Stevey Y

Hi the only way is to compare the amount of teeth on the input shafts, unless they are the integral CV ends that just bolt to a flange on the box in which case they may well fit. Steve.

Hi if you could post a picture of the original that would be a great help. Steve.

Hi try cleaning the front of the car, although a lot of these sensors can suffer with issues when the weathers very hot or conditions are very dusty. Steve.

Hi if its the plastic retaining plate between the wing and the bumper you can buy new ones on line. Steve.

If he travels the UK looking for the right car that should cost a few dollars as well as the steering wheel would be on the wrong side, Los Angeles is a clue.

Hi Gareth just go on YouTube to get a taster of the American view, I cite the top cars not to buy Audi, Mazda and a lot of American models including any Ford with an Ecoboost engine, one site was having a go about A6/A8 saying that when they reach a 100k they start to fall apart oil leaks mostly and I can totally concur with that as a fact, I think owners of the older models got the better deal. Steve.

Hi only way to find out what it is would be to scan the car for faults, amber warning is not critical but needs to be addressed. Steve.

Hi its definitely a bad earth or a short to ground, best thing to do is get the car scanned for faults which will pinpoint where its going wrong. Steve.

Hi Gareth I dont think its what he wanted to hear, if you look at all the American reviews on Audi at the moment they are encouraging potential buyers away from the brand and thats the cars with probable good service records, the residual values of Audi are dropping like a stone and thats for good cars, let alone this particular item, the American market views them as an overpriced money pit. Steve.

Hi strip the rocker cover offend look for cam followers in the cam housing they will fly off if they meet excessive force in the opposite direction [the pistons] you will have to remove the injectors to do this, if there is nothing obvious get a remotely lit camera, cheap on line and inspect the top of the pistons through the injector port any marks will indicate collision with the valves, now lies the conundrum, no rockers moved, no piston marks, the only way you can test compression is to fit a new timing kit, but you may well find a valve has a slight bend [not sealing] or one of the camshaft lobes has twisted on its shaft, this is quite common as the lobes are sweated on to the shaft. Steve.

Hi not necessarily, I have found through experience that a lot of the time these weird noises are because the gear oil is so burnt and degraded that it wont do its job properly, [maintain an oil film between the gears] therefore you get metal to metal sounds, a service may not cure the problem but its a cheaper try than another box. Steve

Hi Cliff thats the whole point, the cheaper brands suffer none of that problem ergo one would be inclined to believe that Audi self proclaimed standard as a luxury manufacturer is a fairy tale insomuch as if you are paying that much money for a car that performs those sort of malfunctions, possibly terminal for the owner, why pay their prices when you can buy something without that kind of problem and at least have the facilities to warn you of impending failure, when the car just stops on a motorway with no steering or anything else I would cite that as a serious problem which they seem to ignore and hope it disappears, should this be the attitude of what was class A manufacturer, I think they have lost their way and probably a lot of customers when the potential buyers read about this problem. Steve.

Hi has the gearbox ever been serviced as it could be a sign of oil degradation. Steve.

Yes if you remember back a few years ago and on a lot of newer cars now, if the battery is not being charged by the alternator a bright red battery appears on the dash just to let you know, how hard would it be to have that sort indicator combined in to the wiring loom regardless of any European directive, apparently common sense is not a feature and if the European directive was that all Audi management were told to stick their head in an unlit gas oven do you think they would do it?. Steve.

Hi I don't personally think the mention of the car being a luxury brand is an irrelevance, after all thats what you have paid for, the build quality should be unimpeachable as with your Lexus and surely this fault should have been picked up on testing but I rather think that its the same old story, the testing vehicle was fitted with another suppliers alternator and performed well at well over the milage expected, then we have the first run of production where the cost cutting teams step in and start shaving money off the production line costs by sourcing parts from another manufacturer which are lower cost to them and almost certainly inferior in build quality, this situation you have now should not exist full stop and having done a recent search in to the reputation of Audi world wide and it doesn't make good reading, from a personal point of view I think Audi have reached rock bottom everywhere purely because of their myopic obsession with all electric which has cost them dearly so now they think they can recover some of the costs overcharging existing vehicle owners, it all smacks of desperation, when you bought the car in good faith it was probably due to the Audi legend of superior reliability as with Lexus, we all know things fail but surely not like that. Steve.

Hi I have been watching this from afar and what you poor devils are going through defies any logic or reason, having been involved in car maintenance and ownership for forty years and until I owned an Audi I never knew what an intransigent and uncooperative manufacturer was, having owned several Fords two of which I bought at four years old, for at least three of them I received letters for safety recalls that they did without quibble despite me having wracked up milage using the vehicle as a taxi, one of the problems was a section of rubber pipe to the fuel filter which was mounted at the rear of the car and if it ruptured it sprayed fuel all over the rear of the exhaust, the most unusual thing I came across was Alfa Romeo, they chased my car through the four previous owners to tell me to bring the car in to have the front bottom arm bushes replaced, the thing was nine years old when I bought it, Audi claim to produce luxury cars, with this problem would it be better to call them luxury COFFINS, don't get me wrong every brand has its faults but the faults that may kill you are like hens teeth, I really wish you the best of luck with this one, most of the American sites you look on are littered with people ranting about the Audi brand being unreliable and super expensive to fix and the dealers not very knowledgable, BUT they all stick together and work their way through any persistent problems, Try Rip Off Britain they would do a number on Audi with this one. Steve.

Hi congratulations that would definitely cause your symptoms and is not an expensive fix. Steve.

Hi I think the battery is on its way out, my daughters Q3 just did the same, the battery was just coming up to four years old so bought another Varta battery on line £155.00 if you fit a new battery its wise to fit the same brand which makes it easier to code in. Steve.

Hi no the vacuum circuit for the servo is completely separate and driven from its own pump, just change the MAP sensor that would be the cheapest option to start with it will also need adapting to learn its values. Steve.

Hi try ATE, BREMBO, DELPHI, they have used them all, if you have the part numbers try Partsinmotion, as long as they are E11/E9 marked they are all good. Steve.

Hi it could be the dmf rattling the clutch slave cylinder bearing or even a driveshaft C.V. joint, could also be a stone lodged between the backplate and a disc, thats just a few of the variables, take it to a garage and get them to test drive it they may have a diagnosis. Steve.

Hi I can understand changing badges etc, mapping and then towing not a good idea as further down the line you will experience problems that your local garage probably wont be able to fix and the main dealer certainly wont entertain on a car thats three years old and has been modified, its up to you but I would definitely mention the remap to your insurance company as on a car that age they quietly check the car if its going to be written off as a way of getting out of paying out should they find its been modified. Steve.

Have you tried sticking the key on the little sign on the dash so it recognises the key with a new battery. Steve.

Hi little more info like where it seems to be coming from might draw more response. Steve.

Hi its probably had it or needs a software update, remove it and try cleaning the plug contacts see if that improves your situation, alternatively get the car scanned for faults in case its permanent. Steve.