I just kinda inherited a 98 A4 1.8t, tiptronic. This car was hardly used, has 10,200 miles. It ran decent at first but battery was toast, didn't hold a charge after trying several times to charge it. Replaced battery, and now it will bounce the idle between 600 and like 150rpm (sometimes shutting off). When i try to drive it, i can hold the pedal at a certain spot and it will surge bigtime and stall and shift rough. doesn't really get past 25mph. The car has no mods and has hardly been used, problems came about pretty much after battery replacement. check engine light is on. i've checked the obvious i believe, any ideas anyone? thanks.

 

that sounds pretty rough [&o]

 

thanks above for that valuable insight

after some searching, i guess from what i understand after disconnecting the battery, its possible for it to run very poorly or not at all if i don't do a throttle body alignment. How do I do this for this car?

 

you can use a vag to do it www.ross-tech.com

 

Turn the key to the point just before ignition. Leave it sit for 3 minutes or so. You will hear the throttle body clicking around a bit. It should align itself.

 

tried that, didn't hear throttle body do anything at all, problem continues

 

Sometimes it won't align itself, in which case you need to use a vagcom to force align it. Did you pop the hood and put your ear up to it?

 

go to autozone and use their loner scanner tool, write down the codes it gives you and post them here

 

the vag-com will probably give you a more complete analysis of the problems, they're kinda pricey but def worth it. you can also check here to see if anyone has one in your area that you can use for free..