Frustrated New A4 Owner
 

I purchased my used '06 A4 3.2 Quattro no more than a month a go and it seems to be a magnet for problems. Since I am a rookie Audi owner, I have posted a few questions I would appreciate a veteran B7 A4 response. I truly appreciate your time!
--Initial throttle response seems really slow. I feel as if I need to press the pedal down nearly a quarter of the way to get it traveling. I don't know if this is due to the quattro needing to kick in? But I have not had any vehicle which responded so slowly. Please advise.
--Vehicle does not turn over properly when starting. Sometimes the vehicle starts right up, other times it takes a moment, other times it doesn't turn over at all and makes a noise as if it wants to--but doesn't. However, if I wait a few seconds after initially trying to start, it will then start right up. Looking for a reasoning so I can get fixed right the first time and not pay a large amount at the dealer.
--Finally, I have the luck of a quarter falling directly into the shifting knob area. Lucky for me, I had to take off the trim(wood grain) and the silver trim area to finally get out the lodged quarter. In the process, I saw a brief spark on the circuit board (which illuminates the P, R, D, etc). Now, the "P" and "R" no longer light, my tip tronic will not shift, and the instrument cluster does not change and only shows P R N D. Long story short, I must have inadvertenly caused a short in that little ciruit board. It easy to remove with just a pull and its is dislodged from its base. Where can I find a circuit board at a reasonable price? I am assuming I do not need a unique circuit board for my car and I can just plug it in.

Thank you greatly for your time to respond. I hope it will save me a few thousand dollars from skipping the dealer's hourly rate.

-Steve

Re: Frustrated New A4 Owner
 

Did you buy a Certified Pre-owned? If so just take it to an Audi dealer and have it checked out. If its still under factory warranty, do the same.

Throttle response: Drive-by-wire system may be causing this and it is what it is. Have it checked out anyway.

Re: Frustrated New A4 Owner
 

Hey Stl4
My vehicle is unfortunately NOT under warranty. Long story short, my vehicle started smoking on the freeway because my ignition coils burnt out and caused my fuse box to smoke. So needless to say, my experience has not been a good one since purchase. I have 63k mi on a '06--yeah a lot. But for the price, I couldn't go wrong. Now I am beginning to wonder. Thank you for answering my throttle question. Any advice on the other two?

Any additional advice for other owners is appreciated!!!

-Steve

find someone who can vag-com/scan it for you to help diagnose.

Re: find someone who can vag-com/scan it for you to help diagnose.
 

Search for "coilpack failure" and see if those symptoms are the same as yours.

Re: find someone who can vag-com/scan it for you to help diagnose.
 

Can you please explain "vag-com/scan?" I am assuming it means to run a diagnostic check, but I am questioning who can do it? Can a local import shop do it? Or does it have to be at a Audi dealership with special tools?

I appreciate your responses Stl4. It has probably saved me $$$ already.

If you have AOL IM, I can be reached at uwrichter11 or email: skrichter@gmail.com

Thx,

-Steve

Re: find someone who can vag-com/scan it for you to help diagnose.
 

I am not sure if I mentioned it, but I did have ignitiion coil failure and they were replaced along with the fuse box (which began smoking). Should I search on this website or Google? Thx.

search this and see if anyone is close to your location.
 

<ul><li><a href="http://vag-tool.kicks-ass.net/locator.aspx">http://vag-tool.kicks-ass.net/locator.aspx</a</li></ul>

the throttle will be a lot of sensitive in "S" sport mode...
 

and am i smelling a lemon?

It's normal with a slushbox.
 

Don't get me wrong... I have a slushbox so I know. :)

True. The Sex mode does make it more normal.
 

the normal drive feels slow as ****... for a chipless 2.0t due to the CVT

I have the Tip.

But it's a fuel miser's car in Drive mode.

Here's my attempt.
 

1) Audi's are kinda tame. I had 2 B6s with tip and I just purchased my B7 with 6 spd 3 months ago. Honestly, keep it in S unless the weather sucks and adjust your driving to stay heavy on the gas. I never had a problem with a Tip in seven years of flogging it. Still not good enough? Consider a supercharger! There are a couple of owners on the B6 board that say it was worth every penny.

2) Many folks with 2.0s report having startup issues with cars that have FSI. I don't know anything about this generations 6 cyl as I am new to the model, but the advice most frequently given is to turn the key to On. You can hear the fuel system pressurize and then turn the engine over. Without a more detailed report, it's tough to diagnose. Again, I don't know too much about the six cylinder.

3) Wow, ****ty luck. I almost had the same thing happen but I has able to fish the quarter out before it went all the way through. There are many sites that sell genuine parts at a discount, but I'd be worried that a short may have caused more damage than the LED board. try genuineaudiparts.com and search for the part number of the board. Good luck on that one. If the replacement board doesn't fix it.... Ouch

Consider purchasing a Ross-Tech Vag-Com. It's an OBD-to-USB cable and software. It can pull the error codes from your car and help you troubleshoot issues. For $120 it will most likely pay for itself quickly. It will definitely help you troubleshoot the start up issue. You can also do some neat tricks like shut off the seatbelt chime and more.

All-in-all these are fantastic cars. They can have their issues and they are very different than whats generally out on the market. All of the members of this board are a unique breed. We love the fact that our Audi's stand out in a world full of Hondas, BMWs, and the like. So we stick together and try to help each other out as much as possible. Your first 2 issues really may have more to do with getting used to this unique car. The latter, well that could have happened to any car. Good luck and welcome!

I have a 3.2A4 with similar issues.
 

Hard start issue is more apparent in the winter. I've had it for close to a year now. It has no negative effect on car's performance so its not that big of a deal to me but it would be nice to see it fixed. Car is going into the dealer tomorrow but I'm not sure how/if it gets resolved.

Hesitation is due to automatic trans selecting a gear. You kinda learn to live with it. You can keep it in sport mode and that will help somewhat but short of a software change on the trans, I'm not sure if anything will fix it. I don't think its a drive by wire issue.

I wouldn't sweat over these problems.

yep, d mode cvt shifts so quickly you never get to feel any power...
 

put the baby in s and you better be ready.

shifter issue is that you lost the magnet that tells the ecu it's in tip mode...
 

there are a series of magnets and if you lose one or they aren't lined up properly, no tip mode.

Re: I have a 3.2A4 with similar issues.
 

maaliish--
Thanks for the advice. Let me know what they find out at the dealer regarding your starting issues. I am sending mine to the dealer tomorrow and would like them to dive right into the problem if you find out what it is. Thanks!
-Steve

Re: Here's my attempt.
 

scoobycarolan --
I want to personally thank you for your detailed response. It definitely makes me have a better perception of my car as a whole.

Response to 1--I did try the "S" sport mode and it works very well. However, I am sure it eats gas mileage since it appears to rev much higher at speeds lower than 55 mph. Also, I am not sure I am a big fan of the "assisted braking" feature when you take your foot off the gas, since it is reving so high. Nonetheless, I appreciate it.

Response to 2--I have tried the key "on" trick and it doesn't seem to help much. I will be taking it into the dealer unfortunately for a nice penny. I just can't stand that it doesn't not start properly. One time it starts right up (but revs very high until I shift to drive), other times it barely turns over and creeps up to normal idle, and other times it just sits and chugs like it wants to turn over but never does. Any thoughts would be welcome.

Response to 3. Yeah, the LED's are burnt out for the P and R and the tiptronic doesn't work at all. The guage cluster on the dash is stagnant and just reads P, R, N, D, S. Not so cool, but it continues to work properly. I will see if I can get a replacement, but I don't know if I trust myself again putting it in.

Overall, it is a wonderful car and I drool everytime I walk up to it. I just wonder how such a well designed car can have such major flaws.

BTW, does anyone know where to get the stock 5 spoke slotted rims chrome edition? I like the rims, just want them to bling a bit more. Thanks,
Steve

Re: shifter issue is that you lost the magnet that tells the ecu it's in tip mode...
 

How can I figure out if the magnets are off? Where are they located? Just to recap, quarter go stuck in shifter, and moved forward up to "Park" not in the tiptronic piece. I did take off the bezel and removed the ECU board, in which I must have burnt out the P and R LED's. Any advice would be apreciated. Thx.

the tip magnets are...
 

on the bottom side of the black rubber/plastic shifter cover that slides with the lever, and also right next to where the lever would be when its in tip mode- theres a magnet that attaches to the plastic base on the right side there.

they're very small.

Had none of these issues...
 

Perhaps because I have a 6 speed manual?

In any case, the engine of the car has been flawless since I bought it. No issues starting, even at -25C. Turn the key, car starts. Done.

There is a TSB for the 3.2 regarding the cold start problem. I had my cold start problem
 

fixed by a software update at the dealer. Starts perfectly ever since. I can't help you with the hesitation issue, mine is a 6MT. However, a friend of mine has a 2.8 Tip Passat. He is convinced that the transmission "learns" your driving habits and stores shift points based on throttle position. Maybe the previous owner was a slow driver. He believes he can reset this transmission memory by turning the ignition to the on position without starting, then pressing the gas pedal to the floor until you feel a click. Then drive aggressively and it will remember higher shift points and quicker throttle response.

Re: There is a TSB for the 3.2 regarding the cold start problem. I had my cold start problem
 

THANK YOU!!! I will put the farm on this is my issue. Did they do it for free? My car is NOT under warranty (due to mileage). Thank you again.

don't bet the farm just yet. I've heard of plenty reports where TSB had no effect on the cold start
 

btw, my dealer didn't find anything wrong with the car...big surprise!