Magnet

Thanks Sharad, 45 days wait doesn’t put Audi in good light. Have you tried other main dealers within a sensible travelling distance? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steven, Is the boot water in contact with any electrical junction boxes etc. or wiring? If so, this needs to be mopped up, all electrical components carefully dried with a hair dryer, before spraying with contact cleaner. It would also be worth having the battery efficiency checked, before engaging in any more expensive diagnostics. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on Steven. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. It is obviously desirable to fix the source of your leaks - usually the air vents, but a forum search should colour in the detail for you.

Hello Robert, Welcome and thanks for joining. Could you explain ‘….plenty of battery power………..only winds over for a few seconds’ - the two things are confusing. Did your breakdown company give you an opinion on what the issue may be? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tony, As Steve says, you should find advice at any large local bodyshop. Just pay visits rather than e-mail or phone, and by doing it that way, you will get a feel of your confidence in them. Kind regards, Gareth.

I’m very pleased it’s all worked out for you Deborah. Sounds good. Re. Cambelt- what did the the Audi independent advise? My rule of thumb has always been to change the belt and assembly every 75k miles, or 5 years - whichever comes first. So your car should be due for its second belt change next year, but doesn’t appear to have been changed at all yet. This might seem ‘over- servicing’ in the case of this car which seems to have averaged approx. 4K miles/an over its life, but low mileage use does present its own increased stresses, where cars are used on infrequent barely up to temperature short journeys. It seems VAG have now dispensed with their age limit, and are now recommending renewing the belt only when the vehicle reaches 135?k - or similar figure, so according to that logic, your belt will not need changing until it’s over 30 years old in in the scrapyard! Daft in my book. If it were mine, I would schedule to get it renewed during the next year. If you do decide to go ahead with that, I would also get the auxiliary belt changed at the same time. What sort of feel did you get from the garage that inspected it, and were you able to talk directly with a technician, rather than a service receptionist? Many thanks for the update. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Assuming this engine runs on a belt rather than a chain.

Hello Sharad, We guess you have invested/committed to pay a fair amount of funds into this now 1 year old car, and as such, you should be able to enjoy it, safe in your understanding that whatever goes wrong, the warranty will cover your issue. We really do try to be helpful on here, but my best advice would be:- Bleep - book it into the main dealer and entrust the solution to them. You haven’t paid good money to diagnose issues. Seat bolsters:- Accept the dealer’s offer to replace them, and keep requesting replacements under warranty if those turn out to deteriorate. Hope this is a positive way forward. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello W. Midlands Steve, To avoid undue dismantling and expense:- consider measuring the outside diameter and buying the appropriate straight connector to re join. If it’s a very low pressure breather, you could even find that a plastic push fit connector may suffice. Should be plenty on EBay. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jacob, Welcome and thanks for joining. Although the 18 inch wheels you prefer would probably fit your car, it’s not quite as simple as this, since the tyre profile would have to decrease to ensure the dia. of 18 inch wheel + tyre, remains the same as your current 17 inch, otherwise it will affect the gearing etc. I used to work these out for members, but now simply suggest referring to websites which supply wheels, where you should find a calculator to input current tyre widths and profiles, then it works out what profile you will need for the increased diameter wheel. Once you have that information, it would be well worth checking on tyre prices - demand and availability may make them a lot more expensive than your current size - or indeed cheaper, but doing homework before committing avoids surprises. Perhaps you could let us know what you find out Jacob. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Maidenhead Steve, I very much understand the (very?) significant disadvantages of using high pressure lances to clean vehicles - I always steer well clear of any situation where this might happen, and on the very rare occasions any owned vehicles have to go into a main, or substantial dealership, I wash the vehicle before hand, and specifically instruct - do not wash vehicle - vacuum only. You are quite specific in singling out the starter motor and alternator, and my assumption is that you believe that the water ingress was due to the pressure washer directing water at high pressure, through the grille and this water found its way onto, and stayed with, the starter and alternator. I can understand this if the lance was directed horizontally into the grille, as opposed to what would be normal practice of directing it at an angle. Again to try to understand this, we would need to consider the distance the car was driven between the point where it was washed and your home. If a few miles, then you might expect the water on the engine would have dried significantly, or at least sufficiently, not to leave pooling water which would subsequently freeze. ECU location on this model? - somewhere where water ingress would hold and freeze? The last point I can make is that although pressures from pressure washers are high, volumes are generally low. Apologies Steve, if this comes over as challenging your theory, but I think it would be helpful to fully understand the logic. Again with apologies - I can’t resist returning to Steve Y’s comment that it was likely caused by arson - if it was, it was probably someone arson about! Kind regards, Gareth.

What abrasive polish are you using?

Is it just the lenses that have gone cloudy then Gordon?

Thanks Gordon, Well worth searching EBay, and if you are prepared to consider secondhand, you could register your ‘want’ on on-line breaker sites such as Partsfinder ( there are more). Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Judy, Welcome, and thanks for joining. Pardon my ignorance on location abbreviations, but I’m guessing you are based in the States, by your description of ‘shop’ , as opposed to UK’s ‘garage’. Bearing in mind that this is a pre-Covid thread, I think it would be difficult to guess at what this job would now cost in the U.K. - States?? Probably impossible to estimate, but I’m sure you will easily be able to obtain a couple of quotes to choose from. Sorry we cannot be more specific for you. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Daniel, Apologies if this isn’t going to be practical - always difficult to gauge from photos- but can’t you sleeve a suitable small dia. brass/ hard plastic etc. pipe down into the section in the tailgate, leaving enough to push the plastic piece over. Obviously you would need to find a suitable dia. sort stub of pipe, or get one turned down. Thoroughly clean both pieces and Araldite the sleeve pipe in. Easiest way to measure the OD you will need is to carefully insert a drill bit etc. until you find one which is a snug fit. Kind regards, Gareth.

Welcome Gordon, Where have you looked so far? Kind regards, Gareth.

Oh bless you Graham. Let’s hope it works out for you. I made a conscious decision a decade or so ago that Lion would be at the bottom of my buying list. Might be better now - but all modern cars depend so heavily on top efficiency batteries. Incase it helps for the future I bought a couple of Exide Premium batteries last year at very competitive prices from Tayna Batteries ( no connection), and Exide has become my current brand to buy. ECP? Seldom found them to be competitive in in past, even with their then high % discounts off so called list price. For general parts, I usually look at Parts in Motion site ( again no connection), but also scan EBay for premium brands at most competitive prices from reputable sellers. Kind regards, Gareth.

Great last comment Steve!

Any independent should be able to do that for you Graham, or main dealer if you want to pay more, and if they will actually do it, since you didn’t buy the battery from the. What make of battery did you buy Graham. Kind regards, Gareth.

Very useful info. Please be aware that these kits do not appear to include the offending ‘release bearing’ component. So it does appear that LUK are supplying to the aftermarket, certainly in Germany - in U.K. As has been said before, the definitive answer lies just a phone call away with making contact with LUK Technical. It wouldn’t surprise me that they maybe able to correctly identify the correct one from the VIN. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Personally, I would not accept any money, since it could be seen as compensation, and a pay off. I find it odd that they would have offered you anything. Yes, visit your nearest main dealer and ask if they would be kind enough to give you a service history print out. They may ask to see copy of the V5 in your name - as proof of ownership. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Ronald, ‘Service certificates’ confuses, since servicing should be recorded on the VAG computerised system, and you can/should? request a print out copy at your local main dealer - armed with the VIN Incase the car has been registered on a private plate, for example, at some time. Have you done an on-line MOT history - although it’s probably only had one? Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. I would certainly inform the seller of what you have found.

Regrettably, it’s not that uncommon for aftermarket part supplies to be stifled - try buying and factor parts for current MG for example! As Steve says, your best course of action will be to ring ( not e-mail) LUK Technical, if you want the exact current situation. As we have seen on other recent posts, 3 part clutches are generally - but not always - available via. the above, but the dual mass flywheels are quite often a main dealer part only, and of course they know what to charge fir them! Back to the reason for changing the clutch - ? Folks seldom change clutches because they think they may give issue ( Audi and judder seem to be bedfellows). Alternative:- ensure you have an equate breakdown and recovery to ensure the car gets repatriated. ECP and listings/ variations/ availability- personally, I don’t favour them, particularly since their once so called discounts are generally not available any more. I’ve used Car Parts in Motion to good effect ( no connection), but you can’t beat talking directly to the manufacturer/ supplier. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on Sav. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ronald, Welcome and thanks for joining. Could you fill in some background details for us. Have you recently bought the vehicle? Have you carried out an MOT history check, that should have shown up any unusual changes in annual mileages covered? Have you obtained a copy of the car’s service history? Could be it’s had a change of ECU -? ? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks David, but I would have thought it’s far easier to simple visually inspect the wiring in these areas, rather than trying to remove panels etc. to access points at which you can check with a multimeter. Kind regards, Gareth.

Price on these Justin?