November 2016
Hi, i'm currently having to press my brake quite firmly before the brake lights come on.
I recently had a brakelight switch replaced but mechanic said there is another brake light switch above it that may also need replacing. If this is the case are both brake light switches the same part?... Read more
My wife has an ancient Romahome camper van with a 1.8 diesel that I believe is a Peugeot, same as in a 205 I had many years ago. Advice needed please on engine oil, spec says 15W-50 mineral and I use this for top ups but the local auto shops say this is generally not available in small amounts, so what is the best alternative spec?
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Yes indeed, though i have slopped ACF50 on any visble rust underneath which will help things during the salt season till i can do a thorough Bilt Hambering on it.
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Hi, my rear window washer has stopped working. When i activate the washer motor i can hear it working fine but just no water coming out on the back window. I am assuming it is blocked somewhere and not letting the water through. Does anyone know of a common area where it might be blocked?
Any help is much appreciated,... Read more
The wash jet water runs through the rear wiper motor out to the plastic jet clipped to the base of the wiper arm.Usually the jet gets blocked.Remove it to check water flow.
Shocking customer service from Audi Main Dealer, that you would expect from a back street garage. I brought a Audi A5 TFSI from my friend, he advised me that the car was perfect. Except for a warning light that had come on stating oil pressure low. He then promptly took the car to Audi Vindis main dealer and had it checked. He told them my oil lights on and that the car is using a lot of oil. They advised him that it was just a sensor, and that there was a slight oil leak that would need further investigation. But other than that the car is fine. I then brought the car three months down the line, now theres black smoke coming from the exhaust.
I then send the Car back to Audi Vindis to have it checked, when i rang Audi they advised me. It would take 48 hours to let me know what the problem with the car. It took them 9 days to get back to me with the problem. Had i known it was going to take 9 days just to find out what was wrong. I would have opted for the courtesy car service they offer.
After calling Audi Vindis 5 times in those 9 days, i didn't get thru to my service advisor at all. He was constantly busy or out on lunch and didn't return calls. I was told he would call me back but he never did. I then got a call on the 10th day, my service advisor advised me that my car needed a new turbo and catalytic convertorcosting £2600. I then stated i have spoken to a friend who works for Audi. And they have advised me that my car might have a oil consumption problem, and that it should be looked at to see if mine is faulty. They have since done a test, and it has come back that my car is using to much oil. But i would need to drive 600 miles for further testing procedures. Clearly my cars in no fit state to move so I'm outer luck with the oil consumption side of the problem. My arguement is that the oil problem could of been what caused the car to break down in the first place. Given the fact that my friend had a oil related problem before why wasn't he made aware of the recall fault. They clearly didn't want to mention to my friend at the time that these cars do have a manufacturer problem. Now that is my first issue with Audi Vindis.
My second issue is, whilst in Audi Vindis my car was cleaned by a valeter. He left the handbrake off my car and it smashed into another car. I have seen the damage and advised Audi Vindis that because my car has been wrapped, all the wrap will need to be removed from the car to fix the wing and bumper. It is near impossible to match the exact white wrap for my car without knowing who the manufacturer is of the particular wrap. It is also going to cost around £600 to have it all removed and cleaned, and £2000 to have it replaced so that all the colours match equally.
Audi Vindis have taken no responsibility for the fact, my car was left in there care. And subsequently damaged whilst with them, they are merely trying to fob me off to the Valeting companys insurance. And stating you guys sort the issue out with your insurances. My argument with Audi Vindis is that my car was left with Audi Vindis, and i was not doing business with this valeting company. So i merely stated could i have Audi Vindis insurance details please, so i can get my insurance company to contact yours. They refused and told me are you prepared to be messed about, because its not our fault the valeters damaged your car.
Now i have it on video the service manager refusing to give me there insurance details, after my car had been damaged in their possession. Which is against the law when an accident has occurred, the refusal to give documentation is a criminal act. They have since contacted me and said that they have some offers on the table. The £2600 still stands for the repair on the mechanical side, but the valeting company is willing to do 3 things. Firstly offer me £500 and he would get a dent devil guy to pull the dents out, 2nd £700 and thats the end of it no come backs, or i can go thru his insurance.
Now they must not have listened to me when i told them, i went to a Car Wrapping Specialist and he has said the whole car will need to be re wrapped, unless i wish to see the difference. Now I'm facing owning a car thats been damaged before which i don't want. Or a car that has mix match wrapping, and if a trained eye looked at carefully will notice its had a knock.
Do i even want this car after its been damaged. When i advised the customer service manager that all i want today is a courtesy car, so i can pick my kids up and have a think about my options. I was told no we need to know what you want to do. She was rude too me and my partner and refused to give me there insurance details. I then spoke to another manager who heard me out and agreed with me slightly. Then he went away listened to his colleague, and later pushed a bit of paper on the table saying theres the valeting company insurance details. I then stated that i would like Audi Vindis Insurance details he advised me that its a waste of time but went away and got them. At this point a senior manager came out, and made me feel like she had everything under control. And made me feel at ease and said this is not how we operate or do business. Only to call me back a few hours later, with the offer that i just mentioned which quite frankly is poor customer service. From a company with such a prestigious reputation.
As it stands i have no courtesy car, i have no insurance details, i have only been offered the valeting company details which were then taken back from me.
I am going to seek some legal advice, and take this matter further seeking compensation for the cars I'm having to rent, the devaluing of my car because of the accident. And their complete incompetence in handling this situation. I will also be going to the Retail Ombudsman for the Oil Recall that should of been tested.
And possibly the criminal justice system for Audi Vindis refusal to give me their insurance details when asked.
After a car in their possession had been damaged and they are taking no responsibility.
It even states on the invoice, please don't Valet the car has been wrapped. Negligent!
Your Sincerely
Mark Davis Read more
There is a known problem with certain TFSI engines, and Audi have replaced parts and/or whole engines within and outside warranty, with conditions of course. Saga and helpfull analysis of affected engines (Post 1 of 472 posts) set out here: tinyurl.com/z6kfwlb
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"According to Brake, one in 10 drivers/motorcycle riders killed in a crash had alcohol present in their body, even though they weren’t actually over the legal blood-alcohol limit"
Spurious statistics like this don't help. What are the percentages for drivers NOT killed or those not involved in accidents who were driving in similar circumstances, i.e. the same roads, time of day, etcetera. If you don't know these figures you don't know if alcohol at these levels contributes to accidents or not - perhaps twice as many drivers who don't have accidents have alcohol in their bodies, or maybe it makes no difference at all? Read more
The Brake website contains the following statements:
"Drink driving is still one of the biggest killers on our roads. In 2014, 13% of all road deaths in Great Britain resulted from crashes where the driver was over the drink-drive limit. A further estimated 25 road deaths per year are caused by drivers who are under the drink-drive limit, but who have significant amounts of alcohol in their blood."
The implication is obvious - they believe that every one of the accidents, injuries and deaths that had a drink-driver involved, and many of those where the driver was below the limit, was solely due to the alcohol factor.
I am vigorously opposed to drink-driving, but this is clearly nonsense. They are effectively saying that if all of these traffic situations had occurred but all the drivers had been sober then none of the collisions would have taken place.
Making the knee-jerk "drink was totally responsible" reaction means that the true causes or preventative measures will not be found except in those cases where excessive drinking and consequent inability to cope was the principal reason.
How many of us have parked carefully next to small cars or even an empty space only to find a huge SUV next to our cars when we come back. Careful checking of bodywork is then required for fear that the SUV was full of screaming kids kicking its doors open.
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And there was me thinking the software fix was against NOX and not CO2 which is an EU mandated fudge Read more
I think that the London Mayer has heard that the VW fix for the NOX can only be fixed by slightly increasing the CO2 and hydrocarbons, and is trying to generate cash on the back of it.
Some of you may recall that I posted about an accident about a year ago and more recently about a much increased renewal premium. Although I had been given the impression that everything was done and dusted at the start of the year (the other party’s insurers accepting liability) it appears they have not paid my company leaving an unsettled claim against me. So as a result my premium was loaded making a mockery of protected no claims – if I had lost two years the premium would have been lower. Apart from ringing my company regularly is there anything else I can do as I feel they should have pursued the monies much more aggressively. Also if they are paid should I get a refund – when I asked they were very vague!... Read more
Stop phoning, and start asking your questions in writing.
Explain that you feel it is ridiculous, if the other company has accepted their party was liable, that the claim has not been settled, and that you want a firm timeline for this matter to be concluded, or a reasonable explanation as to why this is not happening. As an aside, ask, if you are unhappy with the responses you get, you can take the matter to the ombubsman or other body....
so i've had my veloster nearly 4 years now and had to make my first claim on the warranty.the key blade broke away from the remote thankfully not while in the ignition.all dealt with under the warranty within a week.40k miles now and nothing else to report. Read more
I recently posted a question regarding the 'dreaded dpf filter' as I was looking for a 4X4 diesel SUV without one. Many of you good chaps were more than helpful with your replies and I thank you for that.
Having taken note of the advice given, I have finally slapped myself around the back of the head and decided that I can live without the 4X4 aspect and also a diesel (due to my low mileage of maybe 11K annually) isn't actually required. This has resulted in me considering more options and I have come up with my shortlist at this point:... Read more
...and if you use the fuel calculator, you'll find you're in the region of £1500 per annum for fuel on 11,000 miles - so a difference of +/- 20% in consumption will be £300 per annum. Set against the other costs of car ownership, it shouldn't be the major factor in the choice of car.
Google ford focus broken wiring, plenty of info & video's, same for switch, can happen on anything where the wires go through from the body to a door.