Magnet

Hello Mike, I guess you are looking at aftermarket on line factors - nothing wrong with that, but sometimes these sites can be wrong. Having said that, the previous owner may have taken notice of another website and bought one which was shorter than should be! If the sites are recommending 26in rather than your current 24in, then you could try taping small 1 inch protruding pieces of cardboard to your existing wiper blades to test if they can be accommodated without issue. This can be considered a trial pending someone coming along on here to help you out with what theirs are. In terms of makes of replacement blades, if not using genuine VAG, then the only ones I would use would be Bosch Aerotwin. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks for the additional helpful detail Neil. I guess your answer points to the car having always been cleaned by yourself, and never by commercial vehicle cleaners - correct? The only other questions I can ask is:- is the car washed by the old fashioned bucket and hose method, or is it sometimes supplemented by the use of pressure washers? And - do you use alloy wheel cleaner as part of your cleaning regime. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Marcia, Have you tried on-line car breakers link sites such as Partsfinder ( there are more) where you post your ‘want’, and breakers who have what you want, make direct contact with you? Kind regards, Gareth.

Right then Mo - Many thanks for the short reply. ‘Fuses good...’ Does that equal you have removed/wiggled the fuse to check it? If so, this act may well have re-established good contacts. If this were mine, then I would be buying some contact cleaner and giving the fuse box a good spray followed by wiggling each fuse to ensure there are good contacts. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Neil, Many thanks for being in touch and sharing your experiences. Could I ask:- Have you owned the car from new, and how is it cleaned? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mo, You just filled up my computer memory with all this detail! With respect to your heading of ‘Wipers not working’. Daft question, but was the bonnet properly shut? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Danny, Many thanks for getting in touch. The poster Phil, has not returned to the forum since this post at least 18 months ago. Not wishing to judge the legitimacy of any arrangement with ‘non -authorised’ adverts for services on this or any other forum ( sure Incarexpert will understand) but it’s probably wise to proceed with caution with any arrangements you make with such contacts. Kind regards, Gareth.

You are very welcome Muhammad. Yes, absolutely correct - an auto electrician. Try to choose a local one with good reviews, or one who has been recommended to you. You are indeed very wise not to fiddle with electrics unless you are competent with such things. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jack, As Cliff says. OK, you have made the mistake of overlooking the logical fault of an unserviceable battery. Batteries which allowed to remain discharged can, and usually do, suffer terminal damage. Personally, I would swallow my pride and not bother to replace the original glow plugs at least until you have renewed the battery. Let’s hope it’s just a battery issue, but come what may, you won’t go far wrong in investing in a quality battery. Battery to buy? Buy once and wisely. Personally, I only buy Varta/Bosch with at least a 4 year warranty, and I buy online from specialist battery suppliers and not from online motor factors offering discount codes - the use of which can still end up with you paying more than the competitors! Battery suppliers:- e.g. Tanya, Battery Megastore - there are more, and I don’t have any connection. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jonathan again, Wondered if you are now also disappointed in the performance of your car, as well as it’s economy. To be considering spending more money on a vehicle you think you may have already paid a lot of money for, may not be the logical way forward, but..... Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mohammad, Thanks for being in touch. It appears the unit is not receiving power, and that should be your first port of call. Actually connected? If so, fuse OK etc. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jonathan, Many thanks for the helpful additional information. The following pointers may clarify the realistic situation:- Anticipated journeys of 8 to 12 miles for a diesel are just the sort of journeys such engines were not designed for - particularly since they take a comparative long time to warm up, and are unlikely to deliver anticipated optimum mpg under these operating conditions. Automatics will not give you the best of mpg compared with sensible driving with a manual. I think it is realistic to apply the following logic:- These are large (expensive) vehicles, and are seldom bought with economy being a priority, and an average of 36mpg may be considered as reasonably acceptable for a luxury automatic car. Sorry, this might not go down too well, but spending a large amount of money on a luxury car, then being concerned about its economy on short trip usage is a little contradictory. Regarding ‘duff engine’ is more likely to equate to ‘(un) reasonable expectations’ , rather than anything actually wrong with the vehicle. If it were mine, I would fill the tank up and stretch it’s legs on a nice couple of hundred miles or so, on an enjoyable motoring day out. Refill the tank on return, and see what you get mpg wise. If you are still disappointed, then I would book it in to a trusted local diesel ( in caps ) speciality to get it checked over. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jonathan, Many thanks for being in touch. I think it’s highly unlikely that either of the posters will be coming back to respond to you since neither has returned to the forum in 2.5 years. I note your concern/ disappointment in the mpg you are attaining, and it goes without saying that manufacturer’s claimed figures can be grossly exaggerated, and real like figures will be significantly influenced by journey patterns and driving styles. Although you say your average is 35 mpg and you don’t know why, it would be useful to know what your average journey pattern is and a little more about your driving style. Also, automatic or manual? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Dan, ECP? Um! Why the first port of supposedly authoritative call for so many?? Calm, collected, assertive, but dignified approach now Dan. Those who shout lose the battle! Good luck. Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Dan, I do indeed feel for your predicament, but I still question my original thoughts of why an aftermarket kit from LUK for example should not have been available, since it’s likely that this clutch would have been fitted to earlier models as well. As for other aftermarket kits (if available?) - personally I’d steer well clear of them. Still..... Current slave cylinder construction and location can be a nightmare, and it’s not uncommon for these to fail prematurely, but to fail in 10k miles is unreasonable. I think your last statement is certainly worth investigating with the supplying main dealer, although it’s really not your place to do that. For (cynical!) me, I would be wanting to have all information first hand, rather than relayed through the garage. Will the garage be able to give you an invoice number for the various parts bought at different times? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dan, Thank you for sharing your experiences with this car. Perhaps a couple of points to clarify:- No aftermarket clutch parts available for a 4 year old car. I would have thought this was odd and rather surprising. So, do you have confirmation that the clutch kit which was fitted was actually a genuine VAG kit? If so, as expensive as £700 is, I would not have been surprised if the price was more than this, since VAG clutch part prices are (very?) expensive. At the point where the clutch started to slip, it was found that a gasket was missing from the (slave?) cylinder. I would wonder why the clutch specialists didn’t notice this before they fitted it. Now the -new? (slave?) cylinder has failed (again?), and you are left to discuss warranties with the supplying dealer rather than the fitters. This seems odd, since your contract was with the fitters - to supply and fit genuine VAG clutch components - as you understand it. Unless, you were involved in supplying the parts - ? This really is a disaster for you, and I just cannot see why you are left having to peruse who pays for what, when you employed specialist clutch fitters to sort out the clutch for you. Odd - as I said. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mike, Of course, the obvious bit is that the mileage tyres will do will be highly influenced by driving styles, and the average journey pattern - the latter often being overlooked. An acquaintance runs an executive hire fleet and he generally uses Continental (Contact 5 I believe) on Mercedes etc. and is very pleased with the service and mileage he gets from them. I tried them on the ordinary A3, and found for our normal short hop tyre journeys that they are not lasting very well. For his mainly motorway journeys - they do. I could be wrong here Mike, but since you say you have scrubbed (rather than using the word worn) the tread on Pirelli s on mainly motorway travel, that your driving style may be ‘enthusiastic’, and perhaps 13k is really not too bad. For me, I’ve returned to Michelin, which although cost a little more, are a more cost effective miles for £s in the long run. Of course, there are other important considerations here, such as road holding in varying conditions, and these factors have to be taken into account as well as how long they last. No doubt others will be along with their experiences of makes they use. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Paul, I’m sure you will appreciate that charging a battery may make a temporary improvement even if the battery is substandard. So I’m still back to ..why not get it checked anyway? - rather than ...’ I could get Halfords to check it if there are more codes come up...’. Anyway! ..... Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Paul, It sounds as if I’m talking into thin air about getting the battery checked, so apologies for boring you with the content of my posts. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, I look at it like this, if you had an issue/s with the coolant system, then the first check you would carry out would be to check the coolant level - a simply test which will eliminate or confirm any association. Similar with multiple warning lights. You are assuming the battery and charging systems are serviceable because you renewed the battery about a year ago ( similar to claiming the coolant level is OK because you checked that a year ago). Batteries take a hammering with modern cars, so it’s always worth checking its efficiency before embarking on any other form of diagnostic assessment. Your call obviously Paul, and if you would like to progress this on your assumption that the fault is with the steering angle sensor then you enter int a ‘2 assumption’ situation - (1) the battery is serviceable and (2) the steering angle sensor is the offender. Of course, it may well be the offender, and the battery may be serviceable, but by my logic has always been to check and eliminate the simple things first, and this has stood me in good stead for many years, and the word ‘assume’ has sometimes proved to do what they say is it’s interpretation - ‘makes an !Removed! of u and me!’ Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello ? Thanks for being in touch. You say you have checked every circuit, but you don’t tell us what the parasitic drain current is - that you can’t find the source of. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. I notice, as a new member, that you haven’t included your name, location or car model detail in your profile. I wonder if you would be kind enough to let me know if this is simply because you chose not to, or whether the facility to do that was not evident.

Hello Paul, Many thanks for coming back with the helpful additional information. I would think it’s fair to assume that your current issues are not battery associated, but personally, I would not totally discount this possibility until proved to be fact. It could be me, but I am not a fan of Halford batteries ( having had past issues), and although they can be cheaper than main dealer batteries, they are seldom competitive with on-line battery supply specialists who often list premium brands such as Vatra/Bosch much cheaper than Halfords own branded ones. For me, experience has led me not to pay a premium for their batteries, and that when bought (some years ago) I experienced issues with the. If this were mine, I would be getting this battery’s efficiency checked - to confirm your current warning light issue is not associated with this - ? Interesting you mention that the battery turns the engine over adequately, but it may be of interest to hear that a family member’s non-Audi did exactly that, yet when checked ( on specialist equipment in this case) it was found not to satisfy the cold cranking current parameters set by the fitted battery monitoring system, with consequences of some systems shutting down. Kind regards, Gareth.

Are you the same poster as TomV10? If so, I wonder why you are now posting under V10 Tom and not including any other information under your profile.

Hello Paul With any spurious warning light issues, it’s always worth having the battery efficiency checked as the first port of call. Often a zero cost assessment. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, One of the quickest routes to the availability of any secondhand parts is via. registering your ‘wants’ with breaker link sites such as Partsfinder (there are more). These sites link to registered vehicle breakers, who notify the person directly if they have the required parts. Kind regards, Gareth.