CEL and Self-Leveling Suspension Lights on Simultaneously
05-14-2018, 04:04 PM
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CEL and Self-Leveling Suspension Lights on Simultaneously
Hello, all! This is my first post after being a long-time lurker since buying my 2003 Allroad 2.7t in late 2017. I have never had a car with so many problems, nor have I had a car that's as fun to drive. It gave me about three solid months of flawless operation -- just long enough for me to fall head over heels in love -- before the problems started. 
I've searched the forum -- and Google in general -- for the exact symptoms I'm experiencing, and I haven't found a close match except this forum thread in which the owner never described the final resolution:
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/aud...nsion-2815094/
TL;DR: About two weeks after engine work, I have a solid CEL, and the self-leveling suspension light sometimes comes on. It seems as though the front driver's side is having trouble elevating to its normal height. After driving for a while, the car does eventually level out. The previous owner did say that he replaced the air shocks with Arnotts, but I think he said he only did the rear ones. So if the front ones are on their way out, I'm not surprised. It's the CEL light and the circumstances that I don't understand.
MY QUESTION: Is it normal for the suspension light and CEL to come on simultaneously?
THE LONG STUFF:
I live on the island of Hawaii. There is no Audi dealership here. We do have an Audi mechanic called Bear's Automotive. They have a waiting period of weeks before they'll even look at your car -- I've been told -- and they've never once responded to my calls. A mechanic at Firestone told me that Bear's actively avoids working on Allroads, which is why I've spent a lot of time reading this forum. There's little help on this island for Audi owners, and I haven't got the tools, space or knowledge to do my own work. The shops that are willing to work on my car need guidance because there are probably about four Allroad owners on the entire island.
Anyone reading this should probably know that I am dealing with a small amount of water ingress because the tray under the battery is plugged. I can't remove the tray because the bolts are rusted on. Firestone told me they don't understand how to remove the battery tray and that I should take the car to Bear's. Bear's doesn't return my calls, so I am looking for another mechanic willing to do what I thought was an extremely simple job. I am aware that I must take care of that before worrying about the air ride.
The water ingress and the engine problems happened around the same time. The problem was a flashing CEL, rough running, noticeable loss of power. Reading this forum helped me diagnose the cylinder misfire. I figured replacing the ignition coil pack was the most urgent problem that it would probably cost about $600. Oh-ho-ho. The final cost was actually close to $1,900 to have Firestone replace the ignition coils, the sparkplugs, the valve cover gasket and a whole bunch of worn out plastic and rubber parts from the turbo system. They said there was oil everywhere. They also said something along the lines of "We can't charge you more than we quoted, but we've never seen a car that made changing the sparkplugs so rediciously complicated before." My car was at Firestone for close to a week before they finally finished the job.
So that's where I'm at. I linked to the old forum thread above because that Allroad owner had the exact same problem -- suspension light and CEL light simultaneously -- right after having engine work done. What do you guys think? Is it normal for both lights to be on at the same time? Is it just bad luck that the air shock started exhibiting symptoms of failure right after having other work done?
I've searched the forum -- and Google in general -- for the exact symptoms I'm experiencing, and I haven't found a close match except this forum thread in which the owner never described the final resolution:
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/aud...nsion-2815094/
TL;DR: About two weeks after engine work, I have a solid CEL, and the self-leveling suspension light sometimes comes on. It seems as though the front driver's side is having trouble elevating to its normal height. After driving for a while, the car does eventually level out. The previous owner did say that he replaced the air shocks with Arnotts, but I think he said he only did the rear ones. So if the front ones are on their way out, I'm not surprised. It's the CEL light and the circumstances that I don't understand.
MY QUESTION: Is it normal for the suspension light and CEL to come on simultaneously?
THE LONG STUFF:
I live on the island of Hawaii. There is no Audi dealership here. We do have an Audi mechanic called Bear's Automotive. They have a waiting period of weeks before they'll even look at your car -- I've been told -- and they've never once responded to my calls. A mechanic at Firestone told me that Bear's actively avoids working on Allroads, which is why I've spent a lot of time reading this forum. There's little help on this island for Audi owners, and I haven't got the tools, space or knowledge to do my own work. The shops that are willing to work on my car need guidance because there are probably about four Allroad owners on the entire island.
Anyone reading this should probably know that I am dealing with a small amount of water ingress because the tray under the battery is plugged. I can't remove the tray because the bolts are rusted on. Firestone told me they don't understand how to remove the battery tray and that I should take the car to Bear's. Bear's doesn't return my calls, so I am looking for another mechanic willing to do what I thought was an extremely simple job. I am aware that I must take care of that before worrying about the air ride.
The water ingress and the engine problems happened around the same time. The problem was a flashing CEL, rough running, noticeable loss of power. Reading this forum helped me diagnose the cylinder misfire. I figured replacing the ignition coil pack was the most urgent problem that it would probably cost about $600. Oh-ho-ho. The final cost was actually close to $1,900 to have Firestone replace the ignition coils, the sparkplugs, the valve cover gasket and a whole bunch of worn out plastic and rubber parts from the turbo system. They said there was oil everywhere. They also said something along the lines of "We can't charge you more than we quoted, but we've never seen a car that made changing the sparkplugs so rediciously complicated before." My car was at Firestone for close to a week before they finally finished the job.
So that's where I'm at. I linked to the old forum thread above because that Allroad owner had the exact same problem -- suspension light and CEL light simultaneously -- right after having engine work done. What do you guys think? Is it normal for both lights to be on at the same time? Is it just bad luck that the air shock started exhibiting symptoms of failure right after having other work done?
05-17-2018, 07:36 AM
#3
AudiWorld Member
CEL and suspension light shows problems in two different systems without any connection between the two systems. But due to water damage it is difficult to predict the extent of damage. Check for a fault codes that will give a clearer picture
10-17-2018, 11:23 AM
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Hi, I am no expert here but when the ABS, Suspension lights turned on in my 2003 Allroad it ended up being cleaning the MAF (Mass Air Flow) and sensor (if that makes sense). I would clean everything related to the MAF. I did not believe it the first time I was told this but I did a thorough cleaning when replacing the air filter and all those error codes went away.
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