A4 Engine Rough Idle Question/Problem
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A4 Engine Rough Idle Question/Problem
I have an A4 2001 2.8Q stock purchased 12/01 and love it, but have a possible problem.
Since about the early spring of 2002, I've had a fairly rough idle. The car sometimes clearly has its 'heart' skip a beat and I feel the rough up and down in the RPMs in the peddle. Now, some people might not notice the roughness, but I do. I have a Honda Oddyssey (for the kids) with a V6 that purrs like a kitten and has absolutely no roghness. The comparison is not flattering to my A4.
(To my mind, with the hood open, the engine also sounds like it has a noticable tap (like what would be considered a valve tap in an old car) but I gather this is fairly common in modern cars/Audis given fuel injection.)
The roughness mostly or completely goes away if I manually increase the RPMs by a few hundred with the foot pedal.
Unfortunately, the problem is fairly intermittant and the two times I brought it to the dealer it was very minimal. It does seem to be worse in the cool/warm weather and better in colder weather.
I am concerned the valves may not have seated properly during break in (but this is based on my recollection of 60s and 70s cars!)
Any idea what might be wrong and/or to look for so I can be knowledgable in talking with the dealer? Am I just a hyper-critical car lover?
You be the judge.
Many thanks!
Since about the early spring of 2002, I've had a fairly rough idle. The car sometimes clearly has its 'heart' skip a beat and I feel the rough up and down in the RPMs in the peddle. Now, some people might not notice the roughness, but I do. I have a Honda Oddyssey (for the kids) with a V6 that purrs like a kitten and has absolutely no roghness. The comparison is not flattering to my A4.
(To my mind, with the hood open, the engine also sounds like it has a noticable tap (like what would be considered a valve tap in an old car) but I gather this is fairly common in modern cars/Audis given fuel injection.)
The roughness mostly or completely goes away if I manually increase the RPMs by a few hundred with the foot pedal.
Unfortunately, the problem is fairly intermittant and the two times I brought it to the dealer it was very minimal. It does seem to be worse in the cool/warm weather and better in colder weather.
I am concerned the valves may not have seated properly during break in (but this is based on my recollection of 60s and 70s cars!)
Any idea what might be wrong and/or to look for so I can be knowledgable in talking with the dealer? Am I just a hyper-critical car lover?
You be the judge.
Many thanks!
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Joined: Feb 2002
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Re: Engine should be silky smooth, except for a little ticking from the lifters.
That's what I would think on the smoothness (and that is how I would describe my Honda Ody V6). I was just starting to think maybe it could be the gas because it is somewhat intermittant.
I live in Northern Virginia and always use premium, though I have no preference between major brands like Exxon, Mobil, Shell and Texaco. I never use places like Gas King, etc.
Also, it has seemed to me before that the roughness gets worse late in the tank. I thought I once read that octane levels go down as the gas is used, although this seems a little counterintuitive.
Hmmm. Maybe I'll pick one brand of gas and stick with that for a few weeks, then shift to another to test the difference, etc.
Any other ideas on why it wouldn't be smooth? Could it be a badly seated valve? Would a compression test tell me something like that?
I live in Northern Virginia and always use premium, though I have no preference between major brands like Exxon, Mobil, Shell and Texaco. I never use places like Gas King, etc.
Also, it has seemed to me before that the roughness gets worse late in the tank. I thought I once read that octane levels go down as the gas is used, although this seems a little counterintuitive.
Hmmm. Maybe I'll pick one brand of gas and stick with that for a few weeks, then shift to another to test the difference, etc.
Any other ideas on why it wouldn't be smooth? Could it be a badly seated valve? Would a compression test tell me something like that?
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