Magnet

Hello Jonathan again, Wondered if you are now also disappointed in the performance of your car, as well as it’s economy. To be considering spending more money on a vehicle you think you may have already paid a lot of money for, may not be the logical way forward, but..... Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mohammad, Thanks for being in touch. It appears the unit is not receiving power, and that should be your first port of call. Actually connected? If so, fuse OK etc. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jonathan, Many thanks for the helpful additional information. The following pointers may clarify the realistic situation:- Anticipated journeys of 8 to 12 miles for a diesel are just the sort of journeys such engines were not designed for - particularly since they take a comparative long time to warm up, and are unlikely to deliver anticipated optimum mpg under these operating conditions. Automatics will not give you the best of mpg compared with sensible driving with a manual. I think it is realistic to apply the following logic:- These are large (expensive) vehicles, and are seldom bought with economy being a priority, and an average of 36mpg may be considered as reasonably acceptable for a luxury automatic car. Sorry, this might not go down too well, but spending a large amount of money on a luxury car, then being concerned about its economy on short trip usage is a little contradictory. Regarding ‘duff engine’ is more likely to equate to ‘(un) reasonable expectations’ , rather than anything actually wrong with the vehicle. If it were mine, I would fill the tank up and stretch it’s legs on a nice couple of hundred miles or so, on an enjoyable motoring day out. Refill the tank on return, and see what you get mpg wise. If you are still disappointed, then I would book it in to a trusted local diesel ( in caps ) speciality to get it checked over. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jonathan, Many thanks for being in touch. I think it’s highly unlikely that either of the posters will be coming back to respond to you since neither has returned to the forum in 2.5 years. I note your concern/ disappointment in the mpg you are attaining, and it goes without saying that manufacturer’s claimed figures can be grossly exaggerated, and real like figures will be significantly influenced by journey patterns and driving styles. Although you say your average is 35 mpg and you don’t know why, it would be useful to know what your average journey pattern is and a little more about your driving style. Also, automatic or manual? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Dan, ECP? Um! Why the first port of supposedly authoritative call for so many?? Calm, collected, assertive, but dignified approach now Dan. Those who shout lose the battle! Good luck. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Dan, I do indeed feel for your predicament, but I still question my original thoughts of why an aftermarket kit from LUK for example should not have been available, since it’s likely that this clutch would have been fitted to earlier models as well. As for other aftermarket kits (if available?) - personally I’d steer well clear of them. Still..... Current slave cylinder construction and location can be a nightmare, and it’s not uncommon for these to fail prematurely, but to fail in 10k miles is unreasonable. I think your last statement is certainly worth investigating with the supplying main dealer, although it’s really not your place to do that. For (cynical!) me, I would be wanting to have all information first hand, rather than relayed through the garage. Will the garage be able to give you an invoice number for the various parts bought at different times? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dan, Thank you for sharing your experiences with this car. Perhaps a couple of points to clarify:- No aftermarket clutch parts available for a 4 year old car. I would have thought this was odd and rather surprising. So, do you have confirmation that the clutch kit which was fitted was actually a genuine VAG kit? If so, as expensive as £700 is, I would not have been surprised if the price was more than this, since VAG clutch part prices are (very?) expensive. At the point where the clutch started to slip, it was found that a gasket was missing from the (slave?) cylinder. I would wonder why the clutch specialists didn’t notice this before they fitted it. Now the -new? (slave?) cylinder has failed (again?), and you are left to discuss warranties with the supplying dealer rather than the fitters. This seems odd, since your contract was with the fitters - to supply and fit genuine VAG clutch components - as you understand it. Unless, you were involved in supplying the parts - ? This really is a disaster for you, and I just cannot see why you are left having to peruse who pays for what, when you employed specialist clutch fitters to sort out the clutch for you. Odd - as I said. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mike, Of course, the obvious bit is that the mileage tyres will do will be highly influenced by driving styles, and the average journey pattern - the latter often being overlooked. An acquaintance runs an executive hire fleet and he generally uses Continental (Contact 5 I believe) on Mercedes etc. and is very pleased with the service and mileage he gets from them. I tried them on the ordinary A3, and found for our normal short hop tyre journeys that they are not lasting very well. For his mainly motorway journeys - they do. I could be wrong here Mike, but since you say you have scrubbed (rather than using the word worn) the tread on Pirelli s on mainly motorway travel, that your driving style may be ‘enthusiastic’, and perhaps 13k is really not too bad. For me, I’ve returned to Michelin, which although cost a little more, are a more cost effective miles for £s in the long run. Of course, there are other important considerations here, such as road holding in varying conditions, and these factors have to be taken into account as well as how long they last. No doubt others will be along with their experiences of makes they use. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Paul, I’m sure you will appreciate that charging a battery may make a temporary improvement even if the battery is substandard. So I’m still back to ..why not get it checked anyway? - rather than ...’ I could get Halfords to check it if there are more codes come up...’. Anyway! ..... Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Paul, It sounds as if I’m talking into thin air about getting the battery checked, so apologies for boring you with the content of my posts. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, I look at it like this, if you had an issue/s with the coolant system, then the first check you would carry out would be to check the coolant level - a simply test which will eliminate or confirm any association. Similar with multiple warning lights. You are assuming the battery and charging systems are serviceable because you renewed the battery about a year ago ( similar to claiming the coolant level is OK because you checked that a year ago). Batteries take a hammering with modern cars, so it’s always worth checking its efficiency before embarking on any other form of diagnostic assessment. Your call obviously Paul, and if you would like to progress this on your assumption that the fault is with the steering angle sensor then you enter int a ‘2 assumption’ situation - (1) the battery is serviceable and (2) the steering angle sensor is the offender. Of course, it may well be the offender, and the battery may be serviceable, but by my logic has always been to check and eliminate the simple things first, and this has stood me in good stead for many years, and the word ‘assume’ has sometimes proved to do what they say is it’s interpretation - ‘makes an !Removed! of u and me!’ Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello ? Thanks for being in touch. You say you have checked every circuit, but you don’t tell us what the parasitic drain current is - that you can’t find the source of. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. I notice, as a new member, that you haven’t included your name, location or car model detail in your profile. I wonder if you would be kind enough to let me know if this is simply because you chose not to, or whether the facility to do that was not evident.

Hello Paul, Many thanks for coming back with the helpful additional information. I would think it’s fair to assume that your current issues are not battery associated, but personally, I would not totally discount this possibility until proved to be fact. It could be me, but I am not a fan of Halford batteries ( having had past issues), and although they can be cheaper than main dealer batteries, they are seldom competitive with on-line battery supply specialists who often list premium brands such as Vatra/Bosch much cheaper than Halfords own branded ones. For me, experience has led me not to pay a premium for their batteries, and that when bought (some years ago) I experienced issues with the. If this were mine, I would be getting this battery’s efficiency checked - to confirm your current warning light issue is not associated with this - ? Interesting you mention that the battery turns the engine over adequately, but it may be of interest to hear that a family member’s non-Audi did exactly that, yet when checked ( on specialist equipment in this case) it was found not to satisfy the cold cranking current parameters set by the fitted battery monitoring system, with consequences of some systems shutting down. Kind regards, Gareth.

Are you the same poster as TomV10? If so, I wonder why you are now posting under V10 Tom and not including any other information under your profile.

Hello Paul With any spurious warning light issues, it’s always worth having the battery efficiency checked as the first port of call. Often a zero cost assessment. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, One of the quickest routes to the availability of any secondhand parts is via. registering your ‘wants’ with breaker link sites such as Partsfinder (there are more). These sites link to registered vehicle breakers, who notify the person directly if they have the required parts. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mike, Your last statement confirms you are on the right road, thinking-wise. One more point I could make is, is the car fitted with run-flat tyres? If so, these will impair the ride quality due to the flexibility of the sidewalls. If so, possible to fit non run-flats when renewing the tyres? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mike, I think you will find that you are not alone in asking this sort of question, and I think you are asking at an opportune time, before? ( in caps) changing to an S line and being committed to its harsher suspension set up. Indeed, I have an elder acquaintance who quickly returned his car - at expense I would have thought- due to being disappointed with the harsher ride. Increasing type profiles is an aid, but is technically only possible by first reducing the wheel diameter. If you don’t, then you will be increasing the combined overall dia. of wheel and tyre, and obviously affecting gearing and associated speedo issues. I think you will find that even if you did increase the profile, you will still end up with the inherent harsher ride of the S Line. I would guess that many potential buyers are attracted to the S Line for that very reason - they are more attractive - but unless you are attracted to this model for its road holding abilities etc. and not for its ride comfort, then it may not be the variant for you. I would look at it like this Mike, if you are already looking to enhance the ride comfort, following a test run, considering buying and living with it, may be a step too far. Kind regards, Gareth.

Really sorry Kamran - my fault, I’ve been an unfortunate victim of the predictive texts - by missing out the...’nt from the would! I do apologise. Is your current coolant pink/red? I would think it should be. For me, I try to use smaller motor factors rather than ECP if buying locally. Appreciating you have now spent money on this Prestone stuff, but if you haven’t already used it, then I would be tempted to return it, and buy the genuine pink/red OAT coolant instead (assuming that is what is in the system now). You will gather that I’m not a friend of so called ‘universal’ products, particularly where various coolants are often not mixable. Kind regards, Gareth.

Personally, I would not use this cheap universal coolant - as already stated. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Kamran, ’coolant just below minimum...’. Not being overly critical, but it seems you are joining the growing band of putting their trust entirely in the hands of warning lights! This really isn’t the way to respectfully maintain any piece of machinery. Checking oil, water and tyre pressures on a regular basis will certainly reap rewards, and ensure you don’t run into critical situations - as will be the case when your coolant level reaches the minimum. Unless you, or the garage that services the car for you, haven’t checked the coolant level for well over a year, it looks as if it may be losing coolant, and if so, this puts your white smoke syndrome into a different league. But let’s see what happens when you top it up to the Max. mark when cold,(50/50 mix of antifreeze and water), and run the car for a couple of hundred miles. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. We take it the current coolant is pink/red in colour. If so ensure you only but pink/red OAT coolant to add. Personally, I would buy any so called ‘Universal’ (often ready mixed) coolant.

Hello James, Thanks for being in touch. Being realistic:- Would you recognise the engine number of any car you have owned? Or, indeed the VIN? Whoever sold you the engine would probably (should?) know the registration number of the vehicle it was removed from, so the answer should be there. Sounds as if it isn’t. Who should be capable of cross referencing engine numbers to registration numbers? Obviously - DVLA. Chances of getting this information? - unfortunately nil, I would think. Still, questioning the forum must be better than not asking. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steve, What was the make of the replacement sensor? Kind regards, Gareth.

OK, so now you are looking at checking you have a good earth at the bulb holder, and if this is confirmed - following my earlier advice. Let us know how you get on Parm. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tony, Many thanks for being in touch and sharing your unfortunate experiences. I could be wrong, but this smacks for shoddy dealings with the leading company, rather than an inherent broad-brush-Audi issue. The explanation may go along these lines :- Your company contacts the leading company to supply you with a ‘certain type’ of car within a stipulated budget. The leading company may well have used Kia in the past since they were good value for money. Now? - good cars, but not as competitively priced as they were, so they cast the new further and find a good deal on an ‘over stocked’ stuck-in-the-compound A4, which the dealer has been unable to find a buyer for. Dealer offers it to the leasing company at a knock down price (loss?) - dealer doesn’t care what it’s like, so it’s up to the leasing company to try to present it at its best. They don’t care either, since it’s only going on lease. Outcome? - you are left with a non typical Audi car, which is ‘given’ to you, so you have little clout in all of this. I can only wish you well Tony, and as daft as it may sound, I would be hoping the situation deteriorates to a point where they offer you an alternative car. Perhaps you could keep us up to date on developments. Kind regards, Gareth.