My recently purchased CPO 2006 A3 2.0T DSG (25K miles) has now displayed the Check Engine Light twice in first three weeks. First time was immediately after refueling, and since I'm one of those dreaded "topper-uppers," maybe some gas got in the fuel evap system. The CEL self-cleared in a few restarts (within a few hours).

Now I just got another CEL last night, literally just driving along in very benign circumstances. There is no noticeable change in how the car feels/drives, but it hasn't cleared after more then six restarts. Fuel level is half a tank, and I've checked that the fuel cap is on properly.

I'm scheduled to take a long (300-400 miles) drive tomorrow to a remote work site, and wonder if I need to worry or make alternate driving arrangements for that trip. No way that I can get it into a dealer or whatever before tomorrow morning.

 

Swing by Advance Auto Parts, they will scan it for you for free. Then post up the error code and we can tell you what it is and whether you should worry about it before your trip.

 

Sorry for my failure to provide the obvious code.

I have a private VW garage just blocks from home who scanned my A3 for free that evening. Came back as Tumble Flap Stuck Open. The VW mechanic assured me that it was safe to drive. The error cleared later during the drive and hasn't reappeared (yet).

 

Glad to hear it was nothing serious.

Does anyone know what a tumble flap is?

 

According to this excellent thread (see #7), it appears to be something that assists cold-start and running - sounds like a new-fangled version of a "choke" to me, and the diagram supports that analogy.

 

I had this same thing happen to me this week on my 07 A3 DSG with about 4500 miles on it when the CEL lit up after a fill up. I searched around the interweb and lots of people were saying that when the gas cap isn't tightened super tight, it sets the CEL off. So I turned the cap a couple more clicks and checked... but the CEL was still on. So I made an appointment to take it in for service but remembered that a few posters said that it takes a while for the computer to figure out the cap is tightend all the way. Of course the night before my appointment, the CEL finally went off.

So tighten the cap a couple more clicks and wait a couple days. You should be fine. And if its still on, have an Audi tech check it out.

 

The CEL is gonna keep coming on for the intake flap motor, the early A3's have faulty motors but the guided fault finding test plan in the factory scanner always says there is nothing wrong with it, and to just adapt it. It won't work, they always come back on. The intake flap motor is gonna have to be replaced.

 

Thank you, that thread is quite informative. I just learned a few things that I haven't seen before.