2011AudiQ5PremiumPlus

Hello everyone, I recently purchased a 2011 Audi Q5 Premium Plus with about 134k miles on it. I purchased it from a dealer as is about two weeks ago. I did the test drive and everything went smooth so I decided to purchase it. That same day on my way home I drove to a gas station to fill up the tank and when I tried to start the car back up it would not crank enough to start. I took the keys out and tried again but still no success. After the second attempt it sounded like the ignition kept wanting to start the car but there was no crank. I took the key fob out and then noticed there was smoke coming out of the hood (being at a gas station right next to the pump). I opened up the hood to see if there was any fire but could not find anything. It smelled like burnt plastic and since I had the AC on before I turned the car off, when I turned it back on the air blew all that burnt plastic smell inside. After sitting there for about 20 minutes and feeling embarrassed I tried one more time to see if it would start just to get me home but no luck. The dash lit up like a Christmas tree and the starter didn't even make a noise so I figured that was what burnt. All the electronics in the car still worked so I don't believe the battery was bad. I had my car towed to a shop near by and had the starter replaced. Got it back and drove fine for about a week. I went to the bank a few days ago and had the same thing happened all over again smoke and all. In front of an ATM on a Friday afternoon at its busiest time, so I was embarrassed all over again as everyone starred at the smoke coming out of my hood. I had to get it towed to the shop again to replace the starter since it's still under warranty. I did notice that sometimes it would take longer to start up compared to other times where it would start up right away. I also noticed the MMI system would take a while to boot up a few times. I'm leaning more towards a bad ignition switch but I would like some advice from you guys in case anyone else has gone through the same experience or would like to shine some light on a common issue. My car is currently still at the shop while the mechanic takes a look at it to see what happened but any help would be highly appreciated.

silver_tt

Have the mechanic scan the car for codes. While they are doing this have them check your phase position value in software and if it's above 5 degrees your timing chain needs to be replaced. Won't explain smoking and burned plastic smell but a stretched timing chain can manifest itself in tough or long starts. Also a 2011 I believe has the old style tensioner.

Norskie

Seems you've found out why the previous owner traded in the car.

This isn't a commonly reported issue here. I'd suggest not driving the car until you solve this, or at least carry an extinguisher and don't park near any buildings.

What concerns me is that fuses aren't blowing if it's melting/burning plastics. First order would be to go through all of them - including any fusible links - and ensure some joker didn't put in a larger amp fuse where there should be a small one, to mask a bigger problem.

When you took it to the shop, did you tell them "replace the starter" or did you ask them to figure out the problem? Because I suspect that the burned out starter is just a symptom of another problem. I wouldn't expect a bad starter to smoke and burn things. There should first be a 'click' from the starter solenoid, if you're not getting that the solenoid or the power to the solenoid is the issue (perhaps the solenoid is build into the starter?).

Maybe one of the main ground straps are bad and electricity is finding a ground elsewhere, sending way more amperage than it's designed for?

Identifying where the plastic is burning/melting will probably be the path to solving this.

BTW, just because your dash comes on doesn't mean your battery is OK - it could still not have the capacity to start the vehicle. But this issue doesn't sound like your battery.

nordicb

Long shot, but it sounds like the starter is unable to turn the engine. There is, possibly, an issue with the flywheel or something not meshing correctly with the starter, assuming the engine cranks normally?

2011AudiQ5PremiumPlus

I have yet to hear from the mechanic but I did tell him if he could scan for codes. I think the burnt plastic smell was coming from the burnt starter solenoid but I'll have to confirm with the mechanic if the previous one was burnt or not. I did tell him the full story on what had happened and he said he would inspect it in order to see what was causing the starter to go out like that so I wouldn't have this issue again. I was leaning more to the ignition switch being faulty staying on the on position causing the starter to stay engaged. The engine did crank normal and had no type of vibrations when driving or at idle, so hope it's not a flywheel problem but that's a possibility I'll mention to the mechanic.

2011AudiQ5PremiumPlus

Just on update on the issue. I got my car back a few days ago and everything works fine now. I no longer have a delay when starting my vehicle and it starts right up. As a previous member mention "just because your dash comes on doesn't mean your battery is OK - it could still not have the capacity to start the vehicle." , turns out it was a battery issue. It still had the original car battery from 11 years ago so I guess it decided to go out with a fight. There was an issue with the battery internally that caused it to put out high voltage at certain times. I did notice that the fog lights front and back would turn on when starting the car sometimes so maybe that was related to the issue since it no longer occurs. The mechanic said he inspected everything from the starter back to see if any wiring was bad or fuses were blown but everything checked out. After testing the battery he noticed there was certain spikes at times in the amps. After a new starter and battery replacement she is running like new, I have to say even the "sport" mode feels faster for some weird reason.