Stevey Y

Hi have you checked the cam belt, the symptoms sound as though the timing may have slipped especially as there are no codes. Steve.

Hi if you go to a wheel and tyre specialist with the Hunter equipment they should be able to do the work without to much drama, the peculiarity with German cars is that both camber and castor can be adjusted at both ends unlike most other brands where its only the camber that is adjustable, if you find a company that actually specialises in wheel alignment they should be able to do what you want without drama, I recently had my car four wheel tracked and it only needed a tweek on the n/s front to make it perfect, after all its principle is to align the front wheels with the rear as the rears never move unless you fit new parts as in when bushes fail on the rear suspension and even then it won't be that far out as manufacturer tolerances on suspension brace arms etc are pretty good. Steve.

Hi Don you will only get the dipstick from America I tried with mine but if you factor in the postage and possible customs charges it is cheaper just to buy the level sensor, I will see if I can get a part number based on your VIN. Regards Steve.

Hi the thing thats got me baffled is that you have hot air coming out of some vents and not others if the heater matrix pipes are hot and you are getting hot air I would lean towards the climate control as if you had an airlock that was in the matrix they would all go cold, how far do you have to drive to your wifes work as I know for a fact in cold weather my cars top hose is still cold after 20 mins of running it takes at least 30 mins to get to what I class as hot, no problem with cabin heat as the auxiliary heater takes care of that, the only thing I have ever had that caused prolonged heating up problems was when the water pump thermostatic impeller shroud got stuck open so it took about 50 mins in really cold weather for the temperature gauge to go up. Steve.

Hi Martin I think the best course of action would be to get the car read for codes, my pure guess is it could be turbo related or the clutch pedal switch sending dodgy signals. Steve.

Hi glad its sorted out, just goes to prove electrical problem are a real can of worms. Steve.

Hi, well done Karl, its been a long battle but victory is a sweet feeling, top marks for persistence as you now know it pays off in the end. Steve.

Hi all models from 2004 need a BEM recode but almost any of the diagnostic platforms can do this using the original BEM Code and changing one digit it thinks its getting a new O.E. battery and as long as the BEM is happy life is good. Steve.

Hi have you changed anything on the coolant side?, if not it could be the climate control unit playing about, Audi recommend vacuum filling of the system which would indicate no bleed valve the only models I know that have a bleed facility are the petrol driven cars. Steve.

Hi sorry to hear of your troubles, you should not be having these problems and certainly not have to wait until new year for them to fix it, my personal view is that they have all bought the golf cart revolution and are just trying to get rid of what they perceive as redundant stock out of the door before they take on more of the new stock, I have met a lot of people, [cab driver] who have had various electrical problems with their Audis and most of them are under fifteen months old, its good for me for all the wrong reasons as they get cabs to work because the cars are back at the dealers for weeks sometimes, Audi are doing a first class job of destroying a hard won reputation, if that was mine it would be going back with the statement, I want a car that works, I know cars need updates to avoid future problems at around 40k but not 900 miles. Steve.

Hi dont qote me but I think they are plug in and play if thats a whole rail you bought you only need the bit on the end, just get anew seal. Steve.

Hi you can't beat a good old heavy oil burner, just drive along looking for a garage if you feel the need, I know where you are coming from I did a trip to St Ives back in the summer 350 miles there and still had half a tank and I wasn't hanging about. Steve.

Hi is it a DSG gearbox, if so it could be a problem with that. Steve.

Hi as far as I am aware there is not one, after my cam belt was changed the mechanic ran it up to temp with the heater on hot then turned it off took the tank cap off and just kept squeezing the hoses either side of the rad and the air came out, then he just ran it again for about five minutes with the cap off and few more small bubbles appeared in the tank, cap back on and that was it I topped it up a couple of days later and its done 800 miles since with no problems. Steve.

Hi I would hazard a guess its the fuel rail sensor as if it was the pump regulator it would be running all over the place when driving, apart from which the rail regulator is the easiest and cheapest to fix. Steve.

Hi it probably is compatible if the site says it is as the letter is a build year denomination, for example I have just bought two engine mounts which have the supersession numbers stamped on the box same part number as the originals just a different letter, so are they the wrong ones?, I think not. Steve.

Hi nice clear pictures well done, I must say the trim removal is to say the least comprehensive but thats better than tearing your hands to pieces trying to work in a confined space, just shows that the shortest route is not necessarily the quickest, good skills and you have saved yourself a wad in labour doing it yourself. Steve.

Hi Clifford maybe the lass thought she may not have posted correctly the first time, we have all done similar things.

Hi as I said if you get a sniffer test that will prove if its the head gasket, with regard to the other thing we are nearly all old on here and are sometimes easily confused, don't take it personally. Steve.

Hi it sounds like the bulb inspection covers on the back of the headlight units have degraded and no longer seal what they are meant to protect, the light units are easy to remove two screws and a bit of a wiggle, after removing the wiring connector remove the back cover and place the units near a radiator in the house overnight to let. the condensation evaporate, faster than this is hijack the missus hair dryer and give them a blow out with that. If you then inspect the covers they should have a rubber seal embedded around the edge, you can go at this one of two ways either buy new covers or the cheapest option is give the seals a good coat of silicon grease and then reassemble and see if that works, if it doesn't have the back plates off and run a thin bead of good quality black silicon sealant around the seal let it dry and reassemble them. Steve.

Hi poor MPG would be a factor that would manifest itself when the ambient temperature is very low and the enrichment strategy on the injection system runs for longer to try and get the engine up to temperature, its been quite mild so at around 9-12 degrees you won't really notice any difference, in view of the cost of a new thermostat its better to just replace it rather than limp along with a problem that in the long run may cost a whole lot more to fix. Steve.

Hi sorry they are on youtube.

Hi is it auto or manual, either way there are a couple of videos from a company that does retrofit buttons for your car it may be well worth contacting them. Steve.

Hi most likely the thermostat is stuck slightly open which is a better prospect than stuck shut with tat you would get plenty of heat at two miles and at twenty a lot of steam. Steve.

Hi, cam belt is every 80k or five years despite what Audi tell you, I would get it done on principle as if there is no mention of it in the service history now would be a good time, my daughter bought a Q3 with the same milage but a year older than your car, that was the second job I had done after I had replaced the discs and pads and serviced the car, my mechanic showed me it was the original belt to be fair it was in reasonable condition but when placed against the new belt the original had stretched about 3-4mm. the other thing is check for a gearbox service as these can give no end of trouble if the oil is not changed about every 30k, other than that just the usual consumables filters oil etc. Steve.