Stevey Y

Hi Don I am really pleased for you with a bit of persistence and using the right equipment you have saved yourself ££££££ and not had the discomfort of listening to the teeth sucking build up of a dealership technician winding the bill up. It makes me laugh when I am told that diagnostics can be the route to buying unnecessary parts, not if you know A how it works B why it works in this case you removed the dodgy sensors which dug up the root cause the DPF, I can thoroughly recommend an additive to use every fill up which not only gives better MPG and power, its called Hydra Maximus I get through about a litre every two months but as a private car owner one litre will probably last a year or so, it keeps everything clean and makes the soot particles smaller therefore less regeneration. Keep up the good work and save yourself money these vehicles are the same as any other diesel but much better built. Steve.

Hi Don, I had a look on my system but dear Audi only list the sensor as one part which includes the bracket and the pipe they don't list them separately, the pipe only has clips on either end so logic says measure the inside diameter of the pipe and if need be replace it with the same gauge silicon pipe, thats what I did on the boost sensor pipes on my last Ford, the only place you could get the pipes from was Ford for £104.00 the pair so I used aftermarket silicon pipe £13.00 they outlasted my ownership of the car and 160,000 miles. Steve.

Hi Don, also check that the rubber hose between the MAP and the manifold is not blocked as I am informed that it is wise to change the hose with the MAP I will try and get you the part number for the hose. Steve.

Hi Arron, after owning three diesel cabs equipped with DPFs and having covered 750k between them I have got a pretty fair idea of what goes on, they are all different the worst one being my 2.2 Titanium x sport Mondeo, one night I was late going to Gatwick for a pick up so I had become stuck on one of our local B roads, so the car had just started a regeneration I threw a left up a side road, there was some poor soul on the grass verge on the corner letting his dog take a leak, as I looked back he was completely engulfed in a large cloud of whitish grey smoke, basically three days worth of ash, the car normally did this on the motorway in small puffs when accelerating it was quite spectacular in slower motion, the exhaust pressure is high on the motorway which evacuates the ash, same pressure when booting it up a side road. Steve.

Hi if you can get the original AUDI part number and plumb that in to eBay or similar that will probably throw up a lot of branded parts made by other manufacturers, your garage is correct in what they say the EGR is supposed to shut off under hard acceleration as the engine needs as much fresh air as it can get but the cheap valves leak exhaust gas in to the system at higher revs which pollutes the air fuel mixture thus you have a contaminated compressed charge which won't burn well hence no power, the by product of this is you will eventually kill the cat and turbo as they were never designed to run like that. Steve.

Hi its quite normal its the DPF clearing its ash load, the smell is quite normal as well they all do it, its less spectacular on the euro six engines but noticeable all the same. Steve.

Hi Don if you can give me your milage and the codes that came up this time, I suspect that where the MAP/MAF situation was ongoing the car probably needed a regeneration which would be declined as the MAP/MAF not communicating would be classed as a major fault so the whole lot goes into default until the problem is cured I personally would give the car a forced regeneration after first clearing the codes [otherwise it won't do it] and see what occurs after that, did you do the adaption of the new MAF, I don't know what diagnostics platform you are using so am flying a bit blind. Regards Steve.

Hi you won't need vagcom to bleed them its as you say start at the furthest but I can highly recommend bleeding both at once as they will be on separate diagonal circuits so if you bleed them as a pair there is less chance of air swapping from one circuit to another. Steve.

Well done and you went for the pro pack, that will expand your capabilities as well as the facility to check once a month to head off any up and coming problems all at a fraction of the cost of VCDS. Its probably the best entry level set up I have seen for a long time and they are constantly updating the system, I have often thought recently of buying it but my phone is just about banged out with work APPS but I am rapidly thinking it might be worth an extra phone just to run that. Steve.

Hi Ann anything to do with a pressure washer and electrically operated things is bad news, the labour charge is reasonable, and as for the boot is it not opening from the outside/inside button or the key fob ? the clicking could be a dry C.V.joint or just a stone wedged in the tyre tread. Regards Steve. ps the new all electric cars are impressive until they go wrong and you are forced to use dealers to fix them I don't think anyone on here including me would have a clue about repairs.

Hi you can just buy the piston part of the calliper without the motor which is removable and it works out cheaper, yes Stark is a well respected parts manufacturer in Europe. Steve

Hi, no worries but once you have fitted the new MAP I would recommend doing the relearn on the MAF so they get to know each other again, wish you luck and success. Steve.

Its confusing, I see what you mean, my old Mondeo Titx sport diesel had twin exhaust one either side and they were BIG as the idea of that is to clear the gas quicker as diesels require virtually no back pressure, the petrol version had the same set up but the tailpipes looked like peashooters to maintain the back pressure required, therefore why cant you have a four pipe set up as it really wouldn't matter as its all about rapid gas evacuation. Perhaps it might be worth researching a custom made conversion if you already have the hole for the dummy pipes.

Hi sounds like a combination of DMF and release bearing noise but being as it gets louder when the clutch is depressed my money would be on the release bearing preparing to let go, either way I would change the whole lot before it goes terminal. Steve.

Hi sorry just hazarding a guess I didn't realise that Audi were going the same way as the Blue Oval cheap theatrical props to imitate a sporting heritage revisited, I can now see why you are so pixxed off with it, if I had paid what you have for that car I would expect the full Monty exhaust as well, sorry for the misunderstanding. Regards. Steve

Hi, when you say fake do you mean one side has visible silver plates in the tail pipes, if so I think you might find these open up when the car is being revved at high speed say on a motorway this is to allow the gas to escape more quickly and they shut down around town to channel the exhaust and the noise through the other side only more quietly in urban areas, I cant see Audi or any other manufacturer fitting a high quality steel baffle box that does nothing. Steve.

Cheers mate, I hope it pans out for you, the problem is its armchair diagnostic that has come from experience and sometimes I can get it wrong but can only advise on the info given I wish you luck.

Hi please let us know the outcome and include a video of the mechanic going purple if its wrong, be lucky Gareth. Steve.

Hi sorry for the late reply, the MAP is on the right hand rear of the engine it is quite easy to spot as it sits up on its own little bracket with a rubber pipe running up to it, your car has the same engine as mine so have a look on eBay for Audi part no 04L 906 051, that will give you an idea what to look for in the engine bay and if the part numbers match happy days. Steve. PS right hand rear when standing at front of car.

Hi, ask your mechanic if he has the equipment to do the readapting process try that first it is possible the previous owner did not do this, as you seem to report no other codes with regard to the EGR unless you have a flag for it leave all alone, it may be that if the adaptation won't work it could be a Chinese special from eurocarparts, educate your self and go on youtube and plumb in VAG throttle body adaptation and you will see what I am on about. Regards Steve.

Hi Gareth its the oldest formula in the book, familiarity breeds contempt, when you present the interlocked rings for their inspection you can almost see their eyes light up, you come across as a bright chap most electricians are, try the following as you are not a hostage but a customer, tell them you will get the bearing done another time but you now require to see a printout of their diagnostic reading and codes then check with the AA what their engineers code reading produced as he will have had to have submitted a report of the call out if it was a rail sensor as described present this to your garage and demand that they change that part before any others and if possible be there when they change it, you are paying for this so you should get what you want, I cant see as you cant realistically see how the AA with some of the finest kit known to man would get it wrong. Steve.

Did the garage or whoever fitted it readapt the new throttle via the diagnostics as if you don't do this when its fitted it will run like bag of nails. Steve.

Hi this sounds a bit far fetched, but the two code given are for MAF and MAP Sensors from experience I have found its the MAP that is the problem its information is not correlating with the information given to the ECU by the MAF sensor I.E. MAF equals air pressure and ambient temperature of the air going into the engine, MAP equals the air pressure and ambient temperature of the air taken in when it reaches the inlet manifold if these figures do not agree closely it will throw up high readings on the MAF as this is reading correctly but the MAP is probably full of grunge and cant read the MAF readings correctly so it sends a message to the ECU telling it that the MAF readings are implausible therefore it must be defective. Regards Steve.

Hi, sorry to point out the obvious but this stinks, if you take into consideration the car has ceased to run that would most possibly be the fuel rail metering sensor packed up, this means that the fuel rail is getting no pressure hence no running, on the flip side the only way injectors would cause that type of occurrence is if all four suffered catastrophic failure simultaneously and the chances of that are about the same as me becoming the next Pope. What has led me to this conclusion is that I have been using diagnostic software for years and if its a run off between the garages machine and the AA equipment its a no brainer, the AA use Bosch state of the art tough books which I am told by a friend of mine who is a patrolman are about twelve grands worth to the AA new, I once tried to buy one on eBay and fell off bidding when second hand it made five grand at three years old. Sorry I think the garage is pulling your chain, if it was just one injector you would have had an engine management light up a while ago and pix poor fuel consumption and extremely rough running they don't just pack up and even if it did the thing would still run on three cylinders, the fuel rail sensors are pretty easy to change you won't need a ramp just a suitable large ring spanner, if I were you I would be looking at the old sensors and get the part numbers off and go shopping on eBay thats my usual MO, as for the wheel bearing how the hell would they know if its knackered if you cant drive the car. Regards Steve.

Hi Clifford, the basic version of OBDEleven is about £60 which is no great expense under the general scheme of things as it is highly commended and performs a multitude of tasks it is also small enough to store in the glove box for when however infrequently your car goes wrong should you need it and from my perspective represents a massive saving when you consider how much it is just for a plug in and then they charge you more plus the part to fix it. With regard to people who know nothing about cars yes they do appear on this forum normally with a code at best and a hope that someone might educate them on the probable cause and possible fix, some of these people will have a desire to learn and help themselves in future and continue to contribute to this forum, others are looking for an instant fix which we all realise is impossible based on the lack of cogent information, they normally disappear after one post, some of the others will reply again so therefore is it not best policy to condemn their lack of knowledge but be patient and try and help them to help themselves, one of the most aggravating terms I have come across on any forum is the initial term, I am new to this be gentle with me, they have a problem and need advice, there are a good few forums this one being the exception where anyone who posts what appears to be an inane description is torn to pieces verbally, such are the vagaries of social media some people use it vent their own personal frustrations on others. Steve.