over the course of the last week i have been noticing a oddity while driving on the highway. in 5th gear (tiptronic) when depressing the pedal with anything more the 1/4 throttle the car begins to studder and feels like a loss in power. was able to to some checks while driving, when the car downshifts below 5th gear it feels like there is no hesitation or bogging down.

im leaving towards a old fuel filter as i havent changed it since i owned the car 2.5 years. but looking for other options before i just start changing parts.

notes:
99 1.8T
check engine light is currently on but from a seperate issue of bad rear O2 sensor.

 

dont have access to a scan tool as the autozones in my area have stoped lending them

fear of people using them to reset check engine lights before a inspection

 

How do you know that a new code hasn't appeared? And that's not a valid reason for not having scans. Find a different place that isn't stupid (it's not their responsibility, and it's not like that concern itself is valid because if people do that, their cars will just read not ready and fail anyway) or get a VAG-COM cable.