A4 1.8 T Sport - High bite point

[jcb156]

Hi all,

This is my family car, which I don't always drive, and I jumped in the other day and the bite point for the clutch felt high and the action really heavy. I've been driving a brand new hire car for a couple of weeks so it may just be perception.

I'm worried that this might be a sign of clutch wear and implending replacement. The car is a 2000X with 62,000 miles. Its on variable service with the next one due in 4K miles.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

James

[MookMonster]

The variable service won't have any bearing on the clutch wear, but a car that age with just 62K miles on it implies that it's probably done lots of short journeys.

The clutch on the 1.8T has fully automatic adjustment, so, bar anything untoward going on between the clutch pedal and the clutch (e.g. fluid leaks), it sounds like a replacement clutch is required.

[jcb156]

Thats what I feared, it's the family car so it does get used for shopping & dropping.

What sort of price can I expect?

And any suitable garages in Herts would be good - I've only ever taken it to Audi and I don't want to get too badly stung!

J

[MookMonster]

Don't, don't, don't take it to a main dealer to get it done

You will be knocked out by the charges. Find yourself a good local VW/Audi specialist. You will be looking at at least £300 though inc parts, labour and VAT.

[targarama]

My A6 1.8T had a really high clutch when I bought it at 67,000 miles. 4 years later its now done 121,000 miles and is still on the same clutch and it works just fine. So if you can live with it then leave it be.

[jcb156]

I do need to find a good VW/Audi workshop near me, can anyone do the variable services? Or is it a way for Audi to keep yu coming back?

I'm going to take it for a spin this afternoon and see how it feels again (is was only in it for 5 minutes the other evening)

J

[MookMonster]

Where in the UK are you based? You would normally get a main dealer to do the servicing so you can get the stamp in the book (so you can sell the car with a full Audi history) and warranty stuff gets covered (if it's still under extended warranty).

Spending more money on servicing with your main dealer doesn't add to the value - it just makes it easier to sell when the time comes.

[jcb156]

Mook, I'm in St Albans, but not been here very long (hence still mooching around looking for good garages/tyre fitters etc). I'm thinking of changing the car this year for something a bit bigger so it would be nice to have FASH when I bung it on autotrader.

Interestingly the clutch felt better when I took it for a longer spin at the weekend, I heard from a friend that as the clutch gets older the slef adjustment can take longer??