I have an 98 A4 2.8 30v non turbo its and automatic/ tip tranny. Just this evening i start driving down my street and the car is fine. I get to my friend's house shut my car off to unlock my glove box, and all of a sudden my car doesn't want to go. I have to lightly step on the gas cause if i floor it, it goes nowhere. My drive selectors are all highlighted, not telling me what gear i'm in. The car still goes into gear but first has no power to it, and the car over heats. Anyone encounter this problem before?

 

something is wrong with your transmission, when the PRND432 are all selected this is called Limp Mode for the TCU. Try turning the car back off and turning it back on and see if that reset it. If not you will either have to go buy a OBD-II Code Reader, or use VAG-COM. Write the code down, and either search the forums, or post it back here and Im sure people will be happy to help.

You can erase the code after you figure out what it is. Your transmission went into limp mode probally the final gear and not allowing it to switch down, so you will probablly have no power under accel, well atleast you wont move very fast.

 

^i don't think that your engine overheats when your tranny goes into limp mode...lol

 

i had the same problem but i have 5 spd and instead of reading temp it went to hot and stayed there i shut the car off, turn it back on and it would read cold, and so on and so on, nine wound up going into limp mode because the ecu went bad, yeah i drove it everything fine shut it off and when i started it agian i had all them problems

 

what do you mean over heats? your temp gauge goes past half way?

 

Well it might get a little hotter than normal if its in final gear throwing revs up to move the car... I kinda thought that might be what had happened.

 

it goes into 4th actually but the car wouldnt overheat as I hat to drive like this for 2 days and temps stay normal... might be the gauge like he said not reading right

 

Well as of now my car is in the shop. Limp mode? What could make the car go into limp mode? Would it be something stupid like not enough fluid, a sensor? Or did my trans just decide to **** the bed?

 

Probably a bad gear range sensor or TCM issue.

 

mine went into limp mode because water leaked in from my hvac system and shorted out the tcm then the other time a mouse was living in my ecu box abd was using my wires as a ladder actually pulled a bunch of wires loose from the conecter right below where the hole that goes to the ecu box goes...
it was some fun finding where all those little wires go in that tight space