Ok so friday I take my car in to the dealership (still under warranty) after getting a check engine light on. I noticed that when i started the engine, it made a clunking noise....."not good" was my first reaction. Audi techs claim there was a cylinder misfire and cylinder 3's lifters were gunked up so they cleaned them. They also said cylinder 3 was lacking compression, and that they fixed that as well. However, when looking over the invoice i noticed that to them "fix" meant "changed the oil". literally...the invoice said fixed via oil change. wow...

So i drive off and granted it did drive a lot better than before. However later friday night, i get in the car, start it...i get the clunking noise again. This time the engine doesnt start up. Then I tried it again, the engine turned over, but didnt start. Finally the third time it started. I thought...ok no big deal, ill just take it back to the shop on monday. Well today I had early morning meetings and couldnt drop off the car. On my way home, on the freeway, going 70 the engine just cuts off. As much as I tried it wouldnt start up again. Luckily enough i was able to coast to the side of the road and call road side service. I had the car towed back to the dealer. Needless to say, they didnt fix the problem last week.

My guess is a faulty fuel pump. But that doesnt explain the clunking noise....

Lets see what happens tomorrow.....

 

That sucks. Good to know that it's under warranty. What year is your car?

 

wow I wish I could fix a low compression cylinder with just an oil change, this sounds a bigger problem to me and internal (in the engine) it could be a worn cylinder bore causing piston slap/damaged valve/weak valve lifter or broken valve spring,

I know that's a lot of things that it could be which I hope you take a special note (how long has the warranty to go??) are they mucking you about till it runs out?? you don't have to use that dealer to fix the car under the warranty,

I would ask for a thorough check out like on a rolling road type machine so the complete system can be monitored and ensure you get a copy of the read out

 

Thanks for the pointers...Its a 2003 with about 47k on it. Warranty will expire in Feb but seeing as how i drive about 2k a month i dont see me reaching that before hitting 50k.

When I took it in last I insisted on going for a test drive with one of the service techs. In addition to the engine noise, there is this funny grinding noise as i slowly ease into first gear as I let off the clutch and get on the throttle. It typically happens when Im backing out of a parking space and going into 1st after reversing but ive noticed it on occasions where I havent first backed up. The tech first tried to tell me that its the noise of the ABS test that occurs, then he said that its probably loose suspension that needs to be tightened. In either case, that hasnt been fixed either. I'm going to drive my jeep until they fix both these problems. I'll be sure to not put 3k miles on it until they do.

Im the second owner of the car and I bought it as an Audi precertified vehicle. The car was cherry when i went to get it. No sign of wear at all, it seemed to run perfect. Even the technicians that I took it to were surprised to see that it was a used car and in that great condition.

This is NOT what you want to see after a very long monday....


Dont worry, I made sure he put the dollies under the rear wheels and hit the tow switches in the door )

 

stick in there and don't take it back till every thing is ok I take it from what your saying there is too much guessing going on by these techs (what you want is results) if the car is under a finance agreement then consult them on this issue because you demand value for your hard earned cash and don't want to pay for a car that's in the workshop more than its on the road,

best of luck and just one pointer the abs system doesn't make noises like that while its setting up

 

hey i see another audi in the backround! good luck with the ride man. my old car broke down 3 times on the highway, i know how you feel!

 

Dude - 2003 1.8T - I'm dropping my wife off at the airoport yesterday and this funny sound is coming from the R rear - sounds like something straining (for lack of a better description) - run it by the local guy this am and he sez "sounds like a fuel pump" - okay I'll take it to the dealer -- 2 mi. short it starts stuttering and CEL comes on --drift to the side of the road "F#*@!!" Audi pays for my towing and now its at the dealer...

we'll see (its just over 50K, but Audi Certified).


BTW - Saddle River cop stops to see whasup - I tell him and he's like cool I just need the plate - he goes to the front and I'm thinking "damn euro plate" - here comes a lecture, ticket, etc... Instead, he's like "cool plate, you ever been to europe" - so we have this really cool conversation for 40min til the truck arrives. Turns out he drives a G35 thats pretty tricked out.

 

Hahaha, yeah I noticed the other audi in the background too. Actually the freeway was full of them. It was almost like they were mocking me.
Ok so I just got a call from Audi, they found a faulty fuel pump after all --when in doubt, its the fuel pump. Theyre going to keep the car and keep testing it out to make sure nothing else is wrong with it. I mentioned again that a faulty fuel pump shouldnt cause a knocking sound from the engine. I'm going to wait and see what they come up with....

 

Ok...I just picked up the car and it seems to be driving fine. They changed the fuel pump to a "newer, improved model".
I have a second question for you guys that I may repost to a new thread.

Did any of you buy the extended warranty? I know to a certain extent theres no point in getting it since any future mods may void it out anyway but I'm beginning to kick myself for not getting an Audi precertified used car which comes with a 100k extended bumper to bumper warranty by default. Now they're trying to sell an additional 2 years worth of warranty to me for $3481.

Although I would typically instantly turn away from such foolery, yesterday's incident makes me think twice. What do you think? Would I really be saving money by getting this? Especially with a $100 deductible each time?

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