Stevey Y

Hi the master cylinder and position sensor are plug in and play so no coding, I honestly would be looking for a wiring fault as the position sensor is what's known as a slave sensor its simply not giving the correct trigger pulse because there is a break in the link somewhere, you have proved that by getting the bypass to work, as for the fault finding being expensive just about anything on these cars is expensive, you are only left with finding a cheaper way of fixing them, believe me when I tell you I fixed most of the problems on mine but there is no cheap just cheaper, I have family in the states and one of them bought an RS6, the reason he got shot of it was every time he went to the dealers for a small fault it was a minimum of $1200, the Dodge Challenger he now owns has been more reliable as an older car and as he puts it just about everyone and their dawg knows how to fix em, for less $$$$$. Steve.

Hi just run it on neat screen wash until the current weather stops, then just top it out with water, it works for me. Steve.

Hi miss the whistle, thats normally a sign of a worn Turbo or a split boost hose, you should not hear anything on a variable vane Turbo its not like a fixed vane unit. Steve. Steve.

Hi I know exactly how you feel, confident but wary, did you bleed the brakes as well?. Steve.

Hi I would say that there is air in the clutch line but most likely the master cylinder for the clutch is failing, the most common cause is bad fluid where no one bothers to change it, if you replace the clutch master bleed the whole braking system with comma ESP4 and the clutch cylinder, any contact however light will force the release bearing on to the pressure plate, thats why they supply a foot rest. Steve. Steve.

Hi try Parts in motion on eBay or GSF. Steve.

Hi the alternators are not that much money unless you buy the Audi original part, I think they are made originally by Valeo or Denso but if you get the part number the world is your oyster, or just get your unit reconditioned. Steve.

Hi yes it can be very traumatic as I discovered and yes ownership is abusive for the DIY enthusiast as everything normal is a pain like changing the fuel filter as its under the drivers side floor shield then you have to buy a special pair of pliers to remove the spring clips on the hoses whilst being bathed in diesel, also your car has the SFD protection system embedded in the software so the car can't be diagnosed with most garages diagnostic programs, yes its like a real looker of a wife thats also an utter cow. Steve.

Hi thats because you disconnected the unit have you tried getting the car plugged in and deleting the fault?. Steve.

Hi NO they will tell you its filled for life, they dont do anything unless you ask and then when they agree to do it be prepared to sell an organ, much better to find an independent garage to do the job it will be better and a whole lot cheaper, they dont like doing anything that wont require a lot of money and getting dirty, I have known them to levy a charge for disposing of the old filters and oil. Steve.

Hi no worries, anything else you need help with fuel filter changes etc dont hesitate to ask, during my ownership I have faced just about every problem that these things can launch at you, they do have some nasty little tricks. Steve.

Hi Dave dont forget the ton of oil level sensors they sell and the rubbish trigger sensors on the bonnet hinge, so when you do your change make sure you put in the precise amount of oil and take it for a ten minute drive, leave it for fifteen minutes and then without opening the bonnet checked the level on the MMI otherwise it mostly tells you the level is too low and once you have added more oil too high. Steve.

Hi Stephen, that would of equated to you need a new engine cover on your next visit, only £160, there are no lengths to which these people wont go to extract more money from your wallet, who do you think pays for the spotless work shop and beyond Cr@p technician practises, many years ago my friend worked at a Ford main dealers and because he was new was put on fleet services, when he went to draw oil and air filters for the latest batch he was working on he was told NO, they only change them every third service and to just give the canister filters a wipe with brake cleaner to make them look new, this had the effect of causing multiple cam failures which the dealership replaced under warranty as Ford HQ was supplying the parts and paying the labour, Win/Win for the dealer. Steve.

Hi Dave dont sweat on it am just glad on a personal level that you got the right information to solve your problem, after all thats the whole point of asking questions. Steve.

Hi have you now realised that is all Audi want to do is sell you a new DPF, good skills with the additive it definitely keeps it at bay, considering that nearly all branded DPFs have Silicon Carbide cores they should outlast the car thats why any DPFs they remove are sold via a third party, sonically cleaned and sold as refurbished, makes you smile when you think £220 versus £10,000 for IDOS managed to do the job don't you detect the faint odour of lying Bar steward. Steve.

Hi I have been watching this post carefully, if for the price and the milage was a steal this car would have gone about ten minutes after it hit the forecourt, all the cars I have ever bought have been for the most part from private vendors as the majority only want to sell the car with no come back so generally they tell the truth, oldest saying in the world, how do you tell when a car salesman is lying?,his lips move. Steve.

Hi I think what Cliff was driving at was this sort of thing needs to be publicised further afield as Cliff pointed out most people think they have the golden ticket, the bill for the job, everyone has a computer printer dont they, I have seen many examples of this with every manufacturer over the years, when he said you are preaching to the converted, most of the regular members are fully aware of what these garages do including the main dealers, prime example we have had numerous posts on every model about cars that have been in for a service under extended warranty service plans that have never had the air filter changed, one poor sod got told that it wont be changed unless he requested it and then he would have to pay extra for that, I think what he was trying to say was that most people dont know of this and anyone spreading the news was more than welcome. Steve.

Hi look up ECU testing on line, I think they have an outlet near you but I think you will have to get your old unit posted to them they then test it and repair it if its not to far gone, if it is they often have a refurbed unit available and they are not expensive. Steve.

Hi pull the engine cover off and the tube is about half way down on the right you can't miss it as it has a loop fitting on the top, to remove it twist and pull. Steve.

Hi as you say it can be deactivated there are a couple of videos on YouTube already but nothing about permanently disabling the system, the full system is law in Europe where as Steve Q said it actually cuts your speed down for you but there are reports of drivers on motorways quite happily. cruising along at 65mph and the camera spots a 30mph sign on a parallel road and promptly reduces your speed to 30mph, this is the same as collision pre sense, my mate has an Alfa Giulia which is a lovely car in daylight but of a night if it spots a lampost on a badly lit lane it just slams on the brakes. Steve.

Hi I think in the long run fixing your current issues with the Golf will work out a whole lot cheaper than going out and actually buying a whole load of new problems with a Q7, people get rid of this model for a reason. Steve.

Hi its a factory setting which only can be changed by the dealer, they wont do it as it wont comply with European law, the cars you buy in Europe have this feature but theirs actually slow the car down when the thing starts beeping, the only reason we dont get that feature as well is because we are not in the European Union, everyone else just gets what have the annoying beep, I have no doubt soon some clever guy on YouTube will have found a way to program it out. Steve.

Hi no believe they are expensive to buy and maintain, accessibility is a major problem and the electrics are over complicated and frequently fail, then we have things like manifold swirl flaps and dodgy injector wiring, pricy vehicle for a rich man to run, most buyers second hand are seduced by the interiors and driving experience, I can think of a load of brands that dont suffer with the problems that these do, recently been trying to help my garage sort an air suspension fault on a Bentley they use the Q7 set up and believe me it is neither simple or cheap. Steve.

Hi the Coke is a good shout, that works on blocked DPFs god only knows what's in it or what it does to your innards when you drink it, my original replacement would have probably worked after cleaning but it then got another coating of engine oil from the crank seal, considering that when the pressure plate is engaged the grip pressure is something like 5000nm it takes a lot to get them to slip, ran my car over 278k so a lot of the problems I have ever had you probably wont ever experience, low pressure EGR coolers and the valve that sits on them are another mission but this can be avoided by using regular dosing of Wynns or Dipetane EGR cleaner as these have a Hydrocarbon rich formulae, Hydrocarbon by nature absorbs a lot of moisture which then burns with the Hydrocarbon. Steve.

Hi as per my conversation with the tec he reckons that VAG changed their seal compound back in 2010 as they were getting too many warranty issues, the seals are a mixed compound using Neoprene to aid longevity but this is prone to a reaction with the other types of fluid on the market which is why they always demand you use manufacturer brake fluid, it wont cause the degradation, I did think at first that I was the only victim of this but then my daughters Q3 had the same problem within a year of having a new clutch both clutch master cylinder and slave cylinder were knackered, had a chat with the garage that had fitted the clutch and just slipped in what brake fluid do they use and they showed me a bottle of silver hook fluid, just about the cheapest universal yo can buy, got it back to mine and changed the master and slave cylinders, no small effort at my age even with the aid of the son in law, we bled the brake circuits as well with ESP4 and touch wood no problems for the last six months, gravity bleed in g is the best method once you have a pedal allow it to settle and just crack the slave cylinder bleed off with no pedal pressure and watch all the little bubbles come out they tend to congregate in the slave cylinder and then as air rises try and go back up the pipe towards the reservoir, I also got caught out by the radial seal in the slave cylinder and had gear oil leaking out of the bell housing which contaminated the driven plate so I had to buy a new plate Driven and Pressure, their other favourite leak is engine oil from the seal behind the ring gear, rear crank seal and thats a real mission as it has the crank sensor pick up attached to it. Steve.