audirockz

I plan on using the Audi fuel additive every 3000 miles, in addition to filling with a Top Tier rated gasoline. Think that might help in the long run?

There was a Top Tier gasoline brochure in the glovebox on my 2012 upon delivery yesterday. Seems Audi is putting emphasis on using the right gasoline. This is the same brochure online:

http://microsites.audiusa.com/ngw/11...el_Trifold.pdf

mpurewal

From what I've read it will have a small impact but the problem is inherent in the design of DI engines unless a port injector is also used to run fuel over valves. I wouldn't loose sleep over it though. Hopefully you'll get it done once under warranty 3-4 years from now and then you might have to shell out $500 three years later to clean it....after that you will probably be buying some sort of electric...I'm thinking of starting an Audi FSI carbon cleaning savings account in my bank, kind of like retirement savings...

mpurewal

Call me high maintenance but after paying 60K+ for a car I don't think I should have to hop on to a highway twice a week just to keep the engine running...IMHO from all the threads I've read about half of the people there are making excuses for Audi. I love Audi's too but not at the expense of changing my lifestyle to suit my cars needs...

mpurewal

Agree, I was hoping to pop in at Audi on Monday and do some shoulder surfing when they open it up. Too much of the 5 minute discussion seemed to focus on replacing the injectors.

mpurewal

Scary pics. Soon I may start checking my toaster for carbon buildup...

CrustyNoodle

Gent's, I don't think giving it a regular pizzling is the answer to this one! If you could get the inlet valves hot enough to burn the carbon off them then I suspect the rest of the engine would be a molten pool of aluminium and iron.
Not to mention that closing the throttle at high revs produces great vacuum for sucking oil past the valve step seals and down the inlet valve stems....

Elevens, how did you do your clean? And how did you prevent carbon from getting into the engine and scoring your bores?

uberwgn

I'm not necessarily suggesting it's a hi-temp thing. I'm suggesting it's a velocity thing.

I try to drive my wife's A6 once a week. Once it's at operating temp, I'll run it up to the red line once or twice. When I do this, huge amounts of particulate matter are discharged. I contend that this stuff is building up during the course of the week as she putters around at 1500 - 2000 rpm. If I were to do subsequent dashes to the red line, there is no more discharge; the exhaust coming out is clean. There is stuff accumulating in the system, I'm not sure where .

I see the same thing on my A4. The cloud of dust is much smaller than the A6, but it is accumulating somewhere in the system.

ELEVENS

Here is what that will do: it will keep your injectors clean and delay the inevitable misfires caused by carbon buildup. Audi won't do any warranty carbon cleaning unless you get a Check Engine light (CEL) from misfires. So basically, by using top tier gas and fuel additive, it will prevent you from getting warranty work done.

How do I know? I've run top tier gas without exception and used injector cleaner fuel treatment with EVERY tank of fuel. I never had a CEL but boy do I ever have a **** load of power-robbing carbon! Forget about fuel quality and additives. It's an inherent design flaw of such huge proportions that Audi cannot possibly admit guilt and pay thousands of dollars of labor for every FSI vehicle on the road, only to be repeated every 10K miles or so. Audi fvcked up, plain and simple, and we the customers are getting hosed.

ELEVENS

Soak the intake ports overnight in a solvent such as SeaFoam, GM fuel injection cleaner, or BG injection cleaner, then go at it with a variety of dental tools. It's incredibly messy and tedious. Only one set of intake valves are open at a time, so you clean all the closed ones, then rotate the crankshaft and finish the cleaning on that last one.

Allraodgone

I cannot imagine many owners (myself included) having the wrenching skills let alone desire for this!