A4 Struggles to Start in the Morning- PLEASE HELP
 

I have a 2010 Audi A4 Quattro, I notice that in the mornings it is struggling to start- for a few seconds the check engine light is on and it is making a pulsating/stuttering sound to start.. After a few seconds the light goes away and it runs just fine throughout the day, and starts normal all other times. Any clue what this might be from just sitting over night in a temperature control garage?

On top of that- this oil issue, I am adding oil ever other week, more than what I've read is typical at 2000.

*Nervous*

Thank you!!!

Tiffany

used to happen to my 2011 occasionally. What seemed to fix it: driving it hard. Get all the accumalting crud blown out of your engine.

Oil 2x a month? How many miles? Audi says a quart every 1500 is within spec... but that's in the worst case. I was at 3000 miles.

Tiffany, welcome aboard! You need to have someone (or the dealer) scan the car to see what's doin'. The condition you describe is not normal, nor is the rate of oil consumption. You might want to hook up and review wit the local dealer.

oil consumption, random starting problems et al.
 

You may want to read this QW thread I posted. I had oil issues, seemingly fixed in Oct. I had cold start stumbles recently, a throttle input stumble randomly for almost 2 years, no CELs, Audi service OBD did not detect anything when asked to do so. Last service in Apr I told the SA there's a problem, you find it because I don't want the car until it is fixed. Bottom line: new injectors and a head deposit cleaning and now the car runs as it did new. What irks me is the denial of problems because OBD did not detect anything and I had to push back to get results.

http://forums.quattroworld.com/a4b8/msgs/6565.phtml

Yes- I add oil every 500- 800 miles.. I have tried to convince myself that it is 'normal' for this A4, though the forums are telling me differently. And- what is even more strange now is that after a week of the struggling to start issue---- it starts up perfectly fine now. I am not sure if it was just getting used to the MN heat or what the situation was, but I am still nervous every morning going down to my garage to start it- even though the problem appears to be gone- for now!

Now to worry about the oil issue..

Let's say I decided to trade my A4 for a different car, would Audi throw me a lower price because they've done scans and such to see it has a major oil issue? Is it best I don't have them check it out???

Thoughts please :-)

Thank you again for all of your responses!


Tiffany

You might have gotten some bad fuel at a recent fill up. Best to stick with the "Top Tier" brands with the included detergents and use premium. Definitely stay away from the smaller mom and pop stations that have less turnover where sediments can occur.

As to the oil usage issue, have you had the engine checked at the dealer? There have been several AW threads discussing stage 1 and stage 2 repairs done under warranty to address excessive oil consumption problems. Once corrected, there would be no trade-in value penalty.

Audi is fixing the oil issue for cars out of warranty. Not all dealerships may be happy to do it for the rate Audi pays so you might need to shop around.
The cold start issue can have various causes. There is a TSB on the coilpacks. Have the dealer change those if they are not up to the latest rev. Could be an injector or water in the gas in case it does it only when the tank is close to empty.

oil consumption
 

gunsmoker got it right...the oil issue and the coilpack issue are on Audi's nickel. As for the cold start problem (I had it), buy a can of BG44K, read the instructions, try it, it may help. If not, you may have injector problems. While your car is getting the once over from the dealer for the oil and cp's, they need to pull the plugs and look for deposits and injector problems.

Hay guys!!!

Thanks for the responses- Its been a bit over a month since my car was having this start up throbbing issue that magically went away... Well---- now it is back! I will have Audi check it out before I officially decide to get rid of her :-(

So when I go to Audi to ask them to 'fix' this major oil consumption issue I am having and the 'coil packs???' The coil pack is in relation to the start- right?

What if they say that they don't provide those service on their dime considering I am out of warranty now? Your saying I should just shop around to the different Audi dealers to see who would? Do I need to contact the customer service at Audi to move forward without being billed for it or what would you suggest my 'wording' be at the dealer?

I reallllly do not want to rid myself of my A4 but I am all types of nervous and concerned.. When does the stress go away!!!!

Sorry for the late responses- I am not quite sure how to set this up so that I get an email notification when people respond to this thread :-/

Thanks a million everyone!
Tiffany~