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Hey guys, since all the forums are merged together. Lets talk about some genuine comparison. Everyone of us is aware about the competition between Audi and BMW. So please share your experiences and state your reason that why their choice is best and why (whether Audi or BMW)? Lets see who wins here.

Just read today morning that all cars in UAE will have below efficiency rating mandatory from 2017. This new move seems very good for educating consumer before buying the vehicle, however I am not understanding the need of creating 5 levels of rating within just 1 L/100 km (1.71 km/liter) difference. All cars that I have ever own falls much below the "Very Poor" rating. http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/transport/cars-in-uae-to-have-fuel-efficiency-rating-next-year-1.1678219 14.2 km/liter (7.04 L/100 km) = Very Good 13.6 km/liter (7.35 L/100 km) = Good 13 km/liter (7.69 L/100 km) = Average 12.5 km/liter (8 L/100 km) = Poor 12.49 km/liter (8.006 L/100 km) = Very Poor

Romel probably means the "carbon brushes" on the voltage regulator.

Hey People, I really enjoy driving this amazing beast or a luxury car on Dubai road. It been one of the most special car to after coming to Dubai. I love this car a lot. I would like to raise one small problem happen last night after visiting Dubai mall. Everything was going great and I went to mall with my family to enjoy some shopping, well the car was park when I reach without any hassle. But when I am back to get my car from parking my family was waiting to the exit door I notice a problem in shifting from ""P"" to ""D"" mode. When I was trying to move the gear lever from parking to drive mode it was making a scratch sound. I did not realize what has happen, I tried at least 6 time to get it to the driving mode but all the trial was failed with scratching sound. I was scared I don’t know what has happen suddenly to the car. I came down from the car and give a final try after 10 minutes, I pushed brake and tried to remove a safety key and put it back and tried again, this time with the god grace it started and easily shifted in to drive mode. I don’t understand how! But again now at this time after reaching to my home safely I found another problem where I was not able to shift the gear into ""R"" the shifter was not catching the gear! Well at 11 pm in the night I did not bother to indulge more time, because it seem my car had a severe issue in shifting gear into ""P"" and ""R"". I hope I am thinking in a right direction?? Is gearbox gone for a toss? Is there any cheaper fix to repair it, as I am sure gearbox in this big beast must be damn expensive. Any cost effective ideas guys....?

I am looking for votes from offroad user as to see which one is favorite for offroad here and why it is favorite? Please vote. Thanks.

I think I noticed about 50 km drop in my last tank, and want to know what are the first few things to doubt and troubleshoot at my level. I know slight variation on every fuel tank is acceptable due to driving conditions, style and mood but this 50 km seems bit of concern to me. Thanks in advance.

Car spare parts import duty and taxes is generally charged at 5%, but the calculations are bit more complex by adding the cost of goods + shipping cost + insurance cost. You can check here the exact calculation for your requirements: http://www.dutycalculator.com/country-guides/Import-duty-taxes-when-importing-into-United-Arab-Emirates/ your calculation: http://www.dutycalculator.com/new-import-duty-and-tax-calculation/saved_calculations/view_details/199894567 import duty and tax calculator: http://www.dutycalculator.com/new-import-duty-and-tax-calculation

Dear All the discussion reminds me with the juok when the wife came home and told her husband: I have a good new and a bad news, So the husband said: don't tell any bad news just the good news! so she said: Our new BMW car air bags are working efficiently!! The sticker on the newspaper is matching US sticker on the new cars which is good news and a step forward to customer protection from dealers greed and towards lunching new laws similar to US lemon juice. however applying tax on fuel efficiency and emission is a very scary thing for motor heads like us and I think it may be applicable specially after the new budget announcement which is lowering government income from Oil to 6% only and stress on earning more income from services and charges but the idea is against the country main banner "Tax Free" anyway I'm not an expert in politics but that what I understand about it!! the other issue that many cars on the market is offering better fuel saving ..... for example I have been driving a rent car (Nissan Sentra) for the last 2 weeks and it's even offering 15.4 to 16 Km per liter which is very good ....(regardless performance and the poor quality ride) So from now on I'll end my comment with Drive economically instead of Drive safely!!!!

Thanks for your responses, much appreciated. Had the transmission oil checked last month just to be sure that it wasn't the culprit ( I do change it every 40T km in my other car.) and it was fine as per the mechanic. I was even told that these type of transmissions do not require oil change, tho' I don't really buy it. Right after I posted the Subject, I went on to scour the internet hoping to find similar problem, it seems that this is a 'common' problem (or was it in GCC?) for Audi's as I've seen a few topics from other American and European Audi forums. They mentioned that updating the Transmission software is a common fix. Hanif maybe right about the sensors or control modules..... Now, just a follow up question, how do you guys update the transmission software? Do you guys know any reputable VAG garage that can carry out the job?

I refuse to believe that dirty oil will impact all gear shift, as when oil is just starting to get dirty shifts are rough but noticeable more on small speed evidently as slow gear shift is more precision based and reflect any small defect loudly as oppose to higher speed shift will only be visible after few thousand kms. I experience this same in one of my car and I ignore 1st to 2nd thud and after 2 months paid a huge bill for rebuilding the transmission when 2nd to 3rd thud also started showing.

@victor is right, but dirty oil almost always affects all gear shifts. It is unusual for only first and second gears to be affected, and especially in stop and go traffic. In this case, it is more likely that there is some miscommunication between the engine and transmission, so I would suggest you have the transmission's electronic control module checked out. This type of issue usually happens when the transmission acts on wrong signals, such as an incorrect signal from a speed sensor. So, assuming that the transmission "thinks" the car is travellling at 60 km/ph when it is in fact only travelling at 25 km/ph, shifts will be rough. The problem is that this type of issue will not always trigger a warning light, but if the transmission shifts correctly through the entire range at higher speed, the hard shifting issue between first and second gears is almost certainly caused by defective speed sensors. The best thing to do in this case is to have a full diagnostic check done on the interface between the engine and transmission to see if there are any fault codes stored. A fluid change at this point is unlikely to resolve the problem if only first and second gears are affected in slow traffic.

First universal usual suspect for any gear issue is the gear oil and filter. Do you have record of when it was changed last? Check if it's due anytime soon. If you don't have record then get it change with original gear oil and gear oil filter at the earliest to save your transmission. The very first sign of stale gear oil is the 1st to 2nd and vice versa rough shifting and/or extra jerking while shifting.

Guys thank you for your inputs... will it be possible also that the carbon brass is already worn out?

Another incident happen with me, when I swapped the engine the mechanic left the main engine wiring harness hanging close to the engine manifold and in extreme left cornering or side slope that wire got touched to manifold and burnt and cause battery fuse to blow due to short circuit. Check nothing is passing too close to manifold area or touching it.

As treks mentioned it's quite strange, I assume that some electrical or earthing wire may be loose and while touching the redline car vibrates too much at high speed and throw that battery Icon. Worth checking the all the engine wiring firmly, before taking a deeper dive. I experienced something similar that while side sloping on dune car use to flicker that light and on flat surface its fine because of loose connection somewhere.

Hi Romel, This is strange, but charging system warning lights usually only comes on when the alternator is not generating power. In this case it sounds like the voltage regulator is not working at high RPM, but the warning light usually comes on at low RPM's, when the alternator is not spinning fast enough to generate the full charging current. In most Mazda's, the regulation of charging voltages happens in the ECU. This means you cannot have the alternator tested on its own. You need to take the whole car to a competent workshop for testing. The best thing to do would be to have the car checked for stored fault codes. Messing around with alternators on Mazdas is looking for trouble unless you know exactly what you are looking for, since accidental short circuits during testing can destroy the ECU.

Hi Abeer, Sorry to say this, but Audi A8's are known for their suspension problems. However, you don't mention anything about the air suspension system. Does the air suspension work properly, and did the garage you took it to perform a comprehensive diagnostic check? Do you see any warning lights that could mean that the suspension is defective? The air suspension in these Audi's are prone to all sorts of issues, and it seems that because as you say, the car is jumping and down, the system is not sufficiently pressurised. The most common problem is that the compressors on these systems fail, but the really bad news is that they are very expensive to replace. Unforunately, testing and replacing a compressor is best left to the dealers, so your first course of action should be to have the compressor checked out by having an OBD check performed at the dealers. The noises you hear is the result of suspension bushings that have worn out because the system is not supporting the weight of the car. There are many bushings in an Audi suspension and it is not always easy to locate the worn ones, because when the car is hoisted on a lift, the suspension system sags, which takes up the freeplay in the damaged bushings. The best way to identify damaged bushings is to use a lift that allows the car to remain on its wheels. A competent mechanic can then check each bushing by applying a levering action to it. This is in fact the only way to identify worn or damaged bushings, and my advice would be to take the car to a competent independent garage, because they won't charge you as much as the dealers will. I hope this helps, and please keep us posted, since it may help other members as well.

Hi, I hardly found a solution else for GCC car problem. Finally this Carnity look good and specific to GCC problem. Which caught my attention, and that the first time I saw a Forum in UAE??? I hope I can get the cure for my 2008 Jeep Wrangler. I would like to inform that I had this Jeep wrangler Sahara with GCC spec when I came to Dubai in 2009. Well I hardly had major problem with this car because I used to travel every time with Metro or in my friend car, only Friday or off day I used to drive this vehicle hardly 200 to 300 km a day. It has very nice condition from outside but seem having trouble inside now in engine. It had a run of approx. 140000 Km as of now. Just to inform that whenever I start a car it goes fine until 40 to 50 km of run and after that it started making a tapping or weird knocking sound that get worse after car happen to have heat up. I hardly understand the problem, I check the oil level it pretty fine. I went to the dealer as the car if out of warranty they want me to pay 5000 AED for such a small fix I guess. Whereas I contact the local garage he is quoting me 3200 for this repair. But both of them are not able to tell what problem is exactly!! Does anybody faced the same issue before and what could be a possible repair that I should consider in this situation? Please if somebody can explain me what problem it might have been going through will be great.