a3 is possessed!

[rebelist]

bought a second hand 1.9 tdi in october with 18,ooo miles on the clock 130 bhp.
it has gone from a great fun to utter crap with problems spewing out from all over!
faults so far include:-
oil leak from a cracked intercooler pipe.
drivers door became difficult to close and then flew open whilst accelerating uphill after a dippped lefthand bend. been told door has dropped because it has a big heavy door! its not a warranty item as its wear and tear! Its not even 3 years old! needs new hinges!
passenger wing mirror does not demist.
rear washer jet stopped working
driver seat handle came off in my hand when trying to pull seat forward.
biggest problem which I am having problems getting the bottom off.It has a pulsing vibration which happens at gradual acceleration from 2,200 revs in any gear, and gets worse the faster you get, to the point it is uncomfortable holding the steering wheel.
I have had all four wheels balance checked and that was sound.The audi garage don,t know what it is. any suggestions out there? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/noidea.gif

 

[Khufu]

Sorry to hear of you bad luck. That is the 1st time I have ever heard of problems with the door hinges.

Its hard to say without driving the car. Try when driving and it is vibrating badly to put it into neutral, letting the revs fall and see if the vibration isnt as bad. Need to differentiate between then engine/clutch/flywheel and a drivetrain problem.

 

[rebelist]

thank you for the response.
Have heard of a few problems not with the hinge pins but the hinge allignment ( trouble is gotta paint them once moved! )

re vibration
definatly not clutch related. it,s only there on acceleration light or heavy more dependant on rev range.2,200 - 2,500 rpm
definatly more noticable at 80 mph cruising

 

[madvw]

door hinges wear and tear?

of course! stupid f'ing me! they replace them after every service dont they!

I suppose they may be on a car thats 10 years old, and been abused.. but on a less than 3 year old car, i would be having stern words with that dealership.

As for the other problems, sounds like you need to have another few words with the dealership.

To me, it appears like they're taking you for a ride, and trying to fob you off with crap till your out of warranty.

Did you buy the car as an "audi approved" car? if so, have you received your certificate of waranty? If so, i'd take a drive to your next nearest delaer and seee how you get on there.

 

[rebelist]

car went back to another audi dealership monday, who had already supposedly checked the wheel balance.Now they tell me the o/s/f and n/s/r wheels were 40g out of balance ! They have sorted these,but driving the car today the problem is no better.
Tried suggestion of putting car into neutral when the vibration is going on ,stops getting any worse but is emphasised by gently applying the brakes.
You have to accelerate from 2000rpm for it to start happening but not always there.
very noticable at hard acceleration at 80-100 mph
latest dealer tells me the car has an extended warranty til sept 06

 

[jdp1962]

I wonder whether the car has suffered some crash damage & been repaired (badly).

 

[Khufu]

did they take it for a test drive? I guess the discs could be warped if it occurs when touching the brakes. As for the door hinges, as you say the car is still under warranty, TELL them to sort it under warranty - they should never fail so soon - unless of course Audi hasn't been servicing it properly! My A3 is a 1998 and the hinges are perfect. Wear and tear items are clutches, brakes and exhausts, not door hinges!

 

[The Slug]

sounds to me like its been in a bump, ref to the vibration, get the injectors checked, a specialist will tell u straight away if thats your problem and for FREE..hope that helps.

 

[The Slug]

also check for cracked housing/gearbox and maybe engine mounts, but im suprised at the milage for this problem, but like JDP says, if its been in a bump and badly repaired, cud well be the problem..

 

[rebelist]

car has been hpi'd
partner is a motor vehicle technician
car has never even been touched up never mind even a panel repaired.
my partner has decided to give the vehicle a mechanical inspection.didn't think this would be necessary under the audi approved scheme.
starting to lose faith in audi !

 

[The Slug]

hope you get it sorted, let us know what the problem is