Hi everyone,

I was hoping someone might be able to help shed some light on what's going on with my A4. This evening, my wife was driving it home and made it seven of the eight miles when the car suddenly lost power and stopped in the middle of the road. She thinks she was actually accelerating when it happened. The steering wheel locked up and pulled towards the center, then the car stopped, although the radio and other electronics seemed ok. She turned off the car and tried to start it again. It weakly cranked and did not start.

After I arrived on the scene, I noticed that the power steering reservoir cap was completely undone. I had gotten the oil changed two days ago and they had commented that there was too much power steering fluid so they corrected the level. Clearly, they left the cap off. I didn't see any signs that any of it leaked out, though.

I tried starting the car several times with about five minutes between each try. Finally, despite weak cranking, the engine started. However, the engine was making a sound I would describe as a sputtering or muffled cluttering. I was then able to drive it home.

I replaced the battery only last year and the battery meter on the dashboard appeared normal once the car started. Also, there is no check engine light and no codes (I checked with an OBDII reader).

Can any of you offer ideas on what could have caused this? Could it be as simple as bad spark plugs/wires? I think I am overdue on replacing them... Could the unscrewed power steering cap have anything to do with it?

Thanks much,
-Allen

 

same thing happened to me last yr on the highway it turn out to be a bad alternator if i were u id check and see if its that

 

How many miles are on it and when was the timing belt last replaced? I don't think it would turn over with a snapped tbelt, but I've been wrong before.

 

it's definitely not the alternator or battery if you cranked it that many times even after the car died. check your spark plugs first. the wires usually don't go bad on these cars, that's why they're so expensive. also check the timing belt. don't try to start the car again yet.

 

Yea, definitely dont try to start it again. If the plugs look good, give the coilpack a thorough looking over. I'll be hard to see if anything is wrong with it visually, but I had a hairline fissure in my cylinder1 coil that was allowing the spark to arc through and cause the engine to run super rough, and I only knew it was there cuz it would start and run fine and idle fine, but if I tried to accelerate too quickly, it would shudder and sputter and then the check engine light would start flashing and the occasional misfire could be heard, but when I looked at the coilpack I could visually see the spark arcing, so that problem might be harder to spot without having the car on, but its worth a look. If the packs look like they're really dry or you can visually see a decent sized crack in them, that'll be a likely cause. The only thing leaning me away from it being an ignition issue is the fact that the OP said no CEL or codes pulled up...

 

i forgot to mention check your fuses for the fuel pump, the fuse may be oddly messed up causing the pump to work intermittently. if all fails, try starting the car again and check for the spark arc cragman mentioned and also change the coolant temp sensor

 

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all of your responses. To answer some of your questions, the timing belt and tensioner were replaced three years (<30k miles) ago. The car has about 101,000 miles on it.

Are you all saying I shouldn't start it again because it might be the timing belt or could there be other problems that should make me avoid it?

I'm going to check the spark plugs next, but I've never done it on this car so I'm not sure I have all the right tools...

hiwords, I checked the fuel pump fuse and it was fine. I also checked the battery (with engine off) and it was just over 13V.

Unfortunately, I think it's going to be a trip to the mechanic for me

Thanks,
-Allen

 

Strange that there are no codes. I would question the capability of the OBDII scanner that you used.

Maybe a hose or something came lose. Sounds like something happened during acceleration that is now causing the engine to run rough.

You need to get your hands on a vag-com.

 

i believe the plugs are just a 16mm deep well socket and a 12" extension but you'll need something to get it out of the tunnel. and ya we're telling to not start the car because the belt maybe broken. you should check the belt when you check the plugs. there's 2 large black covers in the front of the car on the engine, they're held on by that you can stick a flat head in and just pry. if the belt is broken you can easily see it. i'm beginning to think you belt may have slipped causing your timing to be off. maybe that's why there's no codes

 

Hi hiwords,

I pulled off the engine covers and the serpentine belt in front looks fine (it was just replaced back in January). I didn't completly pop off the covers for the timing belt, but I popped the clamps and pried it open enough to see inside and it looked fine (taut and in the track) as far as i could see on both sides.

I'm going to try replacing the spark plugs today and see if that helps. If that doesn't work, I think I'll try the wires and coil pack next, but those are apparently hard to find. Even the local Audi dealer doesn't have them in stock. Is it true that the wires typically don't ever need to be replaced? (That's what the parts guy at the Audi dealer just told me when I called for pricing.)

Any suggestions on aftermarket versions of wires or coil packs? Advance Auto says they can order me a "BWD" coil pack for $200 whereas the dealer quoted $375...

Thanks,
-Allen