Magnet

The Ford forum sounds a very interesting and worthwhile approach Steve. As Steve Q rightly claims - we are a friendly and helpful bunch - and I think he is right. Too helpful sometimes?? personally, I find it increasingly difficult not to be helpful - if I can, so where from here?? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Cliff, Many thanks for the valid comments. It’s becoming increasingly frustrating to find ourselves - hopefully- offering constructive advice to posters, only to find, as you say, that they cannot even be bothered to return to view that advice, leave alone acknowledge it. You can add that to the all too often ‘….done/checked/replaced that’ responses received in reply to suggestions made, since the poster has omitted to let the forum know what has and hasn’t been done, as a history of the issue. Is this forum alone in suffering from such ungracious lack of follow ups? - I seriously doubt it. I’m old and grizzly, and don’t take kindly to the …’ I want, you advise, I don’t thank you…..’ brigade, and it is indeed very refreshing when thanks are tendered. I’ll pass your post on to the administrators Cliff. Many thanks again and kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Mark, That does indeed colour in more detail, and apologies for suggesting what you have already done in terms of the cap. The coolant loss on a reasonable run has to be explained by either a leak or being burnt in the combustion process - it has to be going somewhere! If it were mine, I would definitely carryout the exhaust emission investigation I suggested after a long run. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Anne, I’ve dealt with a couple of Audi discount chaps over the years - think Phil is in Cardiff? (part of Cardiff Audi as were - now Mon Motors). Nice, helpful chap. Well he would be off to a good start - being Welsh! Good luck with sorting it out. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Matt, Any noises when pressing the clutch pedal needs investigating/ stripping down, and unfortunately this does sound typical of DMF issues - assuming your early car does have a DMF rather than a solid flywheel. Might be worth having a word with LUK ( clutch manufacturers ) U.K. technical section - they should be able to clarify via your VIN (chassis number). Kind regards, Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mark, To lose a reservoir full of coolant on an hour’s run is worrying. It could be as simple as a failing/failed reservoir (pressure) cap - but although this is not uncommon on other marques, I’m not aware that it’s an issue with Audi, but…. Let’s colour in a bit more detail:- what is the one way distance commute to work? Can you travel this accumulated distance for a week without any coolant loss? What would be your typical max. and average speed on your commute? With the ‘say an hour’ - would average speed over this travelling time have any influence on the amount of coolant loss? Couple you, for example, run the car on the motorway for half an hour at the legal limit and not experience your emptying of the reservoir? Suggested test:- take the car on your near to 1 hr. troublesome run, Park up, but leave the engine running, and get an assistant to rev the car to a steady 2000 rpm and hold it at that rev. for 2 minutes, while you observe the smoke from the exhaust. You will be looking for any evidence of white vapour smoke. Does the car overheat ( any degree over normal) during your troublesome hour run? Any evidence of emulsion on the oil dip stick? Perhaps you could come back to us Mark. Kind regards, Gareth.

Yes David, so have you done that? An have you checked if the vibration is worse after moderate braking - or not? Kind regards, Gareth.

Sorry Ivars - don’t know. Please don’t assume it’s the compressor, get the system checked before assuming. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ivars, My guess is that the car has air suspension, and your issue rests there. The chances of two rear springs snapping at the same time is highly unlikely on a conventional spring system. Some marques can have conventional spring systems on the front, and air on the car ( usually with estate/ Sportback) so this theory of front oK/ back low, might make sense. If it does have air suspension, then common issues are faulty level sensors ( but possibly unlikely in your case where two are low at same time) air leaks, or most likely - a poor compressor. If the latter, look up Bagpiping Andy, who specialises in manufacturing piston rings for the compressors, and/or supplying replacement compressor. Perhaps you could keep us informed as things develop. Kind regards, Gareth.

OK David, but I’m not sure why you are not answering the question I asked and letting us know about the test I suggested. Anyway…. How are you going to test each caliper by the way? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, I think you are in grave danger of going down the same knee jerk reaction route which has been followed before. Sticking caliper ? Possible suggestion only, and certainly not a probable. No feed n back yet on the questions I asked, but if it were mine, I would first be checking the fitting on the discs to ensure the mating surfaces of hub to disc are scrupulously clean and free from rust and that the discs are rotating true, within acceptable limits. Your call, but you can continue to throw parts at it in the hope it will go away. As yet, you haven’t convinced me ( although I might have missed something) that the problem is indeed due to some issue with the braking system. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks David, but that extra information doesn’t lead us any further forward. Why continue to change 3 sets of (suspect) brake pads in the hope that the problem is due to defective pads? Apologies, but that doesn’t sound a very logical approach to me. Hasn’t anyone thought the more likely cause is ill fitting discs or sticking caliper/s? You are yet to fill in the information about the effect of more pronounced braking and possibly greater chance of vibration after that. Apologies, but I don’t think I cannot offer any further advice based on what we know/don’t know. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Steve, From what we now understand from David, your ‘sticky caliper’ was going to be my suggestion. It wouldn’t surprise me if that maybe the cause, but we need more detailed information from David. Sorry David, but you are only going to feel any pulsing from the brake pedal when you are actually braking - you obviously aren’t going to feel any pulsing at the pedal when you are not braking. Have you tried braking hardener than normal, to test if the vibration is worse immediately after that? Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Take the car on say a 10 mile run and use the brakes more/harder that normal. As soon as you are back home - touch your hand (carefully) on the centre of each wheel to see if any are warmer than the rest.

Can you feel any pulsing of the brake pedal when you brake relatively quietly David? Or, does the vibration occur immediately after you have braked? Kind regards, Gareth.

Unfortunately Jack hasn’t returned to the forum since shortly after his original post, so it looks like any advice given has not been received. Not sure what more the forum can do.

Thanks Mark, I think your last route is probably the most practical, unless you want to get into Small Claims Court cases with the dealer and/or Audi U.K. If you did want to do that, then you would obviously need to ‘invest’ in qualified and professional reports and representation at court. Of course, the ‘contaminated’ coolant possibility, is indeed just that, and the heater core may not be blocked/partially blocked as a result, and the non functional heater may be a heater control malfunction. I would check the small print of the warranty ( who’s warranty is it?) before deciding anything, since they - not the Audi dealer, or Audi U.K. - are the deciders of what is covered or not. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jack, Thanks for being in touch. I can understand your wish to get this work done as cheaply as possible, but your quest should be aimed at getting quality parts fitted for the best possible price, since buying the cheapest parts can result in the jobs needing to be done again in a relatively short space of time. £380 would seem reasonable, but it will be rather difficult to recommend anyone in your area, and I think it boils down to finding a local garage who quotes you as near to this as possible - using quality parts - and who you have confidence in their work, or reputation. As always, aim to spend once and wisely. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Liam, It would appear that the car has been on a Longlife service schedule, which would be applicable to vehicles covering high annual mileages, and yes, that can equate to services being due every c18k or so miles. Since you are only covering around 7K mikes a year, it would be recommended that the car be on an annual service, since low mileage operation can put more stresses and strains on a vehicle than one covering high mileages on motorways etc. Independents should be able to carryout these services, and most should have access to recording their servicing on Audi’s systems, so that the service history is continued - we take it you have copy of the servicing which had been carried out, before your ownership. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ali, Thanks for being in touch. Are you searching EBay or ECP for your parts for ‘any make’ clutch kits? I would advise following earlier suggestions and talk with LUK Technical who should be able to point you to their correct part numbers. I would be armed with your VIN before phoning. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Michael, Sounds rather cheap to me too. Ask them what brand of shock absorber they will be using. Not sure about your set up, but accepting shock absorbers can knock, but generally the issue is either the bushes or even a broken spring. Worth a second opinion? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mark, So we have now established that if (in caps) the coolant is contaminated, then it could only have been contaminated via. an Audi dealership - I.e. you can rightfully claim that that has been outside your influence or control. So the header tank is dirty. OK, and they really want £800 ‘of somebody’s money’ to flush and refill the coolant system - really?? It might be worth you asking Audi U.K. to give you the scheduled labour time for this operation, so that you are armed with a greater knowledge of how this figure is arrived at. Have a look in your handbook for the coolant capacity, divide it by two (50/50 mix) to establish the correct quantity of coolant which will be needed to refill the system, and price this at (another) Audi dealer. You will then be able to better judge if the figures add up. My gut feeling is that this issue is due to the demise of Audi’s bag, and you might benefit from searching the forum and establishing contact with others who have been affected by this, to see how they were finally treated. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ken, Many thanks for the input. Could I ask how long ago your incident happened, since in the days when I had hair, all antifreeze was then glycol based. OAT coolant then replaced this with new vehicles, and did not mix with the earlier antifreeze. Personally, I cannot see that the coolant in Mark’s car has become contaminated unless he has indeed added coolant - of the wrong type - have you added any coolant since you bought the car Mark? Did you buy the car from an Audi dealer? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Eoghan, Thanks for being in touch. Personally, I would not put my e-mail address on an open forum, in preference to asking interested parties to simply PM you. Photos would be a bit of a must, as would the anticipated price at which the car is available. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mark, Thanks for coming back on this. I really think you should be boiling this down into the two problems, and first attempting to evaluate whether the coolant loss is real, or due to an air lock. I say this, since if the car is continuing to lose coolant, then this can be a far more significant problem than the heater issue. Personally, at this point in time, I would not be discussing the heater issue resolution with them, since any debate on the validity of the warranty is likely to lead to differences of opinion. If you still have a loss of coolant, which needs to be dealt with, then any prior ‘differences of opinion’ may colour your situation going forward. That’s my logic, but appreciate your may be different. If this were mine:- I would be topping up the header tank - after standing over night - to the max. line, and using the car on as many long journeys as you can, as soon as you can, to cover say 200 miles. Again leave the car to stand overnight, and recheck the coolant level. Do your homework on the potential silica gel bag issue, so that you are correctly armed with the knowledge you need when ( in caps ) you will need to talk about this issue. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mark, Thanks for being in touch. OK, I understand what thy are saying, and also your concerns. Simple logic going forward:- Either there is still an actual coolant leak, or the drop in coolant level is indeed due to an (now extinguished) air lock. I take it they have now topped this up to the correct level ( if not, you will need to), so you can now monitor if the coolant drops again in the air-free system. If it does drop, then you/they still have a problem, if it doesn’t, you then only have the heater situation to worry about. I would concentrate on just worrying about one thing at a time. Heater issue:- there have been reports that bags of ‘solids’ they put in the header tanks rupture and eventually block the heater core. Worth searching this out for reference. Perhaps you could keep us informed on how things go. Kind regards, Gareth.