Direct at Cardiff - part of Mon Motors. Think Lidl have rubber ones very cheaply - may be able to cut to size - ? Regards, Gareth.

Can see you have returned to the forum Adrian. An answer to the question would be good.

Welcome Michael, The car is suffering from oil dilution via. unburnt fuel, and may well be aggravated by short journeys. Stevey Y on here will be your man to go into the detail for you. To me, this demonstrates that the recommended scheduled intervals between oil changes is simply too long. Regards, Gareth.

Welcome Geoffrey and thanks for joining. Automatic or manual? Could you please give us more detail around ‘will not move’ Don’t want to be dismissive, but it really doesn’t matter if anyone else has experienced such issues. You have, and the route to getting the problem solved at no expense to yourself is to get the fault rectified under warranty. Regards, Gareth.

Should be shown in your handbook Wayne. If you find it’s blown, then it has done so for reason, and that reason has to be found first. Common issues:- Clogged washer bottle outlet. Blocked tubes. Bad connections onto pump. Failed/clogged pump. You haven’t explained your issue, so we don’t know what you have checked so far. Regards, Gareth.

Thanks Ian, Guess it’s now up to Audi to assess paint thickness. If that’s out, then it could be game over - even though they may have carried out paint rectification before you bought it - so that would be down to them. If it is within original paint thickness tolerance, they will probably try to play the ‘aggressive chemicals’ card. Armed with those possibilities, you can now set up your counter argument. Please let us know how you get on Ian. Regards, Gareth.

Thanks, So are you currently a subscriber to this system?

Sorry, haven’t a clue what this is about, and my instinct is to be suspicious of the total post.

Main dealer history on a 12 year old car, won’t be worth the paper it’s been written on - to you as the would-be seller when you come to sell it. To me, the all important factor is to be able to talk directly with the proprietor, and avoid the need for secondhand comments from front of house receptionists. This is particularly important where repairs are necessary - beyond normal servicing. Well worth building up a rapport with a trusted local garage. Regards, Gareth.

Thanks Mike, So are these still available with you, and if so, at what price?

Thanks Steven, How long has it taken you to cover 800 miles, so we/you can calculate your anticipated annual miles. Only at this point can it be determined whether you are on the correct service schedule. I would bear in mind the possibility that the oil in the car at delivery may contain ‘running-in’ agents, which will be lost if the oil is changed now. Perhaps I shouldn’t comment on this, but you have invested many tens of thousands of £s on this vehicle, so can I be excused for thinking why another £140 is considered an uneconomical proposition. VAG’s oil isn’t manufactured by Castrol or Mobil. Although previously manufactured by Castrol, and sold under VAG’s Quantum brand, it is now manufactured by Fuchs - still branded Quantum. It might be worth being prepared that the oil for you car, maybe specially blended, and might only be available in 1 litre quantities via VAG dealerships, or sold in the old 40 gallon drum quantities, for dealers to use for servicing. Regards, Gareth.

How can a 2021 car be three years old in January 2026 Ian? If indeed it still is within warranty, then the paintwork should be a claimable issue - if (in caps) it hasn’t had any rectification - which they will test with a paint thickness gauge. Possibly pessimistic, but even if it is deemed to be factory original, they will claim the issue has been caused by the use of aggressive chemicals. What has been your cleaning regime since May? Regards, Gareth.

It surprises me that you are getting zero on all cylinders , yet noticing the escape of air (compression) when disconnecting the tester. If indeed there is zero on all cylinders, then a next move could be to check the valve timing in case the chain has jumped some teeth - but it’s all guess work!

Interesting list of negative comments Tim. Positive- It’s free! I seriously doubt whether your main dealer experience will be that much different from most others, where you simply speak with a service receptionist, and you are in their hands in terms of what they decide to pass on to the technician. There are a significant number of owners who firmly believe that anything short of a main dealer service history is inadequate, and take some comfort in being addressed as Mr….. and offered a free cup of coffee, so ……. What were your boiled-down major discontents with the service you received, compared with your expectations? What is your intention for the on going maintenance of the car Tim? Regards, Gareth.

Sounds typical of a current/past washing regime using a jet wash.

Need to then.

Thanks Tim, As I said earlier, I think this issue is likely to be attributed to a (now known to be ) concentric slave cylinder. The seller could argue that if it is that which is at fault, then they only pay for replacing that component - gearbox out job. Betterment could then be considered to be replacing the flywheel, clutch plate and cover, the cost of which could (reasonably?) be down to you, and the cost to the seller being the slave cylinder and the labour to remove and refit the gearbox. Your betterment cost could then be the cost of flywheel, plate and cover, plus say 1.5 hrs to fit these parts. Anyway, all rather academic, since the car is going back. Regards, Gareth.

Thanks Ryan, Any objection with taking it back to the cambelt fitters?