Family
- Thread starter mmikey82
- Start date
Bit of an update on this, as some of you know the Audi turned out to have an electrical fault and despite putting it into 4 different garages no one managed to find what was wrong with it.
It was a strange fault that only came on when the car was idling but caused a terrible miss fire which would clear between 30secs and a minute after driving but would then reappear as soon as i pulled up at a junction or lights and back in idle.As i said no one could find the fault and kept mis-diagnosing it with something else which has cost me a few bob over numerous months.
Now just over a week ago i left a rude comment on Audi UK post on facebook complaining on how good they were selling them but not at fixing them - Audi UK contacted me and asked what my problem was, so i explained the story and they arranged for me to have my car looked at at a specialist center and said if they could not find the problem there would be no charge. So i thought what have i got to lose and today it went in-
Full diagnostic and free health check.
They had the car for 8 hrs and FINALLY found the problem--- a bloody dodgy injector on no 6 cylinder (after all that)
And on the free health check they found a broken spring near side rear, which they reckon has only recently gone (bugger) and my engine oil needed a top up as it was only just above minimum
They said the injector was very intermittent and they only found it when they took the car for a run whilst plugged in to diagnostic and the ECU was not storing the code.
So i quite happily paid them £60 for finally finding out what was wrong with the car.
Now they also gave me a quote to put all of the above right
New injector fitted - £390
New rear springs fitted (pair)- £670
1 ltr of oil to top up engine to max level fitted- £50
Grand total of £1110 and if i wanted to leave the car with them they could do the work tomorrow.
I BET THEY BLOODY COULD
I will be getting the work done but not at those prices.( i am swotting up right now- you tube and audi forum)
It was a strange fault that only came on when the car was idling but caused a terrible miss fire which would clear between 30secs and a minute after driving but would then reappear as soon as i pulled up at a junction or lights and back in idle.As i said no one could find the fault and kept mis-diagnosing it with something else which has cost me a few bob over numerous months.
Now just over a week ago i left a rude comment on Audi UK post on facebook complaining on how good they were selling them but not at fixing them - Audi UK contacted me and asked what my problem was, so i explained the story and they arranged for me to have my car looked at at a specialist center and said if they could not find the problem there would be no charge. So i thought what have i got to lose and today it went in-
Full diagnostic and free health check.
They had the car for 8 hrs and FINALLY found the problem--- a bloody dodgy injector on no 6 cylinder (after all that)
And on the free health check they found a broken spring near side rear, which they reckon has only recently gone (bugger)
and my engine oil needed a top up as it was only just above minimumThey said the injector was very intermittent and they only found it when they took the car for a run whilst plugged in to diagnostic and the ECU was not storing the code.
So i quite happily paid them £60 for finally finding out what was wrong with the car.
Now they also gave me a quote to put all of the above right
New injector fitted - £390
New rear springs fitted (pair)- £670
1 ltr of oil to top up engine to max level fitted- £50
Grand total of £1110 and if i wanted to leave the car with them they could do the work tomorrow.
I BET THEY BLOODY COULD
I will be getting the work done but not at those prices.( i am swotting up right now- you tube and audi forum)
Glad you got the initial problem sorted Mike, as for the other faults they found, I am sure they would be an easy repair for any competent mechanic at a much more suitable price, or as you say see if it possible to do yourself......
And they wonder why people go to independant garages,its as if they dont really want to fix cars but if they do then just charge what they want - but there again some fools just pay it
Glad to hear you finally got to the bottom of the problem Mike, but, surely those other so called Audi garages should have been able to pinpoint the problem. I had a similar problem with one of my Probes a few years ago, it would start first turn of the key and idle perfectly, but, as soon as I put it under load, it cut out. Tried everything and everywhere to get it fixed, new plugs, new leads, new distributor etc, but, to no avail. Was talking to one of my ex works colleagues one day about a year later and he asked me why I was driving a Volvo. I told him about the Probe and that I had SORN'd it and stuck it in my garage. He suggested that it might be an injector problem, so, as I had a spare set in the garage, I changed them and hey presto, the car ran like a dream. Just goes to show that so called mechanics are not all they are cracked up to be.
I have been in touch with Audi as i wanted to know what work would be done to the injector for the price of £390 as that seemed a bit excessive, they put me through to the technician who did the diagnosis - first of all he asked not to mention any prices as he could not comment on them but was quite happy to discuss the work needed.
He said the problem was not the injector itself but the seals causing a compression problem on number 6 cylinder and very slightly on number 5 as well and he said all seals on that bank of 3 cylinders should be changed and in his opinion that should sort the problem once and for all.
I thanked him and he replied "no problem but i suppose i wont see your car again lol"- i laughed and agreed
He said the problem was not the injector itself but the seals causing a compression problem on number 6 cylinder and very slightly on number 5 as well and he said all seals on that bank of 3 cylinders should be changed and in his opinion that should sort the problem once and for all.
I thanked him and he replied "no problem but i suppose i wont see your car again lol"- i laughed and agreed
Good to hear you've hopefully had a correct diagnosis of the problem Mike and I hope you can get it all sorted for a reasonable cost instead of those extortionate quotes.
That is because some people will pay whatever they charge to have main dealer stamps and receipts plus you have the business fleet where its all tax write off so the more the cost the betterAnd they wonder why people go to independant garages,its as if they dont really want to fix cars but if they do then just charge what they want - but there again some fools just pay it
UPDATE
I bought 3 injector repair kits from Audi for £15 each and there was a very good how to video on you tube so i attempted to do the injector seals myself, and to be honest i dont know why i was worried it went great.
Next i ordered 2 new rear springs off ebay for £54 and googled a how to replace them- it turned out these were the easiest springs i have ever done, they are separate from the shocks so by dropping the rear subframe on each side by about 2 1/2 inches the springs could be pry barred out without the need for compressors. 4 hours later both springs were changed.
What i did notice was i parked the car half on the drive and half on the garden to give me better access and then had a brew , when i came back to it the side on the garden had sunk a little bit - which in turn had lifted the rear wheel with the broken spring off the ground and my ESC (electronic stability control ) light had come on .
Made me think has this been my problem all along -- fault only ever happened when stationary, ESC light would come on and the car would go into safe mode then emissions light would come on and car would stutter until moving when everything would go back to normal. I spoke to an old mechanic that i know and asked him if my theory was plausible he said with a broken spring if you park on uneven ground then yes the rear wheel could be lifted and fool the ESC into putting the car into limp mode but that would only happen when stopped and with a slight compression issue the car would misfire causing the emissions light to come on. Hence a very intermittent fault.
So injectors done, springs done ,4 days of driving and not a warning light in sight car is driving beautifully for the first time in over a year at last ( thank god )
So after all the money i have spent with 4 different specialist garages the car has been fixed by myself for £99. This has caused me so much stress over the last year and hopefully i can now enjoy my present
I bought 3 injector repair kits from Audi for £15 each and there was a very good how to video on you tube so i attempted to do the injector seals myself, and to be honest i dont know why i was worried it went great.
Next i ordered 2 new rear springs off ebay for £54 and googled a how to replace them- it turned out these were the easiest springs i have ever done, they are separate from the shocks so by dropping the rear subframe on each side by about 2 1/2 inches the springs could be pry barred out without the need for compressors. 4 hours later both springs were changed.
What i did notice was i parked the car half on the drive and half on the garden to give me better access and then had a brew , when i came back to it the side on the garden had sunk a little bit - which in turn had lifted the rear wheel with the broken spring off the ground and my ESC (electronic stability control ) light had come on
.Made me think has this been my problem all along -- fault only ever happened when stationary, ESC light would come on and the car would go into safe mode then emissions light would come on and car would stutter until moving when everything would go back to normal. I spoke to an old mechanic that i know and asked him if my theory was plausible he said with a broken spring if you park on uneven ground then yes the rear wheel could be lifted and fool the ESC into putting the car into limp mode but that would only happen when stopped and with a slight compression issue the car would misfire causing the emissions light to come on. Hence a very intermittent fault.
So injectors done, springs done ,4 days of driving and not a warning light in sight
car is driving beautifully for the first time in over a year at last ( thank god )So after all the money i have spent with 4 different specialist garages the car has been fixed by myself for £99
. This has caused me so much stress over the last year and hopefully i can now enjoy my present
Yes Rich very very similarFantastic news Mike. Sounds like your rear suspension setup is fairly similar to mine.
Nice one mate. About 10% of what Audi wanted to charge you and you have the satisfaction of having sorted it yourself.
Some good work done there Mike, and a few lessons learned. Well done mate. That setup reminds me of the old Mk4 Cortina setup: rear springs almost drop out with the car jacked up.
Well in there Mike you are on the road to being a fully fledge mechanical engineer do not take the first result. Look into it and solve the problem on your own!.