Magnet

Hi Steve, Just as a matter of interest to me - are Mercedes seats still rather uncomfortably hard after a long ( well anything other than local use) run, compared with the Audi? Perhaps they have changed now. Hi Shane, This certainly is not meant to put a damper on anything or appear critical, and I'm sure you will choose the right one for you, but it goes to show that car designers have it absolutely right, and we are attracted to buying what we see and think is attractive as the first option, rather than any other consideration. Driving them becomes the second consideration - but appeal to us and our views on the appeal to others is always important. Enjoy Shane. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Stuart, Well, that's something new and interesting! Is it a trike or a bike? Anyway, as you say - a difficult one, but this could be from the period when they ran on an actual separate ignition coil, and electronic ignition via. a module in the distributor. These modules could break down and give symptoms such as you have. Now, I could be wrong, but worth some homework, or I'm sure someone on here might come up with some more meaningful help. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Shay, So we know it's OK starting from cold but shudders for a couple of seconds when started from hot. Now if it's only a couple of seconds of shudder then I guess the car has barely been put into Drive and this shudder must simply be when the engine ticks over for those seconds. Is this right? If so, is there any associated smoke? - you will probably need an assistant to check this. A stab at this while you come back with some more detail ( and depending if I'm understanding it correctly) would be to think about having the injectors checked. Perhaps the simple leak back test to start. Kind regards, Gareth.

Well Tom, Fair do s as they say around these parts. You've just jumped in and done it! No messing about with checking and all that nonsense, you've just married it - come what may. Buying a speedometer reading is fine I guess! How do I check service history??! Just enjoy it Tom. Good luck and kind regards, Gareth.

No problem at all, if you dismiss the possibility of holes in the roof in wrong places, holes in headlining where you didn't think you would have them. Um? Now what are we going to do?

Hello Marcin, Possibly not going to help us too much, but will this engine rev. freely above 2200 rpm while not under load? I'm have one of these 1.6 and I must say its not the most spritely of engines under the best of circumstances, and seems to lack a bit of get up and go between gears until the revs pick up. Ok now over 140K on mine, but always been the same. Having said that there is onbviously something wrong with yours. Kind regards, Gareth.

Personally I would be ordering a new filter and putting it in myself as part of the treatment. You will know it's been done then. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tom, Just on here and spotted your post. Not sure whether you think the car is currently high mileage or if it will be in two years time when you add another 24K. In reality, neither will really apply to my mind, in terms of high mileage. The car is currently 7 years old so has covered a lower than average mileage to date ( could be at least 84K), and I am sure that the old formula of 12K average a year is somewhat out of date as commutes become longer. Perhaps 14/15K is now a more realistic average, and if so this car could have already covered near to 100K. So high mileage? Not at all really -even when you add 24K it will still be below average. Being bought from a main dealer? I guess probably not due to its age. Reputable dealer? 6 months warranty - parts and labour? Labour cover is most important. Well worth having copy of the warranty conditions and reading up on what is excluded rather than included. It's generally what is excluded is of greatest importance. I would also advise doing your homework,and checking what has been done/changed in terms of its service history (main dealer? ) rather than depend on a stamp in a service book. Worth checking with previous owners with regard to problems - as I've said before, this vital stage is often overlooked. By doing all your homework, you should make the right decision and enjoy your purchase. We are talking a 2010 car here as per your heading? Good luck. Gareth.

Hello, Not sure what your answer is whether the cabin filter has been changed or not. If it were mine, I would ensure this is changed before you set about your cleaning routine. Strange things cabin/ pollen filters and scheduled changes. My experience at main dealers included getting a quote for the due service then asking if that price included a new cabin filter. Generally no! That will be £X more. Even when changed, it seemed to get very dirty in the following year! - if you see what I mean. Generally not a difficult job and worth doing it yourself for peace of mind- for Clifornia I guess every year. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks for clarifying that Tabstar. Now who is brave enough to drill their roof? Any drilling templates to go with these? Gluing on!! Must remember to stay well back behind any A3 with roof rails, just incase they have been glued on! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello, Has the pollen/cabin filter been changed on this since new? This appears to be a fairly common problem and relatively easily sorted by a cleaning and spraying- into- air-duct procedure. I'm sure you will find this in detail via. a Google search, but worth getting the flier change if not already done so. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Tabstar, Can you confirm that the roof had to be drilled on say a 2006 Sportback to allow these to be fitted? Might be worth listing these under Sales and Wants. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David again, Sorry to hear of your ongoing problems. Without being critical, I'm guessing you are not really spanner wise! Nothing at all wrong with that, and great that you seek advice, and the best advice I would give you is to foster relations at one (smallish?) garage in your locality that you hopefully learn to trust and respect. They will be your best bet in looking after your best interest. Not sure how big the company you work for are, but if of some size and this garage is local to your workplace, then usually they tend to depend upon a good reputation, since bad news travels fast in a small locality. From your part David, what you need to do is to look after the car you have, to make sure it looks after you! OK, not very spanner wise, but make sure you check the oil and water once a week ( "I refilled it a couple of weeks ago" is just bad news!) Check your tyre pressures once a month - and so on. All very basic, but well worthwhile. Yes, I know there are more interesting things to do, but.... End of advice! - and good luck with getting it sorted as best and most economically as possible. Kind regards, Gareth.

I wouldn't want to appear to be labouring the point Rob, but I would not necessarily go with the idea that chains are for life -. Well of course, they are for the life of the chain! - which may not be the same as what the life of the engine would have been if the chain and tensioner wear had been attended to ! Have a look at other threads where such wear has resulted in catastrophic engine failure. 4 year time interval for changing belts? Agree it would be good - but erring on the side of caution, and perhaps more like..... or 5 years which ever comes first ...normally. Kind regards, Gareth.

Good news David. With the steering rack:- Most components for a particular make, model and engine variant remained the same over a number of years. So let's say you would have had the same rack on a 2001 to 2006 A3 1.6 - this is only an EXAMPLE and may NOT be fact. Couple of options:- If you have faith in your garage then ask them to source the correct rack within your budget from a non-Audi source. Maybe the best option if you are unsure. Or, Ring up your Audi dealer and ask them for a (frightening!) price for the rack for your car by giving them the registration number. When they give you the price, ask them for the part number. Armed with this part number, you can search EBay for the correct rack within your budget and confirm with the seller that it is indeed correct by checking the part number with them. Just get a feel for what's what by dong a simple EBay search to start with. That will give you an idea what you are likely to get for your money. Good luck in sorting it out. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, Have you looked on EBay? I've just looked for you and you have no end of choice for racks, ranging from around £50, to some reconditioned seemingly, for less than £150. With engine oil - "had to fill last week" - sounds a bit frightening if you literally have to refill. From a very low level? How much does it normally use then? I only ask, since your garage questions the worth of doing this work and only you know what this car is like. What model A3 is it David? Hope some of this helps. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks for coming back David. Let's hope it's not as serious as the £1000 would have first suggested. It's always difficult to try to diagnose these things at a distance, and no disrespect meant, but clear and full descriptions are helpful - I read this incorrectly that your power steering had failed 5 months ago! Perhpas it would help you if the garage lists the things they think are wrong (I take it via. Diagnostics as well) together with the cost of repair. I'm sure someone will offer you some advice on here should you then need it. You didn't say whether the car uses oil or not, and if so, how much. Good luck with it. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. What part of Wales?

Hello Michael, I'm sure Rob's advice is sound, and I'm afraid my lack of experience of these engines is not going to be of any help. For peace of mind, what I would do if it were me, is to ring up - or better visit - your local Audi dealer parts department and ask them to check their system against your registration number and that will positively confirm whether you have belt/s or chains. Again, although I would not want to contradict the importance of regular oil changes being the main factor for the life of a chain, personally I would not want to put my complete faith in this in terms of the serviceability of a chain and it's associated tensioners etc. I think there is sufficient evidence on here to beware on certain engines even with cars which have full service history. It might be worth considering taking specialist advice about getting chains and tensioners policy changed - as with belts- depending on service and any potential for problems with certain engines. Above all Michael, I think you are wise in at least thinking about these issues and taking advice. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, It's unusual for spark plugs to fail and particularly as a set ( individuals sometimes perhaps). For a further set (same make?) to go for a possible third time is simply stretching the coincidence. I would have a stab at something else causing the plugs to foul up, and the garage simply replaces the fouled up plugs - and off you go- instead of tracing the problem which causes them to foul up. Possible excessively rich mixture comes to mind, but that can only be a guess. Oil contamination from worn valve oil seals might be another possibility, but it would be difficult to diagnose without far more information. Does this car smoke or use oil for example? Re. power steering:- sounds as if you have an issue with the power steering pump which might account for an estimate of £1K. Been without power steering for 5 months? - strong arms with these Welshmen! For it were mine, I would be wanting to know exactly what is wrong to cause both issues (at another garage?) before committing to any expense. Perhaps you could let us have a bit more detail and keep us informed of how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth. (fellow Welshman).

Hello Nuala, I'm sorry to hear that your issues are adding to the bad experiences of others. How many bad experiences against good ? Only VAG would know I guess. Not that it will be any consolation to you, but the thought of having to take a car of mine in for a so called update, would lead to many sleepless nights. Thanks, but no thanks for a free update! Now I'm not sure how this will be received by the administrators of this forum - but it's only a personal opinion of what I would be tempted to do if it were mine - I would formally write the to the dealer principal by recorded delivery letter and register my dissatisfaction as a result of this upgrade and inform him that I intend to present the facts of my discontents to the media, since I understand that mine is not an isolated bad experience following these updates. Tell them that I propose to do that within say seven days receipt of the letter unless I have the car returned to me ( with no expense to me) in the same performance mode as it was before I was asked to return it for this upgrade. Still not happy after this? Then it would be the national press for me. I must emphasise that this is what I would do if it were mine, and not necessarily a recommendation for what others should do, but I could be something to think about. I can only wish you well in your quest to right the wrongs. Kind regards, Gareth.

Maybe considered rather OTT, but with a reasonable period of time already given to sort this out, and the evidence of the frequency in general discontent with these upgrades, I might just think about taking the resolution to the small claims court. Of course, it might not be a small claim, since one could argue that they have rendered your car/s unusable (safely) and as such the claim would be for reimbursement of the market value of the car, or the cost to get it independently repaired/returned to its previous serviceable condition. Whether this claim is made against VAG or the dealer who carried out the update ( the dealer I guess) is open to debate. VAG have understandably already been subjected to criticism over the whole issue - which has resulted in the need for these so called updates. To my mind, it is now time for some publicity in respect of round 2 citing such cases as yours where these updates cause issues which were not present before. Have you considered taking this to the national press or consumer programmes such as Watchdog? Good luck with getting getting this sorted, although it should not depend on luck. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Peter, Sorry to hear of your problems, and I must assume that this is a recent account of problems. If so, and taking account that bad news travels faster than good, it would seem that there is sufficient evidence - certainly on here - to at least think twice before going ahead with these recalls. Good luck in getting back where you were with the car. Kind regards, Gareth.

Well, you have to have the greatest of sympathy for Richad's plight with these two cars, and no doubt there is sufficient experience on here to point to whether this is indeed a 'not uncommon experience' with these these engines - if this is not understating the situation! For me, it demonstrates that car sales are driven by brand locality and a falling in love with the appearance of certain models, even to a point of come what may! Having bought a model we like, and we hope others will admire, we sometimes go about getting it tuned up ( are we unhappy with its manufactured performance? - perhaps making it more attractive). It seems (I have been there!) that this desire leads to some degree of blindness while we go about going in for round two despite being once bitten. It also demonstrates that full service history - deemed by some to be the be all and end all - in some cases is of little worth. I have advocated that it is taking an unnecessary buying risk if you don't contact the previous owner to gain their experience before buying - despite FSH, but Richard's experience would blow this advice out of the water, but better done than not done. Could someone enlighten me on this - and perhaps minimise the risk of this happening to some other unsuspecting - but is this an issue with a chain driven oil pump? If so, like cambelts, is it advisable to change these chain assemblies (modified?) at some sort of "regular" interval to ensure the engine remains safe, and Audi do not have any recommended service schedule for this, so FSH is indeed meaningless as far as this is concerned? My commiserstions to Richard, and thanks for sharing his bad experience which might just be of benefit to others. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello David, I certainly don't want to claim any expertise with this, but perhaps some logical thought might point to the fact that the engine cuts out when it needs to when the brake is applied when stationary. Now, if it cuts out when it should not, then is this issue linked to some fault within a brake switch? Of course, this arguement may be knocked on the head by some logic that the engine cut out (when it should) is actioned via. a combination of brake switch and a sensor which senses the car is stationary. Not sure whether this is of any help or not - I guess not. I am not going to wish you good luck in getting this sorted - it should not depend on luck! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Bradon and Jason, Not sure if I'm barking up wrong trees with you model years, but I'm pretty sure the earlier than 2008 models may not/did not, have mounting points for these bars. As I understand it, they can be retro fitted, but it means drilling the roof at the appropriate points! As I say, I could be wrong, but might be worth checking before buying. Kind regards, Gareth.