Magnet

Able to update the forum yet Dave-?

Hello again Stephen, If you have just had the tyres renewed and not had any alignment altered to counteract the previous wear issues, then you will obviously encounter the same wear issue with this latest set. Not acceptable?? Way forward if it were mine:- set the tyre pressures to those shown in the handbook. Book an appointment with another garage/tyre retailer to get the alignment checked again. In case it helps, I use my local ATS, because they will talk things through with you, and they will check - and if necessary adjust ‘out of limits’ to counteract the current wear. I’m not claiming all ATS are great, but I’m lucky that mine are. The icing on the cake is that they ask me to return in 3 weeks and they then check again, and will make minor tweaks if necessary. I think your regime for tyre pressure checking comes under the heading of ‘could do better’ - apologies but not often enough suggests seldom if ever. TPs are all important . Why not buy yourself a £12 digital gauge from Halfords, and modify your regime to checking all cars every 2 weeks -? Well worth it. Let us know how you get on with the alternative alignment folks. Kind regards, Gareth.

Welcome Jeremy, I think the interior lights are activated from the door lock/s, but hopefully someone will confirm or refute that. Incidentally, where is Chubb as a location? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Stephen, Apologies for jumping in here, but it’s a bit odd to hear ‘wearing… either inner or outer edges..’ One or the other ( and possibly varying according to alignment being altered) is understandable - both? - very odd. To box it up:- wear on the inner and outer edges on one tyre, points to under inflation, as Cliff points out. How often to you check your tyre pressures? How much confidence do you have in the alignment ‘specialists’ you use? Who are they as a matter of interest? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Caroline, I found quite a few options on EBay when I needed one for the A3 earlier this year. Are you seeing other models with some suppliers but not yours? If so, well worth contacting the seller re yours. I ended up buying one direct from Audi - around £140 ? Try, Audi Parts Direct at Cardiff ( part of Mon Motors - once Cardiff Audi). They were giving a bit of discount on some parts, but don’t expect much, since as I understand it, even trader discounts can be less than 10%. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Afterthought - try Autodoc.

Hello Steve, Sorry to hear of an associated bereavement, and of course, very happy to post your advert. It’s possibly my inexperience with values of these, and sorry to point out what may turn out to be incorrect, but my basic searches point to the car price being high in comparison to others advertised - even by £10K? or more high, compared with others of not too dissimilar mileage examples - particularly for a private sale. Wondered if you might be able to post some photos to aid a sale -? Kind regards, Gareth.

Understand Roger, but I think you will find most of your local motor factors operate via. EBay as well.

Where have you tried Caroline? Do you need the motor as well? Kind regards, Gareth.

Any particular aversion for EBay Roger? I think there is a high % of motorists who treat this as probably giving the greatest choice of parts you will find anywhere - both (majority) new and secondhand. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks for joining Will, but to expect a response to a 9 year old thread is a very tall order. Could you please re- post as a new thread. Thanks, Gareth.

Many thanks for coming back and letting us know what the actual cause was Kelly. I’ll now mark this thread as solved. Yes, I too would be pursuing the RAC. It’s reasonable to expect that they would (1) have found the fault and/or (2) removed the replacement starter motor and refitted your original, once it had been proved the new one did not solve the issue . Perhaps you would let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Just of a matter of interest Roger, had you looked on EBay before you posted? Kind regards, Gareth.

Welcome Simon and thanks for joining. Can you let us know what brands you have been cross referencing for your clutch parts - hopefully LUK / schacs -? Kind regards, Gareth.

Welcome Simon and sorry to hear of your issue. Putting it as I see it, I’m not surprised. Springs should only be renewed in pairs on the same axle. Failure to do that will result in more labour costs than would have applied if both had been done together. Springs can vary according to vehicle spec. e.g. sports suspension/ non sports etc. Neither you or I know whether the first one fitted was actually the correct one or not, and whether the second one was from the same manufacturer and spec as the first one. To move forward, you need to be certain a pair of correct ones from the same manufacturer are bought, otherwise you have increased potential for the situation you find yourself in. For a bit of clarification:- Enter you reg. no. into Parts in Motion ( Exeter) website, and see what part number variants ( if any) you come up with. I would recommend you have a look at ones by Febi. Perhaps you could keep us updated Simon. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. classic wrong way to measure ride height Simon! Always measure from wheel centre to underside of wheel arch lip - never from ground. Always do measurements on level ground though.

Welcome Roger, The good news is, they are at least available from your dealer. Many have found they aren’t, and have no option but to get new ones made. Worth doing a search on here for similar posts on this topic, since that may well give you a lead to companies who will manufacture to your pattern. I think this will be your best option unless EBay Continent shows any. Worth trying commercial vehicle hydraulic specialists if getting them made up. Let us know how you get on Roger. Kind regards, Gareth.

Welcome Paul, Would this screw/bolt have an approx 10mm head? There are ‘special socket’ tools designed to remove mangled head on bolts and on nuts - try Screwfix and/or Halfords, or your local motor factors. Can’t get it to turn with a Mole grips or similar? If all else fails, you will need to carefully drill through the head remains so it falls off. I would go straight to your dealer for a replacement fixing, rather than shopping around to try to find what you think you will need. Obviously be more expensive at dealer, but…. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks indeed for updating us Matt, and we look forward to hopefully hearing that all will be well once you have it back. It’s reassuring to have favourable returned comments, and although we trust you will not need the forum again, please keep in touch for any advice you may need at any time. Take care, Kind regards, Gareth.

Welcome Karl, Does this model have air suspension? If so, I wonder if the ‘motor’ they are referring to might be the compressor. If air suspension, have you noticed anything different in ride heights of late? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Greg, Treat this car like the local vicar would, to improve your chances of the clutch lasting as long as it does. Build up speed very gently when entering dual carriageway. Sorry, can’t resist this :- don’t do duels with dual carriageways! Good luck with getting it to last. Kind regards, Gareth.

Classic car clubs usually know of private enthusiasts who are capable of recommissioning. Well worth investigating. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Neil, We can only go with the information we are given, and that includes ‘Battery was tested by RAC’. Rest assured that if the breakdown services can (justifiably?) sell you a battery, they most certainly will! Not having done so, makes it pretty clear that they found the current battery to be serviceable.

Hello Neil, I’ve ruled out battery issues being the primary cause since Kelly has attempted to jump start it without any change. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Kelly, I think I get the situation that the starter motor isn’t actually turning the engine over (as it would normally do when you turn the key). By standers saying ‘it’s not even turning over…’ confirms my understanding. Who replaced the starter motor - not RAC-? Whoever, you need to get them back to sort it. Could be a number of wiring associated causes, so it sounds like an hour out with an auto electrician, or your friendly local garage. it’s likely the original starter motor wasn’t faulty. Kind regards, Gareth.

Welcome Neil, and thanks for joining. It sounds as if it’s trying to lock the car, as it should do with the ‘drive away’ locking- or whatever it is called - whereby the vehicle locks itself at speeds above an arbitrary 8mph. Not sure, but my initial stab at it would be a suspect driver door lock - hopefully others might be more specific for you. All in all, it sounds like getting it plugged in for faults, and/or the need for the services of an auto electrician. Perhaps you could keep us posted Neil. Kind regards, Gareth.

Have you checked on EBay Chris? Also registered you want with on-line breaker link systems such as Partsfinder and others -? Kind regards, Gareth.