Magnet

Welcome Mike, Where and from who did she buy the car, and did she have anyone knowledgeable to inspect it, prior to purchase. From what you say, the car appears to have been in the hands of a go-faster owner, and if bought from a trader and she wasn’t told it had been modified, then I too would be following Cliff’s logic. Regards, Gareth.

Sorry folks, that option doesn’t appear on this post.

As an aside to this post, the forum would welcome experiences on the use of Napa branded products. I must admit, I’ve always steered clear of them. Regards, Gareth.

Buying cheap thermostats can result in even more issues.

Think twice. No one is likely to read through all of that. Do you have any comments on replacing the battery? Regards, Gareth.

Replace thermostat. Should be running at 90 C.

Many thanks for the up to date experience Mike. Were these the top-of-the-shop quality? If so, then like most other things, quality seems to have suffered in favour of competitive pricing. Apologies for the recommendation based on experience some 15 years ago - mine are still superb. Regards, Gareth.

You will certainly not polish this out, and it is the result of strong chemicals being blasted onto surfaces with high pressure lances. Goodness knows what effect it has had on the soft top fabric. Look out for milky patches in the paint lacquer. It’s the high cost penalty for using low cost car washers. Regards, Gareth.

Welcome Jamie, Straight from the book of Simple First Priniciples, if this 11 year old car is running on its original battery, then it’s daft to be delving in depth into any parameters until the battery has been renewed and coded to the car. Obviously your choice, but I’m favouring Exide, following a couple of dissatisfactions with Varta/Bosch. Regards, Gareth. p.s. You’ve filled half my computer memory in two posts!

Hello Ciaran, Disc wrapping can be an often-referred -to myth. Brake judder can result from a variety of causes, including mating surfaces of hub to disc not adequately cleaned of rust - if cleaned at all, sticking caliper pins etc. If you believe the judder is being caused by the solid discs not being able to dissipate the heat build up during braking, and vented discs would eliminate that, then you are braking too violently and too late. Regards, Gareth.

Thanks Chris, what was the solution with the reversing light? Regards, Gareth.

Could you give us an update please Chris.

Hello Mark, Would you please state the price you require for the car, rather than ‘…..reasonable offers’. Just let us know if you have difficulty adding this. Regards, Gareth.

Good morning Scott, Fortunately, you don’t have to concern yourself with the potential rights or wrongs of this issue, or the reason for the wrongs - if wrong. All you need to do is to book it in and get it sorted under warranty. Please let us know how you get on. Regards, Gareth.

Hello Chris, Wondered what the latest was on this -? Regards, Gareth.

Perhaps another viewpoint to ponder over: How important is ‘full service history’ on an 11 year old car, particularly when serviced under VAG’s regime of every 18K miles or 18 months, and air filters changed every 40 odd K? Appreciate the claim of FSH on relatively newish vehicles - where proof of this influences prices and desirability - but after that, enthusiastic ownership means more to me, with annual oil changes, even on a DIY basis , rather than being too impressed with vehicles which have spent 2hrs in a workshop every 18 months, and possibly been treated with disrespect for the rest of the year. Just a personal view when assessing aging cars! Having said I’m not a supporter of Longlife service intervals, I find JLR are recommending servicing at 2 years old, or 24K - whichever comes first. This is called progress I guess! Regards, Gareth.

Great. Now you’ve only got to concern yourself with what range of tyre widths are permissible with your wheel width. Regards, Gareth.

‘……l have now been running the car every day..’ , maybe significant here in terms of getting the best service out of a substandard battery. I notice you don’t respond to the question asking if you have yet had a cost free test of the battery’s efficiency, but I can only suggest reasonable eliminations - I cannot, and don’t want to, control them. Regards, Gareth.

What’s the latest on this Phil, and did you get the battery checked after?

Have a look at LLL Parts website. There should be schematics on there. You are looking for an oil pressure sensor.

It seems 19 inch wheels were not a factory approved option on the 2004 A3. Maximum accommodated wheel dia. was 18 inch, so you could run into insurance issues in event of an accident.

Please let us know how you get on Daran. Regards, Gareth.

Thanks Michael, just PM me the figure and I’ll input it for you. Not sure if the following will work for you, but just left of the small square box to the top right of your post, you will see a row of 3 dots, which when ‘clicked’ lead to an option of Edit. Whether it’s a ‘Mods only’ facility or not, I’m not sure, but you could try that first. Don’t be stuck, we are here to help. Regards, Gareth.

Thanks Dean, but you cannot just spend on trying different width tyres, any of which may not be correct for the car, and could invalidate your insurance. Have a look on the inside of the fuel flap and you might find acceptable wheel and tyre size alternatives there, and let us know how you get on. Regards, Gareth.

Welcome Ed, Great that you have checked the oil level, but we are talking oil pressure here, and not oil levels. The fact that the pressure warning comes on when the oil is up to temperature is significant, and if you ignore this, you do so at your own peril. What mileage have you done in the last 10 months (since oil and filter were changed)? How long have you owned it, and what has been the servicing regime during your ownership, and in previous ownership. Issue could be as simple as a faulty oil pressure sensor, and as complex as a potential oil pressure pump/ worn crankshaft bearings. If it were mine, I would be getting the actual running oil pressure measured as a first port of call. I would also be limiting its use until inspections have been carried out. Regards, Gareth.