[Fiend]

The long-running issue of the Audi A3 start-up problem.

Finally got in contact with the dealer and their service department after many un-returned calls before Christmas. Their service dept said they understood what Argyle Diesel had suggested (investigate injector / head unit as there is some loss of fuel pressure in that area after engine has been off). However the dealer themselves said they didn't want to do any more work on the car because, and I quote, "I can't expect it to run like a new car" and it was only a "slight hesitation" in starting. So I had to go and see him in person and explain the error of those terms and how insulted I feel having the issue dismissed like that. A confrontation which I handled well but relish about as much as flossing my urethra with barbed wire, and has left me pissed off all afternoon. He has agreed to have it in on Monday to have the bolts holding the injectors in replaced - A.D. suggested this as the first thing to check, however, they also suggested that as part of a full inspection of the injector seals, so once again I am going to have to persuade the dealer / service dept to do this full inspection rather than doing the bare minimum and hoping to get away with it. I've said quite clearly that I don't want the car back until it starts properly, although the dealer maintains the current starting, as per video a few pages back, is "acceptable" and we have a "difference of opinions" about it. IF it doesn't work after injector inspection I will speak to the owner of the company and express my displeasure about being sold a defective product. And if nothing comes from that, I will suck it up, but make sure to leave accurate reviews in any relevant places.

TL,DR: Dealer tries to downplay the problem, Fiend gets pissed but calmly and firmly explains it's not acceptable, dealer agrees to get service dept to look at injector bolts (and hopefully injectors). Off the record, Fiend is FFSYOUFUCKINGWANKINGSHITCUNTSIDIDNTBUYTHISSHITCOCKINGCARTOHAVEITINYOURCUNTINGGARAGEEVEROTHERWEEKANDHAVETOFUCKINGARGUETHATTHATHEAPOFSHITFUCKEDUPSTARTINGISUNACCEPTABLEYOUSHITTINGFUCKTARDS.

Edit:
This is what he calls "acceptable" and a "slight hesitation":

[Fultonius]

Our van is doing similar things after a long layoff. (but it's 18 years old & 197,000miles, so to be expected). Battery ok.

I've noticed that if i leave the ignition on for 10-15 secs (way past glow plug lights going off) then it starts much better. My guess is that the fuel system takes a wee while to pressurise. Try it and see if that makes any difference.

[lagerstarfish]

Fiend hasn't got time sit on his arse doing nothing for 15 seconds every time he wants to start the car

what if there's a troll or a load of orks chasing him?

[tomtom]

Fiend hasn't got time sit on his arse doing nothing for 15 seconds every time he wants to start the car

what if there's a troll or a load of orks chasing him?

Feeling better sweet pea?

[Fiend]

I've noticed that if i leave the ignition on for 10-15 secs (way past glow plug lights going off) then it starts much better. My guess is that the fuel system takes a wee while to pressurise. Try it and see if that makes any difference.

That's what Argyle Diesels did to test it, along with turning ignition on and off several times. It does work slightly better - but not fucking "acceptably" - after that, which they say indicates the fuel tank pump is doing a bit of work to re-pressurise the area around the head.

[dontfollowme]

Anyone know if you can get two bouldering pads in the back of the previous shape BMW 1 series hatchback? E.g moon warrior size?

[Fiend]

No idea what size moon warrior is but: http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,26794.0.html indicates you can fit some sort of pads in. When I looked at a 1-series the boot did seem a decent space for the size of car. Can probably be calculated by googling the stats??

[Paul B]

Anyone know if you can get two bouldering pads in the back of the previous shape BMW 1 series hatchback? E.g moon warrior size?

Perhaps ask Cowboyhat?

[tomtom]

You can get boot dimemsions from google etc. easily enough. In some distance between wheelarches is the limiting factor - in some the opening. I went along and tried when in was gettin !y latest car.

[haydn jones]

went 6 days without having to open the bonnet today and then sprung a radiator leak! doh! was almost on for a record 7 days!

my "To do list" keeps getting longer faster than i can complete tasks!

[Paul B]

I'm a bit nervous having just driven past Cuisinere and had the car (still the 3-series) vibrating heavily through the steering wheel (we're due to drive back tomorrow).

The day before leaving (~ 2 weeks ago) I had two new rear tyres put on the car. He had a bit of a 'mare balancing these (like the car these are past their best). I've checked and no wheel weights appear to have come off.

I've just managed to get 1/4 of a turn out of a few wheel nuts using the supplied wrench and my meagre bodyweight but it wasn't as if one wheel was loose specifically.

The vibration doesn't appear to be linked to a specific speed but does seem to not occur at low speeds (it has come on a few times around 55-75mph) and this time the front end felt 'light'.

I forgot to try it in neutral to see if it's a drivetrain issue but no doubt I'll get another chance soon enough.

Any clues?

[tomtom]

If its through the steering, focus your attention mainly (but not exclusively) on the front wheels.

Check the tyre pressures (unequal can lead to this).

Look for any obvious deformations/carbuncles on the tyres - including the inside of the tyres (get under and have a look).

Its probably some balance weights come off (on alloys they normally have the glued on ones on the inside as well?).

Loose wheels are characterised by a distinct (its not faint) knocking noise. If this happens stop right away and check the wheel nuts - get it checked out.. (I've had a rear wheel overtake me by ignoring this in the past!).

Hmm.. 1/4 turn seems quite alot using just the wrench. I'd make sure they are tight - then drive around the block and check again (allows them to settle). Stand on the end of the wheel brace if you want to get more into them..

[Paul B]

There was no knocking noise to speak of.

The 1.4 turn was with me standing on the wrench but then again I'm not exactly a bloater even after all of these pastries! If it was a wheel weight would it not be constantly present at a given speed?

[tomtom]

If it was a wheel weight would it not be constantly present at a given speed?

Yes.. could be a suspension bush has worn and wheedled its way out.. check the front tyres (esp inside wall) for any carbuncles/deformed looking bits/bulges

A tricky one - if nothing obvious is wrong could you limp back to the ferry/chunnel at 50? (at least you'd save some fuel...)

[lagerstarfish]

I had a similar thing on my 320i on a trip to Font - worn front tyres turned out to be the problem

issue wasn't there when I had them replaced

these guys in Font checked balance etc for me (either didn't charge, or charged very little, can't remember)

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Speedauto/@48.41068,2.7074859,3a,60y,317.24h,86.96t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1slSbysrCGPTqUoaGRmQclIA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m2!3m1!1s0x47e5f460983b4721:0xb4bd2d9fcb7a5771!6m1!1e1

[Mike Tyson]

I've had a similar thing with an Audi many moons ago. Changed driveshafts, wheel bearings etc, turned out to be a crap tyre.

Has it come on suddenly?

[Johnny Brown]

Ditto, had this, turned out to be tyre carbuncle.

[Paul B]

The front drivers wheel looks to have no weights in or out and there's an obvious scar, the likely culprit?

The rest have a lot of weights. All tyres look to be in good condition to me.

I'm in Dunkirk now and my RAC cover will resume on the other side.

[SA Chris]

Good old blighty spirit.

[Paul B]

Well I've been dropped off ready for work and the car passed the 198k mile mark...

This morning I had the fronts rebalanced; the driver's side had 40g missing and the passenger front had 'round the clock' balancing done poorly.

This fixed the heavy vibration but I'm not convinced it's the only issue as it still didn't feel/sound right under certain conditions.

[tommytwotone]

One for drivers of the older sheds round here...sure you'll all be familiar with the "cloudy headlight" problem that eventually manifests itself over time. I hadn't realised until I spoke to my mate last weekend that it can lead to an MOT fail, and potentially hundreds of pounds for new headlight clusters.


Alternatively, there's a 3M product that lets you do a restoration job yourself at home with nothing more than a powerdrill and the kit's only approximately 8 fuckalls:


http://www.3mdirect.co.uk/3m-headlight-restoration-kit-39073.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjw94-6BRDkk568hcyg3-YBEiQAnmuwksfFl8SXIqUN_LmIiNHF0yf0PBB06d_s-DkMpCBHaGAaAjLV8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

[tomtom]

One for drivers of the older sheds round here...sure you'll all be familiar with the "cloudy headlight" problem that eventually manifests itself over time. I hadn't realised until I spoke to my mate last weekend that it can lead to an MOT fail, and potentially hundreds of pounds for new headlight clusters.


Alternatively, there's a 3M product that lets you do a restoration job yourself at home with nothing more than a powerdrill and the kit's only approximately 8 fuckalls:


http://www.3mdirect.co.uk/3m-headlight-restoration-kit-39073.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjw94-6BRDkk568hcyg3-YBEiQAnmuwksfFl8SXIqUN_LmIiNHF0yf0PBB06d_s-DkMpCBHaGAaAjLV8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

Wow - thats very useful.. my old mans car was scrapped for this! (this is for cloudy lens caused by dust/weathering/impacts rather than by moisture..)

[Will Hunt]

Had the car in today for it's first MOT which went fine.
However, the garage (I've found this garage to be excellent in the past, offering very helpful, honest service) were reluctant to carry out a service on it since they've had some problems with this engine (petrol 1.2 TSI) that they didn't want to end up liable for. Apparently some of them (the one they had seen was a 2011 model) had a recall on the timing chain which could slip, especially when oil pressure is dropped during a service oil change. The car has just under a month left in the statutory 3 year warranty period so he's advised me to take it to the dealership and to ask whether there are any standing recalls on this particular car in relation to the timing chain, and to get them to fix this under warranty if there is.
The garage also recommended that I ask them to inspect the actuator which makes a slight rattling noise when the engine is revved. They may replace this, or may just say it's not a problem (from a comment on a YouTube video, VW said it was meant to be fitted slightly loose to allow for heat expansion.)

So two questions really. First, can I expect to get an honest answer out of the dealership with regard to there being a need to change the timing chain? I suspect they may try and dodge this work since the warranty is so close to expiry (I don't have any warranty documentation, I just gather that there is a statutory 3 year warranty on all cars?)
Second, can I expect the dealership to inspect the actuator for free, or is this something I'm going to have to argue the toss over?

[Will Hunt]

OK, booked into the dealer on Friday and they will look at the alternator. I'm expecting to have to argue with them as I expect the standard line is "it's not a problem" and then wait till it blows up out of warranty.

On enquiring about the timing chain, the response was "we're not aware of any recall", which doesn't tally with what my garage tells me. It may be that they did an unofficial recall and just changed it as and when cars came into the dealerships, keeping it on the quiet. What I'm not sure of is whether they changed the chain/belt on models built in 2013 and thereafter? If anybody's up to Googling it, it would be appreciated. I'm struggling to find any good info.

[SA Chris]

Has the car been serviced with genuine maker parts for the 3 years? If not any is Null and void. Also unless you had it from new, some warranties are not transferable from the original owner. What car is it? There should be a list of official recalls somewhere? Most cars have a car owner's forum which is usually a pretty good place for independent knowledge.