Stevey Y

Hi Malc, I like the statement under tuned, thats whats known in the trade as the reliability factor the car manufacturers always bump up the BHP when testing to insane levels until engine components systematically fail they will address these problems by using another stronger component or beefing up things like con rods etc then when they are happy that these things will no longer break in that level of tune they then reverse the tuning by about 40% this is the reliability factor, they then go on a massive road trip through various climates throughout the world testing thing such as aircon performance and dust sensitivity of climate control, we then get to colder hemispheres where the cabin and engine cooling systems are trialed for efficiency and passenger comfort over what ends up as starship milage, all this data is logged and collated to give an overall assessment of the vehicles suitability for every market they are ever likely to sell their cars in, small design changes for colder climates are made by the addition of engine block heaters and fuel fired cabin pre heaters. As for the remap that is a personal decision, I am not a massive fan personally but there are others who will tell you whatever I say is rubbish but from what I have witnessed over my lifetime they can be a complete disaster, go faster chip boxes at the lower end of the scale all work on the same principle, they go between the fuel rail and the fuel rail temperature sensor these devices send back a signal to the ECU that the engine is cold so the fuel enrichment device stays on, yes you get more power but the end result is over fuelling which gets fuel into the sump oil and destroys the oil lubricity in record time this = premature engine wear. We then get to the type of remap that involves removing the ECU and replacing microprocessors in the unit all well and good until you consider that the two most expensive production parts on a car are the interior and the microprocessors in the ECU they pay top dollar for the latter to gain the reliability they require, the one thing I know for certain is these companies cant afford the same microprocessors although they will tell you theirs are better than the manufacturers this is rubbish as the manufacturer sourced microprocessor is capable of executing a command ten times faster than microprocessors on a commercial airliner. Then there is the remap device through the OBD port these were always less problematic as the map can be retrieved to the loading device and the car goes back to the normal mapping, as I say its a personal choice but you cant get away from the old advice, if you want fast buy factory fast as they have spent billions developing fast and reliable and would not leave massive power gains on the table for some company to pick up with some trick software and charge you £300-500 to install, do you not consider that people like Audi would not rather have that themselves by selling a retrofit software, they won't do it because remaps inherently involve more fuel at some point which raises emissions and eats into the reliability factor, plus the fact they would have to have a statutory warranty can you imagine how many people would be screaming when it goes horribly wrong, just look at the current emissions scandal. well thats my ten pence worth and realistically not everyone would agree, thats the privilege of democracy and free speech. Regards Steve.

Hi possibly the lift pump in the fuel tank that would throw up those sort of codes, whats the milage?

Hi now we are getting somewhere it is possible the boost pressure sensor is defective but the Turbo whining is never good, what code did you come up with?, its hard to diagnose a problem from your armchair if you don't have ALL the information available. Regards Steve.

Hi I don't think putting Mr Muscle into the EGR will do it any favours, thats an old MK3 mondeo trick plus you have to drill a hole in the vane casing to put the stuff in and then tap the hole fitting the correct size screw and heatproof washer, you mentioned that the Turbine was squealing thats not good and a sure sign its about to go terminal, if you are getting boost at slower speed the actuator is probably ok but the Turbo itself is not. I think you are probably looking at a new Turbo unless you have any EML lit up in which case I would get the codes read before spending any money. Regards Steve.

Hi, I agree with Magnet, I have never changed a belt on an Audi but they all work on a similar principle the pre tensioners attached to the seatbelt spool will have some sort of explosive cylinder attached to yank the belt to a stop when you have a collision, the push button bit with the clip has the same thing which when activated pulls any slack in the belt back to keep you pinned to the seat. I have no idea about the torx bit sizes you may need but suffice to say that a good quality kit will cover most required sizes, the other thing I would do is disconnect the battery a couple of hours before working on this to allow the airbag module to drain down as you will be removing the multi plugs under the seat to facilitate the seat removal the plugs are invariably to do with the airbag system and if removed with a live electrical connection could activate the seat airbags or spike the airbag module, with regard to the anchor if that goes off due to the presence of current that is more than capable of removing portions of fingers, finally checking if your new anchor will need coding to the vehicle. Steve.

Hi Michelle, sorry to hear of your continuing problem but at least the recode has eliminated the battery as the source of the problem, based on your first post does the press the brake pedal to start keep appearing even when the car won't start? if so the pedal switch may be the problem as this lets the ECU know when its safe to start but I cant think why that has not thrown a code up but instead counted all the start failures, only thing I can suggest is try the mobile diagnostic as it is probable that they have a more in depth software that will expose the real problem. Regards Steve.

Hi I wouldn't take it personally, but in view of what you said in the first post there is not much to say really, other than yes it is indeed a lovely car and you hang around what looks very much like the Old Plough Car park on the A128 near Bulphan, try publishing some history of the car since you have owned it, any problems you have had with it or even any road trips, unfortunately most people who post on here have a problem and need advice on how to fix it, I don't wish any problems on you or the car but you might be better served getting in on conversations in the general chat section they are very friendly on this forum and for what its worth Welcome to the forum and I hope the combined knowledge of the members will one day be of help to you. Regards Steve.😃

Hi sorry for the late reply, the picture you supplied is indeed a boost sensor, if yours looks like that you are in, either way scrub the dirt off and get the part number then go fishing on eBay plumb in the Audi part number and it will give a good range of choices this way it will be a lot cheaper than the thieving scrotes at Audi or Eurocarparts. I am pretty sure that this item is plug in and play and won't need coding, I will check, if you have a problem deciphering which number is the part code either post a picture of your cleaned part so I can see the numbers or email me the VIN for your vehicle and I can't the number off of my system, Do not remove the old part until you have a new one as the pipes can be awkward to remove because they are crusty and may need persuading with a bit of hot soapy water Steve.

Hi Kev, sorry to hear of your problems, not that sixty is a problem, from a personal point of view I would be selling the cars that are run of the mill as if you look at the cars that were about when we were younger some of them now are making telephone number prices, I would keep the more exotic engined models as they might turn in a fair profit in years to come. Regards Steve.

Hi Conal, here goes fire up the VCDS go to Select top left corner, then go to 60 trunk electrics, go to 16 security access enter code 12345 and press do it, if code is accepted go to 10 adaptations and choose the functions you want there are four options depending on how long you want to press the button, highlight the option you want and it will tell you if it is active if inactive activate by pressing the drop down to activate and press do it, you might have to do this twice to get the other option you require. This worked on my A6 and I have no reason to believe it won't work on the A4, no coding required just adaptation there are a lot of different functions hidden away there because they were not chosen when the car was built, I know a lot of people talk about the green menu which is really only an engineers menu and if you get it wrong you can easily terminate the MMI. Steve.

Hi Michelle I am amused at garage number ones explanation for why you don't have to recode the battery its BULL as most of the cars I have owned since 2009 have had to have the battery monitor/counter reset when you fit a new unit, this is how the charging system works, the battery is coded to the car from new as the battery gets older it requires more charge from the alternator this is supervised by what is known as a smart charge system this will keep upping the voltage as it senses the battery becoming less able to maintain its optimum charge therefore it requires charge more often, this function ceases to be of any use once the battery cells become incapable of holding more than 68% of its charge therefore it makes it impossible to start as this draws the most amperage which in theory will drain whats left of the battery power quickly and cause the charging system to work far harder to catch up which at that point it never will, so it goes into its own protection mode, won't start, everything else will work until the battery is depleted. Now if you replace the battery without recoding yes everything will work but the smart charging thinks the battery has risen from the dead and carry on trying to charge at the higher rate which causes problems with the electrics, when recoding the software system VCDS will ask for information as to the make of the battery but mainly what amp hour and the cranking voltage and as long as its a couple of volts/amps within the original specification you can tell it that the replacement is the same as the old battery which makes the smart charge system happy as it now knows it has a new unit and this will only require less charge as it will have good storage capabilities, settling down will never happen as the charging system is not sophisticated enough to have self analysis capabilities so you have to tell it, the second guy seems a more tuned in proposition, I wish you luck. Steve.

Hi its a group that the members all add information to an app, example where average cameras are on your route, where there are traffic jams on your route, but more importantly they supply information about where the police have set up a mobile speed trap where they won't have normally, worth having its saved my licence on a number of occasions especially when you are coming down the motorway a bit tired it raises quite a loud alert way before you get to the site. Its called WAZE, I really hope you enjoy the new car be lucky. Steve.

Hi, the first thing I would check is the catalyst as often as not with some of these lunatic mapping boys they fillet the cat and anything else in the way then do a remap I suspect thats why the previous owner has sold it as the engine ages it becomes harder to keep the emissions down, normally these remaps leave the emissions within acceptable limits unless other elements within the exhaust system have been tampered with. Any reputable mapping companies such as Bluefin would have a suitable remap for your car but the problem is they are not cheap so check the physical items first, if you can contact the guy you bought it from and find out what was done and where it was done that would help, but again the problem is that a lot of these so called performance modifiers take the ECU out and change the chips in the unit which renders the unit scrap as once modified there is no road back the easiest route is buy a ECU from a scrapper that is the same year and model with the same part number as yours and get it coded to the car either way it won't be very cheap, the oldest advice in the world is if you want fast buy from the factory fast. Steve.

Hi, pay attention to average speed camera signs, and get Waze installed on your phone, other than that enjoy!

Hi, I have never worked on an A5 but the principles are the same as most other VAG diesels I once had to help a mate of mine with 14 plate superb which had just cut out for no apparent reason so I plugged it in it came up with a code for the HPFP having low pressure so this seemed the obvious answer, before he rushed off to spend £400 on a new one it suddenly occurs to me that the car may have a lift pump in the tank so we tested it by taking the supply pipe off of the HPFP and then placing the end in a bowl turned the ignition on with the pipe in the bowl and NOTHING the lift pump was not working which is why the low pressure code came up the high pressure pump was not receiving fuel from the tank, we changed the lift pump £105 and away it went. With regard to the shredded bits if they were gold in colour they all do that its brass from the core of the pump which under normal circumstances finds its way back to the fuel filter via the pump return pipe so it sits on the outside of the element where it cant do any damage as it cant get through the walls of the element because it is to dense, depending on the milage it is not a bad shout changing the high pressure pump as I have seen some real horror stories where people have left them until they rattle fit to bust and the car runs badly due to the wear fluctuations in the pump. advise don't run the engine whilst checking the lift pump as running dry will kill the new HP just ignition on no feet on pedals you only need the dash lights on. Steve.

Well done, the mobile Chappy is bound to be more knowledgable being as they specialise in your make of vehicle, voltage spikes are the Bain of any electrical system especially on cars they can trigger the most random problems, my money is on a lack of recoding so the Body Control Module has thrown a fit because its found something it doesn't like, but please keep us informed even if you only get as far as the codes as some where on this forum is the answer so at least you can go to a garage armed with the right information and they won't try and kid you its something else. I wish you luck, Steve.

Hi did he activate the boot from the switch in the driver side door or was it on the key fob?, I knew about the one in the door but you have to get out and close it which is a pain but if you have the little button centre of your key fob with the little car with the boot open chances are you can activate that function as I did with VCDS, its awesome as I use my car as a cab in bad weather you can open the boot remotely as soon as I arrive at a job sling the shopping in the boot and close it again on the remote whilst making a bolt for the drivers seat. BTW I used Gates kit on my two MK4 Mondeo cabs and in 600,000 miles never suffered a failure, the only failure I ever had was on a kit I bought from GSF as the belt and tensioner were gates but they did not have the Gtes water pump so they supplied me with a brand Airtex which started leaking within twenty thousand miles, when I took it back they claimed the warranty was out as it was two years or fifteen thousand miles where at least the Gates Full Monty kit is designed to last the life of the belt. Steve.

Hi when they fitted the new battery did you see them sit in the car afterwards with a laptop or similar and fiddle about with it that would have been the recoding, I was definitely not suggesting that you opened a major financial artery at an Audi dealers those guys are legalised highway men preying on the average car owner who often as not have no clue as to whats going on, hence these forums. As for the complexity of the Audis any newer car will be complex if you don't have the equipment to plug in and read them properly, I was thinking more along the lines of an independent specialist or better still a mobile diagnostics company as these guys normally have excellent software for every vehicle and charge an initial fixed payment for a diagnosis with a printout so at least even if you cant understand it a garage will if they are any good, I used one of my local mobile diagnostic companies for a few years they were good, even try asking on social media if any one has VCDS and would not mind scanning your car for a small fee, its worth a try and if you were not so far away most of the guys on this forum including myself who have VCDS if they lived near would have no problem helping you, as I said thats what forums like this are about. As for local garages assume nothing as its a dangerous hobby and their get out is, you didn't ask us to do that. Regards Steve.

Hi sorry to hear of your problems, you are heading in the right direction with the battery replacement keys/main, so the only question I would ask the garage who fitted the main battery is if its A, the correct battery for your model B, was it recoded to the vehicle so it registered the new unit, I have found through experience with the later German vehicle that the electronics are not happy with voltage spikes or any radical changes in voltage draw. The other thing I have discovered is that the generic diagnostic software will read a lot of problems on most cars mostly obvious problems like the main battery but completely miss underlying problems especially with the electronics on Audis, this is not the garages fault as they have to spend a fortune on a generic code reader that covers all models they work on, therefore might I suggest you source an Audi specialist as they will have the manufacturer specific software that will search in depth into the various control modules and will throw up any underlying faults which don't otherwise make themselves obvious. The reason I asked about battery coding is that if you just put the new battery straight in, yes it all works wonderfully but the problem is the smart charge system will still be trying to charge the new battery at the same rate as the old knackered unit because it has not been advised of the new unit, this can cause as many weird electrical problems as a failing battery. Regards Steve.

Hi get a good quality scanner or VCDS then you can put the light out as well as read your own codes when required. Regards Steve.

No worries but if you are convinced you should be doing this I would scout a few of the other companies to find out who is offering the cheapest fee rate, sorry I don't try to order an individual to change their views as whatever they decide its their prerogative and their right to choose. 🙂 Steve.

Hi Bob, there is nothing much wrong with most of these claims companies but they always forget to tell the client that they will be relieving them of at least thirty percent of whatever they recover, they all come under the sub heading of Band Wagon Parasites you don't think they really care about the environment, to the contrary their only real concern is money. The question you have to ask yourself is are you happy with your car, has it been reliable?, my neighbour went through this process with his Passat and when done he got a voucher for retrofit software from VAG so he had it done, after which the thing was gutless and bad to drive he got rid of it and used the two grand he got back to buy a Nissan Juke which has given him holy hell ever since, I am always amazed how people suddenly develop a strong social conscience when the word money is added to the equation, the thing to consider as well is once reprogrammed do you honestly think VOSA will reduce the VED on the car. Steve.

Hi thats a good price and well within the ballpark, the reason for that is the aftermarket kits are a lot cheaper and they don't get any better than Gates, the other reason is that from 2014 on they redesigned it all so that worse case scenario is that you have to remove the fan pack to gain extra access, no more removing the front bumper and headlights etc. I have no doubt this came about because of complaints from the dealer technicians so if you make it more simple and still charge the same eye watering hourly labour rates. Steve.

Hi, sorry am I missing the point here, how the hell would the turbine vanes soot up if the car has been idle for months its not like a chain smoker that was sitting in an armchair all through the lockdown. I think it has more to do with either the MAP/Boost sensor on the intake manifold side or the Oxygen sensor on the exhaust, in view of the age of the car the MAP sensor would be the first port of call as these for a car of your age are relatively cheap, sensors should be changed about every four years regardless of milage as age is the main factor with failure, most sensors are high heat resistant plastic and especially the MAP which has a plastic pressure membrane inside it but even this will degrade over time when it is dealing with hot air and gas and sends an implausible signal to the engine management system which will throw up a light and put it into limp mode. have never been a fan of aggressive fuel system cleaners as invariably they will loosen dirt in the system which then heads for the injectors, not good, if you use a spray down the air intake cleaner to clean your turbine this heats the fuel up and as it comes into the engine via induction and goes no where near the internals of the injectors and cleans the intended part and nothing else. Steve.