Finally... now own an S3

S

sportstractor

Chugger
Joined
Nov 25, 2009
Messages
2,698
Reaction score
38
Points
48
Location
North Devon
Hi guys
Finally managed to find an S3, did quite well I think, facelift 2001 in ming'e' blue with 90k, has bose (which aint as great as i had imagined, RSTT alloys, new tyres, gd service history. Only had to drive 100 miles to get it.

Got a few things that need doing, the airbag light comes on the dash, the guy said it was the sensor under the passenger seat, fair enough? no doubt a job that needs to be completed by a professional

He also insisted it was remapped, and the guy seemed genuine, but is there a way of checking? I have vagcom, which I used on a previous car, would monitoring the boost pressure help determine this? It does seem quick, but have nothing to compare too, suppose I could put it against my friends evo and judge it by how much slower it is, lol.

Also the ****** cupholder is jammed in, and wont seem to come out, this simple to fix or a major operation?

and driving it back the gauge seem to read about 78oc, which seems low, and from previous posts iv read seems common, probably the thermostat or the sender? suppose I could change stat first, not very expensive.

While I was looking, was giving up hope and considering getting a leon Cupra R, but im so glad I didnt. I didnt belive it when people said they were more refined than VW golfs, but they obviously are. Hoping to keep this one for a while
 
Last edited:
Not sure about the cup holder or airbag light dude, but certainly sounds like your thermo is shot. DIY job. £30 plus a bit of time. All fixed!!

Easiest way to tell if remapped is log boost (Block 115) or air flow (various blocks) on VAG COM and post results
 
My cup holder appeared to be knackered when I bought mine. HOWEVER, try sitting in the drivers seat and tapping it very quickly and lightly. It seems to want to work from only certain angles but has got better over time. Friend of mine in Audi service+parts quoted me 38 quid for a new one. Can't see it being an issue if you are even remotely technically minded.

Hope this helps.

James
 
JD09 said:
My cup holder appeared to be knackered when I bought mine. HOWEVER, try sitting in the drivers seat and tapping it very quickly and lightly. It seems to want to work from only certain angles but has got better over time.
Click to expand...

Same here, i think its a common problem, fyi and iirc they are £90 from audi the theiving shytes
 
the piano trim around the cup holder simply clicks out, get a small flat blade at the edge and it will just click away.....you will then be able to remove the cup holder cassette allowing you to clean and/or replace as necessary

welcome to the site :)
 
cool, I better find the vagcom cable then.

Thought there might be some kind of gypsy trick to the cupholder.

Hmm, Is that the stat where everybody seems to break the dipstick tube? Cant Wait. I have no doubt its making a difference to MPG then
 
plenty of support on here mate...sounds like your problems are very limited so sure you'll get sorted soon
 
MIKE GTR said:
Same here, i think its a common problem, fyi and iirc they are £90 from audi the theiving shytes
Click to expand...

Hmm, pretty sure they were less than that, i.e. circa 30£ as I distinctly remember thinking "Ah well" and not putting that cost into my bargaining when buying.
 
Glad you've got one at last mate, I really hoped you'd find one and not end up buying Al's evo! good choice :)

was it that nice one in Falmouth with the alcantara?
 
sounds to me like JD is a tad intimidated haha...... JD where the hell do you come from, sounds Yorkshire if I had to guess :)
 
Oh, easiest way to tell if it's mapped is to log MAf readings, Anything over 200g/s is definately mapped
 
id personally take it off and soak it for ten mins, dry, open it up and have a fiddle whilst drying it - mine did it when i bought - all i did before i knew how simple the trim came off was to clean it thoroughly once i'd coaxed it out, never failed me since
 
Congratulations mate. Welcome. I can't compliment the forum enough. Loads of help when i bought mine... So far I have spent around £500-600 on mine doing everythinig myself... But would have been £900+ if I didn't get help on here.

The cup holder once out... WD40 ;-) The temprature sensor and thermostat both cost me around £22 from euro car parts for an A3 tdi.
 
yeah prawn it was, was a no brainer really. No as quick as evo, but it would be major trouble.

Just figured how to cancel that ****** speed alert, almost freaked out on the A30.

Will get it on VAG-COM as soon as I can be *****.
 
glad to see you found one mate after that muppet with the red one changed his mind lol.
get some pics up
 
The airbag light will be the seatbelt sensors. TheY can cost about £100 odd to sort out. Mines the same for a rear passenger seatbelt sensor.
 
Hey, i think i've seen that one driving around, I work in Flamouth. It looks pretty smart. I drive a red one :)
 
22045_337678490814_734630814_4713806_3291549_n.jpg


Looks very tidy mate, love it!
 
Welcome to S3 ownership. With regards to the airbag light, try this first. Disconnect the car battery, then under the seats are the airbag connectors, they are yellow I think, disconnect them, spray and clean up with WD40 or electrical contact cleaner, refit and reconnect the battery, then you need to reset the airbag light with vagcom or similar. If the light stays off the next time you fire her up, job done! It's a very common problem with my Passat and S3(same connectors).
 
yeah gav, what a plonker, i prefer the minge thought:icon_thumright:

so is it safe to test the airbag module with vagcom, because i always thought it wasnt advised?

Prawn, does look mint in the photos, but there is a few bit which need to be sorted. Frenchman (the bastid) pointed out about the centre caps for alloys not being correct, the ****** toad.

cheers jojo, will definately be trying that one tomorrow. Really dont want to be paying £100, Im going be skint for a few weeks :sorry:
 
i like the minge to mate lol
do you mean ming blue?
looks nice mate
 
nah i ment ming'e'

Not got much on today so will be doing stat, and been vag-com ing already, just remember what a bit*ch it is to get it working. Come up with a few faults, one saying to check diverter valve, and another saying comms with alarm siren, which is probably a fuse.

Can anybody tell me if it is safe to scan the Airbag module with vagcom on an S3, because it comes up with a warning stating it may not be.
 
ps, iv been told that the rstt centre caps arnt the right ones? and they do look a little odd. So if anybody has any going, give me a PM. Thanks
 
na i think you have early TT ones or something similar...... be a dealer job if you ask me unless you can find sum1 whos dumped their RSTT's...are the wheels originals??
 
I dont know if they are genuine.

Some updates, diveter valve fault hasnt reappeared.

As advised by JOJO, iv cleaned the airbag connector and cleared the fault, which doesnt seemed to have reappeared. Strange considering there was no sign on dirt or corrosion.

Also had the cupholder our which seems to have had it, so maybe a new one sometime.

And went out with a mate, and logged the maf, couldnt get it over 190 g/s, not sure what that means, not remapped?
 
lol, I had read that post...

ok, so if 200 is definately mapped, 190 must mean possibly mapped? Standard AMK's log 170 I believe
 
Lmao.....your still not taking it in are you :)
 
Prawn said if its over 200 then its mapped...not if its over 189 :jump:
 
ok ok, are you trying to wind me up? lol

Prawn said:
Oh, easiest way to tell if it's mapped is to log MAf readings, Anything over 200g/s is definately mapped
Click to expand...

the key word to the quote being definately... which indicates a lesser amount means possibly. Just read a remaped amk will give 190-210g/s, so it is on the low side. slightly dissapointing as i wanted something quicker than the crustaceans A3... ahwell
 
hahahahahahahaha. Lolocaust.

Pretty lame figures hayes, my 200k miles A3 logs 188g/s every time on a Gay03s :p

Just messing man, at all the RR days I've been to, most mapped KO4 cars have made 235-245bhp, 190/0.8 is 237.5, so it's more than likely had a remap, just potentially a ***** one.

Still, unlikely to be quicker than the A3 given the 200kg weight penalty :p I guess we will find out on the way to the Ring at easter!

Pie: your user title offends me. the last time your mini legally went on the roads it had 38bhp, and that was 5 years ago! go back to 16vminiclub.
 
LOL prawn.

yeah seems lame but my car is coming up with pressure drop between turbo and throttle. So obviously a boost leak, possibly DV? and this would explain low maf reading i suppose? Just been out and logged requested and actual boost pressure? and there seems to be a 25% drop up in high boost
 
Sounds like DV weakened. BEst to get a Forge 007P oin there if not already.

Mine reads 200g which is about 250bhp...Happy with that. Though i'm not sure how they get the so called 260-265 the map companies advertise?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Keefy
Finally, an S3!
Replies
30
Views
2K
Keefy
Keefy
SamiG
Finally found an S3!
Replies
13
Views
1K
gcs3
G
wibble111
Finally found an S3
Replies
4
Views
932
1animal1
1animal1
Gops
FINALLY! Got an S3!!
Replies
24
Views
2K
jojo
jojo
S
Finally brought an S3
Replies
5
Views
1K
Aky
Aky
Top
Back