Magnet

Hello John, Sorry to hear that 'no one is talking to you'. Disappointing for you, and forum to hear your comments. OK , your comments are real and meaningful, and you could well be correct in your analysis that ..... (Your) ..'questions are too technical for this forum,?????...' I'm sure you will appreciate John that this (and no doubt many other forums) are followed and responded to by amateurs, who's knowledge will very often be limited to experience of having dealt with a specific problem in the past. I don't think we are blessed with too many actual current-hands-on Audi technicians - unfortunately. Technical questions are sometimes just that, and can be testing for those trying to help, and it would seem from your questions that you may be possibly more clued up on some of this modern technology that the folks on here, so the chances of gaining free advice in an extention of your knowledge - may be rather slim. Unfortunate in your cases, but seemly you have a valid point. A couple of things I would point out:- I think SteveQ is correct when be welcomes new posters on hear by saying that contributors are generally friendly. All I can add to that is that I think the majority of responders genuinely try to be helpful - if they can! The good folks who 'run' this forum do so 'freely' and without reward. Personally, I think they aim to do the best they can with what they have. Finally Steve - as I said- I get the impression that you are generally clued up on the type of question you ask, and I think the forum would benefit from your input to perhaps help others who are not do knowledgeable. It's the potential for assistance from the likes of yourself which keep this going. Having carried in too long, I'm going to forget about problems and just enjoy the day. Off now to a nice drive in the classic car to a friendly show in my home village. Have a good day Steve, Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Apologies - no time to check to check for typos.

Hello Steve (Sheffield), Front or back? Mileage? I too agree with Steve - it would be unusual for a bearing to become noisy on a car of this age unless the the mileage is high for the year. (say>100K). Having said that, we thought we were experiencing rear wheel bearing noises on an A3 at around 90k, but in fact the noise was due to tyres ( premium brand) wearing to slight flatting points as they approached 4mm remaining thread. Perhaps you could let us have some answers to the questions, and no doubt someone can advise from there. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Eliminating the basic silly things first :- Are you sure the air conditioning is off? It is off when the Econ button shows a red light. Well at least if the 2007 model is the same as the 2006. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello John, Sorry to hear of your problems, but very pleased that you have sorted it. When I got to the section of your post and mentioned the brake lights being on, my thoughts were pointed in the direction of a faulty 'brake' light switch. Others more up to date on this latest technology will hopefully confirm that the days of the brake light switch being just that, have long gone, and this switch controls or influences many other functions. When we think of the number of times this makes and breaks as we drive, it's little wonder it can fail. Without being patronising John, it's a revelation to read your post and find that the reason for the problem has been recorded. Unfortunately such follow up is rare, and original posters seldom report back, so the experience can be shared to the benefit of other owners. Happy motoring from this point on. ... Company I bought it off has disappeared .... Not down Swansea way by any chance. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Nathan, Since you are not doing the clutch yourself, do you mind if I repeat my earlier comments about the parts being used. As with all aftermarket parts, there is a fair/ high proportion of low/lower quality parts which are just not worth the labour charge to fit - particularly in your case where the clutch will be subjected to extra strain. Would I just leave it to the garage to chose what make they use? No I certainly wouldn't. Would I fit any other aftermarket clutch apart from LUK? No I wouldn't. Slightly dearer, but well worth the little extra overall in the long run. Good luck with it. Kind regards, Gareth.

Maintaining a sense of humour is an essential part of the day Steve! Apologies for drifting well off the original topic Barry. It's not usually this bad. We trust you are able to get to the bottom of the issue. Good luck and kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, I too am sorry to hear of your grandfather's passing. Judging by your questions, I think the car's future is in good hands. Your questions:- Restore it and keep it? Of course, this will have to be a personal choice, and sentiment (over economics) may play a big part in your decision. Space availability and a spannering ability will also come in to it to some extent. I am sure there will be advice available here if you decide to keep it. Repair and sell? Personally I would not advise spending on it to sell it, since this car will ( generally) only attract enthusiasts, and they will be usually be capable of repairing this. Selling? Its condition , mileage and history are unknow to us, so values and desirabilities are difficult to assess. To sell it to a good home, it needs to be advertised in the right quarters, and I would suggest trying "Classic Car Weekly' and 'Classic Car Buyer' - both offer a free advertising service. As you probably know, cars of this age are now MOT exempt, so technically it could be driven away once taxed and insured. Personally, I would cover yourself with some wording advising against this, since you are not sure of its road worthiness. Another selling bonus is that the car will qualify for cheap/er classic car insurance. Again the publications mentioned, will carry adverts which will help you or a buyer. Good luck with whatever you decide. Kind regards, Gareth.

hello Nathan, "Clutch was slipping" in 3rd. and 4th........" Are you saying the clutch was slipping before you had this car remapped? I would have thought that a slipping clutch at 112K miles is unusual, unless the car has been driven over enthusiastically. We have a 147K Audi still on its original, and I would be surprised if this - and far far greater mileages, isn't out of the ordinary. Anyway, if its slipping its slipping, so its either a case of .... 'not giving it some welly', or as you say, investing in a new clutch (and DMF assembly?). Performance kit? Sounds like a good idea if available. If you are buying aftermarket then you won't go far wrong with LUK clutches, (personally this is the only aftermarket make I would use) but probably will with anything else which might be bought on a best-price principle. I'm sure others will be able to give you far more pointers in regard to the .... performance clutch bit. Kind regards, Gareth.

Well done Steve for being critical of me mentioning the marque starting with J on here. Shouldn't be allowed, but someone has to keep the Tata family in pocket money! This our 3rd one in something like 30 years, and I must confess to even having a brief John Prescott moment a couple of years back when I actually had two! They gave me some tablets for it, and I'm back to just the normal one now. Many thanks for having a look at the Removed bits. Personally I think it's pretty good as it is, and I'm sure it filters out unacceptable 4 letter words etc. What it doesn't seem to do is to filter out the abreviations for some of these words e.g. WTx. etc. I just wondered if this could be looked at and these things also dealt with as !Removed! Apologies for adding some extra work, but might be worth having a look at as time allows. Perhaps the Forum Rules could also be updated and request that posters do not use abreviations of unacceptable words. Many thanks again Steve, Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Barry, Apologies about the first paragraph confusion! - see later post. Of course, any one of your list of possible causes may be the answer. Those who sadistically! follow some of my responses will confirm that my advice follows a theme of eliminating the basics (generally without much cost) - in your case battery condition and alternator output - before moving on to more complex possibilities. For right or for wrong, that is my old school logic. Reading fault codes is another follow on, but it surprises me how many people treat these codes as the be all and end all answer, and it is often overlooked that the codes shown cannot always be isolated so that they can be interpreted as causes or effects. Good luck in sorting it out. Kind regards, Gareth.

You've got to laugh at some of the reasoning of the computer programming employed by our hard working administrators and moderators when you try to find some logic in . !Removed! words. I was trying to avoid using the word Jaguar (am I allowed to mention such a make on here!?) so used. large p u s s y cat instead, but the middle word was offensive to the programme. Yes, of course, it was always a giggle at schoolboy ages, but.......? What bit of programming logic considers that word to be offensive, yet allows the use of abbreviations of totally unacceptable swear words and words which could offend folks who follow religion? An absolute daftness. Apologies, Trevor, SteveQ and PaulA6 - I genuinely feel your hard work sometimes goes unnoticed, when it certainly should not - but how about zapping all of these unacceptable abbreviated swear words which escape the net. My removed word just brings a smile to the morning, so that must be good. Keep up the good work folks, Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Ralph, I had a feeling this car had seen fairly regular pressure washing over its life, and I am guessing with the addition of wheel cleaning fluid, judging by the corrosion of the disc pad retaining 'springs' as seen clearly in photo 3. When you think about the abrasive capabilities of a pressure washer - easily removes ingrained layers of dirt from paving slabs etc - then it's easy to judge its affects on car paintwork and associated components. In my book, these devices mark the early death of paintwork and it would not surprise me that the car will be showing patches of milkiness in the lacquer before the end of your lease. Of course, handing your pride and joy to our lance wealding friends at the £10 car washes is guaranteed to accelerate this problem much faster than the likely additional care you would exercise when doing it yourself. Anyway Ralph, back to your scored and pitted brake discs as assessed from your photos:- My opinion (and of course it's only one personal opinion) is that Audi would reason (understandably??) their way out of this, and claim your jet washing - and I guess the use of cleaning chemicals - has been a contributory factor here in the early pitting and subsequent scoring of the discs. If it were mine, I would also be concerned about the level of corrosion on the associated brake components. Back to DIY pressure washing Ralph. I can work through the logic of it being far easier to run a car down to the local lance boys and hand over £5/£10 for the privilege of having the paintwork wrecked over time - no effort on the driver's part. Now DIY pressure washing entails getting the (bought in) washer out onto the drive, connecting up the electrical supply and a water hose supply to result in the same potential longer term problem. If it were me, simply run the water hose out as you have to anyway, fill your £1 shop bucket with water, add a good wax shampoo and wash it by hand in not much more time. Apologies for all the above, and all I can add is to trust you have a favourable outcome with a claim against Audi for using 'faulty components'. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Ralph. Sorry I should have asked who washes it and how. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Barry, Always difficult to diagnose such issues from afar. What I can say say is that I, and a number of owners of the same marque, have experienced similar temporary issues with non Audi s (large !Removed! cats!). Difference:- these problems show up on cold mornings and as you say are easily rectified by switching off and back on again. My reasoning is that battery voltage is not up to par on the cold mornings. Yours and hot summer days. Air con on? If it were mine:- I would do two things to start with - get the battery condition checked when you are sure it is near to fully charged ( it should be serviceable at 5 years old if it's the original one, but...) and also get the alternator output checked. It might also be worth testing if this problem occurs when you have the air con. switched off. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ralph, I share your disappointment with this situation. To keep this brief (which is not my usual forte!), could I ask -as a matter of interest - how you have generally cleaned the car during your ownership? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tony, Sorry to hear of your issues. A couple of pointers to perhaps follow:- Did you check before purchase/ since purchase, if the car has been subjected to an emissions recall? Such EML -on problems have been noted following recalls. See under this heading on the forum. Re. Stop/start - Worth checking that the battery is the original and is still in serviceable condition (as it should be at 3 years old). It is possible that the battery has been swopped pre sale for an older less serviceable one. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paulie, As you probably, or might know, what you have bought as a 1.6 Special Edition, is in fact a 1.6 basic with what I understand to be an older generation engine. Having been associated with one of these for some 147k miles, I would agree that they are quite high revving at the legal spied limit. Fitting a 6 speed gearbox? Sorry but I don't know, but I am pretty sure that you would find yourself changing down through the gears on motorway climbs, since these engine generally lack torque, so personally I would be thinking twice about this. Sorry I cannot be more helpful. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s.' .... motorway at 80mph.. sat on 4K rpm' . Surely you mean 70 mph with a slightly reduced rpm!! Just to keep it legal,and reasonable.

Hello Wesley, I don't think I'm going to be of much help to you, but I would ask if the vehicle is on a PCP lease, since if so, on hand back, the tyres may be assessed to ensure they are within the 'approved' group. If not, they could (just could) charge you a fee to compensate them for the difference. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andrew, Thanks for the update. It is quite likely that you spoke with a service receptionist, who to be fair, would do their best to explain why you 'might' need to have it serviced, rather than checking that it actually does. Cost? Would seem about what you could expect I guess, based on anticipated labour charges of probably around £120/hour inc. VAT. (Min. 1 hour?) Balance is probably cheaper than expectations for oil and filter. Repeating :- worth an (in -person) visit to the next nearest main dealer to gain second opinion on the necessity. One thing is pretty certain, you will be alerted to the need for this to be serviced again within 15 months -before it's 2 years old. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andrew, I too would be querying why a 9 month old/5K car requires an oil change. If it were mine, I would question this at the dealer, and my line of questioning would be biased towards getting them to explain to you why this isn't a mistake. If indeed it isn't a mistake then they must be able to give you an actual quotation for the cost. Armed with this information, you can then approach other main dealers (say in a practical 20 mile radius) and confirm this service is indeed necessary, and ask for their quotation. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Some interesting points in Adam's response. 'I must admit that 'Variable service' is something new to me, and my (probably not up to date experience) pointed me to 'Longlife' or fixed (or whatever the correct word is) service intervals. My guess would have been that vehicles on a Longlife schedule are likely to go to around 18/20k miles dependent on driving conditions. If Gary's car is on this schedule then is it also governed by a 2 year interval irrespective of mileages? Brake fluid change at 3 years old as the starting point - then every 2 years - is again interesting. My guess at it was that it was at fixed 2year interval - which might again have explained why Gary has been informed that this is a 'major' service. Cost? As always, it's worth shopping around other main dealers for comparative prices for the same agreed work. I'm estimating average dealer labour rates to be at least £100/hour plus VAT = £120. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mike, I think it's great that you are posting your experience on here, and I'm sure it will be of benefit to others. Complex seems to be the word, and it's a great shame that you have to do whatever is necessary to get only a part refund. You as the offended-against customer, should not have to do this. Good luck with it. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mike, This is certainly a breakthrough, but as you and Steve say, this letter appears to be very poorly presented when you consider the significance of its contents. As I see it, it leaves them wide open to any consequential claim you may make against them. Written by a relatively junior customer services person at Dunlop? Strange! I would not let this letter out of my sight, and would definitely take a few copies. A sort of positive end result for you? Well maybe. Realistically (perhaps pessimistically?) I doubt it, since you have reasonably decided not to buy Dunlop tyres, and it is Dunlop who are reducing the cost of a set of their tyres at the point of purchase of another set. I have my fingers crossed for you Mike, and let's hope cheque will be forthcoming. Would I take further further action regarding endangering your and other lives? Yes I certainly would - on the back of their letter. Would I wait to see what the outcome of cheque/no cheque? Debatable. Being rather age-cynical - if you do receive a cheque, I would beware of any caveat which says the cheque is paid as full and final settlement or other similar meaning statement. Kind regards, Gareth.

Any particular brand of woof woof cleaner Steve!? Predictive text eh? Glad I'm not the only one. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Not electric power steering on this then?

Hello Rich, I would have said that the diagnostic 105 degrees was slightly high but not alarmingly. Interesting to note that the gauge was reading 90 at the time - which again may not be so uncommon. Critical issue here is:- what is the actual diagnostic measured tempersture when your gauge reads high? Until you know this, then you don't really know whether you have an actual overheating problem or a gauge sender problem. This would be my first port of call test. If the actual running temp. is proved to be high then my next move would be towards the thermostat. Kind regards, Gareth.