Hey guys -

Ashamed to admit it, but I ran out of gas the other day with my stock '01 S4 and now the Check Engine light is on.

Seemed to be running OK, so I didn't bother to bring it into the shop right away. Then the other night, I tried to turn on the car, and it wouldn't turn over. It would crank, but just wouldn't turn over. Waited about 10 minutes, tried a couple more times and it fired up without a problem.

Took it to EuroTech Motors in LA (my go-to guys) and they said that the crank sensor, the speed sensor, and the exhaust temperature sensors were all going bad. Does that sound right? Does that happen when you run out of gas or is it the car showing its age and mileage (104k)?

When asked if I needed to replace all three of them, I was told they all sort of work in tandem, which could run about $1500. I told them I need to think about it.

Ever since, I'm having more and more trouble getting the car to fire up - sometimes it fires up right away without issue, but other times I have to wait a few minutes and try a few times before it works. I figure I definitely need to replace to crank sensor, but how important is it that I replace the speed sensor and exhaust temp sensors right now? Seems to be driving fine, but also don't want to cause any more long term damage. Even with 104k miles on it, I want to keep it for as long as possible.

Thanks in advance for the help everyone. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Can you get the actual vagcom readout? I don't hear of many speed and crank sensors going bad... especially from running out of gas. My guess is that when you hit the bottom of the tank you sucked up debris that settles and it plugged the fuel filter, dirtied your injectors, and fouled up your spark plugs.

 

Thanks for the reply jhuffman.

Will see if I can get the actual readout, but I found this thread on the Audiworld forum where the guy had the same problem and apparently all three sensors were going bad.

http://forums.audiworld.com/showthre...4#post24037224

Not saying running out of gas caused the sensors to go bad, but the Check Engine light did go on immediately after running out of gas, so I assume there was cause and effect.

Just trying to determine whether I should have my mechanic do it or try to do it myself. Mind you, I've never worked on a German car before and all I have is a set of jack stands and a good set of tools. Don't want to get under there, realize I have no idea what I'm doing, and not be able to put it back together.

Thanks again for your help.

 

There are lots of DIYs out there for these audis so do it if you feel comfortable. They are machines just like every car and they come apart and go back together in a certain way. Just take notes and think through what you are doing.