nhdoc

This is from the booklet they supplied to owners explaining the "fix" (and which I have attached to this post):

"Drivers may notice some differences in vehicle operation characteristics after the modification, but other than as described in this booklet, drivers should not notice any adverse changes in vehicle reliability, durability, performance, drivability, or other driving characteristics.

The emissions modification will affect your car in the following ways:

 Engine sound may differ somewhat from your vehicle’s prior operation. There might be a difference in combustion noise from the engine that may be noticeable during vehicle warm-up. The potential change in sound will not result in any noticeable changes to the driving characteristics of your vehicle. (I added the bold text to this and the section above for emphasis)

 Shift Patterns - The shifting behavior has been adapted to run with slightly higher engine speeds during vehicle warm-up and when driving at high altitudes.

 Downhill Driving - Removal of the enhanced automatic engine braking feature may require drivers to apply more brake-pedal in downhill driving.

 In Sport mode, some drivers might notice less dynamic shifting behavior.

 Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) consumption - DEF (also known as AdBlueŽ) consumption for your vehicle may change. Some vehicles may experience an increase of 40% on average. The exact amount of the change will vary depending on driving style and other factors. This means some drivers will need to refill the DEF tank more frequently.

 Decreased Fuel Economy - Your vehicle’s fuel economy will decrease by up to 1 mpg, depending on driving style and habits.

 On-board diagnostic (OBD) system changes – Your OBD system’s operations will be modified based upon the agreement with EPA and CARB and will be compliant with existing emission standards. We do not anticipate that the modification will affect the OBD system in a manner that would make identification and repair of any components difficult, compromise warranty coverage, or compromise your vehicle’s ability to comply with the inspection and maintenance (Smog Check) test of your vehicle. Furthermore, the extended warranty coverage outlined in this booklet offers additional protection for any OBD-related issues. These changes should not be noticeable to you and do not have any impact upon driving characteristics."

So I guess it boils down to whether the "surge" you describe is simply a noise or does it rise to the level of a "change to the driving characteristic of the car". Do you feel the car lurching/surging or just hear it? I can't tell from your video if the surging is actually affecting the ride. 50Pascals indicated he did feel his surging in the seat, so that would definitely rise to the level of a change in driving characteristic and therefore blaming the "fix" is contrary to what the booklet says you are to expect. If that's the case then I would call them out on the B.S. using their own brochure and insist they either fix the car or buy it from you, period.

99AEight

My thoughts exactly. And as much as I would love to take it to a different dealer, the next closest dealer is about an hour and a half away. My fear is that once I pick up my TDI, the local dealer's incentive for making this right will be all but gone. Now that it's there, I need to see this to the end.

99AEight

nhdoc; I really appreciate your multiple posts and for doing some legwork and copying and pasting the information. I saw it before and used much of the information in an email.

It's really infuriating as I look back at how the dealer seemed to be trying so hard at resolving this issue, and then when a fix could not be found, the dealer backtracked and is now blaming the TDI fix and is expecting that I just pick it up. Would it have been that hard to just say that we have exhausted all reasonable avenues and are at a point that we will contact that manufacturer and work toward a resolution?

And I love the dealers suggestion on what to do about the surging:

"He (the technician) did feel what you are talking about and did state that with the update that this would be an inherit trait of the vehicle until it was warmed up. He mentioned letting the vehicle warm up for 5-10 minutes in the morning would eliminate this concern." I'd love to know if my car was on their lot, would they tell each perspective buyer that the vehicle has an "inherent trait" and will need to idle for 5-10 minutes in the morning before driving it.

nhdoc

Unfortunately their behavior is all too typical. I would guess initially they tried to dismiss it as "normal" too. The fact is you will only get satisfaction if you are stubborn and simply refuse to accept their answer since it clearly isn't consistent with Audi's promises of a fix that wouldn't have such undesirable effects. Simply keep repeating that their response is unacceptable and tell them that until they have identified the problem and fixed it, or Audi has made an offer to purchase your car, you will just keep driving the loaner.

I don't know if your local news has a consumer reporter but this might be a good way to get their attention. Try and get the media to do a follow-up story to how VAG screwed up your car with their "fix" to the dieselgate scandal and refuses to address your concerns. Make a couple of calls and see if you can get a local reporter interested in the story. You never know unless you try.

50pascals

I wanted to post an update. It has now been about 6 weeks ~3600 miles since I first noticed this. Mine has been happening at lower speeds than the OP. I am at 98k miles right now. It is at a point where I can tell the dealer how to reproduce it.

Engine needs to be cooled off some, but not dead cold. It will go away when fully warmed up.

I have not noticed the surging idle again since that first time. It may have been harmonics due to echo off of a brick building, and I was nosed into the corner when I ran inside.

Mine is noticeable at 10-20 mph. Pick a slight uphill grade with light acceleration and it will do it every time now.

This past weekend I parked on a soft grassy slope and while backing up I had to give it extra throttle. The engine literally sounded like it was turning on and off. People standing nearby noticed it.

I am going to see what I can data log with the torque app this week.

I'm also going to run some fuel injector cleaner through the tank. But I am a pretty religious user of diesel fuel additive.

Also - I did not see any TSB's for this either.

McFuzz

Did you observe the tach fluctuating during that "near shut off" experience? Do you have VCDS (or know someone with VCDS) to run a diag on the car?

50pascals

I did not look at the tach. But good point, I will test it again - I own the property where I have the long grassy uphill. This is also the house where I pull out of the driveway and immediately go uphill for several miles.

I do have VCDS. I use it occasionally, but not expert at it. I do run full system scans on a regular basis. What do you suggest I monitor?

McFuzz

I am of the mindset that if your tachometer is not pulsing along with the engine, that this is some sort of a deliberate computer initiated functionality - otherwise you should see it being reflected in the instrument panel. On top of that, if the engine is close to stalling, you should see idiot lights coming up (check engine, battery, etc) - and if they are not, that too seems like a tell-tale sign of a computer initiated process.

If you run a full scan in VCDS, it should identify all recent faults and the freeze-frame (i.e. what is the timestamp and what did the car do at the time) - see if any of it correlates to when the issues occurred.

50pascals

What I believe to be a final update on this - Last Wednesday I dumped 1/2 a bottle of Power Service fuel injector cleaner into a half tank of fuel. My wife then took it on a weekend trip 4 hours away. My son was supposed to fill the car up for her before she left, but didn't, so this was a pretty stiff dose of cleaner. Roughly double the "heavy dose" called out on the label.

She filled the car up on their drive home.

The engine ran smooth like butter when she got back.

Tuesday I dumped the second half of the bottle in when I filled the car up. It continues to run smoothly, just like new.

Today is now 800 miles since the first dose of fuel injector cleaner.

So I chalk this up to sticky injectors - for now.

McFuzz

How often do you replace your fuel filter?