freemansteve

Years ago, drain plug washers were copper; are they now all steel? I'd fit whatever was the original part was...

No idea - but have they owned it from brand new, and know it has never been repaired/touched up? It could be a perforation, in which case, there may be a possible warranty claim.

Yes that is common. Glad it's sorted..... It's a bit surprised that the rear footwell was wet, but you didn't say the front footwell had a problem! (I'm sure it must have been wet too!) - several of us would have suggested blocked drain holes right away, if the front footwell was also wet!

Sounds like a cash-making opportunity for dealerships to me!

Well - it's freezing down here, about 7C in the day and alternating cold, heavy rain and sun.... been working outside though! I did think the brake light was a red-herring. IMHO.... But nevertheless the Up! forum is massive compared with this one, so always worth checking.

It may be that your hovercraft is full of eels....

There may enough charge to start, but once that's done, a battery will be depleted somewhat. At least until you can go out on the road and get it charged up. A battery in poor condition may take some time to charge, but meanwhile, it may not have enough energy to actuate the solenoids on the gearbox. Anything running after you start, like fans, lights, heated rear screen etc etc will make the situation worse. Seems to me that there are at least two possible issues with a weak battery - a) after starting, the battery voltage is low (batteries not holding charge have higher internal resistance) and the electronics are failing to work right, and maybe the alternator is not up to scratch, or b) the electronics are working, but the electro-mechanical parts (solenoid actuators) are not, because they, being inductive, need a fair bit of energy to start, and they may be sticking or in bad condition already. I don't know about this particular ASG, but I assume solenoids operate a clutch of some sort, as well as making the gears shift - if so, that's a fair bit of energy needed. I think b) is most likely and that the electronic module probably uses voltage regulators anyway, and relays to the solenoids, so it should not be too voltage sensitive. And that's a point - there may be relays involved that have failed. As previously said, poor earths or bad contacts will produce the same effect as a weak battery. These can be anywhere, not just within the ECU or gearbox, as that tech note seemed to imply. If the battery is >3 years old, I'd change it and get a good brand, not a "China Happy Battery Factory#417 Special"... Beware if you change batteries: I know sometimes a new battery will need to be re-coded with the ECU, but I am not sure if this is only for stop-start engine versions of the cars.... Honestly, don't spend £600 on a new ECU until all other possibilities have been exhausted, and if you do buy one, make sure you have a written guarantee that ensures the 'box will end up working, not matter what. Courts need paperwork to be able to see and understand contracts, if it comes to it....

This comes up occasionally, on this and the much bigger Up! forum... Rear windscreen seal, following accident or replacement seems to be the most common cause (if you read to the end of the postings), but on the way, lots of debate about sunroof drain channels, brake light and spoiler seals, rear wiper seal, rear wash wipe leaks, blocked drain holes in sills, etc.

Probably a faulty sensor or bad connection....

Yep, I have emailed support - [email protected] - you could too! I have done so before and generally I had a far more polite and engaged reply than most "support entities" in the UK who seem to pay people to just send boilerplate platitudes that a machine could do just as well for a tiny fraction of the cost. And the subsequent version of the app did fix all my problems. For a while. You may have seen my play store feedback.... The app was working fine for months but a new update (which I didn't even notice getting) seems to have stopped it from launching. Just when I thought they were there, they mess it up!

No idea, but I bet the "actuator" is just a solenoid that physically moves parts in the gearbox to select gears for you. There will probably be two or three solenoids and they probably have a means of signalling their position (open/closed) to the control unit. It could be that one is sticking or has failed (or a wire has come off or a bad contact). It reminds me of the electrically-controlled 4WD and Low-range selector mechanism on my Nissan pick-up truck - these solenoids would start to fail on high mileage trucks or ones that did a lot of off-roading as water got in, and would then need to be replaced because 4WD stopped engaging properly. They basically just shoved lock-pins and sliding gears around inside the transfer case. Not a million miles from what goes on in an ASG, I would think. Thing is, the parts are probably not expensive, but it all depends on what you need to do to change them. I could be completely wrong here, but there are not many other theories being put forward!

If the noise stops when pushing the clutch, I would not assume it is necessarily anything to do with clutch or gearbox (especially as it is intermittent as you say). The thing is, pushing the clutch in reduces stresses on on the entire driveline... The noise could be a wheel bearing, or a CV joint but they should be OK at 16K miles. Could even be something belt-driven being noisy on the over-run - alternator/AC/water pump bearing, perhaps... I'd check rear brake drums, and recheck front disks. As often said, noises often come from far away from where you think they originate.

I know very little about this exact ASG, but I'm betting oil quantity/quality is not the issue, but I'd be very pleased to be wrong! These units are not rocket science - far simpler than a full DSG or a modern version of a slush-box automatic. I reckon it's going to come down to one or more of: electronic control unit/sensors/solenoid actuators/bad wiring or contacts. The problem clearly is finding which it is.... I am surprised that the ECU error codes are not more helpful for the dealer.

Old topic... But I recently got to changing the reversing light bulbs to LEDs, and I see what the "red tab" is all about now ! I found it very hard to pull the red tab out to disconnect the wiring connector, but easy to push back in place after changing bulbs (exact same car) after the connector mates in the body of the bulb holder. To pull the tab out, I ended up fashioning a kind of 90 degree "crochet hook" from an old bradawl , so the point of it went under the red tab in order to lever it out. The design of the locking tab is basically stupid!

If the cars is a few years old, check all earth-strap points, and check bulb holders and all bulbs for dirty or corroded contacts. Also disconnect and reconnect a battery terminal to force a reset of the BCM and other CPUs....

How complicated is the PCB? It may just be a simple DC-DC converter to provide 5V (USB) from 12V. I guess you could measure inputs and outputs with a meter. CItyScout mentions a 'buck' so I suspect that is what it is... If so, loads on Amazon for £5-6. I put several on my 5th wheel when I lived in it, for powering/charging USB things - worked a treat.

It may well-worn ground, but I just replaced my rear reversing lights for LEDs, having been pleased with the result of changing the interior & map lights for LEDs. The original 10W filaments were hopeless at illuminating anything behind me, so I could barely see what was causing the parking sensors to bleep frantically at me when reversing in our leafy Close... But now, I can see way more! Oh yeah, it's only a crouching, evil, sword-wielding orc, so don't worry about the sensor bleeps. Etc.. Possibly of dubious legality but as they are only used when I'm reversing, I don't think it'll be a big issue, or more importantly, blind other road users. You have to be careful with physical sizing if you change these, as they have to protrude through fairly small holes into the rear lenses. These are what I bought (from eBay though) and they work excellently. No idea how long they last, but not used much. https://www.amazon.co.uk/AGLINT-Backup-Reverse-Lights-Signal/dp/B07Y6462NP/ref=sr_1_15?dchild=1&keywords=aglint&qid=1606416752&s=automotive&sr=1-15

Aren't most things? loads of bulb/wiper specialist outlets on the 'interweb thing' but always check price including shipping.

They just clip on and off; i.e. they are trivial to fit.

The rotary control that sets where air is distributed in the cabin isn't really relevant, but the slider that sets whether air is recirculated or comes in from the outside is the control I was referring to. This slider cuts off a large volume of external air from coming in, if set to recirculate.... It could still be the case that your drain channels are blocked though!

The smell will come in on the airfow, through the vents. You don't even need the fan on if there is even a slight breeze outside. Even opening the doors will draw air in from outside. If the drainage holes are blocked however, any water/washer fluid on the windscreen can get into the cab - if the water cannot drain, it can build up and enter the hole where the air is drawn in from the outside for the ventilation system. Point being, it's worth checking the drain holes are clear no matter the reason for the smell.

Higher tyre pressure will lighten the steering feel, so drop tyre pressures to "comfort" settings - either in the manual or on the door plate. Mind you, I reckon they got the steering weighting bang-on for a city car, so maybe something has gone wrong with the setup on your car?

Indeed. Pollen and air filters massively depend on where you live and the quality of the air there..... When I lived in the Algarve it was dust/sand that reduced the filter life - but that can be vacuumed to some extent as it wasn't very oily/sticky... In Durness, I could probably x4 the lifetime of filters as it was extremely clean, but in most of England - cities, big towns, industrial midlands & the grim north etc - the pollution is so bad in terms of petrochem/industrial and other sticky dirt, you may want to change a bit more often than the service data says.... I recently checked my filters down here (near Penzance) and they look pretty good despite nearby sand, although it's no way as clean here as the Highlands!

I assume it's a small, low-current PV panel and trickle charger, but if not, make sure any shared wiring and fuse you utilize can take the extra current....

I think for any car, the diagnosis would be similar.... 1) do the doors have individual fuses? If so check them. 2) when operating the central locking, does the bad door make any internal sound? If not, then it is either the solenoid (kind of the motor) or power to the solenoid (like maybe a wire off or corroded connector somewhere, or a bad earth). If there _is_ a clunk there could be mechanical issue with solenoid or linkages to the lock.... It will all be a nuisance finding it :( but not too costly for parts if needed