Ronda69

I am a single mother who could really use the help of other Audi owners and from reading posts here I think I'm in the right place.

I just bought a 2004 A8L with 120k miles from a pvt party seller. The seller owned a basic auto shop where he employees basic mechanics to do brake and oil changes sort of thing. I drove the car home to La (about 300 miles) and that night when my brother took the car out it started to make a beeping noise that seems to be related to parking brake whenever the car stops at a signal which it doesn't make o. The freeway. The previous owner said that he changed the rear brakes but that they needed dealer calibration when I noticed both the ABS and traction warning lights on during test drive. It didn't make the beeping sound at time of test drive.

I have pretty much determined that the last owner is somewhat of a liar. He got the car at auction and I'm guessing got in over his head with what his shop is capable of and he really didn't need the car so he just needed to unload it...which I'm cool with.....but, I just need to know how to trouble shoot this. I have the following info....

He changed rear brakes with what he claims to be dealer OEM pads using a scanner. He claims he was unable to calibrate because he didn't have the special tool to do so. He further claims that the lights and beeping started after he did this....and, that the beeping was random. The Abs light on, traction light on, parking light on, and now beeping when I stop at signals.

I do have a brother and uncle who are great mechanics but neither are really experienced with German cars....and, honestly they can end up costing me more money in the long run by buying diagnostic equipment that I don't need or by playing the quessing game only to replace parts that don't solve problems and only leave me and my 9 yr old autistic daughter stranded on a LA freeway somewhere when they are nowhere around. Bless their hearts as they mean well.

Can someone please advice me so that I can advice my family mechanics without offending them or at least walk into a local mechanic or dealership with enough information so as to not get completely screwed.

nyrobbie77

I think you'll get more help in the D3 forum on this site as this is for the D2 (1997-2002) model. The D2 uses a different type of parking brake system. Good luck!

tozoM8

He needed that "special tool" to change the pads. It is called Vag-com by Rosstech. Post it on the regional section and you might find a forum member who reset it for you.