Magnet

Thanks a Paul, If this were mine, I would be first inspecting all engine and gearbox mountings to ensure they are serviceable. If they are, then it’s really a case of taking a trip to a trusted automatic gearbox specialist and getting an opinion on what is wrong here. Sometimes (at that mileage) the gearbox can benefit from a fluid and filter change, but I am sure they will advise you on this possibility. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Manual? If so, can you feel any pulsing at the clutch pedal as the clutch starts to bite? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Having the original two, but one not currently working, I have tried all methods found inc. using second one in the lock etc. It sounds as if you only have one key/remote and the remote is not working?? Guess you’ve changed the fob battery without success? I’ve resigned myself to having to get this dealer-sorted, but fortunately the ‘spare’ key will unlock and start the car, so no rush on my part. As Trevor says, it sounds like it’s likely to need dealer/ specialist involvement, unless anyone else can help with a magic procedure. Kind regards, Gareth,

Hello Mike from the Homeland, Sorry, but I do not have experience of the ‘average’ Q5’s oil consumption, but probably someone will indeed reply with helpful experience relating to their’s. I would anticipate that if you consult the handbook ( which no doubt you have done) it is likely to confirm that the oil consumption you are finding is ‘within limits of expectation’ for the model. Some of course, use very little, but as with other manufacturers, VAG cover their bums and will quote limits of acceptability. Just a couple of points:- you say you drive this quite hard, ( and it’s difficult to assess what this translates to) but have you tried a period of driving it ‘normally’ and assess whether this makes any difference. Oil grade and last changed? Have you had the nice folks at Mr. Sinclair’s to give opinion on this? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dennis, I notice you have re-posted this under a different heading, and having done so, let’s hope you will have more responses than last time you posted it. My belief is that you really want to have this car ‘rolled back’ as you call it, despite being told that the recall has not presented any issues, and you might hopefully find someone on here who might agree with your logic. I really hope you do. Meanwhile, my solitary opinion remains - if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and don’t worry about it. I just wonder that if you do indeed follow your wish and get someone to play with it, and you subsequently find it is no longer free from issues, what will you intend to do then? Indeed you will then have something to worry about. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dan, Sorry to hear of your problem with the car, and I just wonder if it would be worth you considering a secondhand pump, rather than selling the car as a potential non runner. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ashley, Paint defects being revealed as you wash the car would confirm they were there prior, but ‘masked/minimised’ to the eye via the use of coloured polish. The supplying dealer would have known that, and it would be well worth reacquainting them with the now revealed condition which they would have seen prior to detailing the car. White waxy deposits around the hinges is a good sign, and is due to sprayed white lithium grease around the hinges. Interior trim defects? More detail Ashley? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dennis, So you had already done your homework then, and the previous owner has told you that there hadn’t been any consequential issues with the car. It appears you had already answered your question, and OK, you are now into an .....it I have have any issues ....situation. Personally, I would just sit back and enjoy the car, and trust you too won’t have any problems. If you do - just worry about it at the time. Too much worrying is not good for you! Enjoy the car Dennis. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Went to a funeral last week and the closing music was ‘Always look on the bright side of life’. Superb, and so true.

Hello Thomas, Have you thoroughly inspected the wiring running in the flexible section of the harness twixt post and the door? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dennis, I think you raise some interesting points, and I sense some concern. Of course, bad news travels faster than good news, and there must be many owners out there who have been perfectly happy with their post-recall performance and reliability. However, as you also point out, there are many (far too many?) instances of significant and costly issues after having the recall done. Of course, the answer about this particular car, does not rest in the depths of this forum, but with the experience of the previous keeper - if they were the ones who had the recall done. Being very pessimistic (totally over pessimistic?) do you know if this car may have been in very short term ownership prior to have been offered for sale - I.e. was the previous owner discontented with it? DVLA now make it very difficult to trace previous keepers, but can we take it you had sight of the V5 before committing to buy the car? Interesting that you would consider attempting to reverse the recall - personally, I don’t have any experience of this, but it could be one way out of it if you are still prepared to take it on. Post-purchase second thoughts are normal, but if you have serious doubts about going ahead with this then I would suggest you will need to act fast and not dither. Not sure if any of this helps to concentrate the mind Dennis, but good luck with whatever you decide to do. Please note that this is just a solitary response to your post, and you may well get far more encouraging ones. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ashley, Sorry to hear of your issues with the paintwork. Of course, I’m not sure of the extent of the problem, in terms of how many panels are suffering from the defects you show in your video. Always difficult to make an accurate diagnosis without seeing the car, but from what you appear to show us, this appears to be very localised but severe lacquer peel, and is most likely to be due to stone chips, breaking the lacquer coating and then the lacquer delaminates around it. The other possibility, and perhaps where I would be tempted to hang my hat (but car unseen) is that this could be due to the car being previously jet washed. I make this assumption of the cause of the lacquer damage since it seems the paint coating is not damaged - as you would expect it to be if it as due to stone chipping. Rectification:- From what can be seen in the video - repainting the affected panel/s. Did you buy this from a dealer, or was it a private sale? My guess is that irrespective of where you bought it, the car had probably been polished over with a coloured polish which tends to minimise the effect of the defects. A few washes later and this is removed, and unfortunately the true picuture emerges. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Daniel, Great. What make parts did they use after? Did they replace the flywheel? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello John, Sorry, but I’m not sure what post you are reply to. Perhaps you could let us know. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Stuart, Personally, I wouldn’t be too worried about fuel consumption at the moment, and concentrate on your concerns about the sound of the engine - although there may indeed be a connection between the two. If this were mine, I would be informing the supplying dealer that you intend to have an independent assessment of the engine, and will report back to them with a copy of the findings of that report. Of course, you will have to pay for this, but if your suspicion is proved correct then you should be able to claim this back from the dealership. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Vicky, Sorry to hear of your issue with this car. If this were mine, I would not be taking part in any discussions other than those based on formally rejecting this car and having all your outgoings refunded without delay. The car is deemed to be potentially dangerous, the dealership has been given opportunities to resolve the issue; Audi are aware of the ‘greater picture’ involving other such vehicles and are working on it, but cannot give you a date by which it will be resolved. I’m really not sure for how much longer discussions need to be carried out. Citizens Advice will no doubt advise you how to formally reject the car. Hope some of this helps, Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andrew, Re. the problematic rear lights and warnings - check the wiring within the flexible harness which links the body to the boot/tailgate. Not unusual to have cracked/broken wires in there due to years of flexing. Just carefully pull the corrugated rubber cover back and give all the cables a good coat of inspection. Re. your bumper. Personally, I would not replace the bumper, if the photo represents the extent of the damage. The basics of this should be repairable by plastic welding, although you might need to replace /fabricate some associated parts. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Bob, Well, fair do s, as we say around here - that’s one way of getting around it. If this were mine, I would be putting an in-line fuse in the added bypass cable. A bit of a must in my book. Fuse value? Depends on the cable you have used, so could be 5 amp, but irrespective of the cable, I would say do not use a fuse greater than 10amp. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Bob, Many thanks for coming back on this, and I’m sorry you haven’t been able to find an explanation. A couple of points :- are the brake lights and indicators on the LHS working correctly? Although I don’t think this is the answer, have you made sure associated earthing points are sound? Last option, do you have, or can you get, a wiring diagram for the car - I assume Haynes may have covered this model back then? Although you have checked the main fuse, circuits at this time were sometimes safeguarded by additional in-line fuses, and you would need to check if this applied to your car and if so, you need to locate and check it. Confusing bit however would be that they work via. the parking light circuit, but.... Can we take it your cable checking did include stripping back the flexible rubber harness section? I’m afraid Rob that much more than the above will probably point you to the worth of buying an hour’s time with a trusted local auto electrician. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello John, Although I have had an interest in so called classic cars for more decades that I wish to recall, I would struggle to value this car without quite a bit more information. Its background - record of ownership, how long you have owned it, what work has been carried out, when and why it as resprayed etc. etc. will be all important aspects which will influence its value. And all of that would come before at least seeing some condition evidence via. photos. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jason, Although I agree with Chris’ suggested checking routine, personally I would not be assuming you have headgasket issues until you prove you have. Coolant loss is coolant loss, and may ( just may) be due to coolant finding its way into one of the combustion chambers - but the loss may not be due this. White smoke may be due to coolant being burnt in the combustion chamber, but it may not - could simply be condensation. I would be topping up the coolant and looking for possible leak sites, then taking the car on a 5 mile run and on your return, rev the engine to 2000rpm and hold it steady at these revs for 2 minutes and observe and smoke from the exhaust. If there is any evidence of white smoke under these conditions then it might be time worry. ’Mayonnaise’ might be a sign of coolant getting into the lubrication, but it could simply be due to condensation. If this were mine, I would first be looking for exidence of leaks then carrying out the above simple smoke test. Other tests can then follow if necessary. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, This is certainly not going to result in any relief for you, but I am in the camp of Steve and Cliff. Although the areas you mention are localised, the rust in these localised area is already well advanced. My experience leads me to believe that you will not cure this - slow it down a bit? - possibly. Personally, I would not be paying a body shop to ‘rectify’ this since I doubt that any of them worth their salt would give you any guarantee about rust not reappearing, and as such, it might look prettier for a short space of time, but it will return. I’m not sure how handy you are with carrying out this work yourself, but this may be the cheapest short term appearance option. If this is your intention then please let us know and perhaps we can pass on some tips. Kind regards, Gareth.

Healthy debate is what keeps forums active. In that context, I feel I would not wholeheartedly support the same opinion as Dan- avant, and in my opinion ideally all tyre sections should be the same on both axles of these cars - as with tyre patterns and tread depth. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Malvin, Many thanks for the additional information, which clarifies the roof has been working under your ownership. Let’s hope someone else on here might be able to offer you some advice on what the issue is, but to my quite sparse knowledge of the operation of these roofs they can be a minefield of minor micro switches and linkages. Not necessarily expensive to repair individual bits, but difficult to diagnose. Probably someone on here will be able to offer you more in depth advice. In the meantime, all I can suggest is what I mentioned in my last paragraph. If you cannot find anyone local, then there is someone west of me in S. Wales who is knowledgeable and very reasonable in his convertible hood replacement (and trimming) and is quite likely to have come across most ‘associated roofmechanical issues’. Could be worth giving him a ring. Phone number? ,but Google ‘Jack Smith Trimming, Swansea’ - you should find him. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Malvin, Sorry to hear of your problem. It would be important to know when you bought this car, and if you have just returned it to the used car dealer you bought it from. It would also be important to know if you tested the roof operation before buying, since it would appear this cable issue hasn’t simply decided to cause issues now. I guess it would be unusual for a buyer not to have tested the important roof operation on a convertible, but... ...’not in his warranty’..? Possible, but it would depend on the terms and conditions of the sale, and how long you have owned it, how you inspected it prior to sale etc. Of course, the car is an ‘old lady’ now, and things are expected to go wrong, but a convertible with a roof that doesn’t open.... Fit for purpose? Perhaps you could fill in some more details Malvin. Re. sorting out the problem - it would be worth googling local companies which supply and fit replacement convertible roofs. Someone else on here, more local to you, might be able to advise you on this. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Bob, Although I would not like to say that this is the answer to your problem, I would be first looking at the wiring harness as it passes from the body to the boot/hatchback area i.e. the flexible rubber-covered section. It would be worth carefully pulling back the covering and inspecting the harness cables for breaks. It is not uncommon to find a broken cable/s within this section, and this is caused by the harness flexing at this point over a number of years of use. A cable usually breaks/starts to break ( if its going to) during colder weather where the cabling becomes less flexible. Have a look and let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.