BobT(nolonger)A6

Went to the garage this morning to depart for work and turned the key as usual...

Engine caught very briefly, then died. OK, maybe a possibility that I held the key in the 'start' position for a couple tenths of a second less than usual. Tried again, nothing but a good whirring sound, engine wouldn't even come close to turning over. Let it sit an hour and tried again, just whirring.

Anybody with similar experience? Anything I can politely suggest to the service department?

Bad solenoid in starter motor? New solenoid? New motor? Sound like a 'wait for a month' part order to anybody?

And, BTW, dealer said they couldn't arrange towing. I had to call 'roadside assistance' if I wanted Audi to pay the tow.

TIA...

2.7tDallas

don't know if the solonoid and starter are seperate or one unit. bet April does

BobT(nolonger)A6

Dealer says:
- car was simply flooded
- it's running fine now
- threw no codes
- a TSB says there's a hotter plug that helps this problem

This leads me to another bit of information. On Saturday, the car was moved from the garage to the driveway, then back a couple hours later. IIRC, there's some condition related to the amount of gas pumped in at start?

Doesn't totally make sense to me. I'm still wondering why (apparently) the solenoid didn't kick. I'll be asking a couple other questions when I pick it up later.

April

Ahhh yes. Change plugs. Has happened here a number of times.

Potomac-Greg

As to flooding, there is a prescribed way of curing it. Check the manual, but I believe you floor it, hold it, crank it. Much cheaper than a tow truck.

2.7tDallas

can't do that with a drive by wire car...can you?

Potomac-Greg

... If I recall correctly, the act of flooring it is no longer done to open up the "butterfly" in the carburator, but rather it triggers an electronic process in injectors. So, it COULD work with drive by wire if they want it to.

BobT(nolonger)A6

Picked up the car at the dealer. Only thing they noted was the flood condition, and the recommendation to change the plugs.

I'm not sure they ever saw the symptoms I saw.

So, never having had a flooding problem with *any* car, what are the relevant symptoms?

BobT(nolonger)A6

The car was fine until this morning. If you made me guess this morning, I'd have guessed solenoid failure, mechanical or electrical.

John Simcox

Common problem of short runs - referred to by some as "car wash" syndrome. Had it myself on Christmas Eve with my wife's car. Very annoying!