Magnet

Good move not to have named the dealer Adam, Kind regards, Gareth.

Again, Gates belt and tensioner should be available Mathew. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mickie, Everyone needs to applaud your efforts on this, and my cynical side suggests that despite these Sterling efforts, potential ‘buyers’ might still find themselves in situations where they still aren’t clear about what their servicing costs are going to be, as this filters down to individual dealers. Of course, for many ‘buying’ on PCP type deals, servicing may work out at a relatively nominal on-cost on a monthly basis - so fairly easily sold, along with ceramic coating, GAP insurance, and all other add-ons! Simply repeating:- financing a £40,000 + vehicle is a substantial commitment and to some, an additional ‘unexpected’ few hundred £s servicing cost over the 3 years may not be a deal breaker within the overall cost of that commitment, and indeed saving on those costs may not be too important to them. But, importantly thanks to your efforts, anyone reading this can now ask the meaningful questions about the actual ( in caps) additional servicing costs over the expected. Many thanks again Mickie. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mathew, My suggestions will relate parts rather than procedures:- If you aren’t buying genuine VAG parts at discount, then I would suggest you buy Gates kits which will include belt, tensioner and water pump (if belt driven). As Kev says, EBay would be one source, but if I was in your situation, I would want to ensure that what you buy off EBay is not ‘old stock’ , since belts should be renewed every five years, and you could find belts may already be a couple or 3 years old before they are even fitted! I have used Car Parts in Motion to good effect and at reasonable prices, so it might be worth checking there. I would also renew the serpentine belt and tensioner at the same time. Hope some of this helps. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mickie, Many thanks indeed for the comprehensive conclusions of your ‘researches’. If I understand it correctly ( and I hope I do!) then the main concern, and fundamental argument, rests with the importance of the use/lack of use of the all important ‘up to’ in terms of the 18K or 2 years service interval. I certainly don’t want to dilute your argument, but these two words are so often abused in advertising, that it has almost become ‘acceptable’ that their inclusion in adverts - in the smallest print possible- next the largest possible ‘50% off’ etc. has become the norm. The follow on as far as Audi and it’s dealer’s marketing is concerned is that it becomes based-on-fact as my notorious late friend often said! As always, the buyer needs to be as sharp as them and get the the situation clearly spelled out via. e-Mail etc. thereby clearing the way for challenges as they occur. I think owners should be very grateful for your clarification. As I understood it, new owners covering higher than average mileages welcomed the ‘up to 18K…’ schedules, and my experience was that most new cars were set on this unless the owner pointed out that they were only covering low annual mileages - at which point the dealer would switch to the annual service schedule. All sounds nice and reasonable, but now we understand that additional service triggers have been included - confusing - and yes, lucrative for the business - and unacceptable ?? I would guess the 2 year signalled service is to change the brake fluid? Again, I don’t want to dilute your argument, but buyers spend many tens of thousands of £s buying new vehicles and then wish to spend out as little as possible beer-money on servicing if they can get away with it. Then we good folks on here go into raptures about the benefits of ‘full service history’, and some of the servicing may not even be to the standard one would accept. It’s a funny old world of sometimes getting away with what it is possible to get way with. Many thanks again Mickie. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Beany, Sounds like you are going to need to take the alternator to an autoelectrician and get it tested and sorted, or buy a replacement. By what I understand some of the cheap replacement ones can be cheap to buy - twice!? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Beany, Alternator output at 14.1 volts is borderline low and nearer to 14.5 would be better. A constant under-load voltage output of 13.7 is too low, and should be little different from the not-on-load output after an initial drop from the ideal 14.5. If you have indeed checked all associated connections and earths, then I would say you have a poorly alternator, particularly if you believe the clicking noise is coming from the alternator and not -say- the tensioner etc. Problem is you see Beany is that you don’t tell us whether you had any problem before you fitted the new belt and tensioner, or if you fitted these in an attempt to solve the pre-existing ticking noise under load. My teachers ( too many decades ago!) used to say ‘It’s like extracting a sore tooth’ when you failed to clearly explain the answer to a question. Still…. Any chance you or someone else has connected jump leads the wrong way at some time? Probably unlikely, since you don’t usually now get away with it that lightly. Hope some of this helps. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Beany, Thanks for the important additional information - it would have saved two of us suggesting what you have already done! Alternator output at 14.1v is lower than expected, and at 13.7v ,is unacceptable. If all connections and earth leads are sound and serviceable, then it suggests you have an alternator issue and the clicking is likely to be an associated symptom. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks for clearing that up Ryan. Since you’ve only just had this work done then you certainly need to get the car back to whoever did the work as quickly as possible. Source of the noise? Could be a noise from the servo?? Not sure if they released the bleed nipple to allow the ‘excess’ fluid to escape when forcing back the piston rather than it being forced backwards through the ABS system. Perhaps you could let us know the outcome. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Carl, Have you checked with Audi - via reg. no. or VIN - that your particular car was fitted with Powerfold window? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Chris, Guess you’ve personally checked the on-line VOSA MOT history to confirm mileage and records of passes and failures - often a good guide to how the car has been looked after -e.g tyres near limit etc is generally bad news in terms of interest in the vehicle. Checked DVLA Vehicle Check which will tell you when the last V5 was issued - short ownership can indicate dissatisfaction with the car. Again, guess you’ve checked the service history with Audi via. the registration number or VIN. Motorpoint - ‘don’t most business (charge an Admin fee) now’. Car Shop ( part of the Synter Group) don’t - for one. ‘investing a lot of money in the car’. Always worth investing in a professional independent inspection before committing to buy. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ryan from the Homeland, Apologies, but….discs and pads on the front of the car … on both axles.. is a bit confusing. Could you please explain. Also… recently? Have you just had this work done and you’ve now got the problem, or was it done some little time ago and it was OK until now? Whatever, safest advice would be to return it to the garage that carried out the work with some urgency, since it’s always difficult/ impossible to diagnose at a distance and without inspecting the vehicle. Kind regards, Gareth.

You mean you, yourself have made these checks, and if so what have you checked? Motorpoint? Are they still charging Admin charges etc.?

Hello Chris, Before getting into general details about the model, can we confirm that you have already carried out all the on- line and service history checks about the particular car? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Beany, Some more background and history would be useful. For example:- when did the problem start, when was the belt tensioner assembly last changed, when was the battery renewed..etc? Preliminary stab at it sounds like the additional load on the alternator due to running the headlights, is causing an issue. Kind regards, Gareth.

Any progress?

Thanks Gregg, Pedantic is the word, but asking for proof of age of any vehicle is an understandable fundamental requirement. Not sure whether Junaid has got any further by following the advice - perhaps he will let us know. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Alan, Phil is very helpful at Audi Parts Direct at Cardiff. This was the discount source I quoted earlier in the week. When you say ‘Wales’ - more specifically? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andy, As I understand it, if you have a touch button on the door handle then it has keyless entry, and touching that button should open the door if the keys are close by. No button, no KE. I guess the answer lies with the build record. Not sure if this still available on line, but should be doable via. a visit to the dealer’s Parts Dept. - or Audi Customer Services? Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Of course, we are taking some decades into the future here, judging by the year on the Profile! It’s not just me that gets things wrong then!

Hello Granit, Please excuse me if I’ve got this all wrong, but it looks to me that you are focussing on your discontents with the car ( possibly compared with the old one) rather than enjoying what is better with it. It don’t wish to be critical, but things like fuel consumption are now rather more what-you-have-is-what-you’ve- got, and it would seem that your car is about typical, give or take road conditions and driving style, so is it really worth worrying about too much in the overall expenditure to buy the car? I’m sure you will appreciate that road noise from tyres can vary considerably, and yes, there could be something wrong with the car, but chances are there isn’t. Not sure what changing brake discs was likely to do to alter this, but OK.. I think it might be worth trying to sit back and enjoy the car Granit, but if you can’t then this could cost in terms of exchanging it for something more suitable. Tyre makes and remaining tread? Is your car a Sportback? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jo, I know what you mean about needing a permanent live to your aftermarket equipment. This will have been built in to the original wiring loom/plug. Pioneer should be able to supply the correct Audi/Vag plug to link your original plug with the Pioneer connector - try Halfords. Yes, I know this is going to cost, but it’s the proper way to do it. I’ve seen too many cobbled up crimp-connected odd bits of wiring associated with such installations to render friendships with the local Fire Service as an essential! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Frankie, I’ve used Discount Audi Parts (or something like that - at Cardiff ( contact was Phil, I think). Part of Mon Motors which used to be/still is? -Cardiff Audi. Also used Aberdeen Audi with a bit of discount. Both do mail orders. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Frankie, Personally, I wouldn’t fit an aftermarket sensor - although some have- since saving some £s now, may cost dearly over a shorter period of time. Never scrimp on essential parts. For me, it would be a VAG sensor bought at discount every time, but of course it’s your call. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Granit, Manufacturer’s figure are alway optimistic. I think for far more realistic figures you might start at looking around 70% of their quoted figures, and see what you get in comparison. The car’s computer figures can certainly be taken as a reasonable guide, but I still go by filling the tank and measuring how much fuel it actually takes to refill to the full level. That will give you an exact consumption figure over you normal journeys. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Granit, Thanks for being in touch. Are the figures you quote ‘Manufacturer’s quoted figures’? If so, they are known to be optimistic in terms of actual on-road usage. You will need to tell us what your overall ( full to full) fuel consumption is on your normal journey, and describe that journey in terms of urban/non urban. Kind regards, Gareth.