Stevey Y

The tyre manufacturers tender their tyres for approval for testing on new models to be launched, the vehicle producer specifies nothing involved in the business of making the tyre, its all off the peg if it fits and performs well they buy it and use it in production the only thing they specify is the profile and width therefore does that mean Fords 225x55x17 won't fit the same size rim on a vauxhall because Ford specified it solely for their cars. As for comparing a food retailers product to discs and pad manufacturers that could not be a more inane analogy, its patently clear in the world of cars some folks have a phobia about original parts, some don't, but the aspect I find unpalatable is miss information on the choice of products available based entirely on personal preference and no practical experience of using these alternative products, its not fair and unbiased advice. Steve.

I am all over the progress bit my little piece of technology has just blitzed a seven hundred mile round trip averaging 40-45 mpg at motorway speeds, never missed a beat, by far and away the best car I have ever owned. Steve.

I would seriously question the logic of the last couple of statements, why would a disc manufacturer run a separate production line for manufacturers it won't make any fiscal sense especially when they make more profit from selling aftermarket than from the prices they are bolted down to by the manufacturer are better just because something is cheaper if its made by the same disc manufacturer why would that make it substandard, same goes for the batteries, the original Silver Calcium battery fitted to my last Ford lasted about four years before I replaced it with a Yuasa equivalent which was still on the car when I sold it four years later, Believe me over 800,000 miles between three cabs I have just about tried every combination of discs and pads going and as long as you use Bosch,Brembo,TRW, all OE supplied units I never got less than sixty thousand miles out of each brand which from a cab drivers perspective is awesome considering we live [Or Die] on our brakes, most branded aftermarket discs are coated to prevent the rotting of the outer edge and the mounting boss coating stops the grooving on the disc caused by the corrosion on the boss, if you consider that with use most discs become magnetic the surface of the discs will attract the particles of rusty steel as it flies of of the boss, no rust no grooves, the easiest way to help upgrade your brakes nine times out of ten is to change the fluid every 30k most people forget that brake fluid is Hydroscopic and as the filler cap is vented it will absorb water. Now we come to the old cookie of your first set of tyres lasting longer, they do, but I was told by a Michelin rep that is common practise as it ensures people buy the same tyre in the future which won't wear nearly as well [guaranteed repeat custom] the original tyres are a better more expensive compound to impress the new owner witless. Steve. Steve.

Happy days, it sort of bears out my pet theory that if it has a drain plug and a filler plug it aint sealed for life, well done Don this post may well give others on this site another less expensive solution. Steve.

Hi this wasn't spotted on the good old inspection was it?, nine times out of ten its an effort to drum up more work at your expense, with that sort of milage brake pad wear would be minimal, most all Audis either have TRW, ATE,Lucas braking systems fitted, these are also sold aftermarket under their respective branding the discs are high carbon and pads are the same as supplied to VAG, I can't understand the obsession with genuine parts for brakes as they are made by other well known manufacturers who supply the car producers with a box with their name on it they sell it to the customer at four times the price, its basically legalised robbery, for example I recently bought new high carbon discs and pads for my A6 as a kit from eBay under the trade name of DON who like Mintex,Brembo and many others are all part of the TMG friction group, these guys don't make rubbish, when I unpacked it all the discs had VAG stamped on them and the pads are genuine DON, all that for £150.00. I use my Audi as a cab so if there was anything untoward with what I bought in the last 4k I have done in six weeks I think I would of known about it as it is the brakes are still mint and stop on a sixpence, back in the late eighties the government changed the peramiters for the sale of braking parts sold in this country and Europe every part has to meet the latest ISO requirements so its almost impossible to buy substandard brake parts unless they come from China or through the back door case in point when back in the early noughties a load of cloned VAG pads with their pretty boxes had got through from guess where and even when bedded in were taking up to sixty yards longer to stop from 50mph than the real pads, trading standards soon had them all back and the people selling them by the Danglies, big fines and custodial sentences in some cases. I just wish people would actually look at what they are buying as most if not all friction linings come from the TMG group, off the subject my cam belt kit came from TPS, VAG approved in VAG boxes, unpacked the belt itself had VAG printed on it along with Conti Tech who are the supplier the bearings and pump were all Ina, the extra you are paying is for the name on the box, and yes I would as Steve suggests get a second opinion as I would fully expect them to tell you to jog on for another 40k and worse case scenario they do need changing it will probably be about a third of the price quoted for equally as good. Steve.

Hi, I take it that the belt is the original, the old rule of thumb is to change the pump and timing belt kit at 80k or five years whichever occurs first using any car which is racking up milage it is pure common sense to change the belt and the pump at the same time especially as your belt kit is now getting on for six years old and the other thing is when fitted it all wears as a set, my car had a new belt kit fitted under warranty by the first owner at 36k they didn't change the pump so when the thermostatic shield started giving me problems I just got the whole lot changed at 82k, which I would of done anyway, in my personal opinion if the manufacturer says change due at over 100k! forget it most will never make it. My company has a contract with another company that supplies onward transport for the owners of cars that have broken down and been recovered by the RAC and AA I did quite a few during the second lockdown and a good few of those were alleged premature cam belt failures before the manufacturers recommended milage, most people forget about the age factor as they choose to ignore it because its cheaper to do so, from experience a cam belt and water pump change a little early is a lot cheaper than an engine rebuild. Steve.

HI easiest thing to do is get the part number off of it and then google it, that will tell you what it is and what it does. Steve.

Thank god for that, you did not strike me as the multi add on type of owner, there is enough spaghetti under the bonnet as standard. just shows that Facebook can lead to libellous accusations. Steve.

Hi Steve thats some pretty fancy back to the future type wiring going on there, lucky it is not a cab as the cab inspection engineer would have turned a bloodless white colour and refused to pass it on sight. Steve.

Hi I think from what I have been told that if the car has DAB there are two aerials mounted on the windscreen depending on the build month others have the control unit in the boot these are famous for the wiring breaking in the Flexi joints that feed the wires through to the boot, sorry to be a bit vague but I have never worked on that problem on an A3 but have dealt with the same on a similar year A4 cabriolet. Steve.

Hi I think you must be referring to the oxygen sensor this and the EVAP canister would cause the symptoms you describe, change them and it should cure your problems. Steve.

Hi Don sorry I could not have helped more but I have always regarded auto/DSG boxes with healthy suspicion as in seventeen years of being a cabbie in a hilly area I have witnessed catastrophic failure and eyewatering repair costs if forced to go to a VAG dealer so generally speaking I have avoided them, they do make for a lovely drive but are not practical for what I do but I definitely think the guys I suggested are worth a phone call. Regards Steve.

HI might be time to get on the Vagcom see whats coming up code wise and run a purge on the ABS unit as it sounds like air in there somewhere. Steve.

Hi I dont think anyone in their right mind would rubber stamp that sort of tyre pressure, the tyre roll and strain on the side walls would be horrendous the pressures are 36psi all round I personally run the tyres on my cab at 38psi as this goes a long way to alleviate scrubbing on the edges due to constant cornering, I have used the Nexen Nfera tyre a lot as they give excellent grip and wear, just about to change the rears which have done 35k, this model of tyre is classed as a premium tyre and if it is of any interest Nexen are their own company and do not produce tyres under licence for any other branded manufacturer they have all their own development facilities near Seoul in Korea, the company has been making tyres for seventy years. Using any rating tyre under 101 XL on a A6 is asking for trouble as they are a heavy car even a 97 XL is not fit for purpose in my opinion the harsh part of the ride is most likely due to the milage as the oil in the shocks is probably worn and foams quickly so they will be past their best and not as resistant to rough roads as they would be when new, unfortunately its the price you pay for not paying the price for a lower milage vehicle. Steve.

Hi the Arial connection could be corroded, try WD40 on the switchgear. Steve.

Hi could be a deformed tyre or the wheels need balancing. Steve.

Hi my pleasure these things have a code for every minor occurrence in the Can Gateway system, just have a clearout every so often and your world will be at peace with your Audi, like I say its the codes that throw up a light that will need close attention. Steve.

Hi you are supposed to put it in as a substitution for 400ml of oil when you do your oil change, using fresh oil will give the best benefit of the product, I like Kev have used Slick 50 for years and obtained spectacular milage from all of my cabs, 247k, 310k, 270k, with minimal engine wear internaly so from my perspective these thing work as they are basically a friction reducer, you will always get the element who think all of these products are Snake Oil but in my opinion how can you knock something if you have never tried it and have no idea what it does, I think the question was, having decided to use the Forte do you add it as an extra or take out 400ml first to accommodate the additive, I hope I have answered your question. Regards Steve.

Hi welcome to the world of diagnostics, best advice is clear them all, pump up the tyres all round and reset the TPMS on the MMI, i get a load of rubbish codes like this as I use my car as a cab and do a lot of milage so they rack up I just clear them all about once a month you will soon learn that the only codes worth worrying about are the ones that put up an EML and throw you in to limp mode. Steve.

Hi no its not, the Dealers are told to tell the customer its filled for life NOT the same thing. Steve.

Erm, forgive me if I have missed the point, they only want vehicles between three and six years old with nil milage, I expect the que will stretch round the block to give them nearly £800, most of these cars will in all probability never have any problems also there is no mention of the components changed during the two services and I would love to see the list of whats not covered on the extended warranty, yet again media manipulation of the average owner. Steve. Well spotted Richard.

If you consider that C.A.R.B in LA in America have been since the sixties the architects of fuel injection and OBD rationalisation which massively cut emissions so the rest of America adopted these new strategies, we on the other hand did none of the above until the late seventies and now the government wants to set the blame against the voting public by manipulating our consciences. The worlds weather will change anyway, it always has, if you look at the facts the ice age was caused by a tropical planets land masses having loads of swamps and rotting vegetation all giving off methane and carbon monoxide, and there wasn't an Audi in sight, this blew a dirty great hole in the Ozone layer which then caused the ice age for god knows how many million years, No, no the experts cry but the fact of the matter is that if I was offered that sort of money to wander round spouting crap to anyone who would listen, they all have dual standards take dear old Greta who sails a solar powered yacht over to America to harangue Donny Trump, when its time to go home the replacement crew were FLOWN out to sail her miserable moon face back home, of course she isn't getting sponsored or paid for any of this. Anyone just see that flying pig. Steve.

Hi Don judging by the symptoms you describe it fits the criteria for what you have try phoning these guys and have word Control Units in Devon your problem is definitely on their list and the advice is friendly and free, contact details: 01884798090/07706445537, they may well be able to tell you where the unit is located. Steve

Hi Don no such thing as lifetime oil they only made a limited number of sealed for life boxes which their definition is 100k game over, having done a bit of research it looks as if it could be the ECU on the box which looks like it mounts on the side of the box and has a big fat wiring connector, apparently these frequently go up the wall [starts slowly and gets worse] they are a fortune to buy from everybody friend but there is a place that repairs your unit for £155 with a two day turn round and its plug in and play. Steve.