cliffcoggin

It is not an unusual fault on A3s. They can be repaired by specialist companies for about £200, much cheaper than a new one from Audi. Search on line for such companies.

No it's not normal for a bearing to fail after 18000 miles, which is why I think the noise is caused by something else. A worn bearing would in any case make a very different noise. You can check the bearing by jacking the wheel off the ground, then rotating it. A low pitched rumble would indicate wear; a scraping or rubbing sound is something else. Grab the wheel top and bottom and try to rock it. There should be no movement if the bearing is sound. (Doing the same thing holding the wheel at left and right can be deceptive because of movement in the steering joints.) While the wheel is in the air look for damaged tyre tread, rubbing brake pad, a warped disc. While at 40 mph is there any vibration at the steering wheel? Does the car steer true or does it try to wander at that speed? Let us know the outcome of these tests and we can advise further.

Phew. It's like pulling teeth today.

That's a good result Gareth. I see the replacements are less than £16 on Ebay so quite a saving on Audi.

You mean the car has been modified? Please give some more details about the "hot fix".

Gareth. A Google search came up with https://www.a1-diagnostics.com/audi-specialist-cardiff/ You can bet they are not cheap, but a phone call might get you a diagnostic cost even if you don't get them to do the repair.

That sounds like a poor ground (earth) at the aerial.

Ah, that could be a problem. I no longer have my A3 and can't recall whether it had a key lock. Sorry, I am stumped.

The difference is impressive.

As Steve said, what about the boot? That would at least prove whether the key is at fault.

I don't know how possible it is. Electronics is not my forte. Legally you may be on thin ice as there are regulations on how loud an alarm can be, and how long it can sound for.

Tungsten and halogen bulbs deteriorate over time, getting gradually dimmer. If yours are original it would be worth renewing them. Conversion to LED is apparently not straightforward from what I have read here.

Raphael. Have you tried the key in every lock? I can believe the linkage breaking in one door, but not all of them.

Raphael. It's hard to believe the key will not unlock the driver's door, even though the car battery may be flat, without a breakage of the mechanical linkage inside the door. Are you sure it is not unlocking? Don't be deceived by the lack of noise usually made by the solenoids. The key should still unlock only the door it is used in.

Hello Honey. You could try car breakers, many are online nowadays, but I think it's unlikely you will find one outside an Audi dealership.

Sorry Loquex. As usual with recordings made on a phone there is too much extraneous noise to hear whatever you are referring to.

Hello Gareth. I've not had that problem so no direct experience. Assuming the sensors are clean, I suggest looking for water ingress or a damaged wire. I daresay you have probably already thought of that so apologies if I am teaching grandma how to suck eggs.

Most pads have an adhesive that is softened by heat, so try a hair dryer, but not a paint stripping heat gun which is too hot.

That's unfortunate.

Timing chains rely on a tensioner to prevent the chain jumping a sprocket tooth so I expect yours is worn out, however as the tensioner pad slowly wears it usually leads to a lot of noise which is the warning I mentioned earlier. Did you have any such noise before the chain failed? I believe the tensioners on Audi engines are hydraulic so there may be a problem with its oil supply in addition to wear of the pad that bears on the chain.

Your mechanic has rightly assumed the valve stems will be bent and will have to be renewed. He has also estimated for flattening the head which may no longer be flat enough to seal against the block. Flattening ( or levelling in your words) involves setting the head on a large milling machine and cutting as much metal off as is necessary to achieve a dead flat surface, usually in the region of 10 to 20 thousandths of an inch. It's a problem more often associated with an over heating engine. I don't know the details of your engine but it must have a belt, a chain, or gears to drive the camshaft. Gears have been out of favour for decades, and chains are rare nowadays, so I assume it has a belt. Check your service schedule in the handbook to find out exactly what should have been done and when. Your service history will show if the scheduled work has been done.

The video doesn't really help. I suppose a split in the turbo intake connection would explain the noise and the oil leak, but I would have expected your mechanic to have seen any such split. I have never worked on a turbo so can not suggest anything further.

James. Thanks for detailed description. It is rare for such a full explanation to be provided for us to work with. I don't believe the price you have been given is unreasonable for the work your mechanic has suggested. The damage to the pistons seems minor and you can probably get away without changing them. If you are really lucky the head will not have been bent and the job will be cheaper, but you won't know until the head is off. What you need to be aware of is the possibility of damage to the conrods. It's only a small possibility if the failure occurred at cranking speed; if it had happened while the engine was running the chances of conrod damage would be far greater and might require a complete engine rebuild. This is a classic example of the damage that happens when timing belts are not renewed in time. Belts, unlike chains, give little warning of imminent failure, hence the need to renew them according to the manufacturer's schedule. Do please let us know the outcome.

Daryl. I never heard my turbo make any sort of noise, so given that you can hear yours and there is an oil leak in its vicinity I'd say yours definitely needs to be taken off for investigation.

118000 miles would be fine providing the car has been looked after, however high emissions and a lack of service history make me suspicious. You may be lucky that a service will solve the problems, but somehow I doubt it, though I would be happy to be proved wrong.