audirussell84

Hey guys, first time poster here - at my wits end. I've owned my 2011 A4 2.0T for about 5 months, and have dropped about $2300 worth of repairs, and I'm not convinced that the root problem has been solved. I'm not an expert here, so I'm having trouble identifying whats going on. Here's my summary...if anyone has any ideas, please let me know:

So far, I've had to have evap leaks and oil leaks fixed (it was running rich and running lean and throwing those codes). But, the leaks seem to start when I go through the following cycle:

1) Generally, the car drives well except in two situations. On Saturdays, I usually run errands, making 4-5 stops along the way. On the 4th or 5th startup of the day, the engine starts then completely dies - no codes. It usually takes me hitting the ignition a couple more times and giving it a lot of gas and RPMs to get it going so it doesn't die when going back to idle. Drive home is completely uneventful.

Fast forward to the next morning. Start up is rough. Shaking and popping coming from the engine...sometimes dies, but I have to give it some gas to make sure it doesn't. Normal idle resumes. Two days after that, I get a code - running rich or running lean (head to the mechanic to fix the gaskets). The most recent one was an oil pan leak (no code for that).

Needless to say, I feel like the root problem hasn't been addressed. Something is happening on that 4th time starting up when the engine is warm. And then the next morning when the engine is cold. Mechanic has no idea and looks at me like I'm insane (basically, "no-code, no problem")...they don't care because I keep on bring back my car for more repairs.

Any ideas what the problem might be??? Thanks in advance.

planekiller1

PCV? I've never experienced anything like what your saying. Might even be spark plugs or coils or even injectors. Opening the hood and listening to it idle do you hear a whoosh if so PCV if not pull the spark plugs and holding each with a cloth grounding the tip of it to make sure it is sparking (MAKE SURE TO INSULATE YOURSELF also do at your own risk) have someone try and start the car make sure all 4 cylinders have a spark. also with the plugs removed you should get some spray out of each hole indicating that the injectors are running ok.
Spark plugs get changed at 75K with coils as well. Any sort of hesitation while driving spiritedly? Any abnormal engine noise such as knocks or pings? Audis are not cheap to run by far.
hope something in here helps and look forward to hearing back further details once considering these.
Kurt

audirussell84

Thanks, Kurt! I know, I've explained the situation to a couple of different mechanics, and they brush me off like I'm crazy....the thing is, it is a cycle that keeps on occurring and of course they aren't able to replicate it themselves. No hesitation when driving at all - drives like a dream actually. The cycle starts when I repeat the ignition process multiple times in a day. Also, PCV valve was recently replaced. After spending hours in online forums like this one, the only common thread seems to be ignition coils and/or spark plugs. I think I'll give it a go and see if I can get any traction there. Thanks again for the reply, man! I'll update once I know more.