Magnet

Well Trevor, age is what you are lucky enough to make if it. Suffice it to say the oldest car I have ( and that one has been with me for 37 years) is a bit older than me! It still goes, and stops, when you remember to sent it a postcard. Now Bradley is going to ask what a postcard is, bless him! Indeed, there does seem to be a good mix of contributions on here, and unfortunately as Brad says, I don't do concise very well! Still, it's a contribution, and we should congratulate those reading mine to the end! From my side, I would welcome more information in the initial question, since very often, the answer is in the detail of the question. The debate I have now is whether it's worth me investing in a 5 year guarantee battery for one of the cars, on the basis of whether a 3 year would do me - if you see what it mean! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Craig, Sorry to hear about your problems, and I sympathise with your plight. I recall doing the opposite when I had hair, and putting diesel in a Morris 1000. I thought they would go on anything, but not that one, so it as drain it off and start again with no harm done. My experience points to diesel into petrol engines results in far les issues than petrol into diesels - for which you usually don't get away with without problems. I would guess that the fault " low pressure on the common rail" is an affect rather than the primary cause, and the primary cause is possibly a now unserviceable fuel pump/s. Unless things have changed (and they may well have done) then two things can happen when diesel gets contaminated with petrol :- the very high compression diesel engine will knock its heart out, and two, the petrol is likely to have an adverse affect on the seals of the pump - and you end up with what you have. I appreciate that if this is correct then this is not good news, and if it were mine, I would be putting as little miles on this car before getting it to a diesel specialist for their advice. Lee makes a good point about insurance companies and mis-fuelling cover. You may find you are covered, but many of the cheaper quotes on comparison websites are just that, and provide only a basic cover quote to which you add the cover which is important to you, but certainly worth a go. Hoping you get out of this with the minimum affects on the pocket. Kind regards, Gafeth.

Hello Peter, Before getting too far into possible causes, it may be worth considering buying another new bulb, but from the main dealer. There are a lot of inferior aftermarket electrical components about, and this may just be one of them. Not sure where you bought it, but try nipping into your local main dealer, and see how you get on. If that fails then at least you have some redress, and assurances that you then need to look elsewhere for problems. When you think about this logically, the bulb works initially, so the curcuit must be in order ( if it didn't work and you knew the bulb was serviceable, then you investigate curcuit problems). For the curcuit to be in order and a bulb to blow, then the options are too high a voltage - and where would this system get a higher voltage than any other curcuit on the car? - a higher current, and the same applies, or a bulb which is not capable of withstanding correct voltage and currents for anything more than a short space of time. My money would be on the latter, and trying a good quality bulb first. Now some may say that main dealer bulbs are made far east of the Thames estuary as most others are! Fair point. Good luck in getting it sorted. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Victoria. Sorry to hear you have problems with the electric handbrake on the car. If the car was older or not new to you, I would have asked if the car was automatic or manual, since if auto., then you might have found that owners generally don't use them - in favour of simply leaving it in Park. Consequence is that the electric motor/ linkages get siezed/stiff due to lack of use. In your case, it sounds as if you have used it regularly since the car was new, so no excuse there. There is a possibility that salt has affected it, but that would be a guess. It seems the car is still well within warrantee, and if it were mine, I would be booking it to get it sorted as quickly as possible before it decides to lock on rather than not to lock on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Terrence, I guess Bradley has given you a fair valuation, and it really sounds the sort of car that has a good provenance. This is probably going to sound rather pessimistic, but there are valuations and valuations, and the "value" of something must be judged by the market it is going into as much as the car itself, and it must be appreciated that the car is now c9 to 10 years old. If you are thinking of selling privately then it will be appreciated that someone must have access to around £11,000 without depending on being able to part exchange a vehicle with you, and/or you being able to offer finance and quarantees. As Arthur would have said - 11 Gs in folding! Tall order? If you are to put this in part exchange, then it is too old to be resold by a large dealership, and would be trade off into the low end of the secondhand car market. Profits would of course need to be made and margins alowed for any unexpected repair work. In a nutshell Terrence, I'm sure you will appreciate that valuations will vary ( considerably?) between forecourt retail, private retail, part exchange and say We Buy Any Car! Perhaps it would be useful to know how you wish to sell it. Good luck with finding it a new home. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Adie, Looking at this simplistically, the RAC approved garage, your Southend main dealer and the Nowich dealer are all within reasonable variance of each other, and I too have found that main dealers are prepared to match or near price match alternative quotes from recognised garages. You raise a good point about why this service charge is higher than you would expect, but the answer probably lies in the question - what mileage has the car done? We know the car is now over 5 years old, and this, coupled with the mileage might dictate the policy change replacement of some components based on 5years or x miles. - e.g. cambelt (if it's a belt engine). I would have thought that the main dealer would have been able to advise you why the service cost for this service is higher than earlier services for example. That's really where the true explanation lies. Unfortunately, the days have gone when the dealers gave you a ticked- box service sheet everytime it was serviced telling you exactly what had and hadn't been done, but asking that basic question of why it is so much, should provide the answer. No service sheet anymore? Backward step it might be thought. How about no service book? Some manufacturers are no longer providing service books ( with the much cherished stamps!) with their new vehicles. " It's all recorded on the computer sir!". If it were mine, I would be entrusting this service to the main dealer you are most confident with who will near match ( don't be too greedy!) the local garage price. Not sure if this helps, Kind regards, Garetg.

Here we go then Stevie. A quick Google shows 0420 is something like catalytic converter low efficiency (or something along that line), which is why the garage convinced you to pour your hard earned into Cataclean or whatever which would have been a miracle cure, since they were not looking at the cause of the cat.being below par - to my guess it is simply the fact that you are pushing high quantities of water vapour ( white smoke) down it at a rate of knots. "They don't like it up 'em" as Jonesy would have said. I think you can forget about the code, and concentrate on why you have the white smoke. To spell it out as simply as I can, it's the white smoke which is causing the problem and not code 0420 (which is an affect of the white smoke). It's over to you Stevie to give us the full history on this issue. Just read the replies and give us all the answers asked for and I'm sure help will be at hand. I should have put the full of full history in capitals, and the all of ... all the answers.. but I'm sure you will come up with the information for us. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Stevie, While someone interprets the code, perhaps some additional information might help us- such as the questions I asked. It is also important to know if the car is relatively new to you or not, and if not, how long you have owed it. However long you have owned it, it would be useful for you to confirm, or otherwise whether this problem was there to any degree before you had the coolant system flushed. I feel it is going to be far more difficult for anyone to help you with this without the above information. I do have what can only be a theory for what may be the trouble here, but the viability of that theory is very much dependent on the additional information we, or at least I, need to offer any further advice. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Melissa, Others more knowledgable on the actual models and specifications will no doubt clarify, but can I take it this has air suspension? If so, my first port of call (noting the vehicle's age) would be the compressor - a small and hard working component for what it has to do. Air suspension compressors are notorious on other marques for wearing out their piston rings and although the system copes, it doesn't have the necessary reserve. Some will point to a new compressor at "oh dear" prices, but these are generally repairable - I can give you a contact fo the parts if I'm barking up the right tree. If the compressor is serviceable then it could be the individual suspension unit, which might be a main dealer part only. Some homework will be necessary, if our Cardiffians pockets are to be respected! Ignore if not air suspension! If it is, then let us know and we might be able to help further. Kind regards, Gareth.

I too agree with Brad and Trevor's advice with this, but it might be worth considering having this car on a wheels-free ramp and running this through the gears and on and off lock. This might, just might show up something, but I am conscious that this does not replicate an under-load situation. Obviously observe all the safety requirements. Incidentally, who pointed you to a need to change the gearbox? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Anand, I too would first eliminate the battery as a source of this problem as Trevor says. As I see it, we are still in relatively early days in terms of this stop/start system and how it stands up to years of use. Of course, it should not cut out if the battery charged level is lower than the specified minimum, so perhaps - just perhaps - the battery is not maintaining that level. This system is interesting since it obviously places a far greater demand on the battery and alternator, and although the car's battery fitted on a new car, usually copes well with some c10 years of service, I wonder if there are any statistics available yet to guide us on how long the batteries will last on these stop/start systems. Yours is approaching 4 years old. Any chance it's reaching the end of its service life? If so, how much longer before the starter calls it a day? - and then the alternator? You will gather Stevie that I am not a fan of these systems, and if the above is not enough of an off put, then perhaps we should also consider that the maximum amount of wear on an engine occurs on initial start up! Switch it off and do yourself a favour. Please moderate these comments with the fact that I am old! In fact old enough to be familiar with its pre war predessor, the Startrix system which automatically restarted the car if it stalled. A disaster! Anyway, good luck in getting it fixed. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Stevie, Personally I wouldn't get too pessimistic about this - in terms of head gasket failure etc- until we have a bit more detail from you. The only comment I would make is to question the possible diagnosis as being due to a faulty catalytic converter! Still..... What I would want to know is whether the car is losing coolant or not, and if so how much to return it to its original level when cold and how many miles had been travelled. I would also need to know is if this smoke is still present after a 10 mile run on a fine day with the car at standstill and an assistant holding the revs. at a constant 2000rpm. If it is, and its white (if it was oil burning it would be blue) then I would agree that it is likely to be water entering the combustion. Now I'm pre judging your answers here, but if it is losing coolant, and the white smoke is persisant then my first port of call would be to suspect/eliminate the (water heated) inlet manifold gasket - based on the system being flushed, probably with a caustic additive which might have attacked an already failing manifold gasket. Please don't get frightened into head gasket issues until all else has been eliminated. Hope this helps, Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Clifford, I'm not sure if I've become rather confused with this, but the way I looked at it was, the price-to -beat was around £1500 at the main delear (OK with fitting), and so the £165 for the genuine VAG part from Rainsworth Skoda seemed attractive enough not to be bothered with EBay or scrapyards. Not sure whether that avenue us been investigated. Kind regards, Gareth.

Looked back through the file for you Clifford and have the following information for you:- Skoda Parts Shop (their EBay user name I think) are Rainsworth Skoda at Mansfield, Notts. and the phone number is 01623 623400. Ask for their parts department and you should get Dan, or from memory (not very good!) possibly Jonathan. I have bought quite a few service items off them, and you usually get a reasonable discount. The "part ABS" unit we had from them for a 2006 A3 1.6 was:- Part no. was 1K0698517B and was described as a Repair Kit, and from memory included the already assembled valve portion. The cost back in August 2012 was then £164.98 inc. VAT. I didn't actually fit it, but as I recall, was simply the top half of the easily accessible ABS unit. Wouldn't have thought there was any great problem in doing this, but cleanliness would obviously be of paramount importance. Hope this helps. Incidentally the mileage at that time would have been a little over 100K. Good luck with it, and it would be useful to know if this VAG part is still available. Could you let us know? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Karl, A good question, and with recent experience of a non-Audi, is one that the supplying dealers don't seem to discuss or perhaps even understand at the salesman, initial contact level. In respect of the question about does it use Adblue then I would guess the answer is yes it does, and I would hazard a guess at the intially quanity lasting perhaps about 3,000 to 5,000 miles. The problem we have had for many years is that the service personnel know the answers to meaningful questions we have in mind, but are isolated from the owner by the service receptionists, who may or may not know the answer. It is sometimes not easy to get the correct answer first time. If it were mine, I would be contacting the service department and asking the questions you ask here, and getting a price for them to refill when needed. Armed with this better knowledge, I would then visit the salesman and ask the same question again and ask him to point out where the reservoir is so that you will/should know. If he doesn't know then insist he gets someone to talk to you then who does know - route to service personnel! I believe the reservoir will be fitted with a level sensor which will warn you that it getting low, but I think you are wise to ask the questions now. Enjoy the car. Kind regards, Gareth.

Well Clifford, I think Philip was referring to improving his brakes, and that is why I asked if he knew what pads etc were currently fitted since my experience with the A3 was that they were more than adequate as standard - to say the least. Of course, opinions and personal preferences differ, but stretching back to a time I had hair!, I haven't previously come across anyone who wants to downgrade their braking efficiency. I drive a number of cars from pre war to let's say prestige, and I find myself fairly quickly adjusting to the Audi's required brake pedal pressure and certainly would not wish to downgrade them. Anyway Clifford, as I say, only a personal opinion. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Clifford, I think this may be one of VAG's "common problems". Well at least that is what I understood some years ago when we had a similar issue with the 2006 A3 Sportback. At that time, I approached The Skoda Parts Shop ( up north somewhere and no connection) since this was where we were getting service items at discount. They were able to provide a "part ABS" unit at a not too unreasonable price at that time. If you need me to, I will try and see if I can find the receipt in the file and give you some more information. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Mileage would be interesting.

Hello Mark, Can I take it you are considering a new DMF rather than a secondhand one? If new, I would have thought they would have been available from manufacturer LUK who supply replacement clutches. There are other replacemnt clutch component manufacturers, but personally I stick with LUK. You could try on line, or your local motor factors. Good luck with it. Kind regards, Gareth.

Is John's experience an example of why some owners are questioning if they should indeed bother with these recalls? I appreciate that we generally hear the bad news before any good news, and I just wonder if any viewers of this forum have any positive views following these recalls. It would be interesting to have a sort of poll for and against. One question:- if the owner complains of a lowering of performance and economy, can they have the settings returned to original, and if the answer to this is no, can the vehicle be rejected on the basis that it would not have been purchased if its current performance was known? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello John, If Trevor is foxed by this, then I'm sure I would be, but just wondered if this noise was present every time the car was started or when first started from cold. Perhaps you could let us know and we may be able to suggest something else. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Michael, I too would be tending to discount the battery and indeed the starter motor since you say it appears to start OK from cold when there would be a far greater load on these components. Of course, it's always difficult to diagnose these problems, but it could (just could) be an injector/s at fault and perhaps giving you symptoms of "misfire". As I understand it, even one faulty injector can have a significant influence on how it starts and runs. Not sure if this would show up on the diagnostics, but failing that it would be a question of having a leak- back test on them, and if any issues, taking them out and having them checked - not too expensive to have them checked. Good luck with sorting it. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Bill, Personally, I would exercise extreme caution with this. After all, what you are considering is to is to depart (albeit slightly) from the manufacturer's recommendation simply to save some money. Audi would have developed this car and decided what was the best tyre size for its power and handling characteristics. The final recommendation would be to consult the car's handbook and see if the undersize is indeed a recognised alternative to the ones on there. If so, great. Of not....? I guess it's not out of the question that a previous owner may have fitted an oversize! - the handbook could be the best source for you, and always worth a look. Of course the final decision will be yours, but if you did find yourself in a claim situation with your insurers at any time, then they might just look upon this downsize unfavourably. If it were mine, and you decide to go for the cheaper option, then I would at least pass this passed your insurer just to be sure. Not sure if this helps or hinders, but I think you are very wise to seek advice. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Anthony, On a much simpler tack to Trevor's very sound advice and experience, I would strongly recommend talking with the last registered keeper. Basic, but more often than not overlooked as the best source of information and experience with the particular vehicle you are intending to buy. For me, it would be - don't buy without doing this. Good luck with whatever you decide, Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dave, I would guess Castrol Edge 5w/30 would do the job very well, but it might be worth double checking (if necessary) in your handbook that 5w/30 is indeed the correct grade for your car and its mileage. I notice Trevor mentions Mobil 1 as an alternative, and perhaps it might be helpful to know that the 5w/30 grade of Mobil 3000 fully synthetic (superior or not to Mobil 1?) is always available at Wilkinsons for only £24 for 5 litres. As I understand it, VAG were /are recommending Quantum oil ( some say it's rebranded Castrol but I'm not sure). This is available as a "standard" fully synthetic or a Longlife variant - which one would guess should be better. Two things I would add Dave is to be equally enquiring about the quality of the filter used. In my book use genuine Vag - at discount, or if not, only a quality German make such as Mann. Beware of brand names we used to love and respect which may no longer be what you would hope. Second thing:- Kwik Fit and using your own oil? Do they do this, as opposed to using whatever bulk purchased oil they stock by the 40 gallon drum? Same for local garage?? Not saying this is going to happen, but will you be convinced that your carefully chosen oil is going to end up in your sump. Doesn't sound very good that, but........ Final bit for this missive would be to ask if you are happy to have your current oil sucked out rather than drained out? Not sure how you are with some hands on with a spanner Dave, but very often DIY with no constraints on time may be a consideration, but only if you know your way around these things. Good luck with whatever you choose. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dan, A happy and heathy new year to you and yours too Dan. I'm sure others will offer advice with your service requirements, but I think it is a wise move to enquire about what is considered the best things to do. For me, I tend to go with main dealer filters even though they may cost slightly more, and if you decide to go down that route, then I have bought such items from Skoda Parts Shop (no connection, and of course there are others ) who will ship out to you at discount prices. If price is to be king, then the only alternative aftermarket make I would use would be Mann. There are cheaper brands and I'm not saying any of them are not up to the mark, but I alway stick to the above and spend wisely , since you are saving on labour. I would also change the air filter and indeed the pollen/cabin filter. You could use a cheap brand of cabin filter since I tend to change these every year anyway, and its a non critical application. Oil? always wise to consult the handbook, but you might find its fully synthetic 5w/40 (possibly 5/30?). VAG were recommending Quantum oil and it is available as a Longlife grade as well - for longline service intervals. My idea is again to buy as competitively as possible and change more regularly than the schedule suggests. Money well spent in my book. Heater fan only working on higher speeds? As you say, most likely to be the resistors on the lower speed, most frequently used settings. Hope some of this helps. Kind regards, Gareth. Gareth.