cliffcoggin

Like many I am appalled at Audi's attitude to this problem and have every sympathy for the sufferers. However sympathy will get you nowhere so may I make a few suggestions in the way the claim is pursued? Concentrate on the essential heart of the matter, which from what I have read seems to be a design or manufacturing flaw leading to unsafe operation. Don't add red herrings such as whether Audi is a luxury brand, or damage during recovery, or the legality of recovery with an occupant in the car. Such distractions only give the parties involved ideal opportunities for prevarication and avoidance of the central issue. Stick to your guns and stick to the central issue. I wish you the best of luck.

Did you have the new battery coded to the car, and did it solve the problem?

Which is why I am locking this topic.

Well that rules out a battery problem. Others here will have more knowledge about the rest of the electronics.

An internet search revealed several car instrument repairers. Have you tried any of them?

Well said Gareth. For many months I have not responded to questions that are written in what I call "text speak". Sentences without a scrap of punctuation and little or no grammar. Anything in fact that requires me to decypher it into English. If the questioner cannot be bothered to write a comprehensible query, why should I make the effort to assist?

Was the new battery coded to the car? It needs to be in order for all electronic functions to work.

Unfortunately it is all too common for people to seek help here and not inform us of the result. Some do not even aknowledge the assistance given.

One possible cause is a dying battery. How old is it?

I don't know specifically about your car, but most oil filters have a rubber ring set in a groove atop the filter which provides the seal. It is easy to distort or damage the seal if it is not lubricated with oil before installation, or if the filter is over tightened. The filter only needs to be screwed on firmly by hand or with a strap wrench. Never use a metal tool such as a pump wrench. If you are going to do the job yourself you will need a large tray to catch the inevitable oil spillage. You will also need a safe way to lift the car to crawl under it.

Given that Ali has not bothered to inform us of the outcome of the problem, or even looked at the forum for two years, the answer to that question is no.

One possible cause is a dying 12 volt battery. How old is it?

It looks like a button. What happens when you press it?

Congratulations on your perseverance. I think we all know which dealer you will go to in future. Do please let us know of progress. Once the matter has been settled please also let us know the identity of the dealer who let you down.

I thought the horse was normally attached to the front. Sorry. I couldn't resist.

Adblu is a solution of urea, a chemical found in the urine of most animals including humans. Whether Adblu is extracted from urine or manufactured commercially I have no idea, nor does it matter because extracted from is not the same as is. I never knew my knowledge as a chemist for most of my life would be useful in a car forum.

Rebecca. It is probably a false warning, nevertheless it is necessary to have it investigated. Have you noticed any reduction of braking effect when the warning shows? However even if there is a total failure of the servo assistance the brakes will still work, though it must be stressed that the pedal will need a great deal more force than normal. So much more in fact that you may need to use both feet on the pedal to get a good braking effect. Only you can judge if you are capable of responding quickly enough and powerfully enough in the event of sudden servo failure to continue driving safely.

I have locked this topic as it is a duplicate from elsewhere.

You are mistaken to believe I was defending Audi's design. However even a poorly designed component will not change from being certified as sound one year to suffering a structural failure less than a year later. That, as two of us have pointed out, is the important matter here. The implication being that the testing station failed in its duty to detect the rusting at an early stage. All steel rusts eventually. It's a fact that has to be accepted as part of the expected deterioration of cars, and is part of the reason that annual inspections are required to detect such corrosion before it affects a cars road worthiness. PS. I used to the know the Angel well as I grew up near there somewhat before your time, though I have no idea what a roll house is.

There is no realistic way for the average user to test the battery. (A simple zero load voltage reading will tell you nothing about battery condition.) It needs to be tested under high load conditions and requires specialised equipment to do so. Many here will recommend Halfords for the job. Personally I will not as I believe them to be a bunch of clowns. The choice is yours. At seven years old your battery is overdue for renewal, and yes it will need coding to the car.

It could be the battery is on its way out. How old is it?

Even allowing for Audi dealers inflated prices £500 seems a lot. Try an independent garage. I am puzzled why the rear brakes are so bad while the front brakes are still at least acceptable. The front brakes on all cars provide much more braking effort than the rears, hence they usually are the first to need attention. Have the brakes been worked on in the past?

A recall on a 13 year old car? I accept that environmental conditions and the laws are very different in Canada, but such action would be out of the question in Brtitain and the rest of Europe. I would go further and say it would be an unrealistic expectation. As for surface treatment of steel against rust, that will only provide long term protection if done in the factory during manufacture, when it is possible to treat every void and hollow in the component. Such treatment after assembly of the car is impractical, possibly impossible. Of course good design of press formed components that are not waterproof should also incorporate drainage holes so that water can escape, such as you find at the bottom of doors for example. Whether the suspension arms in question have those holes I have no idea.

If new pipes are not available off the shelf I daresay there are people who can make them. An brief internet search for "car fuel pipe fabricators" showed a few.

If the distributor is seized you had better replace the whole thing. And if the drive gear at the bottom is broken you may also have to remove the sump to retrieve the broken metal.