OK first can these cars be scanned using the scan tools they use at autozone or do I really need to go buy a VAG tool to scan it? I want to see what codes I have but don't want to research what cable or tool to buy more before jumping in and finding out it isn't the right one for my 96.

Car details: 96 A4 2.8 FWD 145k miles. Have great records from an audi dealership maintaining the car until 100k miles. After that the records are not there btu the dealership I got it from claimed the guy said he just stopped using the dealership and went else where for maintenance. It was a 1 owner car and the guy traded it in on a 2009 A4 so he must have been happy enough with it and I hope that means he took care of it that last 45k miles.

I have a CEL now.
Randomly the cars idle will drop from standard around 900 to near 0 and feel like it is going to stall then bounch back up. This has really only happened like 2 or 3 times in the last 3 months since I bought the car.

The more common issue is that when I am driving with the wife or other people in the car it seems to hesitate if I am at low rpm's cruising.
Like if I am cruising along going 45-55 in 4th or 5th it will hesitate and the rpms won't move and nothing happens for a few seconds. Then the car goes.
This only happens when other people are in teh car as I know if I drive more agressively it doesn't happen.

Anyone have any ideas without me having the CEL scanned yet?

I was thinking I should probably pull the MAF (Are these MAF cars) use my cleaner on that, Seafoam the gas, oil and vaccum then change the plugs, maybe wires and replace the fuel filter.
With yoru ideas of what might be wrong any other ideas? EGR? Is there and idle air controller that tends to go bad? Anything common I am missing? I don't want to dump a ton of cash on repairs as the car isn't worth anything but I will spend a good amount if I can get this thing running really smooth again.

These will be items planned for the new month or two when it warms up:
I will likely also change the stat and coolant as I think the stat is bad since my temp doesn't go above 1/4 on the gauge when driving and usually stays at about 1/8th. I will also likely check the trans fluid, ps and brake fluids and see if any of those look bad or if they are all find still.

 

you can get scanned on any obd2 scanner... IE. autozone, vag, etc etc.. It sounds to me as though you are misfiring. But a scan will confirm or deny that.
As for the temp issues, it probably just needs a new sensor, cheapest and easiest place to start.

 

Thanks, I'll have to get a scan done and come back.

I was staying away from thinking it was a misfire as I believe I should get a flashing CEL then correct?

As for the temp issue being a sensor I will check it out a little. When the heat is on it takes a good long time to get comfortable and never really gets to blowing hot. so I was leaning toward it being a t-stat that failed open.

 

OK got the codes read today:

P0102 guy said it was a maf code.
P0116 Coolant temp out of range so sounds like your right that my sensor might be mad or something.
P0401 EGR Flow insufficient
P0161
P0141
P0158
P0138 All 4 of these were o2 sensor codes. Maybe related to the MAF code and the sensors aren't really bad?

I think I might go try and pull the maf and clean it and see what that does.

 

Hmmmm... Autozone and advanced could not read my code because I needed a vag scanner. I ended up buying one and my engine light was on and not flashing from a cylinder misfire. Ran some seafoam through the intake and the gas and I also replaced the plugs. The engine still idles a little quirky with a hop up and down of a 100 rpm. For a misfire it tends to be related to plugs, wires, dirty intake, or dirty maf. Seem like the more who replace the maf have better luck but just my opinion on that .

 

This may sound strange, but have you had the timing belt done, or looked at recently? On my previous car, a bmw, I had a problem that sounded similar to this. The mechanic told me that it was most likely caused by the timing belt being loose (which he had looked at previously). That car is being retired to the state, and I now have an a4. The problem was still occuring after cleaning the air flow meter, changing the plugs, rotor, cap, ignition wires, and fuel filter. Just something you may want to check out, and good luck!

 

I have only had this car for about 3 months so no I have not done the timing belt. I was thinking that if I am replacing the stat and coolant I will probably just do that belt, water pump and associated items. That won't happen for a little while still since I will likely want the cougar out of the garage and running again (shot battery or at least a dead one) so I have that as a just incase something goes wrong thing.

 

i just read this for the first time and the same thing happened to my car a few nights ago.. my MAF **** the bed and it was dropping idle and stalling randomly and had little to no power.. got a new one threw it in and that was the problem, the CEL went off on its own due to the problem being fixed.. i know you got more codes than the P0102 but that was the same code i threw and a new MAF sensor fixed it.. car is running A+ now..

 

I cleaned the MAF yesterday so hopefully that helps if I still see the code for that I will order a new sensor. I also ordered my Scan tool since the nearest autozone is like a 15 minute drive or out of my way on the drive home from work so I never get there and it is just easier to scan my cars myself.

 

yea the scan tool is almost a must have if youre a DIY'er on these cars.. this way you can get an idea of the problem before hand so even if you do have to bring it to someone to handle it you arent gettin screwed.. and it helps you learn your car and stuff.. gotta love vag-com..