Hi I'm a new member on this site and I'm not sure if I'm posting this question in the right forum.
I own a 2006 Audi A3 2.0T and I just love it! It's a fun ride, yet very economical for a sporty performer. I'm very happy with this car except for one thing. The Check Engine Light comes on far too frequently for my liking (every 350 to 500 km's!). Sometimes there is a faint smell of fuel just after the light comes on. The light generally goes out after 3 to 5 subsequent engine starts.
I'm quite sure the light has nothing to do with the fuel cap being secure because I'm very careful about tightening it properly. I've called Audi service many times but they don't seem too concerned about it. Last month they ran a full diagnostic test on the car with no conclusive results,...... except for the odd O2 sensor indication.
Note: I don't know if this would have any bearing on my problem but during the first 1500 Km's of driving the car one of my two ignition coils failed. My Audi dealer promptly replaced the coil and I was very happy with their service.
My questions are:.... 1) Has anyone else had these kinds of problems? and 2) I understand the coils are very sensitive to moisture so engine washes are verbotten!!!!?

If someone else has had these engine light problems I'd appreciate hearing about them.

Brian[&:]

 

engines should be steam cleaned though I do it with my jet was[:-] now and then if the CEL comes on there will be a recorded code and could easily be caused by washing the engine as we do

 

Hi Dave,
Thanks for replying to my post so quickly. I haven't washed my engine since I purchased the car although my dealer thinks that the engine might have been inadvertantly hosed during the Dealer Prep and that may have been the cause for my failed coil.
My engine is running just fine now but this recurring engine light is becoming a real pain! When the diagnostic test was done there were a few spurious codes but no definitive cause for the engine light. Hopefully someone on this forum has had a similar problem and will be able to help me solve this.
Brian

 

spurious codes hmmm engine washed?? sounds like water in the electrics possibly plug leads arcing there should be stored codes to confirm this even if the CEL is on permanently

 

Once I put the APR ECU remap in my car ALL my lights went crazy. ESP, check engine, brake pad lights would all go on and off at random. Have not had any lights go on since I changed programs. Race shop was getting all kinds of readings when they plugged me in. Note that even if lights go off your computer keeps a history that can be read at any time.
Scott

 

Thanks Scott.
I'll make sure that I get a full diagnostic check during my next service. Hopefully the service guys be able to isolate the problem. By the way what is an APR ECU remap?
Brian

 

Hey Brian,
There are many companies out there that have software to "reprogram" / "remap" your Engine Control Unit (computer) to get more power. This is the best bang for the buck to improve performance. More HP, more torque, higher red line, no top speed limit etc..is what you will get for $800 to $1200. You can even modify the power steering settings, etc.. while hooked up to your ECU. 20 to 50 HP gains and 50 LBS extra torque is easily obtained. Add exhaust systems and cold air intakes and these remaps are often enhanced further. Most companies simply FLASH your computer (plug in to it and reconfigure same). Some companies want your ECU (computer) and modify it at there facility or simply swap with you. My old BMW's are easy. You just unplug a chip and put in a performance one.
Check out GIAC, APR, REVO, Neuspeed, Greddy, Speedfreaks,etc...they all have great websites and explain what they can do for you. Usually through a local dealer / installer. Just goggle it or read enough of these posts and you will find them all.
I am partial to GIAC. Have APR in my 2004 A4 which works well. Had their remap done to my A3 and experienced lots of problems.
If you are going to do this be sure to read the GIAC site carefully. They are the only ones who adddress a factory problem the older 06 A3's had with factory fuel rail pump (there is an Audi upgrade now used as standard). This pump should be upgraded no matter which company you go with. APR does not acknowledge this but...as soon as I made upgrade per GIAC instructions my APR system worked "as right" as it got before I took it out.
Hope this helps. I am no expert. Just a guy who had one of the first US 06 A3 2.0T FSI's and spent lots of $$$$ experimenting (or being experimented on).
Have fun!
Scott

 

Hi Scott,
It seems you know a lot more about ECU's, remaping and engine performance than I do. My dealer has told me about a chip that is available for the A3 (apparently it increases the 2.0T from 200 hp to almost 300 hp? Don't know how much it costs though?). I'm not sure I want to mess with horsepower and such until I get to the bottom of the engine light problem. Maybe there is an issue with the fuel rail pump? I'll ask my service guy about it.
You sound like a guy that really enjoys experimenting with your car's performance. Thanks for all the info!
Brian.

 

I took my A3 to another Audi sevice centre and after running a diagnostic on it they quickly determined the problem to be a faulty O2 monitor. I don't know why the original Audi dealer's service center couldn't find the problem.
So far everything seems to be working fine.

 

I have had this same problem.

The first time: There was a miss fire and the engine didn't start. Nothing ugly but it caused the engine light to come on when I tried to re-start (started up fine). I called my audi guy and described the events. We came to the conclusion that it was liking a fuel issue and it was ok to drive it. I had filled up at different station then my reg one so i atributed to a bad tank of gas. Service guy said that the light would liking go off (re-set itself) and that the fault would be stored in the comp. Sure enough the light went off and at my next serv visit the fault was there. oxygen sensor error. Conclusion bad fuel.

I was pretty picking about the brand and octane before...now it's a mission. The highest octane from the "cleanest"producer.

The second time: Car started fine and oops there is the engine light. again it re-set and the same fault was recorded. oxygen sensor error. audi re-set and I again was on my way.

in my discussions with the service dept it was expressed that the A3 has really sensitive emmision settings which could lead to these faults.

Third time: I call my serv guy and we have a little joke about "hey my engine light is on again"
sure enough you know the drill.

well the fourth time: Now they have gone beyond their service dept and to audi direct to advise on what to do about this re-occuring fault.

Audi has recommended replacing the intake. I am not a tech but i guess or i hope that's where the oxygen sensor lives. :-) I am taking it in on Monday to do the work. Car runs fab, still getting great KPL (MPG). Other then the single miss fire the only noticeable thing is that dang light. No smell of fuel...

I'll post an update with more details after they perform the service. I will include the actual faults and what parts they replaced.

BTW my car has 25K on it and has been given extra love to since 0km. oil changes every 5k, best products, fuel etc.


hope this helps...more next week :-)


2006 A3 2.0T DSG SPORT PACKAGE/OPEN SKY/COLD WEATHER wishing I had Blue Tooth







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