So, I'm driving home from work yesterday on the interstate going 75 mph and engine power cuts out completely. 2-3 seconds of nothing and then power returns -but at about one third of normal. For the next 30 minutes on the highway, a couple of times per minute, a complete power failure for 2-3 seconds followed by the same limited power resumption. I limped home barely able to maintain 60 mph floored in third gear. Audi Roadside Assistance got my car towed to the dealership where it will be examined today. What gives? I have 3000 miles on my 2007 A3. I have the manual transmission. These are exactly the kind of major engine failures with potentially grave safety implications that I Don't Buy a New Car For. Has anybody heard of this problem? I will keep you posted after I hear from Service.

 

Sounds like your car went into limp mode, but there could be a lot of different reasons. If you would have pulled over and shut the car off, then turned it on again, the limp mode would have been reset, but might have come back. I wouldn't expect that it is a "major engine failure", but rather a safety mode that the ECU puts the car in to avoid any damage. It may be something very simple to fix. If it makes you feel better, I haven't heard of it happening to anybody else before. I guess that's both good and bad news. Sorry.

Cheers!

 

They've had my car for 7 hours now and haven't looked at it yet. The services guy "guesses" it may have either been caused by a faulty igniter or a bad fuel pump. He thinks the failure did not involve limp/safe mode. Premier Audi of Albuquerque promises to diagnose the problem today.

 

Sorry. That sucks.

BUT, do you have a new Audi to drive while they are fixing yours??? Could be worse.

Cheers!

 

I'm new to Audi and to the forums, but I had a similar experience with my A3. I bought it a couple of weeks ago (Premiere in Albuquerque BTW), and about 6 hours after I rolled off the lot it started cutting out. It ended up that they replaced a fuel sensor and fuel pump.

My brief web investigation indicates that, if yours is the same problem, heat and altitude are having an effect on the fuel pump/sensor in the 2.0 FSI engines. Heres a thread from the VW folks having the same issue:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3327818

 

Sounds like you need to be contacting an Audi Advocate and laying out your case. I would definitely talk to the points outlined in the VwVortex link.

Cheers!

 

Hey Og and ZZ, I have been negotiating with Dave Baker, the manager at Premier in Albuquerque on an A3- did both of you buy from there? Dave has been fair so far.
Can I trust this dealership?

 

This sounds like the problem I am currently having also. Have a look https://www.audiforums.com/m_586337/tm.htm

I too was driving at a pretty high altitude (Angeles Crest, Mt. Wilson). Got a CEL, was still drivable. Went back home. Start car again, engine cuts out after couple of seconds. Went to dealer and he replaced a fuel sensor also but not fuel pump. They blame it on the aftermarket parts of course and charged me.

 

Yes, sounds similar. Complete loss of power for a few seconds, then pops back in. A bit later, same thing - lather, rinse repeat all the way home. I was just waiting for someone to slam into me. I'm still a bit sensitive about people riding up on me. I might be faster off the line than the F12000 riding my a$$, but that sudden loss of power left me feeling a bit vulnerable.

Ouch. Maybe poke at Audi for some compensation since it isn't really an isolated problem?


Sorry I can't offer up much more than the links I found. While it may not be a wholesale, widespread problem, there does seem to be a notable batch of cars with this issue - both VW and Audi. There are probably a few more cars living it up in cooler climates, just waiting to pop on some exceptionally hot summer day, or vacation to Vegas - after the warrantee is up.

That said, after a couple of weeks of continued warm temps, I haven't had the problem return after the part swap. Maybe some early batch of sensors and/or pumps? (Turns out mine was an early '07 build - wish I'd thought to check that when negotiating price).

 

You know what? Mine is an early 07 build too (I think). I got my car Oct 06. Maybe just a coincidence.