Magnet

Welcome Sean, Possibly/probably a blocked heater matrix. Regards, Gareth.

Pleasure Michael, but why are you booking it in to have the alternator replaced, before you have positively identified it as one of the a culprits? Similarly get the battery checked as Cliff recommends. It just isn’t good and logical practice to get components renewed simply because you believe it is faulty, and prior to having it tested to prove/disprove it is at fault. Regards, Garetjh.

Thanks Michael, So as you have now deduced, you think the alternator maybe at fault - as I suggested it maybe.

Welcome Alex and thanks for joining. Simple answer to whether a rattle on cold start is normal - would you have bought one new if Audi had manufactured it to do that? The car is trying to tell you something is wrong, and it would be wise to get it dealt with. Regards, Gareth. p.s. Comments based on links not working on my system.

We are talking voltage readings of 13. odd, with the engine running - aren’t we?

Apologies for jumping in on this thread, but it would be strongly recommended to have the alternator output checked at the same time. Cliff raises a good point when referring to 13.9 volts being rather low - my view is it should be around 14.5 volts. It would be great if we could revert to the days of new is new and so is faultless. No longer the case Micheal. This maybe (in caps) associated with your battery discharging back through the alternator -? Regards, Gareth.

Thanks Tim, We spend thousands of £s to buy even a secondhand car, then we spend valuable time shopping around trying to save relatively small amounts of money to maintain it. One thing is for certain, marketing folks are paid good money to entice us to spend our hand earned on their employer’s products and service, and price matching is one of the older gimmicks. They are also good at coming up with get out clauses - that good, that they would get under a snakes belly with a top hat on! Regards, Gareth.

Thanks Richard, If not already known, a potentiometer is a variable resistor. Seems like your link to the rotational switch maybe similar to what is needed. Regards, Gareth.

Hello again Rebecca, Mystery now sorted:- Input Oil consumption into the search bar and select ‘Everywhere’ from the drop down menu. That should link you to the appropriate threads, but please come back to us for any ongoing concerns. What I would say is your oil consumption level could be lived with, compared to what others use. Regards, Gareth.

Sorry about this Rebecca, Now alerted Admin of this issue. Regards, Gareth.

Does this engine spin over on the starter quicker than normal?

Apologies Rebecca, I believe there must be something wrong with the search facility. I’ve tried even searching for just Oil - and nothing found. I will alert Forum Admin to this issue. Perhaps you can just scroll back via ‘Latest posts’. Anyway, it could be due to the termed ‘skinny piston rings’ era which I believe your model year may fit into, but not sure if it affected the diesel engines. Will look into it further in a couple of days or so, if you don’t get any more responses meanwhile. Regards, Gareth.

Welcome Rebecca, There have been quite a few threads on here about oil consumption over the last year or so, so it would be well worth doing a forum search on the subject, then coming back to us once you have digested the comments posted. Regards, Gareth.

Welcome Paul, We have had a couple of even shorter posts, but yours is up there with the best. Worth going back to the bus stop before where you are now, and giving us a bit of history about the car’s maintenance to date, and if/when the current cambelt was last changed -? What advice have you had to date and from where? Suggest you have a search on here under ‘Cambelt’ and come back to us. Regards, Gareth.

Welcome Tanzeel and thanks for joining. ’…what can be the issue.’ ? It could be any one of a dozen reasons, which can only be boiled down by carrying out a diagnostic check on the car and seeing what codes come up. What is the history of the car, and any lead-up symptoms prior to this issue? Regards, Gareth.

Thanks again Tim, I feel it’s right that Stevey Y’s opinion is taken seriously, since his experience is based on covering very high mileages, and therefore suffering more component failure than probably anyone else on here. Having said that, when you boil it down, yours is not to attempt to diagnose where the actual issue lies - if indeed the problem is associated with just one component in the clutch assembly. Yours is to entrust the repair to those who are going to do it, and you will have to go with their diagnosis - as I see it. Steve will confirm or refute this, but I wonder if the slave cylinder on your model is the now common concentric cylinder ( blinking plastic cup/ washing up bowl technology inside the bell housing-?) If it is, then £250 sounds daftly cheap, which leads me to believe it must be external to the gearbox bell housing. If it were mine, I would be stepping back a bit and be ‘leaving the medical diagnosis to the GP’, and just sitting back and hope it all works out - or attempt to reject the car now. Regards, Gareth.

Hello Chris, May have to do this by a process of throwing some parts at it, starting with the front suspension leg ( and top mount) These should be changed as a pair, but try the offending side first. Regards, Gareth. p.s. Are you sure the wheel is true? Worth swapping it with one of the others. I think you said the impact was at the top of the wheel -?Very odd, normally 3/9 o’c. How did that happen?

My suspicion is that there is/will be a spate of this based around Covid, when vehicles were build and ‘stored’ waiting for bits of electronic to be manufactured. Standing unused for months can be the death of batteries. Regards, Gareth.

Hello again Tim, I think it’s worth sitting back and giving this a couple of coats of thinking about. Of course you can request ( and even insist) that only genuine VAG supplied M/S is fitted, but in reality that isn’t going to happen, and you won’t know whether they have or not - even if they say they have. The remit will be to renew, and ensure it keeps working through any guarantee period. Good luck whatever you decide. Regards, Gareth.

So you had to buy two secondhand ones before one of them worked-?

Some general comments based on experience of stop/start systems on non-Audi vehicles:- The operation of this (engineering averse) system is dependent on monitoring a number of parameters relating to the battery’s overall efficiency. A below-par battery will efficiently start the car, but will certainly adversely affect the operation of the S/S system, so if the S/S system doesn’t operate over a period of time, then battery efficiency testing would be my first port of call. Testing with a multimeter is meaningless - it needs to be tested on professional equipment which measures its efficiency under load, and takes in parameters such as cold cranking currents etc. Halfords stores will generally carryout these tests. If a new battery is needed, then getting a replacement there could upset your wallet. Battery charge condition will also affect the operation of the S/S system, and it may not operate if the vehicle is frequently used on short journeys - for example. Radio left on for 45 mins? Lucky, it doesn’t have a built in time-out cut off. With family non Audi vehicles from the same maker, the radio automatically shuts down after 3 minutes! Replaced batteries will need to be coded to the car on most post c2008 models. Just an overview which might help. Regards, Gareth.

Thanks Alan, Just watch them on consumables such as brake pads and discs, borderline MOT issues - all at silly prices to get done with them. Regards, Gareth.

Thanks for the update Mike, Personally, I would never use carburettor cleaner on any rubber component.

Hello Alan, As Cliff says. The best advice ( with reasoning) will be found in a number of threads over the last year or so. I would be very surprised if the Service Manager, or anyone else at Audi would agree with the comments you will find on here in relation to cambelt changes, but might be worth looking at a recent post where a cambelt has snapped on a low mileage vehicle, and examine the consequences of that happening. Why a main dealer service plan on an out of warranty car Alan? If this were mine, I wouldn’t be entrusting this job to a main dealer, if you wisely decide to get it replaced. Always renew the auxiliary belt at the same time. Regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Tim, but it seems we have all wasted our time in responding to the OP who hasn’t returned to the forum since the day he joined and posted. Good isn’t it? Let’s hope the advice given may help others. Regards, Gareth.