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I know the op might not be here anymore, but for others here: I recently had the chance to drive two identical specked 2024 A3’s, both built within a month of each other with identical speck, 1.5tfsi DSG, with very similar mileage. The only difference was one was running a set of new Bridgestone Potenza Sport, the other was on a new set of new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6. Both were on 235/35R19 V91 After driving for over a month on different road conditions both cars, the difference in tires was quite noticeably different. The Goodyear were noticeably quieter and felt more comfortable on our rough UK pot holed roads, the Bridgestones by comparison felt harsher and noticeably noisier, handling wise, not that they were pushed to their extreme, the Bridgestone felt better cornering in the dry, but I personally preferred the Goodyear in the wet on the bends. I was not expecting to notice much difference between the two, but a difference of tire brand made the cars feel completely different to drive on a daily basis, the Goodyear were far better for me.

Hi just thought i would let everyone know and stop all the confusion on the virtual cockpit with headlights in Europe. just been to 9 countries on a road trip and never got flashed for my headlights. left them on auto and turned off high beam assist . started the car in France and the headlights automatically adjusted themselves gong by the gps. switched over from mph to kmh in mmi. enjoyed our first long journey in the A4 of approx. 1900kmh. it took me ages to get response from Audi about headlights and found out from my neighbour who works for VW. happy travels.

I believe those symptoms are severe enough to justify rejecting the car and asking for a refund.

Believing the rings are worn is not the same as having evidence of it. In your position I would carry out a compression test before making any decisions.

Apologies for the gripe, but the forum has recently suffered from a spate of what can be termed ‘Post and Run’ new members, who seem to think it’s perfectly acceptable to post a plea for help, and simply not return to view the help given. In a more diluted form, help is offered, but is very rarely acknowledged even via. a simple press of the Like button, leave alone a posted Thank You. The last part of the gripe is that we frequently have to ask for additional information, and this extra detail often never materialises. Please remember, everyone who posts replies do so without payment, but it certainly does cost them in time - in terms of the Moderators and Admin back up - a lot of time. So a special plea to all on here who post needing help:- please be respectful enough to acknowledge any help given, rather than simply accept it as a no-cost, no time of yours, free advice service. It’s wearing thin folks, so if you want to retain this service, please respect and acknowledge its benefits. Thank you all for reading this, and above all, agreeing to adhere to the respect that is needed to be shown. Kind regards, On behalf of the Moderators. Please note:- This request is to all members, not just new ones. p.s. Please avoid using non specific locations such as U.K., England etc. etc.

So the key information for this part is its M12 x 1.5 pitch x 120mm. Tough times call for tough measures. Could N90924103 be used instead? As far as I can see the only difference is it’s 130mm. It’s a subframe bolt, so will be torque to yield and have the strength characterises of the original bolt. Remove 10mm off end, clean thread, etc.

Good morning Josh, Let me start by pointing out that you are in grave danger of discouraging others to help and advise you due to the unfortunate attitude you display in your last paragraph. Only you know the absolute facts about the circumstances you find yourself in, and other’s interpretation will be based solely on your ability to clearly convey those facts in a written form. The use of capitals (and particular bold capital) in the context you use them - on this forum and most others are taken as a demonstration of frustration against those who are trying to be constructive, and that is both rude and unacceptable. You emphasise NEW ENGINE (your caps), and Power Engines, but don’t quantify what you mean by ‘new engine’. Could this be totally ‘new’ à la ex VAG, stripped and fully reconditioned and fully bench tested, or simply removed from a scrapped vehicle, given a power wash down, wrapped in clingfilm and sold as ‘new’ I.e. new to you. I think it would be worth you walking back to the first bus stop Josh, and giving yourself a chance to reconsider what you write. Thanks and kind regards, Gareth.

Single VIN is £169. If you have other Audis or VWs (works on Skoda, SEAT, Bentley and Lamborghini) then 3-VIN version is £222. You get different bundles. Get one with a plastic box, as the brains is the USB Hex-2 cable, so it keeps it safe. Order from Gendan. As mentioned - lifetime updates for the VCDS software. Occasionally the dongle hardware needs updated too. Regards the air-con flap, then scan car first to determine if it's motor or linkage. Either way you're going to be stripping down. Once you have an ID you can search YouTube to get location. Suspect it's not programming as such, but adaptation procedure once the new software is installed so everything works in sync.

Zac. It is not advisable to buy secondhand gearboxes for a car of that age, unless direct from a transmission reconditioning company. They will all be worn or damaged no matter what the seller tells you. Before buying any more gearboxes I suggest you get the car onto a diagnostic code reader to find out what is wrong. It may be that repair of the existing box will be cheaper than a reconditioned one or the purchase of another car.

With thanks to all on this thread for sharing their thoughts and experiences, but particularly to Frank for his engaging and descriptive posts, I have taken the plunge and bought a new S5. I collected it yesterday so this is a short note focused on my car history and the S5 buying process rather than a detailed review. My recent cars have been estates and SUVs: Skoda Octavia VRS (2L turbodiesel); Audi S4 Avant (3L petrol); Mercedes GLC AMG 43; and my current car a 2022 Subaru Outback. The GLC taught me that I prefer an estate to an SUV, and as much as I admire the Outback for its efficiency, ruggedness and sheer “go anywhere in any weather” nature, the performance is a little benign even for a very recent retiree. So my new car is an S5 Avant Black Edition with Tech Pack and red brake calipers in Mythos Black metallic with the black interior. As a post-Build Week 2/26 car it comes with the mid-model-year factory updates including the revised multifunction steering wheel with physical/tactile buttons and scroll wheel replacing the gloss-black haptic touch sliders; the updated chassis and software calibration featuring the rear-biased Dynamic+ Mode; and the updated driver assistance packages, including Adaptive Cruise Assist Pro with assisted lane changes. Happy to comment further on these changes if there is interest once I have fathomed them out! I bought the car brand new through the drivethedeal brokerage with a significant discount; it was listed on their website as a “Special Deal” which usually means there is only one car or a handful of cars available at the price. It clearly benefited not only from the Audi Finance contribution but also from favourable end Q2 support. Happy to share the price if anyone is interested (it was publically available on the drivethedeal website). I offered my local dealer the opportunity to match it to be told that they could not get within £8K. The car isn’t my ideal spec - I would have liked the clever glass roof and adaptive suspension but there were no Vorsprung available with similar financial incentives. And I know metallic black is a difficult colour to look after, but again that was the only colour available on an Avant with this discount. Beyond the initial contact, all my dealings including finance and payment were made direct with the supplying Audi main dealer. I don’t think I can name them, but they were extremely professional both before and during collection, and gave me the full handover experience including a reveal and detailed walkthrough of the car. I then drove 230 miles home on a range of roads. My very initial thoughts echo everything I have read here: very nice drive; feels like lots of power (I haven’t ventured there yet given a running in period), more compliant then expected ride; and lots and lots and lots (!) of tech to learn! Whilst significantly shorter than the Outback, with mirrors folded the S5 is slightly wider - which I will need to become comfortable with very quickly as my narrow allocated parking space is between two walls! I think the camera/parking aids will help here. So my Outback goes to its new owner on Friday and I will focus on learning and enjoying the S5. I plan to offer further thoughts on the forum as I gain more understanding of the car, and really look forward to reading your continued contributions.

Hi, this may or may not be of interest to anyone, but I have finally managed to fix the issue about a month ago. Here's the summary: Electronic parking brake on the left side stopped working more than six months ago. There was a warning on the dash ("parking brake malfunction") accompanied by a loud beep every time I turned the ignition on. I have unplugged the wire from the electric motor on the left. The same warning remained on the dash. Parking brake on the other side was working correctly. Then life and other things got in the way and I did not do anything to rectify the issue, except for making sure that the wire does not dangle under the car and the socket on the electric motor is waterproofed (plastic bags and zip ties). I continued to use the car daily. I kept using the parking brake as and when required and it was still holding the car even on fairly steep inclines, even though it was only working on one side. I finally got some spare time and replaced the electric motor and also the plug with about 20cm of wiring. Apparently it is not unusual for this to rust and cause issues. I only bought the cheapest plug and the cheapest parking brake motor I could find on ebay (probably about £30 total). Fitted the parts, but the parking brake still did not work. As it happens it was engaging, but not disengaging. So in the end I replaced the brake caliper. Again, the cheapest one I could find, which was about £60. I replaced brake discs and pads at the same time, but only because they were quite worn (this was not related to parking brake issue). After I replaced the caliper the parking brake issue was resolved. The warning disappeared from the dash and I did not need to reset any faults with the code reader. Also, the parking brake is now almost silent when engaging/disengaging. To the point that when I first tried it after fitting the new parts I thought it was not working at all (it was fairly audible before). It has been about a month now and all is well. I almost miss the loud beep that accompanied the ignition being turned on every time when the fault was still present. PS. If anyone is replacing the rear brake discs, there are some videos and guides on the internet that tell you to remove the brake caliper carrier, but you can actually wiggle the disc out carefully without removing the bracket or damaging the disc.

Nevertheless the car needs to be scanned on a decent code reader as Steve suggested. Warning lights on the dash are not enough to diagnose faults.

Hi the low pressure problem, the only way to check is to get it scanned and check the oil pressure on live data, if its the oil can in red on the dash then you have a problem as it could need a new oil pump, worse case, or the strainer on the pump will have to be cleaned, but either way its a sump off job, replacing the PCV may well cure your problem with the smoke but I would be inclined to get the injection checked first along with the EGR function as I am not sure which engine you have but all the later models had the PCV built in to the rocker cover which will mean a new cover. Steve.

The refridgerant gas has probably leaked out from a hole or a worn pump seal. Get the system pressure tested for leaks, and repair as necessary, before having any remaining gas sucked out and replaced with the correct weight of refridgerant. I suggest using an aircon specialist rather than an Audi dealer.

I had an issue in January a couple of weeks after taking delivery of the same model - warning lights and limp home mode advised during a short journey. Similar story - dealer couldn't book me in for three weeks, but advised calling Audi Roadside Assistance. I did this, and a couple of hours later the technician arrived, ran diagnostics and discovered a software issue that was fixed with an update. Might be worth a call to Assistance to see if they can come out and at least diagnose the problem.

Personally I would change them. The old oil will give you a chance to detect metal particles, while if it is clean you will have only lost the cost of the oil. Nobody ever had a breakdown as a result of changing oil too often.

Loss of stop/start and radio presets are typical of a dying battery. Get it tested on deep discharge equipment, and if a new battery is needed get it coded to the car.

It's true I can not help you Josh if you are not prepared to either do any testing or provide suitable information to aid a possible diagnosis. If all you want is speculation and guesses then you don't need my help. After all you claim to be "fairly car literate and I'm usually able diagnose and know the problem..." I looked up Power Engines and saw the company supply new and re-conditioned engines, so can you be sure the engine you received was genuinely new? The company lists this for your car: https://powerengines.com/collections/all?filter.p.m.custom.make=Audi&filter.p.m.custom.model=Q5&filter.p.m.custom.year_multi_selects=2016 The price of $3199 is impossibly low for a brand new engine, even before it is shipped from Germany, so what do you conclude from that?

Hi I would get someone else to check if the system has any gas in it, most independent garages have a decent aircon machine and will check it by seeing if it has ay gas and then pressure checking the system for leaks chances are its either run low on gas or has a hole in the radiator either way Cliff was correct when he said they can't block, therefore I would give the ZOONS at Halfords a wide birth. Steve.

In the end John beggars can't be choosers. If the Spareto part is all that is available I would take a chance on it or go with Gareth's suggestion of a longer bolt with a nut. As long as you get the right clamping force between the two components you will meet the designed strength requirements.

Thank you for your great responses. I am still learning the car but have some time in it tomorrow (we are going away for the weekend) so I will try to check how the car responds in the various scenarios you have recorded and let you know.

Finally a question I can answer quickly! Yes, I have this version of installed software also.

Count yourself lucky its not the V10. The V8 is generally reliable, however you're buying a 2016-2018 supercar, so it's been around. History is everything. If there's more paperwork than a Brexit export, then you're on the right lines. If the tyres are on the legal limit and brakes need a refresh, then be aware it will be expensive and more importantly question why? Simply saying RS6 seems to add £2k to everything. I'd want the car scanned first off with VCDS to see if there's any historical DTC errors logged. This is a performance car so oil changes every 5-8k miles. In terms of issues. Air intake valves can carbon up. You could treat it to a walnut blast. It's sensor heavy, so if original battery, factor in replacement. It needs coded to car and vented. If panoramic roof, check drain holes. Run mild detergent down them (exit above hinge on front door) and behind rear wheel arch liner. VAG have specific grease for sunroof. Also clean rubber seals. Assuming LED headlights. Potentially LED matrix if later car. Then check operation. Dipping light adjustment on start up is normal, but any further sporadic movent underway points to damaged or siezed height adjustment sensors. Servicing, diffs could use gear oil change. Depends on mileage. It's a ZF 6-speed transmission, but there will be a filter kit, so unless evidence of having it done, factor in. Cooling, apparently this thing has multiple radiators, fans and oil coolers. All are prone to wear and tear. If the car was remapped, be very wary.

I had the same last week with my car at a main dealer. I was told the battery was due to be changed, yet it is only five months old and perfectly good. I was told two tyres needed to be changed, yet a local tyre shop that I know to be sound said they were more than legal and refused to sell me new tyres. Warnings of significant wear are all well and good, but to pervert those advance warnings to a need for immediate action is deception, to put it mildly, but typical of main dealers.

Hi there is only one VCDS, I would recommend the single VIN version if you intend to keep the car, the OBDEleven is a lot cheaper but of late I have found this system will do what you want but only if you have the Pro subscription which is over £100 a year therefore the VCDS represents better value as once purchased its yours with free updates. Steve.

Yeah I will just change everything, from what I can see it look like it might be coming from the plastic flange bit that connects to the egr cooler, I think there is another plastic piece behind that aswell (back towards the inside of the car ) but not sure what that's called

Hi its obviously in its early stages, the reason it is slipping in higher gears is because of the torque load in higher gears, it used to be the old way of testing the clutch, find a nice hill and change up to early floor the throttle and if the clutch was good the engine would labour, if not it revved up, I would get it checked ASAP as when the clutch slips it creates a phenomenal increase in gearbox temps and cooks the rear crank seal which is a whole different story, having had it happen to me I can say its not a good day out. Steve.

Thanks, In my book, it would be most important to get any hesitations and delays sorted, before resorting to any degree of mapping.

Hi any warning light even if appears and disappears warrants investigation as the way the software works on Audis is it monitors faults and severity until they come up a maximum of ten times this then defeats the unlearning counter therefore it becomes a permanent code and possibly limp mode, now that you have announced its petrol I would definitely check the injectors but I do suspect if it smokes when accelerating hard it may be worn piston rings, get a compression test done to rule that out. Steve.

Just a small update, while waiting for the ecu to arrive, nearly all wiring that is not required has been removed. The ecu will go behind the glovebox as thats where the engine wiring will come through. The column switches will probably be removed, as the new switches will be on the new steering wheel.

Thank you..

hi gareth. thanks for getting back so quickly no problem, any and all advice is appreciated, seen a few youtube vids and im hooked on the Q7 or even the SQ7 if its right. Just want to know what to expect on the “older” models Maintenance wise. regards Owen

Failure of flap motors/linkages crops up regularly in these forums, so I'd agree that's the place to look first.

I'm sure I've seen this with other new Audi models. I think there's a software update for the issue.

Reducing the trim and features seems to be a policy with vag cars. Latest gti does not have an automatic bonnet stay or dipstick. You can buy them separately if you want to retrofit.

Hello Paul, Battery needs to be replaced. Bought from a trader? Regards, Gareth.

Hi I would from these figures assume the battery is well on its way anything below 85% SOC and with availability of 25AH is definitely wrong, how old is the battery? Steve.

Hi the idea of publishing the codes you have is to narrow down the components that may be causing this, you say that the vehicle was laid up for two years and you have blown two HPFPs therefore I would suggest that the high pressure side is in overrun which is eminently checkable on live data, my guess is that its the fuel pressure regulator playing about, this meters the fuel pressure within the rail and is electro mechanical therefore it can stick slightly and cause insufficient fuel to the rail causing flat spots or stick wide open and the HPFP tries to keep up with what it thinks is demand, the return system just loses what it won't use, using live data check the rail pressure at idle and then through the rev range and see if the figures add up, don't know what the rail pressures should be ideally on the DETA engine you have but I know if the lift pump in the tank is high around 600lpm you have a problem further up. Steve.

Hi tried to watch the video but it won't play maybe a photo would be better? Steve.

As far as I know it's just the strainer/filter, and a new gasket for the transmission sump. This is quite a good video - regards the transmission brace especially. If it's on the ramp - then check the prop-shaft mount for any play.

Now free to anyone who can collect, if not they will be going in the scrap pile.

That's not a symptom; that's supposition. Is it the same temperature from every vent, or just one? What happens when the temperature setting is raised to hot.

The cooling system of AC does not block up. It commonly loses its gas through leaks, or the compressor can fail, or the belt can snap. Perhaps it is an air duct that has been blocked by a failed flap motor. Please give some symptoms of the problem.

Thanks to all for taking the time to reply to my post its much appreciated. I do not know how accurate this snippet of information an Audi technican told me but here goes The electric fuel pump is designed to be submerged in fuel to help cooling issues so even when 0 miles is showing there can still be as much as 7 litres still in the tank. Also apparently in Germany running out of fuel on the Autobahn is an offence so this also allows the driver some 60 miles to refill should the car say 0 miles. Either way thanks all at least I know Ive not been short changed with a smaller fuel tank!!

Martin Interesting post re the costs and benefits....or pitfalls....of using an Audi specialist to service and maintain your car rather than an Audi Main Dealership. May I record my experiences of using an Audi Specialist Independent. I have owned 4 Audis in the past 20 years, all bought from new . An Audi A8, 2 Q8's and my present car, a 2026 S5 Avant. I am a fastidous owner and like to keep my cars in the very best condition. Not a fan at all of Audis....or any other main stream manufactures " long term servicing regimes ". Hence I generally have and have had a service and most imprortantly an oil change every 7 / 8000 miles. I have never used an Audi Main dealer for any services all 4 cars. The reasons are that I am fortunate to have near a superb Audi Independent Garage that I know and trust. Of course their servicing rates are a fraction of what Audi charge but more importantly to me , I truly believe that my cars are better looked and maintained to a higher standard than at the Audi garage. Also may I just add that the premise that by going down the Independent route, could affect the cars resale has not been the case with me. On my last 2 Q8's I did what most folk do and went on the WeBuyAnyCars website to find out a rough resale value . I then found a couple of Indendent dealers who specialised in more " higher end " pre owned cars. Both were pretty exacting on what cars they would actually put on their website and both were quite happy that the cars had been service their entire lives with an Independent. On both cars the important and deciding factor with the Dealers was that the Independent had a known reputation, used genuine Audi parts and was able to log on and record the services on the Audi Sevice regimes. And in fact, on both cars I was offered more than the WeBuyAnycars recommended price. So I think the main dealer stamp in the old service book was quite important once but not so much now. Just my 2 penneth.

Hello Peter, Wondering why you aren’t returning this under-warranty vehicle to the dealer, rather than getting paid-for 3rd party involvement -? Regards, Gareth.

Hiya James So sorry to hear of your current problems with your A5 Avant. My take on it is the same as quite a few fellow owners here and as I believe you have stated yourself. My car, like yours, looks good in my opinion, is well screwed together , is comfortabe and drives well. BUT.....software, software, software !!!!! seem to be the overiding bugbear at the moment. Compared to yours, mine has had relatively limited problems. I occasionally receive a flash up on the front screen at start up to indicate that some systems are unavailable or have failed. They barely hang around for milliseconds before they disappear and the car starts up and is fine. The A5 range was I believe brought into the UK in late 2024 so yours is a relatively newish example. And because of that , may be it suffers from early software production problems ? I presume your Dealership has confirmed that you have the latest updated software ? Also , I do understand your discontent with the car. The software should have been sorted before the car was available and Audi have some questions to answer here as it seems this problem prevails in other models. Take a look at Martin Innes current problem with his new Q3 on that Forum. Think I have already mentioned this a few times so I hope I'm not being boring here but I came to the S5 from owning 2 Q8's owned over a 6 year period. Had zilch problems , software or mechanical in either car. Both felt robust and well sorted but the MMI and software was much simpler than the stuff we have on our A/ S 5's. It's technology and the future I'm afraid and aint it grand ! Hope you get your car sorted and you can enjoy it's undoubted driveability again

There’s an aftermarket upgrade to the MMI & maps you can get. Not sure if it dies anything with the DAB radio but you could ask: Satnavmapupdates.co.uk MMIupdates.com I used the 1st one to update my maps but don’t know if it did anything to the radio.

Hi LT Sorry to hear that you are suffering from the same issue. I am lead to believe that there are about 5-6 rubber grommets underneath that need to be removed to allow water to drain out of the sills. I believe they are hidden under the underbody protector. The water is getting in to them from the front offside wheel arch (see the TSB from Audi u.s.a as mentioned by others) I will attach it to this note if I can. You will need a borescope/laparoscope to see inside the area that is shown, I got one from Amazon for £23. The electrics you need to concern yourself with are under the drivers seat under a plastic plate (See my pictures in earlier posts) Be careful as the yellow one is the airbag! If I can be of anymore assistance get back to me. Good luck Mark MC-10178440-0001.pdf

I've now contacted the BBC Watchdog program to see if they will take an interest in this issue.