Magnet

Hello Anne, I’m obviously very much with Richard on this, and if this were mine, I would be very much dissatisfied with this particular car, and would be eventually considering rejecting it. As Richard says, the first action is to get your Audi dealer to carryout an oil consumption test on the car. If (in caps?) the AA are correct in their calculations, then the oil warning light has come on far too late for the car to require 4 litres of oil to return to the correct level, and indeed, if this is fact, then running the car on only 1.5 litres of oil in the sump, will not have done the engine any good at all - putting it mildly! If the AA’s calculation is incorrect, then it might be found that the engine now has a high (excessively so?) oil level, due to adding too much. Whatever, the dealer will need to drain the sump, and replenish with the specified quantity. As Richard says, you will then be asked to drive the car over a set mileage, and the car’s consumption gauged from the quantity needed to return the level to the original. Not wishing to delve into your personal circumstances, but there is any element of finance involved with the car, then I would be notifying them that the car has suspected high oil consumption, and you will notify them again once the necessary tests have been carried out. Perhaps you could keep us posted on how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Anne, If I’m reading your post correctly, then this is crazy, and simply unacceptable. My maths on your figures concludes that the car has used 4litres of oil in the first c4000 miles. i.e. it’s doing 1000 miles/litre, or in old English, less than 600 miles/pint - I have a couple of 80+ year old cars which can match that! Richard provides some useful statistics:-......up to 0.5l /1000km, which is of course 1 ltr per 2000 km, (1250 miles). It seems yours has averaged a consumption in excess of this - 1 ltr/1000 miles, and it has to be appreciated that its consumption should have reduced over the last couple of thousand miles as it beds in. Question:- Does anyone expect this engine’s oil consumption to suddenly, or even gradually decrease in the next couple of thousand miles? One point that confuses Anne:- Your posts reads that it was necessary to add 4 litres of oil in one go, at one time, since the remaining volume in the sump was only 1.5 litres. If this is so, then something is wrong/ignored with the oil level sensor, which usually warns to top up the oil when the level drops by c 1 to 1.5 litres. Running this engine with only 1.5 litres in the sump would be bad news. Kind regards, Gareth.

Well done Paul. Kind regards, Gareth.

And your money back Paul? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gregg, You are obviously familiar with the classic car policy world, so depending on what your usage will be for this 19 year old car, then classic car brokers would be my first port of call. Appreciate the car is not quite 20 years old, but...... It your usage is not suitable for classic car cover then you could try Adrian Flux on here, who I’m sure they will be able to advise in any case. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Philip, Sorry to hear of your issue, but please do not rush out and buy a new starter motor for this car without further investigation. The car is 5 year old, and it’s not unusual for the battery to be sub standard at this age, if the stop/start function has been in frequent use. This would be my first port of call, and I would be getting the battery efficiency measured before doing anything else. If it does prove to be sub standard then it’s worth buying once and wisely, and investing in a Varta/Bosch replacement with at least a 4 year guarantee. You can buy mail order on line at very competitive prices. EBay is my preferred starting point, where you will find sellers such as Battery Megastore, Tayna, Plymouth Batteries etc. If you are eventually forced to renew the starter motor then beware - cheap is usually cheap, and personally, I would not be buying one made made too far east of the Thames estuary from ECP and the likes. You are likely to get what you pay for. Kind regards, Gareth.

Seems the OP hasn’t visited the forum for almost a month. Apologies, I missed the date of the original post. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Clive, Many thanks for posting. Sounds a steal/ too-cheap-in-current-climate, for someone, so I’d be sure it will quickly find a new home. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tom, Although you don’t say, I guess it also judders when starting to reverse - up-hills being aggravators in both 1st and reverse. Obviously the car needs to be inspected and tested, so the forum can only guess at possibilities. If engine and gearbox mountings are declared sound on inspection, then unfortunately your symptoms point to clutch issues, but again you will need local inspection and confirmation of this. Clutch renewed 18K ago, so cannot be that?? Unfortunately, there are some poor quality aftermarket components available and for some owners, price becomes king, and the cheapest short term improvement is good enough. Perhaps you could let the forum know how you get on. ‘Just bought....’ Was this issues suspected or indeed evident during a test drive? Kind regards, Gareth.

Sounds good Mark. I take it you will not be agreeing to the car being registered until the new registration day of 1st. September. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, I do indeed wish you luck, but resolving such unacceptable treatment should not depend on good luck. As I mentioned, I really think it would be to your advantage to take someone with you. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Paul, and apologies, for my comments on your duplicate post which I read before this one. Right, we now have the fully understandable story, and indeed this confirms that your ‘claim’ should be fully with the dealer, and not dependent with any ‘advice’ which Audi U.K. will give you. You bought the car off the dealer, and the dealer has to be responsible for such issues which occur so soon after delivery. Let me raise a simple question? Do you personally have any control of, or responsibility for the voltage of the battery of this virtually new vehicle? It is a near new vehicle, which has been correctly used, yet it has proved to be unreliable. So answering the question for you - you cannot be expected to shoulder any blame for this unacceptable situation. Personally, I would have refused to pay this bill for the above reason, and this reason would form the backbone of my strongly worded e-Mail to the dealer principal, and I would forget about waiting for any response from Audi U.K. If you find this sort of thing to be rather difficult to deal with, then it would be great if you could get someone who is fair, but assertive to deal with it for you. You should certainly not have to worry about it. In my book, I would be expecting over 14v with the engine running - 13.3v seems low. Also, it could be me (or the photo), but does that battery really look brand new...??? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, I’m sure everyone on here sympathises with your unfortunate experience, and I think most would not have been as tolerant as you appear to have been, and indeed, to me, you posts echo an understandable concern and worry that things are not right, and the vehicle may let you down again. It’s possibly me, but I’m still not clear on some of the important detail here, and you don’t seem to be clarifying those points, raised on your other post on the same topic, which would lead to the forum to hopefully giving you some useful advice. Kind regards, Gareth.

OK Mason, If you suspect the noise is generated by the auxiliary belt or associated tensioner, then simply remove the belt as a trial to test if the noise goes away. Kind regards, Gareth.

‘Yes, that’s correct’. What statement is correct Mark? Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Paul. I’m now even more confused! So did the breakdown company ( whoever they are??) renew the battery? - rather than the dealer. Different story! Who now has the original battery? If so, it becomes even more important to know what make of battery they fitted - and you don’t tell us. Kind regards, Gareth.

Well, all rather academic now, since the original poster hasn’t returned to the forum since he placed the post.

Thanks Mason. Still can’t understand the reference to being in gear though. If you suspect the drive belt ( Cambelt?) tensioner then this needs looking at urgently. Question - does this early 1.6 actually have a belt rather than a chain? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Zeeshan, Does depressing the clutch when idling, make any different to the shuddering? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mark, I’ve read your posts with interest, and must assume that since you wish to know about the much longer term actual servicing requirements, then the vehicle hasn’t been bought on the now-popular ‘lease purchase’ scheme over a limited number of years, but has been an outright purchase, and that you intend to retain it for, let’s say, in excess of 5 years. Is this correct? Kind regards, Gareth.

As a matter of interest, what make battery have they now fitted? As a virtually new car, are you really expected to check your battery voltage every day? I would have thought that ‘if ever’ would be more appropriate! It’s obviously your call Paul, but your discontent and the deemed-necessary payment, really has nothing to do with Audi U.K. (who didn’t sell you the vehicle, or charge you to supply and fit a new battery), but everything to do with the dealer you bought it from. To me, any procrastination in reclaiming your outgoings from them might be a backward step. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, As Brian points out, the response from your dealership is total unacceptable, and you may find that you will get the service and treatment you deserve at another dealership. If I am reading this correctly, you have already paid for a new battery to be fitted to the car and the labour charges incurred with this. How much did that cost you? Again, if I’m reading it correctly, you are now in exactly the same situation as you were before the replacement was fitted. There is obviously something wrong, and the car is likely to have a high parasitic drain - which needs to be sourced and corrected, and all your outgoings refunded. They must think you have just come up the river on a bike! I wouldn’t be letting them loose to even fix that bike if it were me. It sounds like a strongly worded e-Mail to the dealer principal is required here, with copy to Audi U.K. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth. Just noticed you have a duplicate post on the same subject.

Hello Mason, Apologies, but I’m a bit confused by your description. If the car is making a noise when idling and in 1st or 2nd gear, then you must have the clutch depressed ?? Is so, and I can’t see that that can’t be the case, then it cannot be the gearbox, since that is then ‘disconnected’ by having the clutch depressed. Can you feel and harness or vibration through the clutch pedal? Kind regards, Gareth.

Many thanks Adam. Looks well worth spending on, and hope it finds an appropriate home soon. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Lewis, Personally, I wouldn’t be assuming this is a gearbox associated noise until you get more than one opinion that strongly points in that direction. Trying to read between the lines, it sounds as if gearbox is being taken as the (possible?) suspect since no other cause has yet been found. I would be casting the net of investigation further, before committing to any wallet- scaring repairs to the gearbox. Kind regards, Gareth.