Posted on 06/26/2025 1:55:40 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
A simple flat tire on an Audi should be a 10-minute fix. But thanks to today's hyper-connected vehicle systems, a TikTok video showed how it turned into a half-hour ordeal involving fault scans, resets, and drive cycles—all because of a nail.
(Excerpt) Read more at motor1.com ...
A five-speed? Well, lah-de-dah. Three on the tree is plenty. :-)
His channel on youtube is “Rare Classic Cars & Automotive History.”
Most new vehicles are good for 200,000 miles. It’s the darned scheduled maintenance that drains a person’s checkbook.
When you think you are going to do a simple repair and look at the Haynes Manual and the first step is..Remove the hood.
She bought it in Michigan and moved to Florida after a year or two. Even then what saved the body was being kept garaged. Great motors, but the damn things leaked terribly and required carefull attention to keep rust at bay.
Holy crap! —> “When a nail punctures a tire, it doesn’t just trigger the tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS). In modern cars, particularly high-tech vehicles like Audis, a single low-pressure reading ripples through interconnected safety systems. Wheel-speed sensors used by the anti-lock braking system (ABS) and electronic stability control feed tire pressure data throughout the car. If one tire spins faster due to low pressure, the ABS control computer registers it as under-inflation. It can trigger faults in stability control, traction control, adaptive cruise, and even parking brake modules.”
My son manages a tire store and they routinely fix flats for free. Quick in and out jobs. Builds great customer goodwill in town.
I sent him this article. Thanks for posting it. I’ll see if he’s heard of this incredible complexity on high-end cars.
The problem is we do not have a choice.
I have a 6 speed manual.
—”Most of that, involves Windows OS tech. training that is unaware of “outside the box.”
Tesla, Toyota, Audi, MB... use a form of linux
What car uses windows other than for infotainment?
The Blue Screen of Death must be interesting on the highway?
My wife has a 2019 Hyundai (Korean VIN). The check engine light came on and it was running rough. The local ABC Auto diagnosed it and wanted to order parts. I had to tell them repeatedly that it was under warranty. It ran VERY ROUGH on the way back to the dealership. They replaced all of the valves and it still was rough. One of the techs noted that the battery shown as at the initial stages of failure in the diagnostic readout.
I went into an O’Reily’s and bought a battery and it ran perfectly.
2000 Mercedes ML320 just turned 250,000 it has been a great car
Actually, so do I. Also a five-speed in another car.
I used to have a little laugh when I took my Tacoma in for service at the local dealer.
They couldn’t get it for me. Something to do with Toyota.
Some people are amazed that a manual version exists.
I wish I had ordered my 2008 F-250 with a manual transmission. Long story why I didn’t at the time, but I had no idea they’d be dropping manual transmissions completely for those trucks within the next year or so.
I’ve preferred to drive a stick ever since my first car, a 1966 VW.
The system service and diagnostic side is usually Windows OS based.
Example: ODIS for Audi VW:
https://www.cnautotool.com/blog/odis-s-diagnostic-software-the-ultimate-tool-for-audi-vw-service/
https://gtaauto.com/odis-service-23-full-software-for-download/
XENTRY for Mercedes Benz:
https://xentry.mercedes-benz.com/
https://b2bconnect.mercedes-benz.com/gb/workshop-solutions/diagnosis/xentry-diagnosis-system
—” That took some highly skilled diagnosing!”
I have asked around about that, a square on the face of the block to the crank stub will not work.
It is a known issue.
Eventually, someone read a service bulletin.
I had a 1995 Suburban that belonged to my employer, a great ride!
Then, on a nice sunny summer day, it would not start!
The dealer replaced the plugs, with only a few thousand miles. They are good for 100K miles?
Then it happened again? And again!
My CEO lived down the way from me asked that I leave the keys in it, did not start for him either.
One day at a meeting, it was announced that Enterprise was taking over fleet management, and Mr Enterprise was explaining the new system.
I asked about the Subraban, he said to send him the receipts, I had all of them.
The BS dealer was charging, claiming it was a commercial vehicle, and the warranty was only six months!!
A few days later Mr Enterprise called to say the problem was the plug wires and covered in a service bulletin.
The BS dealer refunded every penny!!!
And I later called accounting to check.
Although I come from a long line of used car buyers, I did buy a few new ones from CarMax, yes, I could have spent days haggling and saved a few dollars. Time is money.
My experience with CarMax service has been excellent!
Once my power seat stopped, they looked at it and said the kids’ books stuck under the seat, disconnecting the jack was not covered, but they moved the books and plugged it in, no charge.
Yes there are fair dealers out there.
I was at a new car dealer recently and took a car out for a drive. After coming back the salesman asked me what I thought... told him “I hated it.... I wanted a car to take on test run, not a computer with 4 wheels attached.”
The problems with high-zoot equipment is everywhere.
IMO, the author was overly polite about Audi service.
For many dealerships, the service department is how they make their money, and some are overly greedy bastards.
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