DigitalStone

Little over a month ago took my car in to get a few things done I didnt have time. Coolant replaced, new brakes (All four rotors and new pads), lines bled, power steering flush, Coolant ECT replaced and a new fuel filter. Only problem I had was a bad speed sensor which causes the ABS light to be on.

Got it back and a week later an air hose came lose and engine light came on. Car sounded like a jet at start up and idle. They fixed it for free. Last week get a P2181 which has something to do with the coolant system. Gage works now for temp so I doubt its the ECT. Coolant is not low. Not sure why?

Before I could take it in to have them look at it again.. The brakes go out on the freeway this morning. Not to the floor just wont move, Stuck. Use the ebrake to get off the freeway and call the shop. They tell me they didnt touch anything that would have caused the problem. Saying its the master cylinder or something else. Dont think they did a good job on the bleed since my parents new Camry stops better than my A6 with new Hawks and rotors.

I start up the car after calling the guy at the shop and it starts running rough. Rpm goes up a little then down. I limp it back home using the frontage roads to my parents house nearby using the e brake. Brakes came back to life about 5 miles later.

Got a code reader Get P0300, 0304,p0306,p0301,p0303,p0305 in addition the the p2181 mentioned earlier.

Coil packs were replaced by dealer a year ago. Spark plugs were done by me 4 months ago. No misfires until now.

Started it up when I got home and no idle problems and the brakes are still working again.

Think the timing belt and water pump was done at 75,000 since the paperwork shows it but could be madeup. Shop is now closed.

Did these guys mess something up at the shop? Have 110,152 miles on the car. Had it for a year with no engine problems. Just some minor suspension and the brakes.

Why did the brakes Not move on the freeway? Why running rough?
Any suggestions on the p2181?

Thank you for any advice. I have no Idea where to start and I definable don't want to have to tow it to where these guys are and have them mess something else up.

2003 A6 2.7t Quattro

KingHamer

Damn! best of luck to you, I know a little about cars but not so much on Audi as I just bought one.. I will do what I can.

Sounds like electrical problems to me, that repair shop must have screwed your car all up.

I have bought a subscription to a online complete car manual for my 2002 A6 2.7t Quattro so I have all the information.

Your P0300 codes (all the 300s) are all cylinder misfires, each number corresponds to each cylinder, 0300 is telling you there is a problem in general, 0301 is your first cylinder misfire, 0302 is the second and so on. all your cylinders are misfiring except the 2nd cylinder. I am trying to transfer the image of the code information over but wont let me.. contact me to get it.

I DO NOT know how to fix this :/ but I hope I have helped, im sure someone who does know will pop on here and tell us I like learning about my own car and future possible problems so Im down to learn, Ill look around as well.

P2128: Accelerator Pedal Position Sensor 2 High Voltage. Like I said your having some electrical problems..

What I would do:

Go to Autozone or O'Reileys and have them check your battery and your alternator for you. Typically they are very friendly and Autozone is the only place I go as they always help me but they know me by first name and know my car since I go in EVERY single day. It could just be one of those. Check your fuses! look for fuses in the owners manual that have to do with the battery, alternator, cylinders, the pedal, all that is wrong. I hope this helped. good luck!

jcman

Who did the service work.

KingHamer

I bought an aftermarket battery for my Audi as soon as I got it, the same one I use in all cars.

OPTIMA!

Get an Optima battery that fits your Audi, get the yellow top. Never dies (I would say literally but anything is possible, I have never had any problems with my battery). I once ran my 12 inch sub woofer and I had flashing underglow that flashes to the beat of the music, 14 different light strips with over 150 bulbs and it was all on while my car was on "On" with the engine not started, that 12 inch sub draws a **** ton of electricity. I got in my car 12 hours later to leave from this party and guess what, my car started right up, no problem. GREAT INVESTMENT. I highly reccomend these batterys. Also try upgrading your alternator if you need a new one so you know it will last, if you want to protect your alternator look into getting a capacitor, it just stores electricity and grabs it from there before wearing on your alternator.

DigitalStone

McAdams in milwaukee. They came highly recommended.
Had a couple of other things I didnt like that I left out of the original post. Basically I would avoid them.

DigitalStone

Thank you. Know the P2181 has something to do with the coolant system. So far have not got a P2128.

Thing that I really want to know is why the brakes turned into a brick and have been googling that. Hard brakes Stiff brakes etc.

Some posts point to a vacuum problem?
Dunno but I have never had that happen before on a freeway.
Funny thing is they gave me $100 off for one of their "premium car inspections".

KingHamer

Thats ridiculous, they must not know what they are doing when it comes to Audi..? and my bad, I thought it was something different.

P2181- Performance malfunction in the cooling system

"If the dealer already replaced the engine coolant temperature sender we can rule that out as the problem. You have no discernible leaks and coolant level seems constant" -Other forum site (thought I would give credit)

That was what he said to some girl having that P code, so maybe thats a possibility. thermostat/water pump might also be a problem that he mentioned.

And check this out: "I spent some time investigating the P2128 code popups of my wife's 2003 Audi TT with 45K miles. Odd thing was the P2128 code would popup at specific street locations! Because I'm an electrical engineer, I thought of electrical interference from a nearby transmitter was affecting an Audi sensor circuitry. At one time, I'd drive over a small bridge in Montecito, CA and the P2128 code popups occurred with a very high degree of predictability." weird.. that may be a possibility too. he went on to say this:

Recommendations:

1. Use tap water that hopefully contains a sufficient amount of minerals to lower the sensor circuit electrical resistance. Don't use "purified" water ... only use the stuff out of the water hose.
2. Don't use more antifreeze than required. Too much antifreeze will increase the electrical resistance of the coolant solution.
3. My coolant sensor probes have always remained clean. But if your probes are not clean, then clean them.
4. The sensor wire cable should be shielded (using a grounded, braided shield) to prevent radio frequency interference problems.

DigitalStone

That makes sense. I bought a jug of concentrated coolant for them and its was a Friday afternoon rush job at the place.
Read in another post if the coolant was too strong that it could cause problems. Curious why it showed up weeks later though. Have no way of testing though.

KingHamer

I have a 1997 Chevy Malibu that I have almost literally took apart and put back together, I try things to see if it works on the car and it will mess it up and I know how to fix it :P but I always have coolant problems. Don't but the concentrate stuff, the water you put in can cause problems and you have to measure the liquids and... its a pain. Just buy the whole bottle of premixed liquid, half and half. I have less problems that way but sometimes cars take a while to set of a check engine light, sometimes a problem doesn't actually fall through until its almost too late, I think I was told that check engine lights don't come on until it is almost too late.. :/

GTA_Driver

Lol, good one!

When down the road you're wondering why you need a 10 hr job to replace the heater core, or why your water pump seized, blowing the timing on your engine and resulting in several thousand dollars' worth of damage, wonder no more. This is why.

There's a reason for doing things the Audi way, the proper way.

Relying on dubious and wrong advice of other people over the Internet is a disaster in the making.