My car is getting progressively harder to start in the cold. I have looked through the forums but cant determine the exact cause. I have a 97 A4 2.8 Quattro and I have to press on the gas pedal while I turn the key to get the car to start now. If I try to start my car again after I have been driving for a while, it starts up just fine. However, if I let it sit for an extended amount of time, it's hard to start again. I just had my battery and spark plugs replaced. Does anyone have any idea of what I need to check? Thanks.

 

I'm no expert, but that might be your temp sensor, MAF..?

 

Not sure. It struggles to start and then it's fine after Igive it some gas. In particularly bad cases, I have to hold the gas pedal down and turn the key for a while before it starts

 

i have the same exact problem with my 2000 tt 1.8 and i need some answers
i had to hit the gas to start it up and keep it idleing around 2k rpms for a few seconds before it would idle right i had bad gas mileage and itran sluggish
i replaced the maf and the coolant temperature sensor and it helped with the gas mileage somewhat but its still around 18 mpg and its still kind of sluggish feeling
the cold starts arent quite as bad but still not normal
im also hearing a squeeking belt only if it starts up bad and kind of backfires any answers???

the squeeking goes away after its warm
belt dressing helps for a second
hairspray worksbut it still keepssqueeking after i start it cold again
wtf????

 

maybe not your problems, but i had a similar problem and it was my battery

 

I would start with the CTS.

 

If you're having to hold you accelerator pedal to the floor to get it started, then your cylinders are most probably fuel soaked. Limmy711, the problem was there before you had your plugs replaced?

TTomlin85, are you getting the blinking CEL (misfiring) when this is happening? Any codes?

 

before i changed the coolant temp sensor and maf i got a low reading on maf and misfire on cylinder 1 but no cel since then and the problem still persists just as bad it was 58 degrees this morning and it still was extremely hard to start!!!

i heard a shorted injector could cause this problem because of it being open all the time could this be the problem and how would i troubleshoot with an ohm meter? what resistance would i need to measure between what two pts?

 

Bad injector would throw alean or rich mixturecode.