Hello everyone I am new on here. I am the new proud, (for the most part) owner of a 2001 Audi a4 1.8t. I love the car. When it runs ok. When i bought it front he dealership the check engine light was on. They said it was a o2 sensor and they had ordered it and they would install it. They did and then a day later the check engine light came back on. Took it to Audi and they found a major leak in one of the vacume lines. I replaced it and took it for a spin. I immediately noticed than when i press the gas all the way to floor the rpms go way up but the car dosen't accelerate like it should. It dosen't matter if its warm or cold it does it either way. The check engine light came back on today and i havent looked to see what the code is. I checked the rest of the vacume lines and they all look good. When i accelerate it feels like the e-brake is on almost. Anyone ever experience this? I have already done a search on this issue on here but i cant find anyone with the same issue. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

Is it a stick or auto. Sounds like your clutch or torque converter is slipping.

 

this has only happened to me once. and it was when the car was really cold, it corrected itself 30 sec. into driving though and it hasnt happened to me sence.

 

my buddy had an old 94 VW GTI thing and it did that. I immediately knew it was the clutch when I drove it.
to make sure it was the clutch i drove it down the freeway got it to about 55(pedal to the floor, took about 2miles to get that fast.lol), rolled the windows down and you could smell it burn.

 

It is an automatic. And it dosent matter on mine whether its hot or cold. It does it all the time. If it is the torque converter does that require dropping the tranny? Im going to go have the code read today to see what its saying.

 

Sounds like a torque converter issue and you will want to take the car back to the dealer and let them fix it since it wont be cheap.

Yes it requires dropping the transmission since the tq converter is mounted inside the bell housing and to the crank flange.

 

Wonderful. Well ill let you guys know what i get figured out.

 

Well i just went fishing a couple hours ago and took the audi. Every other light or so when i would take off it would have a power surge and take off like a bat out of he#$. then the same acceleration would happen. i took it to autozone and they pulled two codes, P0171, bank 1 too lean, and P0420 catalyst system efficiency below threshold bank 1. I have had the P0171 before when i noticed the vacume leak. The P0420 is a new one. After this i went and fueled up. Call me an idiot but i just realized as i was fueling up that it says premium gas. Since i have had the car i have been using 87 octane. I read my manual and saw that it says 91 octane minimum. So i filled up with 91 octane and added fuel injector cleaner. Is this possibly my issue? Is it the lower grade of gas that i used? And also is it possible that i ruined the o2 sensors and cat by using 87 octane? Or is my issue something more serious? Thanks.

 

I doubt you ruined the cat or o2 sensors with low grade gas. The octane rating just allows the engine to run differently, a higher octane reduces the chance of predetonation or knock. Our cars were designed to run on such a high quality of gas due to forced induction. If your car is high mileage its possible you have a fouled catalytic converter already. Its also possible that the vacuum leak has caused you to run rich or lean, which has fouled the o2 and cat.

The acceleration is most likely a problem in the transmission, like everyone said, probably the torque converter.

Sorry to hear that you're Audi is giving you trouble already. "Fixed one thing, found two more problems" is usually what you hear around here. They're great cars and will last you awhile if you do your maintenance and can live with their quirks. If you can learn to do your own stuff (never work outside your comfort zone though) it'll save you a ton of money. Invest in a Bentley repair manual!

 

I have done most of the work on my own cars so i feel pretty comfortable working on this one to a point. Im at the point now where im going to just drop it off at a audi mechanic and have them figure it out. I dont want to just keep dumping money into this thing and not fix the problem. Its frustrating buying a used car due to the fact that you dont know what the previous did or didnt do as far as the maintenance goes. I bought a 2004 jetta a few years ago and it had 21,000 miles on it when i bought it. I commuted 98 miles one way to work for 2 years in that thing. I put 90,000 miles on it and it never broke down on me once. I loved that car. Unfortunately i hot and elk October of last year and totaled the car. I was sad to see it go. Hopefully i can get the car fixed soon though.