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I have an '08 A4 / 3.2 / quattro with only 7k miles. On my way home from pickup at the dealer's shop doing a 7500 mile maintenance (essentially an oil change!), I got a "check engine" light. After a week of diagnosis, they tell me it's due to excessive carbon buildup on the intake valves and need to replace the injectors.
Is this at all possible on a new car which has had only good gas used in it? Is it possible the dealer could've done something to cause this?
Thanks!
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Last edited by FTv2; 09-22-2008 at 09:10 PM.
Reason: Clearer
It's a new car - sometimes have the random bug. personally, I don't believe it would be carbon build-up. Likely a bad contact somewhere and should all be covered under warantee.
I had a similar thing creep up on me...took it to the dealer and they said the same thing...took it to my indie mech and he laughed and said the same thing. I thought the dealer was tripping. Anyway..I had been using 93 at Costco...indie told me to start getting from Texaco or Chevron and keep using the 93...no problems ever since....
I just bought a brand new 2008 Audi A6 back in September 2008. It had 27 miles on it. After 1 month of driving the check engine light came on. At that time it had roughly 3400 miles on it - I drive a lot. When I took it into the dealer the service manager told me that it had engine mis fire codes but that they couldn't simulate it again so they reset the computer and sent me home. One week later it happened again. After removing the engine manifold, I was told that the car had more misfire codes and that the cylinders had carbon build up on them which caused the mis fire codes. After working with Audi America Technicians, they put the car through a cleaning procedure, reset the computer, and sent me home. They also told me to ensure that I only use the prescribed brands of gasoline. I use Shell V-Power. Now, 1 month later, the same thing. The check engine light is on and the dealer finally admits that this is a nationwide problem without a root cause or solution. I'm now looking into trading my car on another foreign car that is more reliable.
Hello all...I just took my 2008 Audi A6 3.2 in with 17k miles on it for the 3rd time with the engine light illuminated. First two times I got the same answer...miss fire. For this 3rd time, they just told me they did the same cleaning procedure you describe above because of carbon build up. I only use top-tier gas, mostly Shell V-Power. I would guestimate that only 1 of 20 (or less!) fill-ups gets non-toptier gas, so I think that's pretty good. I've asked for an "official statement" from Audi Corporate telling me WHY a less than year old car with 17k miles has carbon build up. I'll let you know if I hear anything.
So, same story, different day. Do you all have any other stories, messages, info to share on this issue? Please send it along.
Thanks!
Chris...
Thanks to everyone who replied to my thread. I filed for arbitration with Better Business Bureau and had a hearing last week with a rep from Audi USA. Today, I learned the arbitrator has ruled in my favor, and Audi needs to replace or repurchase the car and pay some additional fees. I hope this helps those of you who are experiencing the same issue and getting the run-around from Audi.
When I googled this same problem I am having, and landed on this forum thread I was surprised. I bought a brand new '08 A4 3.2 Quattro S Line with all packages but the GPS on Jan 18, 2008 and have been using Shell V-Power (93 octane) since the day I got it as Shell was one of the "recommended" brands in the manual. About 3 weeks ago, the "check engine" light came on, then it went off on its own the next day. It was at 9,200 miles at that time.
I took it to the service, and was first told there is misfiring and that they added some additives to the gas and want to leave it overnight to test the cold start. I told them I was already using one of the premium brands and the highest octane. Regardless, they did their thing and then later told me there is carbon buildup on the intake valves, and kept my car close to 1 week to "clean" the intake valves (I don't think they replaced any of the injectors).
When I headed over to get my "fixed" car, I asked the service advisor if I was doing anything wrong, what I could do differently. He said I wasn't doing anything wrong, but he "advised" I use one of those injection system cleaners every few thousand miles (like STP). Supposedly, to prevent this carbon buildup. It made no sense to me, as I was already using Shell V-Power which supposedly has all of those cleaners, preventing engine gunk buildup. I always buy gas from the same Shell stations, and I checked with Shell Corporate what kind of audits they perform to ensure the quality of the V-Power. They said they have an assurance program that checks the proper octane levels of V-Power and another program that checks to make sure the additive is at the higher concentration. Apparently they have seen no low numbers in the Connecticut recently for either of these 2 programs..
@ cpk801 -- Have you heard anything from Audi Corporate?
@ FTv2 -- Can you share some more details on this process with BBB? It appears it worked to your advantage, which is very good to hear. What kind of documentation were you asked to provide? And it sounds like you followed this process after the 1st and only time you took your car for service specifically for this problem. Were the BBB and Audi of America OK with that? Did they not "claim" that you did not "give them a chance" to continue "fixing" the problem?
Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - especially at a much needed time for me.
Need input / carbon buildup on intake valves
RE: Need input / carbon buildup on intake valves
