Magnet

Hello Michael, I think Trevor raises an interesting possibility, and if this were mine, I would be giving the behind-and-above clutch pedal area a good squirting of contact cleaner to ensure the contacts on the switching arrangements are as good as they can be. Such areas get more than their share of dust and debris. Always worth a try! Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Colin, so could you let the forum know more details about the specific re- map you are considering, to see if other members have any experience of that. Kind regards, Gareth.

OK Paul. Borg and Beck was once a very well respected clutch supplier, and could then have been rated as being amongst the best you needed to buy. Now, a bought-out brand name? - with the add on value of being able to trade on the reputation built up in its original form, and just the make to impress the grand parents! Yes they are available cheaper than many of their competitors, but quality? They may be considered to be a worthwhile aftermarket fitment, but for me, I would only use LUK if not using main dealer parts. Of course, this is just a personal opinion, and it would be up to you to decide what make you are going to allow the garage to now fit. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Colin, Thanks for being in touch. The economics should be fairly easy for you to work out. You will need an estimate of the increased mpg from those who you propose to use to remap the car. You then work out how much less fuel you are going to use over your 22K annual mileage, and compare this with the re-mapping costs, to work out how long it’s going to take you to simply get your money back. Whether the whole thing becomes an economic consideration will of course, also depend on how long you intend to keep the car. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Many thanks for being in touch with the forum, and sorry to hear of your issues. ‘Clutch abuse’? Well, not impossible I guess, but failure within a couple of months?? Your driving style? - Enthusiastic? Substandard component?? This may be meaningful, since I doubt if they would have used genuine Audi clutch parts which are usually very expensive. If this were mine, I would be asking what make of (aftermarket?) clutch they used, since you might not want them to use that make again. Perhaps you can fill in a bit more detail for us Paul, Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Garth, No more than a stab at it I’m afraid - dual mass flywheel issues?? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Garth, Many thanks for being in touch with the forum, and apologies for the delay in responding. Could you confirm that this is a manual, rather than an automatic before we move on? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks for coming back Daryl, and for posting the video. To be honest, I’m not seeing much from it, except some evidence of a possible oil leak (not major) from the driveshaft flange to gearbox casing. Sorry Daryl, but I sure you will appreciate that the forum has a ‘duty’ to advise where a request for help has been posted. That advice must be in the best interest of your and other people’s safety, and as such, personally, I must stick with my original advice of getting this professionally inspected as soon as possible, using facilities and equipment which will allow that inspection to be done thoroughly. Kind regards, Gareth.

You might be right Ryan. Difficult to say really - the original poster hasn’t returned to the forum since the day after he first joined. Kind regards, Gareth.

Apologies for the late response Robert, but are we talking about the ‘bit of bent wire’ which forms a hook, to hook into the plastic wheel centre? If so, I see no reason why this shouldn’t be there together with the remainder of the kit. This should be available from the dealer. Its worth giving this and the locking wheel nut a lick of yellow paint, so it’s easily visible when being used, and less likely to be left on the side of the road! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Daryl, For your own safety, and others on the road, please get the steering and suspension thoroughly inspected by professionals without delay. It will be impossible for anyone on here to correctly guess (in caps) what the problems are without having access to the car. This car is making a good job of trying to tell you something is wrong, and I think you would be well advised to treat these warning with respect. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Clive, Are we talking unburnt fuel here, or exhaust fumes? Smell inside the car, or when standing outside? Kind regards, Gareth.

OK Debbie. So there isn’t a fail certificate for an MOT test then, so technically it hasn’t failed, and you cannot therefore go down the route of disputing the (intended) failure. Was this service carried out by a main dealer? I note you say you will (now) ‘stay local’. So does that mean you had your car serviced outside of your locality? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Damian, I could be wrong, but I doubt if there is going to be any ‘aftermarket’ suppliers for this, so I guess it’s a question of either paying Audi prices for new, or ‘taking a chance’ on a secondhand one. If the main dealer price is not too frightening, then it may be possible to get a bit of discount to bring the new price down. Another thought:- secondhand and potential problems? Do you know if these are handed? If not, how about opting for a passenger side one, since that it likely to have sustained less use than the driver’s side one? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello again Debbie, Just an afterthought to the high intensity lights flashing on and then off when the sidelights are on:- It is not uncommon to encounter issues with the harness that links the body to the boot - in a flexible rubber covering. The wiring within this harness can become stressed, particularly in cold weather, and this can lead to breaks in insulation and/or individual stands within the wire. Worth a check just in case. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Damian, In terms of the least number of words:- either a main dealer ( if available as a separate section) or a breakers. If the latter - try the online breaker link sites. Your harness not repairable? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Liam, Many thanks for being in touch with the forum. If this were mine, I would be informing the wheel alignment people you are dealing with, that you are dissatisfied with their work, that you have given them an opportunity to correct that workmanship, and that you are still dissatisfied. As a result of this (and the fact that you now have an illuminated ESC light) that you will be getting the wheel alignment rechecked by another (trusted) garage, and if it shows that it is still not right, that you will be returning to them to claim your money back, together with any outlay in respect to the ESC light. These machines are very accurate, but complex. Unfortunately, their complexity very often challenges the skills/training of the person operating it! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Debbie, Many thanks for being in touch with the forum. A good question, and in my (in caps) experience, the rear high intensity lights only illuminate when the headlamps are on. Perhaps a daft question, but is he failing this because they flash on when the sidelights are on? If he is, would this be a justifiable failure?? Personally I would not think so. Could you let the forum know the exact wording on the failure certificate? Since the failure doesn’t apply to the front side lights, we won’t complicate the issue by discussing that aspect. If this were mine, my first port of call would be to consult the all important handbook, to check the described operation of the rear high intensity lights. If you can show that they operate according to that procedure, then I would be returning to the MOT station - armed with this procedure. If they work according to that procedure, and the tester is still adamant that yours justifies a failure, then I would be informing them that you will be challenging that failure via. the VOSA procedure. Perhaps you can let us have the answer to the failure wording, and let us know how this eventually pans out. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ben, Thanks for being in touch with the forum. Wondered if your post is meant to advertise your TT for sale. If so, I’m sure you will appreciate that you need to include at least a basic description and price. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Noel, My personal opinion is that you are going about this the wrong way around, and your logic is from the school of ‘throw everything at it in the hope (in caps) that the problem goes away’. A potentially costly and frustrating route. Of course, others may reasonably disagree with my opinion, but the add-on disadvantage of your plan is that you are likely to be replacing very serviceable original Audi parts with possibly not so long term serviceable, aftermarket parts. I still stand by my original advice of first getting this car re- inspected by another garage, and in your case, I now would suggest you approach a recommended Audi independent, and seek their diagnosis before doing anything. At least, they should be able to isolate the source of the issue. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Noel, I think my first port of call would be to get the car inspected by another trusted garage, to get a second opinion. If they come up with the same diagnosis then, if it were mine, I would be wanting to know inner or outer, and just replacing the defective part. Appreciating that genuine Audi joints may be expensive - even at discount - you could consider a quality aftermarket brand such as Febi - who may do the joints. I know they do hubs. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Noel, I’m wondering what is wrong with your driveshafts to warrant needing to renew them - they are normally long lived components. Inner or outer joints problematic? I’m not sure if this information is still going to be valid, but I had a driveshaft reconditioned some years ago on a non-Audi, by a Birmingham company which I think were called Driveshafts U.K. Not sure whether they are on your bad-review list. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Griff, Of course, all forums depend on a two way dialogue, and sometimes posters raise a question, and don’t return. I can’t excuse lack of responses, but I’m sure you will appreciate that trying to diagnose the cause of an issue, without being able to inspect the vehicle, and armed simply with a brief description of the problem, can be a tall order. I notice you post in relation to a 13 month old post, and I wonder if you have a similar issue with your car, or your comments are just picked up as a general opinion. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, I think it’s clear that the message is to not worry about it, but just enjoy it. The depreciation due to mileage will be far less than the ‘cost to change’. As the others have indicated, maintenance is king, mileage isn’t. Just an additional pointer. Our local executive hire operator covers in excess of 70K miles per year in each of their cars, and guess what, queuing buyers are generally associated with the drivers - who know the cars have had a quiet life, with the mileage being covered at optimum operating conditions. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Darren, Thanks for being in touch with the forum and for asking your interesting and meaningful question. Some may consider, that simply ‘getting the cambelt changed’ is the only action which needs to be worried about, and have little concern about the quality of the components used, particularly since some aftermarket suppliers are fond of using/misusing the term O.E. So taking this one step at a time - water pump? Main dealer only, without exception in my book. Others may have different opinions, but I might even be prepared to leave the original, rather than replace it with an unknown aftermarket one. Belt kits? There are some well respected aftermarket brands available, but again, from preference, I stick with main dealer kits for this critical application. If I have deviated from this on occasions, then I use Gates belt kits ( but not their water pumps), since Gates were/are the OEM supplier to many of the motor manufacturers. I have a genuine Audi kit here for the older 1.8 engine, and although the belt box is covered in Audi logos, the belt within the box is branded Gates. Appreciating main dealer parts are expensive, it is possible to buy (mail order) at discount, which then make the kits and water pumps more attractive price wise in comparison with aftermarket. In my book, it’s a question of buy once and wisely, particularly for critical applications. For Audi parts at discount, you could try Audi Parts Direct (at Cardiff Audi - Mon Motors) or Aberdeen Audi. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. It’s always worth changing the serpentine belt at the same time, using Gates if you must deviate.