cliffcoggin

It depends how steep the hill is.

To be sure I understand the question, are you saying that: - ignition is off, - first gear is engaged, - handbrake is off, - car rolls downhill in jerks. Is that correct? If so, that is exactly what I would expect. The jerkiness is caused when each piston arrives at TDC (top dead centre) where compression is at a maximum, hence resistance to motion is at a maximum. If I have misunderstood please give more detail.

The only problematic standard engines I know of in regard to oil/rings were 1.4 litre petrol. I have no idea about modified engines such as yours.

Congratulations, and thanks for posting the solution.

Broken wires in the driver's door, usually in the rubber bellows between door and frame, are a common problem, so Gordon's suggestion is worth pursueing. It most often affects the door locks and windows.

It's never a good idea to mix tyre brands on the same axle. The differing tread patterns will grip differently as the load changes as you turn corners. I don't recall the precise pressures I had on my A3, (I no longer have the car,) but I am fairly certain the rears were a few psi higher than the fronts. My Haynes manual merely refers to the sticker on the fuel filler flap, so that is no help I regret.

Steve. Road holding of an A3 is usually as good as any other medium size car of that era. I never had the rear end of my 2007 A3 break away even when I inadvertantly took a bend too fast. Therefore I believe something is wrong with either your car or your driving. You don't sound like a boy racer so lets assume the car is at fault. I would look first at the quality and pressure of the rear tyres. I know you said the pressures were correct, but the correct pressure depends on wheel size and vehicle loading. Please tell us more details. Then there is the matter of tyre quality and type. Are the tyres ultra cheap from an unknown manufaturer? Is the tread depth reasonable, or on the limit? If tyres prove to be OK, then as Gareth suggests the rear suspension should be examined, including tracking. Rear tracking normally never changes unless the car has been crashed, but your description of drunken rear end behaviour sure sounds like a tracking error. I too found the centre console uncomfortable when the seam down my jeans rested against it. I resorted to some foam rubber pipe insulation wrapped around the bar. It looked ugly but helped a lot.

Oops. Sorry I missed that.

It would have helped if you had mentioned that earlier.

I find it hard to believe that a certifed MOT tester is legally allowed to pass a car that he has not fully inspected.

I am no nearer to understanding the noise you mentioned so I suggest you get a professional diagnosis. What I can say is that fitting an unnecesary new clutch and a gearbox additive is not only wasting your money, it could be making the problem worse and you will be broke even sooner than expected.

I have not heard of this problem until now, however chassis rust is a part of the MOT test and should have been discovered long before it became serious. Has the car been used off road which might lead to a lot of mud or salt being thrown into the trays?

Please let us know the outcome.

Congratulations. Can the source be published so others can find it the future?

Gabor. There are so many possible causes I recommend you get the engine diagnosed professionally in the first instance. That should eliminate several wild goose chases.

Pande. It would help if you could describe the noise. Is it a rattle, a whistle, a rumble, a grinding noise, or something else? I realise it may be difficult if you are using a translator from Bulgarian. but we need a few more clues.

Kos. In case you were nor aware, VAG stands for Volkwagon Audi Group, and includes Seat and Skoda. The different brands make similar cars based on VW engines and chassis, but with their own bodies and accessories. Don't sneer at VWs, because you are driving one.

Kos. The garage will do whatever you ask them to do, and are willing to pay for of course. Tell the garage what the symptoms are, and it should be able to repair whatever is necessary. You will undoubtedly be stunned by how expensive even the smallest job will be, so get the price before committing to having the work done. Here in Britain cars have to pass a roadworthiness test which includes the steering and suspension faults that I mentioned earlier. Is there not a similar test in NZ? If so, have you any recourse to the dealer you bought the car from? After three months it may be too late to reject the car if it proves to be defective. You should take some legal advice on that point as I know nothing of the law in NZ.

I'd agree with Gareth that the cables are unlikely to have stretched. Far more likely is that the cables are sticking in their outers.

I can't help with testing the ECU, but I can you tell that failure of the instrument cluster is a well known, though uncommon, problem on the A3. I suggest you send the clocks away for testing as a first step.

After four years since posing his question I doubt Daniel is reading this forum any more.

If your garage is only repeating the pressure test it did a few weeks earlier, and which failed to reveal a leak, it seems it has run out of ideas. Time to take the car elsewhere. Did you or the garage investigate the possibility of an air lock that I mentioned three weeks ago?

A few drops is a few drops too many, there should be none. That points to the EGR leaking its cooling water into the engine. As far as I know the only test is to remove the EGR and examine it. What concerns me about the EGR diagnosis is that the oil has not become milky or emulsified, which is what I would expect if a couple of litres of water had mixed with it.

Gemma. Am I right in assuming there is no sign of damage to the doors etc? If so, your car has not been broken into; it has been entered by the normal method of simply opening an unlocked door. Two possibilities occur to me: [1] Somebody else has a key to it. Do you still have the spare key that came with the car originally? Could the previous owner have had a duplicate key made as a result of losing the spare which has found its way into another persons hands? [2] One of the doors or the boot is not locking when set. Have you checked that they all lock when you turn the key? It is not unknown for the lock mechanism to fail on one door while the others work normally. That can be caused by a broken wire or a faulty lock. I can imagine that the alarm was fed by the same electrical supply as the Sony and maybe that is the cause of the problem, but that is entirely a guess on my part.

It wouldn't be the first time the EGR has been the cause of water loss, though I am surprised the pressure did not reveal it.