Facelift Disaster just happened and question...

TOYNEG

TOYNEG

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Hi guys, so I was just sat in my s3 saloon at the local Tesco Express in the annoying parallel parking spaces. The car park is busy so I get in, car in reverse and handbrake off waiting to go. I notice the big Mercedes estate car next to me with a learner at the wheel is reversing while turning and watch the front of their car go into the side of mine, I jump out to stop her and my car left in reverse decides to just go backwards by itself causing tonnes more damage to both cars! I thought if you open the door the electric handbrake should auto engage? Obv I should have sat there or put it back into park before jumping out but my reaction was leap out to stop her hitting my car
Absolute nightmare as the whole side and back wheel are now ruined :-(
 
That is a right stinker. Better call Saul and get ready to fight the insurance!
 
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Sorry to hear that mate! Especially since you probably will be be sharing the cost now because your car was also moving into hers.

Can you maybe post some pictures? (sorry to ask for it, but it just makes more sense for us to see the damage rather than reading about it :slapped:)
 
TOYNEG said:
Hi guys, so I was just sat in my s3 saloon at the local Tesco Express in the annoying parallel parking spaces. The car park is busy so I get in, car in reverse and handbrake off waiting to go. I notice the big Mercedes estate car next to me with a learner at the wheel is reversing while turning and watch the front of their car go into the side of mine, I jump out to stop her and my car left in reverse decides to just go backwards by itself causing tonnes more damage to both cars! I thought if you open the door the electric handbrake should auto engage? Obv I should have sat there or put it back into park before jumping out but my reaction was leap out to stop her hitting my car
Absolute nightmare as the whole side and back wheel are now ruined :-(
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Really sorry to hear this - I think it might be because you took it off manually

This is not a criticism I was just wondering why did you take it off though and not let it auto release when you started your manoeuvre - I know hind sight is a great thing.
 
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Tried to upload a pic of the damage
 

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Sparks43 said:
Really sorry to hear this - I think it might be because you took it off manually

This is not a criticism I was just wondering why did you take it off though and not let it auto release when you started your manoeuvre - I know hind sight is a great thing.
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To be honest mate prob just habit of older style handbrakes, I actually didn’t even know it would auto release when you first reverse back so always just press the button after putting it in gear - wish I had of known lol
 
TOYNEG said:
To be honest mate prob just habit of older style handbrakes, I actually didn’t even know it would auto release when you first reverse back so always just press the button after putting it in gear - wish I had of known lol
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Yes it will auto release - If it's a pre facelift then you need the seat belt on but facelift models don't require this which I think is a bit strange as it was a great safety measure.

Damage looks nasty - Hope you get it all sorted mate and it least no one was hurt.
 
Really sorry to hear that! Damage does look bad. Hopefully can get it sorted. With the change to the driving test, was only a matter of time before more accidents in supermarket car parks when practicing manoeuvres
 
Were they reversing out of a space? I must say, I always reverse in - easier to get into the space and easier to get out.

Damage doesn't look too bad tbh if it's pretty much just the doors, obviously easy for me to say with it not being mine but shouldn't be too bad to get sorted.
 
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Mate - gutted for you, I actually winced when I saw your photo :crying:. Bet it felt like it all happened in slow motion.

Will be amazed if that isn’t two new doors - no way they are repairable. HOWEVER (and I know it won’t help you feel any less @#&* this evening) it is only metal, insurance will cover it and no-one got squished.

At least it’s on the passenger side, so park it so you don’t have to look at it as you approach the car, get her fixed up and carry on enjoying your pride and joy. Karma dictates something good will happen next.
 
Tom.H said:
Were they reversing out of a space? I must say, I always reverse in - easier to get into the space and easier to get out.

Damage doesn't look too bad tbh if it's pretty much just the doors, obviously easy for me to say with it not being mine but shouldn't be too bad to get sorted.
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Yeah they were reversing and turning slightly and not watching where the front of their car was going which was straight into the side of mine :-( I just panicked and leapt out to try stop them, didn’t even think about being in gear or anything like that. I do think it’s bad the parking break doesn’t still auto engage in this scenario, like someone could have easily got really hurt, the car didn’t actually move until I was fully out of it
 
Jimbob76 said:
Mate - gutted for you, I actually winced when I saw your photo :crying:. Bet it felt like it all happened in slow motion.

Will be amazed if that isn’t two new doors - no way they are repairable. HOWEVER (and I know it won’t help you feel any less @#&* this evening) it is only metal, insurance will cover it and no-one got squished.

At least it’s on the passenger side, so park it so you don’t have to look at it as you approach the car, get her fixed up and carry on enjoying your pride and joy. Karma dictates something good will happen next.
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Haha very true, I just won’t go round that side of the car until it’s fixed! I’ve taken it to the Audi body shop for an estimate and they reckon £2.5k - £3k - annoyingly I have to pay more excess on my insurance if I don’t use who they want me to but I don’t want any body fixing it - I think worse case I’m looking at £900 - I do think as the days gone on I’m less to blame than I initially did, it was just natural reaction to jump out and try and stop her, if she hadn’t gone near it I wouldn’t have had any reason to, and honestly I had no idea about the handbrake auto releasing so have always disengaged it after putting it into gear
Oh well it will get sorted which is the main thing and no one was hurt
 
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TOYNEG said:
Haha very true, I just won’t go round that side of the car until it’s fixed! I’ve taken it to the Audi body shop for an estimate and they reckon £2.5k - £3k - annoyingly I have to pay more excess on my insurance if I don’t use who they want me to but I don’t want any body fixing it - I think worse case I’m looking at £900 - I do think as the days gone on I’m less to blame than I initially did, it was just natural reaction to jump out and try and stop her, if she hadn’t gone near it I wouldn’t have had any reason to, and honestly I had no idea about the handbrake auto releasing so have always disengaged it after putting it into gear
Oh well it will get sorted which is the main thing and no one was hurt
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Is there any other damage to your car than the side? Is the rear still fine? What damage is on the other car, did you take pics? In these cases it may be best to not scrutinize the situation, that's why we pay insurance. As others have said, it's only metal. I do feel for you though!
 
tyr92 said:
Is there any other damage to your car than the side? Is the rear still fine? What damage is on the other car, did you take pics? In these cases it may be best to not scrutinize the situation, that's why we pay insurance. As others have said, it's only metal. I do feel for you though!
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Just the two doors, a bit of a scratch on the rear arch and a scuffed back wheel - I actually didnt think to take any pics of their car. I think there will be cctv which will show what happened plus a witness so I’ll just let them work it out
Thanks mate :)
 
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TOYNEG said:
Just the two doors, a bit of a scratch on the rear arch and a scuffed back wheel - I actually didnt think to take any pics of their car. I think there will be cctv which will show what happened plus a witness so I’ll just let them work it out
Thanks mate :)
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Sounds to me like it was their fault then if it's all on the side of your car, you can't reverse sidewards. :)
 
Looks like a sore one. Glad no one was hurt so just a bit of pride lost and excess.
I know it’s a bit late now but if I remember right on one of my A6 you could turn on something in vcds and thenengine will shut down as soon as you open the door. Maybe the coding is available on the a3 to avoid this happening. Will have a play with mine and see if I can do it.
Another thing is I found the stop start extremely aggressive on my s3 so surprised your engine wasn’t shut down to save fuel while stopped.
 
Sparks43 said:
Yes it will auto release - If it's a pre facelift then you need the seat belt on but facelift models don't require this which I think is a bit strange as it was a great safety measure.

Damage looks nasty - Hope you get it all sorted mate and it least no one was hurt.
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I’ve got a facelift and mine requires the seatbelt ON before the handbrake releases. Mines a 67 plate 2018 model.
 
Carefree69 said:
I’ve got a facelift and mine requires the seatbelt ON before the handbrake releases. Mines a 67 plate 2018 model.
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My March 2017 will release the handbrake without my seatbelt being plugged in.
 
Tom.H said:
My March 2017 will release the handbrake without my seatbelt being plugged in.
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Strange, as our June 2018 has to have the seatbelt clipped in before letting of the handbrake automatically. Strange to see that this wasn't a common set up applied to FL A3's.
 
Just to add to the confusion I just picked up my s3 fresh off the transporter so assuming it would be a 2018 June/July build and my seatbelt doesn’t have to be on and the handbrake releases as soon as I try and pull away.
 
Very strange, my fl 2018 DEFINITELY needs the seatbelt to be engaged before the handbrake can be released.
 
Check the specification, and blame Audi if its not supposed to release and claim! :p
 
It should be a quick vcds tweak to have work with or without seatbelt. At least it was on the A6.
 
Sorry to hear what happened. I don’t think the handbrake automatically re-engages if you open a door if it is in drive or reverse. It does automatically engage when you put the car in park and switch off the ignition. I may be wrong so check the manual. Unfortunately automatic cars do creep when in gear without either foot brake or handbrake applied.
 
And this is why I never take my car to the supermarket. Especially not Tesco's, that's full of imbeciles for some reason.

Seriously though, a learner in a Merc? Wtf?
 
4K said:
And this is why I never take my car to the supermarket. Especially not Tesco's, that's full of imbeciles for some reason.

Seriously though, a learner in a Merc? Wtf?
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Unfortunately with the change to the driving test. These sorts of things were bound to start occuring.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk
 
Svenedin said:
Sorry to hear what happened. I don’t think the handbrake automatically re-engages if you open a door if it is in drive or reverse. It does automatically engage when you put the car in park and switch off the ignition. I may be wrong so check the manual. Unfortunately automatic cars do creep when in gear without either foot brake or handbrake applied.
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I'm fairly sure it will if you're in drive or reverse and pull up and then open the door to check against kerb for instance but if you have put it in to drive or reverse and then taken the handbrake off yourself and then open the door it doesn't.

Does sound like peoples cars are different - Mines an S3 March 2018 so January build approx. - My old March 2016 you had to have the seatbelt in for auto release and that includes the Hill Hold Assist - This new one doesn't
 
My 2016 f/lift saloon is a manual but when you first get in and start the car and pull away without the seatbelt on the handbrake will auto release, if you stop and engage the handbrake, still with the seatbelt off, then try and move off you need to manually release the brake.
 
4K said:
And this is why I never take my car to the supermarket. Especially not Tesco's, that's full of imbeciles for some reason.

Seriously though, a learner in a Merc? Wtf?
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I know and it was this big old barge, she must have been 17-18
 

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Sparks43 said:
Yes it will auto release - If it's a pre facelift then you need the seat belt on but facelift models don't require this which I think is a bit strange as it was a great safety measure.

Damage looks nasty - Hope you get it all sorted mate and it least no one was hurt.
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You don't legally need a seatbelt on when reversing though, as sometimes you need to turn round more than the seatbelt will allow to get a good view. Perhaps that's the reason why.
 
cemerson said:
You don't legally need a seatbelt on when reversing though, as sometimes you need to turn round more than the seatbelt will allow to get a good view. Perhaps that's the reason why.
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Can't comment on that from the OP's perspective but I opened the door once when reversing against a kerb and the car came to a very abrupt stop (although that was with my seat belt on)
 
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All fixed :)
 

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Looks like the repairers have done an excellent job, so I bet you're well pleased to be back on the road.
 
They have done a cracking job there! Sure you're happy to have it back!

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk
 
Looks like new again.

Out of interest, did the other party cover the whole claim?
 
Tom.H said:
Can't comment on that from the OP's perspective but I opened the door once when reversing against a kerb and the car came to a very abrupt stop (although that was with my seat belt on)
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I thought my gearbox had conked out at 8 months old when I tried setting off with my door not fully shut....started panicking thinking how was i going to get recovered from Honister Pass at 7am on a sunday :haha:
 
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sorry just to be clear, why where people asking why op didn't let the hand breake auto release? if you let the hand brake auto release by putting it in reverse, will it auto re engage if you jump out? (pre face list)?
 
Yeah the repairers (harwoods body shop) did a really great job, it’s literally like new again :) so glad to have it back.

I’m still waiting on the insurance to decide liability but they said that can take weeks so I’ve paid up the excess for now and hope I can claim it all or least half of it back once they’ve figured it out.
 
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