Magnet

Hello Barry, Apologies about the first paragraph confusion! - see later post. Of course, any one of your list of possible causes may be the answer. Those who sadistically! follow some of my responses will confirm that my advice follows a theme of eliminating the basics (generally without much cost) - in your case battery condition and alternator output - before moving on to more complex possibilities. For right or for wrong, that is my old school logic. Reading fault codes is another follow on, but it surprises me how many people treat these codes as the be all and end all answer, and it is often overlooked that the codes shown cannot always be isolated so that they can be interpreted as causes or effects. Good luck in sorting it out. Kind regards, Gareth.

You've got to laugh at some of the reasoning of the computer programming employed by our hard working administrators and moderators when you try to find some logic in . !Removed! words. I was trying to avoid using the word Jaguar (am I allowed to mention such a make on here!?) so used. large p u s s y cat instead, but the middle word was offensive to the programme. Yes, of course, it was always a giggle at schoolboy ages, but.......? What bit of programming logic considers that word to be offensive, yet allows the use of abbreviations of totally unacceptable swear words and words which could offend folks who follow religion? An absolute daftness. Apologies, Trevor, SteveQ and PaulA6 - I genuinely feel your hard work sometimes goes unnoticed, when it certainly should not - but how about zapping all of these unacceptable abbreviated swear words which escape the net. My removed word just brings a smile to the morning, so that must be good. Keep up the good work folks, Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Ralph, I had a feeling this car had seen fairly regular pressure washing over its life, and I am guessing with the addition of wheel cleaning fluid, judging by the corrosion of the disc pad retaining 'springs' as seen clearly in photo 3. When you think about the abrasive capabilities of a pressure washer - easily removes ingrained layers of dirt from paving slabs etc - then it's easy to judge its affects on car paintwork and associated components. In my book, these devices mark the early death of paintwork and it would not surprise me that the car will be showing patches of milkiness in the lacquer before the end of your lease. Of course, handing your pride and joy to our lance wealding friends at the £10 car washes is guaranteed to accelerate this problem much faster than the likely additional care you would exercise when doing it yourself. Anyway Ralph, back to your scored and pitted brake discs as assessed from your photos:- My opinion (and of course it's only one personal opinion) is that Audi would reason (understandably??) their way out of this, and claim your jet washing - and I guess the use of cleaning chemicals - has been a contributory factor here in the early pitting and subsequent scoring of the discs. If it were mine, I would also be concerned about the level of corrosion on the associated brake components. Back to DIY pressure washing Ralph. I can work through the logic of it being far easier to run a car down to the local lance boys and hand over £5/£10 for the privilege of having the paintwork wrecked over time - no effort on the driver's part. Now DIY pressure washing entails getting the (bought in) washer out onto the drive, connecting up the electrical supply and a water hose supply to result in the same potential longer term problem. If it were me, simply run the water hose out as you have to anyway, fill your £1 shop bucket with water, add a good wax shampoo and wash it by hand in not much more time. Apologies for all the above, and all I can add is to trust you have a favourable outcome with a claim against Audi for using 'faulty components'. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Ralph. Sorry I should have asked who washes it and how. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Barry, Always difficult to diagnose such issues from afar. What I can say say is that I, and a number of owners of the same marque, have experienced similar temporary issues with non Audi s (large !Removed! cats!). Difference:- these problems show up on cold mornings and as you say are easily rectified by switching off and back on again. My reasoning is that battery voltage is not up to par on the cold mornings. Yours and hot summer days. Air con on? If it were mine:- I would do two things to start with - get the battery condition checked when you are sure it is near to fully charged ( it should be serviceable at 5 years old if it's the original one, but...) and also get the alternator output checked. It might also be worth testing if this problem occurs when you have the air con. switched off. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ralph, I share your disappointment with this situation. To keep this brief (which is not my usual forte!), could I ask -as a matter of interest - how you have generally cleaned the car during your ownership? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tony, Sorry to hear of your issues. A couple of pointers to perhaps follow:- Did you check before purchase/ since purchase, if the car has been subjected to an emissions recall? Such EML -on problems have been noted following recalls. See under this heading on the forum. Re. Stop/start - Worth checking that the battery is the original and is still in serviceable condition (as it should be at 3 years old). It is possible that the battery has been swopped pre sale for an older less serviceable one. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paulie, As you probably, or might know, what you have bought as a 1.6 Special Edition, is in fact a 1.6 basic with what I understand to be an older generation engine. Having been associated with one of these for some 147k miles, I would agree that they are quite high revving at the legal spied limit. Fitting a 6 speed gearbox? Sorry but I don't know, but I am pretty sure that you would find yourself changing down through the gears on motorway climbs, since these engine generally lack torque, so personally I would be thinking twice about this. Sorry I cannot be more helpful. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s.' .... motorway at 80mph.. sat on 4K rpm' . Surely you mean 70 mph with a slightly reduced rpm!! Just to keep it legal,and reasonable.

Hello Wesley, I don't think I'm going to be of much help to you, but I would ask if the vehicle is on a PCP lease, since if so, on hand back, the tyres may be assessed to ensure they are within the 'approved' group. If not, they could (just could) charge you a fee to compensate them for the difference. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andrew, Thanks for the update. It is quite likely that you spoke with a service receptionist, who to be fair, would do their best to explain why you 'might' need to have it serviced, rather than checking that it actually does. Cost? Would seem about what you could expect I guess, based on anticipated labour charges of probably around £120/hour inc. VAT. (Min. 1 hour?) Balance is probably cheaper than expectations for oil and filter. Repeating :- worth an (in -person) visit to the next nearest main dealer to gain second opinion on the necessity. One thing is pretty certain, you will be alerted to the need for this to be serviced again within 15 months -before it's 2 years old. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Andrew, I too would be querying why a 9 month old/5K car requires an oil change. If it were mine, I would question this at the dealer, and my line of questioning would be biased towards getting them to explain to you why this isn't a mistake. If indeed it isn't a mistake then they must be able to give you an actual quotation for the cost. Armed with this information, you can then approach other main dealers (say in a practical 20 mile radius) and confirm this service is indeed necessary, and ask for their quotation. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Some interesting points in Adam's response. 'I must admit that 'Variable service' is something new to me, and my (probably not up to date experience) pointed me to 'Longlife' or fixed (or whatever the correct word is) service intervals. My guess would have been that vehicles on a Longlife schedule are likely to go to around 18/20k miles dependent on driving conditions. If Gary's car is on this schedule then is it also governed by a 2 year interval irrespective of mileages? Brake fluid change at 3 years old as the starting point - then every 2 years - is again interesting. My guess at it was that it was at fixed 2year interval - which might again have explained why Gary has been informed that this is a 'major' service. Cost? As always, it's worth shopping around other main dealers for comparative prices for the same agreed work. I'm estimating average dealer labour rates to be at least £100/hour plus VAT = £120. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mike, I think it's great that you are posting your experience on here, and I'm sure it will be of benefit to others. Complex seems to be the word, and it's a great shame that you have to do whatever is necessary to get only a part refund. You as the offended-against customer, should not have to do this. Good luck with it. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mike, This is certainly a breakthrough, but as you and Steve say, this letter appears to be very poorly presented when you consider the significance of its contents. As I see it, it leaves them wide open to any consequential claim you may make against them. Written by a relatively junior customer services person at Dunlop? Strange! I would not let this letter out of my sight, and would definitely take a few copies. A sort of positive end result for you? Well maybe. Realistically (perhaps pessimistically?) I doubt it, since you have reasonably decided not to buy Dunlop tyres, and it is Dunlop who are reducing the cost of a set of their tyres at the point of purchase of another set. I have my fingers crossed for you Mike, and let's hope cheque will be forthcoming. Would I take further further action regarding endangering your and other lives? Yes I certainly would - on the back of their letter. Would I wait to see what the outcome of cheque/no cheque? Debatable. Being rather age-cynical - if you do receive a cheque, I would beware of any caveat which says the cheque is paid as full and final settlement or other similar meaning statement. Kind regards, Gareth.

Any particular brand of woof woof cleaner Steve!? Predictive text eh? Glad I'm not the only one. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Not electric power steering on this then?

Hello Rich, I would have said that the diagnostic 105 degrees was slightly high but not alarmingly. Interesting to note that the gauge was reading 90 at the time - which again may not be so uncommon. Critical issue here is:- what is the actual diagnostic measured tempersture when your gauge reads high? Until you know this, then you don't really know whether you have an actual overheating problem or a gauge sender problem. This would be my first port of call test. If the actual running temp. is proved to be high then my next move would be towards the thermostat. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jon, Sorry to hear of your discontent. Couple of points as I see it:- I would say (from the photo which is not a good thing to judge from) that the problem is currently marginal, but of course is likely to get worse. Whatever its severity, it is caused by 'wear and tear', but stating the obvious, its current severity may not be acceptable when it's useage is taken into account. That is the ponderable debate here, and to my mind, it's acceptability - or otherwise should not be judged simply by one person's opinion, so some form of qualified second opinion would be desirable/ essential. Heated seats I guess? If so, this can be the earlier death of leather, and I have known of Lexus seats deteriorating in a similar time and mileage due to the seat heating drying out the leather, so this may not be so uncommon. What is the less-used? passenger seat like? On a more personal point- apologies- but are you a 'well built' chap? Now to the progressive bit:- if it were mine, I would be driving this to a more distant Audi dealership (just passing and thought I would ask for your advice!) and this would give you a reasonable second opinion. It should go without saying, but cooperation and a favourable end result depends very much on the way the problem is approached with the dealer. If this second opinion is the same as the first then I would be writing ( yes, good old fashioned nice letter) to the head of Audi customer service, and express your disappointment with the current situation. Good luck with this Chris. Perhaps you could keep us posted. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Prior to the the mid 1950s most cars were fitted with leather seats, but were gradually replaced due to the impracticality of leather - too hot in summer, and just too cold in winter. Of course, we now consider leather to be the way to go for a bit of luxury, but practically the same issues remain - except that in the cold weather we switch on the heater unit, and the leather does not like it. Cows never had that built in option!

Hello Chris, Sounds sensible. To do it properly, I would insist on the same make tyre and the same tread pattern -as mentioned earlier. 4/32? Strange way to list this figure from the point of view that this is actually 1/8 (why list it at 4/32, or even 2/16 I guess?). Possibly from an American site since it's in imperial not metric. Anyway, 4/32 = 1/8 = approx. 3mm. I seriously doubt if the other front tyre would have worn by 3mm in 4K miles, so all should be well. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Chris, Allfoad = 4 wheel drive? If so, then you raise a very sensible question, since miss matched tyres/tread depth can influence the efficiency and longer life of the 4 wheel drive system. Having said that, I cannot see any problem with simply renewing the damaged tyre since its axle partner has only covered 4K miles. I would however replace with the matching make and pattern. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Adrian, The importance of only buying cars with full service history eh? My opinion on the 'gospel' importance of this has been diluted by many instances similar to yours, with ex company or lease cars, so is yours such an exception?? So the car gets taken in for a service every 19k miles or so, but between this 'day out' it never sees an oil and coolant check, tyre pressure check etc., and might get a £10 valet every six months by our jet lance friends when it gets difficult to see what colour it is! It then comes in off lease, gets detailed and placed on the forecourt and the first question to ask is 'Has it got full service history?' If it has, it must be good! Without being patronising, I must applaud your routine of always servicing a car on purchase- it's the only way to assess how it's been looked after. The condition of these filters is unacceptable, but...... at least you now know and you will have set yourself a base point for its future servicing. At 80k I'd be changing the fuel filter as well since (unless things have changed) Audi do not have a recommend routine change interval, so you can guarantee this hasn't seen a spanner in its life. Good luck with it Adrian, Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Scott, Common to have an oil leak from timing belt area on a low mileage 4 year old car? Not in my book. Crankshaft or camshaft seal problem? Impossible to tell which until the covers are removed and the area inspected. As I see it, the cambelt is likely to need changing in around a year? - on a time interval, so the problem can be addressed then. Severity of oil leak?? Oil leak assessment is now a requirement of MOT, and I guess there is going to be a fair bit of backside covering with testers in respect of listing such things. What confuses here is that as far as I am aware, testers are not allowed to remove parts for assssment, so you would assume (in caps?) that any oil leak which is visible with the undertray in place must be pretty severe, so I would be tempted to seek further independent opinion on this before doing anything. I it were mine, I would be asking a trusted local garage or Audi independent to give this a second opinion and judge the situation from there. Good luck with this. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Very sorry to hear of your issue. I'm very much with you on the range of questions you raise and no doubt you will get other advice from this active forum. If it were mine:- Invest in a gearbox oil and filter change, preferably finding a gearbox specialist who can quote you, rather than an independent. If it turns out to be on the expensive side of the figures you were quoted then rethink. If you do, and it works - great. If it doesn't then why not invest in the services of We buy any car, or similar? After all, it runs! Scrap? - no. Repair -no. Good luck with it. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Kevin, Restating the obvious, but as you say, going through 4 to 5 mm of tread in under 2000 miles is not on. The unknowns here are:- Fitting part worn tyres? - hugh question here on the 'serviceability' of such tyres - their age etc. etc. The amount of remaining tread may have little to do with it. Your driving style? - may not have anything to do with it if driving quietly around the country lanes of W. Wales. Using this 2.8 litre enthusiastically on such roads could, just could, and this in conjunction with using unknown-history part worns might have some influence. Interesting issue Kevin. Perhaps you can fill in a little more detail. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Neil, Probably barking up wrong trees, but I believe the wipers won't work if the bonnet is open. Yes, I know it will be said it was closed when you tried them! - but does the (possibly faulty) "bonnet closed" switch/sensor know that? As I said, probably totally wrong, but might be worth giving the bonnet a good slam when shutting. A more plausible cause? Others more knowledgeable on this model than I am will no doubt confirm/refute that the wipers are controlled by a body control unit/module (BCU/M) and this may be faulty. Someone? - Does replacing the wiper motor dictate reprogramming so the BCU recognises the replacement unit? Just some food for thought. As with many of these things, it is often more economical ( say in comparison with buying a replacement motor) to invest in the services of an auto electrician for a couple of hours. Good luck in getting it sorted. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Kevin, Just a personal view:- Buying on price, on the basis it will do for now, then replacing it with a "proper" one later, - does not seem to make economic sense. Kind regards, Gareth.