Audi Reviews

It’s true, there’s not a lot of weight saving with a smaller spare wheel and tyre, but these are called space savers, not weight savers. And that’s because they’re about saving space in the luggage compartment first and foremost. Many modern cars with huge wheels and tyres could not swallow a full sized spare; there just isn’t space inside the vehicle. So, the space saver was the industry solution.

They have obvious limitations, too, including the limits on distance and speed you can travel on them. And you would not be the first or last owner to replace the space saver with a full sized spare. In rural and remote areas, a full sized spare is great peace of mind.

You could have a problem anywhere in the wiring between the starter button and the starter motor. It could even be a problem with the starter motor itself. This function is computer controlled, too, so you may find the body computer is the root cause. An auto electrician will be able to check this out and diagnose the fault.

But there’s one thing you can check before that, and that is to remove and clean the contacts on the actual starter button. You will need to remove it from the dashboard (disconnect the car’s battery first) and carefully take the button apart and spray some terminal cleaner or contact cleaner on to the contacts. If you’re not confident to do this, the same auto electrician will be able to help you out.

These buttons (which are really switches) accumulate all sorts of grime and moisture from the air, the car’s interior and, of course, the fingers that operate the button.

While this version of the Audi Q5 uses a wet-clutch version of the dual-clutch transmission, failures and problems are not unknown. Generally, any shuddering or jerking in a DSG transmission suggest either worn clutch packs or a problem with the electronics that control the gearbox.

But it’s important to make sure that this is not an engine problem contributing to the jerking behaviour, so an electronic scan of the driveline is in order. This should help narrow down the potential causes and make diagnosis more accurate and repairs cheaper. The gearbox can be scanned, too, to check the operation of the clutch packs.