A6 automatic says- depress clutch pedal before starting
 

now i'm really stumped. anyone seen this come up on the dash display before?
this is a 99 2.8 automatic 30v that I just got done doing the timing belt on for the second time. the first time i was replacing the thermo from overheating issues and the belt slipped off. have all the tools and have followed all the proceedures to the "T". if I depress the gas pedal and hold it it tries to start as well as just cranking relentlessly without the pedal.
but just semi-sputters. WTF on this coming up on an automatic???

That message should only be displayed if you have a MT coded ECU, I swapped form TIP to MT, even when I used the TIP ECU it would say, apply brakes ....., once I swapped in the MT ECU it said depress clutch...

thanks 77 but what does this mean? is it a normal message
then ( i have not seen it in the 6 years i have owned this car)
or has something happened that I need to replace or repair
to get it running again? I'm not sure what to do next.......i have to beleive the timing is now correct.

on the manual trannys there was a clutch safety switch which needed to be depressed before the car would start. Its is seriously weird that you are getting it on an automatic. Has this car been an auto its whole life? Anyone know if the autos have a safety switch for the brakes that is similiar to the clutch switch?

... just to throw it out there, maybe someone came in the middle of the night and swapped your ECUs... gremlins I say...

i know , i've owned no less than 20 foreign vehicles over my life and have worked on all of them at one point or another. possible the ecu could be just toast and the car doesn't know what the heck to do or does that not happen often? it is and always has been an auto but it does have the triptronic tranny......just ordered a vag com off of e-bay so maybe the codes can clue me in. I bought a superchip years ago for an expediton (new in 2000) and it has been invaluable. 198k and it runs perfect. any little odd thing that goes , just plug it in and tells u what is out of wack. I hope I have luck with the one for the audi as i'm done guessing.

when you get your vag keep us posted. I am really curious to see what is going on in your cars brain that makes it think its a manual

u got it, should have the vag by wed.
this is a car we no longer use daily but I'd love to get it running at a performance level again to keep the miliage off of the new ride. we used it ourselves back in the early 2000's and then just kept it as a great safe car for two teens to beat the crap out of before we made them buy their own rides.
all in all it's in decent shape and I really have not put much dough in it because I always did the work myself.
ie: 1 driveshaft and boots, struts, brakes, tie rod ends and such, abs module rebuild and the regular BS. i can't remember much else going arry.
not much over 10 yrs........

Any news. I just did my timing and camshaft seals. I got the same message. I double checked timing and turned over twice by hand, everything is fine. I don't know if I should order the vag com also.

This is my main car, and so I would like to figure this out asap. Please help.

Your saying you got the depress clutch to start engine message? If so I would start by checking all your fuses you may have blown one that feeds the trans control module. if they are good I would visually inspect the tcm which is in a plastic box under the carpet in the front passenger area I have rebuilt two flood cars caused by the battery drain problem and both gave me this message because the tcm had failed due to water damage. Open the box and inspect the connections but since it happened after you did the timing belt I am thinking you may have done something to cause a fuse to blow giving you this problem.

Post back if you find the cause since the previous posters never posted a resolution.

Ok, No blown fuses. I think the battery was low. I charged it and also unpluged the ECU under the winsheild wiper driver side. This lets me start the car, but now the idle is rough and very low, about 500 rpm. Also it will stall out when you have been revving the engine, but the let off the gas it drops down to about 100 rpm then stalls out.

The code I get when I start is:P1392-Manufacture Control. However when I look online it says the code is for the Camshaft Pos.Sensor,Bank2 Open Circ./Short to B+. What does that mean? Did I mess up the timing, or just the sensor? It seems to run smothly over 1000 RPM.

Thanks

Ok, Checked for voltage on the 3pin connector on cam sensor. It has 11.3 volts. But when I drove it a little around the corner it gives me more codes. Codes are in this order:
P-0300 Random Misfire
P-0304 Cylinder 4 Misfire detected
P-0306 Cylinder 6 Misfire detected
P-0305 Cylinder 5 Misfire detected
P-1392 Manufacture Control
P-0300 Random Misfire
P-0304 Cylinder 4 Misfire detected
P-0306 Cylinder 6 Misfire detected
P-0305 Cylinder 5 Misfire detected


Does anyone know if this could be because I got the chain off by one link? I think I checked about three or four times, but maybe I didn't do it right. I saw someehere else it could be the vacuum lines? I don't think the vacuum would cause these codes to show up. and since it is only on one bank I think it might have to do either with the timing or the cam position sensor.

Thanks for any help.

Bump. I changed the vacuum lines. same thing. It vibrates a little still. I will check the spark plugs tonight. Could the cam on bank this bank be off just a few degrees? I did use the locking bar across both cams, but I still wonder about the timing chain being off one link. From what I can find both passenger side and drivers side should both be 16 links. Thanks

Hello,
New to being a member and new to Audi. I have to say my 02 A4 B6 is by far the best car i have owned out of 16, definatly a new experience.

Anyway, did you ever figure out your "Press clutch to start engine" problem?

I just obtained my first Audi as i was saying. she is an 02 A4 B6 Quattro 3.0 with the CVT Tranny. My problem Also follows suit with yours with the "press clutch to start" problem. The car starts and runs fine, aside from a misfire on cyl #4. I have gone through every setting I can on the ross-tech (aside from logging in because i have no clue what the 7 digit code is) I have verified the ecm and tcm both have matching VIN and Immobilizer numbers.

The only background I know about it is the battery is new. the old one was dead for at least a month as the car sat.

Also (Probably not related) But my intereior lights , Dash, raido, hvac, doors, trunk, illumination lights do not turn on. I had to trick the cluster to light up the needles and numbers with the VAG. also doing the OUTPUT test on the cluster proved that EVERY thing worked more than properly. so that tells me some relay is bad or the ECM is programmed wrong.

Anyhelp would be awesome!

Love the fourm :D

Same problem here. Same situation.
 

I'm not seeing any definite resolutions posted on this.
I have the exact same symptom and circumstance: I replaced engine and now, no spark. Only cranking and the occasional mini putter as if it wants to start. I get the "depress clutch pedal to start" on the info display although it's an automatic and has always been an automatic.
I have a 1998 Audi A4 2.8 liter V6, first generation of the 30v engines.
I even met an actual VW/Audi tech at a local dealer and he didn't have any good advice.
Clearly this is common when servicing the vehicle.
I see lots of others who get this after doing the timing belt.
So what causes this error?
No I didn't have water damage.
I have only taken apart the electrical plugs (with battery disconnected of course) but just like all these people who do any major engine work, we go back to start it and have a confused ECU.

Anyone out there who has a definitive explanation of this would be most appreciated!!!!

Mine's doing it too
 

I have a 1999 A6 Avant Quattro with the 2.8 30v V6 and Tiptronic. My mechanic friend was checking out the timing belt and some check engine lights about a month ago, but hasn't had time to get back to it. It's​ salvage and doesn't have plates, so I put a car cover on it in the driveway... which covered the solar panel in the sunroof that was keeping the battery​ charged.

I went to start it last night and got the PRESS CLUTCH PEDAL TO START which was pretty confusing on an automatic. It wouldn't even crank, though the interior lights dimmed when I tried.

Looks like my next steps are to check the fuses (especially #31), check the connectors for the ECU and TCU, charge the battery, and if that doesn't do it, get my friend to bring his VAG-TEC.

Any other suggestions?

D

Me too!
 

Same issue here.

I have a 2007 a4 b7. I just had timing serviced about 2 months ago. Car has been sitting for about 3 weeks. Go to start it today and car starts and runs for like 2 seconds and then dies. Dash is going crazy and showing up gibberish on trip meter and odometer. Trip and odemeter no longer light up. Center display shows a message that reads, please press in clutch to start vehicle. Message no longer appears. But my car is an automatic transmission and doesn't have a clutch. At first was showing abs, traction control, hand brake lights maybe some others but I can't remember now. But now only shows abs light. Battery is full charge I think. My dash does not work. Rpm gauge not working when I Rev engine before engine dies. Aftermarket Radio does not power on. OBD II does not connect to torque app.

I have no idea what could cause this. Was working fine when I last drove the car. The common theme here seems to be having timing serviced. Maybe there is something to that.

I have same issue....it was needing a battery replacement...so $200 later problem fixed

Battery
 

Same. I bought a new battery and it started right up. Now my odometer says error though. Not sure why though. I know there are two counters. One in the dash and one in the drive train. I'm guessing it is because one of the mileage counters lost power before the other one. And now they are not matching.