Magnet

How frequently is the car used Marilyn?

I’m confused. ‘ECU beyond repair’…..’when I receive the clocks back’! So what exactly have you sent to ECU Testing?

Thanks Bob and welcome. But you have missed the point of ‘look-at-me-I’ve - got fancy-lights’ factor.

Hello Marilyn, What evidence do you have that the battery on this just within/ just outside warranty needs to be replaced? As you probably realise, Audi will charge you two arms and two legs, but there would be alternatives. Regards, Gareth.

Thanks, So what was the outcome of its stay with ATS that leads to the ECU being the suspect?

Any progress to report Michael?

Car gone back Tim?

Are you still with us Geoffrey?

Hello Irena, ’Thinking about changing the fuel pumps…… ECU…’ As has already been said - totally the wrong thing to do, and will result in seriously damaging your wallet and unlikely to guarantee to rectify the symptoms. Please, please get this plugged in to official (in caps) VAG diagnostics before moving on. Yes, I think most folks know that many new components have to be coded ( your term- calibrated) to the car after fitting. Regards, Gareth.

Thanks Ian, This really is down to personal choice and a discussion with your wallet. Will the more fancy lights make the car more appealing to you (in caps)? I would guess the answer to that will be no, since you won’t see them when you are driving, and do you really want to pay £1000 to try to impress whoever is driving behind you? If you are acquiring this on a PCP/ lease, it probably equates to £x/month extra, and it would be useful to know by how much it increases the ‘trade in’ estimated value at the end of the lease for your £1000 plus interest ‘investment’ -? Regards, Gareth.

I think this cracking is now far more of an issue than it had been previously - even with premium brand tyres. My experience with Michelin makes me think I might not bother to pay a premium for them in the future. Approx. 1.5 mm ‘loss’ of thread before you start represents quite a few miles of use! I’m now trialling mid-range Kumho tyres on our non-Audi, and other family member’s cars. Early days yet, but no disappointments so far.

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?