I guess it is now inevitable that cars will start to use electric handbrakes over the manual ones. It saves quite a bit of space in the interior, and I assume it auto adjusts the tension in the brake system.
The previous car I had, was a new XC70 from Volvo. This had an electric handbrake, but the switch was not in a great place.. i.e. it wasn't obvious and you had to reach for it. I also could not work out the logic of the auto release. Very often it didn't auto release as you would expect.
The Audi one is much better than the Volvo. For starters, the switch is very nicely placed in the centre console, near the gear lever. It is very easy to see if it is on or not by a red LED (of course also on the dash too). It releases everytime in auto mode.. as long as you have got the seatbelt on. You can't release it manually unless you have your foot on the footbrake. So overall, it seems to have sufficient safety built in, with ease of use. Something the Volvo failed to do.
Friday, 12 December 2008
Sunday, 7 December 2008
Strange noise when opening the door
When you open a door on the car after it has been locked, it makes a really strange noise.. like oil being pumped?? does it on both passenger and drivers side??
Sunday, 30 November 2008
AUDI A4 - and the mystery key !!
I was visiting my relatives, who have an Audi TT. So my brother in law wanted to have a look at the Audi - he sat in side, played with the controls etc.
He then declared he could start the car without my key. Well I knew this wasn't possible, since I had the key and there is no other fancy option to start this car.
He then started the car, much to my amazement!
How? Well apparently there is a back up key in the glove box. Nobody had told me about this backup key. It is a plastic key which fits into a spare plastic key body. The key body fits into the socket like the normal key - but doesn't have any electronic functionality. However once the other piece of plastic is inserted..it appears to work like any other key.
So I have been driving around with the spare sitting in the unlocked glovebox the whole time. How unsafe is that. I wonder how many other Audi drivers are now in the same situation. Does the insurance cover this?
He then declared he could start the car without my key. Well I knew this wasn't possible, since I had the key and there is no other fancy option to start this car.
He then started the car, much to my amazement!
How? Well apparently there is a back up key in the glove box. Nobody had told me about this backup key. It is a plastic key which fits into a spare plastic key body. The key body fits into the socket like the normal key - but doesn't have any electronic functionality. However once the other piece of plastic is inserted..it appears to work like any other key.
So I have been driving around with the spare sitting in the unlocked glovebox the whole time. How unsafe is that. I wonder how many other Audi drivers are now in the same situation. Does the insurance cover this?
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