Magnet

Hello Sarah, Thanks for joining and sorry to hear of your issue. I always approach any persistent warning light problems and associated issues, on the basis of a simple and cheap elimination process before moving on to more expensive investigations. Culprits for warning lights can be the battery, and its efficiency can be simply and cheaply ( even free!) assessed at your local Halford’s store. Their test is usually pretty comprehensive and results in the battery being declared serviceable or not. At that point, you will then be armed with evidence to exclude the battery efficiency as being a contributor or not. Ask them to check the alternator output at the same time. If the battery is declared sub standard, then personally I would not be tempted to buy a new battery from them at that stage, but come back to us with the result. OK, even if the battery is replaced, it may not solve the issue, and further more expensive diagnostics might be necessary, but an efficient battery is essential for any ‘modern’ vehicle. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Nic, Incase it helps:- I favour Febi/Bilstein ( Febi and Blue print in that order) for ‘mechanical’ parts. Mann or Bosch for filters. I certainly avoid ECP’s Crossland. Quantum Longlife 3 for engine oil. I usually search EBay for reliable and competitive sellers - often P in M, but not always. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Are the Gogs tighter than the Cardies? They tell me that if a true Cardie loses a £1 out of his pocket when he is up a ladder, he can catch it before it hits the ground!

Hello Blair, Welcome, and thanks for joining, I must start by admitting TPMS and Stop/start ( in reverse order) are the two ‘fancy bits’ that I definitely prefer to be without! As I see it, we first need something to test the system tests! That would come in the form of a quality tyre pressure gauge - do you have one? If not Halfords do a nice digital one, for less than £10 - was price. I wonder if the clue here is ‘drive 100 miles and it’s OK’ ‘Drive to the shop’ (after it’s been standing for some time?) and it’s not. This might be explained by:- If you drive a 100 mile trip, you will find your tyre pressures will have increased by around 3psi from what they were when cold. The true test ( with apologies if you’ve already done it):- Using your Halfords gauge, and not the one on the machine you are using, set the tyres to their recommended pressures. Make sure this is done only after a short journey when the tyres haven’t warmed up. Ignore any TPMS light that may come on, and use the car for about a week and recheck the tyre pressures with the Halfords gauge after the same to-the-machine journey. Compare those pressure readings with the previously set readings. Any reduction in pressures at any wheel? If so, the TPMS maybe dealing with this as it should. Perhaps you could come back to us with your findings Blair. Thankfully I don’t have TPMS, and have a simple regime of checking the pressures once a month with the same gauge. Kind regards, Gareth.

Welcome to the Audi Owners Club ! Good to have you onboard. Hello Lee, When you say the leaks occur where the pipes connect, is that at a threaded joint? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Nic, Welcome from down south. I seldom use ECP for a number of reasons. Yes, GSF seem reasonable, and have been effective with me in terms of ease of pick up. The one I have favoured in the past is Car Parts in Motion. A choice of good branded parts at reasonable prices, and good on delivery schedules. I try to by quality parts at most competitive prices. What sort of parts are you expecting to want to buy Nic? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Hamza, This is confusing, rather than a solution to your issue, since you inform us that the car was getting up to the correct temperature. As such, I cannot see that the thermostat will be the suspect here (unless you didn’t inform us that it took a long time to get to normal operating temperature). Not sure who marked this as a solution, but it may be rather premature if we are to study the evidence to date. Is it possible to unmark! it ? Kind regards, Gareth.

As I understand it Dan, you run the risk of letting the airbags off if you don’t disconnect the battery a half hour or so before unplugging. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dan, ’whip the seat out……just 4 Torx bolts’. Did you disconnect the battery half an hour or so before disconnecting the plugs? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paddy, I doubt if you will be disappointed with it, but please keep us up to date. I bought one for a non-Audi and would have been totally satisfied with it if it had cost twice as much. Delivery May take longer than stated, but….. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, It would be best to send Stevey Y a PM. He hasn’t been on here for a couple of weeks, and I’ve been meaning to PM him to check if he’s OK. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mustafa, Thanks for joining. Is it as simple as a significant drop in temperature causing the for rubbers to be less flexible? Kind regards, Gareth.

I could well be wrong, and I often am! Some other marques do, and have done so for some years. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mark, It sounds like you have already been on the homework quest! Higher mileage example at a nationwide retailer, but not available until Dec. sounds unusual, since they don’t normally advertise what they don’t have available at that time, but…. Also 31k to March of this year, and then a sudden increase in mileage since, would suggest a different owner during this year - a bit off putting in my book, but again I could be wrong. The local low mileage example makes more sense and probably explained by the owner choosing to buy a new Skoda rather than its stablemate Audi. Prices would seem to be a bit ‘blinking heck’ to me, but prices are bordering daft these days, but possibly not as daft as a year ago, as new vehicles appear to be on a shorter lead time. Good luck with whatever you decide to do, and see if you can sneak a quick view of the last owner’s name on the V5 and seek them out! If not, they sometimes forget to blank that detail off the computerised service history. Kind regards, Gareth.

New/ secondhand motor need coding to the car??

Battery - or Tayna, which will certainly your most economical route to a good quality battery at the most competitive price, but you may prefer to leave it to your garage. Just one point of caution if leaving it to them - I certainly wouldn’t have Lion or Lucas brands, so worth asking what brand they would be fitting. You are getting there! Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Mark, Re. the higher mileage one :- being sold by a main dealer? If not, how long has the current owner owned it, and bear in mind that he must be buying a ‘bit newer’ car for some reason - rather than new if not main dealer. This could be significant in the homework stakes. Re low mileage one :- again main dealer? FSH. As asked - have you seen the service print out to confirm it’s had 3 or 4 annual services rather than 1 ‘Longlife’ service - which wouldn’t be appropriate that the low annual mileage. If not being sold be main dealers, it’s worth questioning in your mind why not, since up to 5 year old models usually are. Have you checked book prices for both via. Parker’s or similar? 4 new tyres on the 15k one. Quality brand or budget? On higher mileage one, you will need to be assured that all tyres match ( certainly on same axle anyway) and all have similar tread depths. Kind regards, Gareth.

Welcome to the Audi Owners Club ! Good to have you onboard. Hello Ian, I guess you know the wipers don’t work unless the bonnet is fully closed. Kind regards, Gareth.

Sigh of relief Sarah! Breath easy now. If it were mine, I would be making a list of the jobs which Audi have told you need doing, and take that to your local garage between now and 12th of Dec. and ask them to estimate the costs of the individual jobs, so you have an idea of how much less you are going to have to pay - compared with the Audi quote - considerable I would expect. Once you are armed with that, then no doubt that will be a significant stress reliever, and don’t be surprised if some of the quoted jobs are found not to be essential to do at this particular time. Battery? Just forget about renewing that at the moment ( unless Halfords did declare it to be substandard), or indeed if Audi tell you it needs replacing - in which case don’t (in caps) allow them to. Just comeback if and when. Just refer back to the forum at any point where you are unsure. It will all work out much better than forecast. It really will. Kind regards, Gareth.

I’ve found it’s often better to actually visit the dealership rather than try to do it over the phone or by E-mail. Take the V5 with you as proof of ownership. Let us know how you get on Peter. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Sarah, I would just take a very deep breath and STOP ( sorry about the caps) until these quotes are clarified. Who’s quotes are these Sarah - the garage who are currently working on the car, or someone else? Let’s wait for your clarification re that, but these are highly questionable figures in relation to what would be expected away from Audi. As well as damaging your finances, it seems that this has the potential of damaging your well-being, and safeguarding that as best you can, is vital. Not that it matters, but let’s say I have many years of retirement behind me! - and I’m still learning how best to manage my well being, and now at the stage where I realise it is so important. We hope to talk you through all of this Sarah, as best we can remotely. Take care and kind regards, Gareth.

Oh blinking heck Sarah - £4.5K work necessary. What on earth is wrong with this car, and what mileage has it covered, what service history does it have, and how long have you owned it? In terms of renewing the battery - did Halfords test results show it to be below par? If so, I’ve recently bought a couple of Exide batteries from Tayna Batteries. I usually buy via. their EBay listing where the postage is free, and the code SAVES8 might still work to give you an extra 8% off. If you give them your reg. no. then they will direct you to the correct battery, but beware, they will promote their own Enduroline brand which will be more expensive than the good quality correct Exide one. Audi’s £450!! I’d need gas and air! Obviously just come back with any queries to avoid paying more than you need for anything. Kind regards, Gareth.

I guess you’ve asked your nearest Audi dealer for an E-mailed print out of the computerised service history. Probably worth having the VIN to hand Incase its previously been on a cherished plate.

OK Peter, So you will need to get it serviced annually, and I find its best to get it serviced a month before the MOT is due, so the vehicle gets a good check over to minimise the risk of any undue surprises with the MOT. You didn’t say when it was last serviced and what was done at that service. This will be important to know what you will need at the next service. When you say -‘independent garage’, will that be a VAG independent specialist, or an ‘ordinary’ garage. Kind regards, Gareth.

Welcome to the Audi Owners Club ! Good to have you onboard. Hello Mark, Thanks for posing the interesting question, and sorry to have to ask some questions before responding:- 47k example - ‘ready by beginning of December’. Why, and what is being done to the vehicle that delays its availability? Could be a simple explanation that it’s not coming in in part exchange until then, or more sinister, it’s undergoing mechanical or body repairs. Have you seen the vehicle in the flesh, or if not viewed the service history print out, and enquired about its ownership history, and in particular how long the last owner has owned it for. 15K example:- same as above in terms of viewed/ not viewed-? With an annual mileage of less than 4K, this vehicle should have been serviced on an annual schedule. Beware, it may not have been serviced annually, and just had ( or may not have had even) - one service in its lifetime. Although low mileage is an attraction (and I’m not commenting on the £3.5k premium), it’s worth giving some thought that the vehicle is likely to have been operating over short journeys when it seldom gets up to operating temperature, and may therefore had more of a mechanical hammering that a vehicle doing a much higher mileage over long trips at optimum operating conditions. Are these vehicles being bought ‘remotely’ rather than locally? If so, then in my book, doing your homework is essential, and at least requesting e-mailed copies of service history printouts before travelling to view. Being cynical, it’s surprising how such evidence seems to disappear once you actually view. Kind regards, Gareth.

Welcome to the Audi Owners Club ! Good to have you onboard. Hello Peter, Could you please let us know what your anticipated annual mileage will be, and what service history came with the vehicle, when it was last serviced (when and at what mileage), and what service items were renewed at that service, Also:- will you be carrying out your own servicing, having it serviced at a main dealer, independent, or local garage? Kind regards, Gareth.