Magnet

Hello Jay, I don't want to undo what I think Cliff has rightly advised, but I would question excluding the battery and starter motor simply because they were repalced last year - although appreciating that it's "turning over" as you say. Question is:- how enthusiastically? We don't yet know how enthusiastically this is turning over, and although probably less critical than with petrol engines, I guess this is still a valid point. Pardon my explanation, but there is some really smelly stuff on the market in terms of batteries, and even more so with replacement starter motors! A voltage check under starter motor load/operation may be a good place to start. I feel Cliff's suggestions under (2) and indeed (3) are really where you want to be checking after ensuring the battery/starter motor components are on song. All other things being equal, it might be worth checking the fuel pump relay (those more knowledgeable on diesels will perhaps offer better advice). Fault code reading would then probably be useful, although being old fashioned!, I sometime feel these are taken as the be all and end all of diagnostics, when sometimes the cause-and-effect aspects of the existence of these codes can sometimes be overlooked. If all else fails, then I would be treating this to a half day out with a local trusted diesel specialist rather than an Audi dealer or independent. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Colin, I find that these should I, shouldn't I, debate about these things might eventually boil down to finding opinion which agrees with what we really want to do. If spending on a warranty - which may or may not pay out, and who knows until the claim is raised - eases the mind, then that is the way to go, for that particular individual. It becomes peace of mind for doing something, and no doubt that is important to you, and that is all that matters. A totally different approach is likely from others, who quite rightly point out that the devil may be in the detail. Enjoy the car, Kind regards, Gareth.

Indeed, all good luck to you Gavin. You certainly deserve it. Sorry if I seem to be pinning down with this, but when I look back on your post of 31 Aug., you say the technician (who did a road test with you?) said the noise was something to do with the driver's side rear, and it had to go in for further investigation - and the health check. i just wondered whether the chap who said he thought the nose was coming from the back, was the same one who checked the car when it went in, and if he is the one you have been in touch with again, and will be looking at the car when they have it back in again. Kind regards, Gareth.

The original poster - Rob- has told us that these tyres have covered 34,000 miles on the front of an A4 Sport. Piotr has rightly said over and under inflation can lead to tyres wearing out much quicker. My feeling is to ask, is it reasonable to expect even correctly inflated front tyres to last and be road legal at this mileage on this car? I would believe not, but perhaps others may disagree with this. If someone was to say to me their front tyres on an A4 Sport were through to the canvas in part at this mileage -as this one was, would I be surprised? No, I wouldn't. Perhaps Rob has been fortunate here in avoiding an endorsement for an illegal tyre (maybe even double points for two illegal tyres), and even more fortunate that the car was not involved in an accident - which would likely to lead to an insurer not paying out. Is it reasonable not to notice part of a tyre becoming below the legal tread depth, and then continuing to use the car until the tyre finally (punctures) looses air? Sorry folks, but... Kind regards, Gareth.

Long way to go Waheed - it's in Chicago! Apparently. Kind regards, Gareth

OK Jason, I'm not sure where the logic comes from that opening the filler cap while under pressure will cause a vacuum. The system is under pressure, and I guess it is now realised that opening this cap when the coolant is hot is not what you want to do with respect to your safety, but you've done it now, but not the thing to do. Always leave the system cool naturally before opening the cap and adding any coolant. I certainly would not drain and refill the system at this stage. It will only introduce another variable - as well as air! Have you done or do you intend to do as I suggested with the heater hoses? Kind regard, Gareth.

Hello Jason, Is this car new to you, and you've inherited this problem, or has the problem started well Into your ownership, and has previously been OK? If it has happened during your ownership, has the cooling system been drained/partially drained, and refilled for any reason? The first simple thing to do is to squeeze the heater pipes - on a squeeze and release basis- when the coolant is up to temperature and the heater control set to the highest temperature. See if this makes any difference to the temperature of the heater pipes. Of course, observe all the necessary safety requirements when doing this. If it doesn't, then further investigations are needed into the heater controls. Not sure how much this helps, but.... Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Should have mentioned that engine should be running when squeezing.

Hello Nizam, Without specific experience of this model, I'm very much with Steve on this and the logic that this vehicle will be petrol, automatic and used for town driving. Never the recipe for good fuel economy! In fact, the recipe for the worse possible fuel consumption. I'm sure you will appreciate that with the automatics, it is likely that this car will never get into the higher gears with your particular use. Again, it must be appreciated that these cars are far from aerodynamic. Since you are moving from diesel, due to the DPF inconvenience, then the trade off will most certainly be an adverse effect on the wallet. I guess the final choice will be influenced by whether you put up with giving a diesel car a weekly blast, or get used to regularly dipping into your wallet to feed a petrol engined car. If economy is king then it would have to be a manual diesel engined car. If it isn't, then the exact opposite end of the scale would have to be a petrol automatic. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Yakub, I think you will continue to get mixed answers by asking around. The bottom line is that any piece of engineered machinery will benefit longer term by being treated with respect during its initial useage, so why not break it in - which I think is what you would really like to hear. If it can be argued it is unnecessary, but will it do it any harm? My feeling us no, it will be beneficial. Personally, I would restrict the top gear speed to a maximum of 60mph for the first few hundred miles and gradually increase this until you reach 1000 miles. To me, it would be important to restrict the revs to below 3000 max., but equally important not to allow the car to labour at low revs. in too high a gear. Do some mixed driving as well, of course. Enjoy the car Yakub, and I'm sure it will treat you very well, since you certainly seem to be the respectful driver the car deserves. Can't miss the opportunity to say we break in horses in this part of the country, and run-in cars. No offence meant Yakub and thanks for bringing the smile! Kind regards, Gareth.

Really difficult to tell Peter since no one will currently know the full extent of the damage caused by this "belt failure". This will only be evident on dismantling, and dismantling may not be cheap in itself. Almost certain that some of the valves will have bent and may have caused irreparable damage to the cylinder head. The reason the valves bend is that they contact the pistons - which are also likely to become damaged. The action of the valves coming into contact with the opposing travel of the pistons can exert excessive stresses on the piston conrods (which are very often an alloy) and these may become distorted. In severe cases, even camshafts can break. This is a rather long winded way of saying who knows, and the full and pessimistic worse case is that it is likely to take at least a few hours labour to find the extent, before any expenditure on parts and labour to carry out the remedial work. Are repaired engines ever as good as they were following cambelt failure? In my experience, unfortunately no. Others may offer a more rosy picture from their experience. A secondhand engine may be an alternative route (history and mileage known?). The costings on this will be easier to assess since it will equal cost of engine and transport, labour costs to remove yours and refit, plus of course, fitting a good quality cambelt assembly and water pump. Sorry I cannot be more specific Peter, but I'm sure you will appreciate you are talking big bucks here - after following the proper preventative maintenance procedure and getting the belt and associated assemblies changed! Great shame. It might be worth bearing in mind that the cambelt assembly itself did not fail, but its failure was as a result of the failure of some other internal component which caused the belt to fail. Unusual, but...... Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Anyone dipping their toes in the water regarding advice/experience on the guarantee period for cambelt assembly changes. Someone must know or be able to find out for Peter.

Good point Dann, but this car has an open curcuit in the glow plug system rather than a short (to earth). Getting this sorted may be dsirable longer term, but if I recall correctly, the glow plugs only operate when the outside temperature drops to 5 degrees C. Kind regards, Gareth.

I was respectfully trying to let you down quietly Peter to minimise the risk of a sleepless night ! Since you are now in the know :- Engine rebuild - if they are ever the same after- may render this an uneconomical proposition for a car of this age. Lets hope things work out for you. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Peter, Many thanks for coming back on this. The tensioner may be a red herring actually, since I would seriously expect them to have changed this as part of a "cambelt kit". I would really be surprised if they hadn't, yet changed the water pump. Probably just did not mention it on the invoice. A couple of questions which it would be worth you asking are:- Did they fit a full cambelt kit assembly? If so, what make of (aftermarket?) kit did they use. What make of water pump did they use? As I said earlier, my feeling is that (assuming the whole assembly was correctly fitted) the replacement water pump has proved substandard and led to the cambelt failure. Of course, this is a prejudgment without sight. A simple failure of the rubber belt itself (whatever make) would be a rarer issue. "Like paying twice'?! Perhaps it's best you talk with them first Peter. I don't think it's a question of simply paying to get the job done again unfortunately. Would someone more knowledgeable than me, help Peter out here and offer some advice on what the guarantee period is on this work - if beyond the mentioned 1year. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Peter, Very sorry to hear of your plight, which unfortunately is a very serious thing to happen. When you say "I had my timing belt, water pump and alternator belt changed in 2014", is a little like saying (to keep it simple) "I bought a pair of trainers". The life and service you may expect from the trainers will deleted on whether you bought them from the local Sunday market, or a well trusted brand from a proper shop. So the question here is:- Was this work done at a main dealer, who would only use VAG parts, an independent (who is likely to do the same ), or somewhere else who may just use the cheapest available motor factor aftermarket parts? It would be interesting to know, and is likely to have some influence on where you go from here. You mention the water pump was changed at the same time, and my gut feeling is that this may have been an aftermarket pump, which are often of dubious quality, and when these go wrong, it wrecks the whole belt assembly set up. This critical application is probably the rime example of part quality being king, rather than price. Timing belts and their assemblies are not normally scheduled for change in under 5 years, but an interesting question is that if that assembly is changed then do we have any guarantee beyond the normally expected 1 year for repairs? I think it's a good question anyway? My belief is just the one year, but I could be wrong. As well as the parts you listed as being changed, I take it the tensioner was also changed Peter. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Aaron, I would have thought that the glow plug issue would only affect the cold starting during low temperature winter months. Could well be wrong. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jordan, Understand "Audi isn't interested....." which I take means the dealer you bought it from. Why not take it to another Audi dealer? Obviously this car is near new and under warranty, and you should not have to worry about what is the cause of any undue noises - it should be for Audi to rectify the fault, while you simply enjoy your motoring. My advice- try another dealer. Good luck, Gareth.

Apologies for adding to Robin's advice, but I would do the motorway testing at the higher speed of around 58 mph rather than 50mph, since 58 this is the recognised speed at which most engines are said to be operating at their maximum economy. If it turns out to be an automatic, then these would not get into the highest gears until over 50mph. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gavin, Chances are I am going to bore you and the rest of the good folks on here!, but I think we all feel for your plight here, and how you best go forward. Basic questions which may add a bit more sense to this:- Have they actually said to you that the cause of your noise is the wear in the upper suspension mounts? or Have they said that as part of the Health Check they have found wear in the upper suspension mounts? Two very different questions, and the answers to them are really critical to the situation. Prejudging your reply (which probably means you have to ask the dealer to explain again to be sure) it would not surprise me that this has been found as part of the health check, and not their quest to find the reason for the noise. If that is the case, I would return to them and ask to see the technician who diagnosed thatvthe noise was associated with a suspected rear wheel bearing, and get him to have a proper look at this again and report back to you. Kind regards, Gareth.

Fair point Cliff. Will the Audi dealer guarantee that this repair will indeed eliminate the noise that bothers Gavin? Even if they do - and I seriously doubt they would ( perhaps Steve could comment on this from his dealership experience) - then of course Gavin would have to pay their rate for the job rather than take it elsewhere, IF he decides this the cure for his noise. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gavin, I really don't want to protract this thread and repeat advice, since it is only my advice - and its your car, and your money, but.... To put it simply:- Would I spend a large amount of money on getting these mounts done in the hope that this will cure the noise you seemed to describe in your first post? No, I most certainly would not! Of course, others may, or may not, agree with this, and you have to spend your money as you see fit. Good luck with whatever you do, and it would be great to know how you get on. Fingers crossed that whatever you decide, it will work out for you. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Chris, Although I would guess that this car is a little early to benefit from all the current plug-in information which is now available (I'm sure others will enlighten me on this ) then surely it would tell you whether one or more cylinders are not firing. If all else fails why not disconnect each plug lead/ coil pack, one at a time, to see which one make no difference when disconnected. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ian, "Bobbing around town" may be the clue to this, coupled with a large car with a not too big an engine capacity to move it around. Of course, there may be some issue with it, but it may be meaningful to do some mixed driving, some long distance no-stops runs, and get three sets of figures to compare with what others may say they get with their same models. Manual or automatic? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Gavin, Um!! I would strongly (STRONGLY - sorry about shouting!) recommend you stop (STOP) sit down with a drink and try to work through the logic of this, before throwing more money at it. I have relooked at your original post and in my mind you are describing a rotational/moving noise and not a steering /turning noise. I could be wrong in that interpretation, but..... The Audi technician suggested rear wheel bearing issues, (which - might - make some sense) now they say the noise is associated with the upper suspension leg mounts? , which in my book would equate to a simple 'noise when turning the steering wheel' and not a rotational noise. I fear you may be throwing good money after bad - yet again. I could be wrong, but..... please think on before diving in again. Re. Main dealer per hour labour rates. About it I guess. After all, large premises, staff, overheads etc. all add up, and although it's easy to think these are rip off rates, perhaps we should consider whether we would want to finance such an operation on lower labour rates. Reclaim from the selling dealer?? Pessimistic view, but work on the principle that you will not succeed and you might not be too disappointed. What you have to appreciate Gavin is that a court may look on this that you have spent £X on trying to solve a noise which you still have, so that expenditure was not justified. Pretty blunt but simple. Please, please, don't run the risk of spending more again and finding you are no better off. Just take stock for a bit. I genuinely wish you all good luck in whatever you decide. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Aaron, Might be worth having a fairly simple leak-back test on the injectors as a first port of call. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Martin, I have used Rainsworth Skoda (Nottingham area I think) who operate on EBay as the Skoda Parts Shop. If you fail to find them then please come back and I'll dig it out of the file for you. Although they usually offer a reasonable discount, I doubt if it will be competitive with the 'best shop around" price for the LUK kit, and I wouldn't hesitate to use use this alternative, but well worth having the comparison before going ahead. 6 hours would seem reasonable to me, but there should be a definite confirmable hours on a garage computer time listing. Not the job you would want to entrust for this age of car - money wise -to a main dealer. A trusted local garage should be able to help. Good luck, Gareth.