Last night I bought a '97 Audi A4 B5 Quattro 1.8T. Everything was good during the test drive, no lights on the dash. It drove smooth and I was happy, so I bought it.

Not even 5 minutes after driving away from the sellers house, coolant light pops up. Oh great. I keep driving a little more until the coolant temp gauge hits "H". I pull over and let the engine cool down.

I keep driving about 4 miles down the road and now the oil pressure light pops up. Wonderful. I manage to get to a gas station and fill the *empty* coolant tank up with coolant. Coolant light is still on, and car still overheated after driving 3 miles, and also the check engine light popped on as well!

Unfortunately she couldn't make her maiden voyage home, and I had to tow my new Audi back to my house

I don't understand, as the car was idling at the sellers house for over an hour plus with no issue, but as soon as I drive it every issue pops up.

So now I have a Oil Pressure Light (red), Coolant Level Light (red), and Check Engine Light. Only the coolant light and OP lights illuminate when first starting the car however.

Hopefully the gurus here can help me out! I really enjoyed the 15 minutes I got to drive my car, it was one of the nicest driving experiences I've had so far!

Thank you.

 

Yeesh, that's about as bad as a first drive can get...

Sounds like you're leaking coolant. You'll have to get underneath to see where it's coming from.

Oil pressure light may be something IN the oil that's blocking passages, or it may be VERY low oil (semi-low oil would just give you an orange light, not red).

CEL is probably from the oil or coolant and may be secondary to one of those, but I would find somebody with a scan tool to check just in case. It may also give you a lead into what caused the oil issues.

Also, and this is VERY minor considering the circumstances, but I doubt you got audi-safe coolant from the gas station. If you weren't aware, regular "green" coolant isn't good for audis so try to not use that stuff. It won't immediately destroy your engine so if it's that or nothing you may as well throw some in, but if you have to make sure you do so only briefly and drain/rinse it as soon as reasonably possible.

 

Yes, when I first poured in the coolant, it spilled all over the road. A hose wasn't attached, but I got it back in place. It's not secured however, needs to be clamped down for sure. There's still a leak somewhere though, as the tank is empty again. Is there a difference between a flashing light and a steady coolant light? Mine is always flashing red.

Seller told me the oil was changed 1 week before the sale, but I'll take that with a grain of salt. The dipstick showed good levels though.

I was thinking the same thing. Wasn't too worried about the check engine as it probably is caused by the other two problems. I'll check with my OBD scanner and see what's up.

Yep, put in green coolant. I'll definitely flush it and put in the right stuff for these cars.

Also found out this thing has a slew of other problems as well. Power locks don't lock, moon roof not working, mirrors don't move, map lights, etc. I'll get this thing whipped back into shape somehow though.

Thanks for the reply.

 

Oh, I also wanted to mention this car has 220,000 miles on it.

 

Flashing temperature Icon is low coolant level, solid red temperature Icon is overheat warning. If the tank is full make sure the sender under that tank is actually plugged in.

 

Wouldn't surprise me if the CEL is for cam phasing problems, as the cam chain tensioner is driven by oil pressure. If you do have a sludge issue or oil blockage, and it lost pressure, your can timing goes to hell quickly.

 

Well, it's flashing for now. I am not sure where the coolant is going, I can't find any leak. Although I have not looked too hard. I bought a new coolant flange, seems like a common part to replace to repair this.

I think I do have sludge issue. Maybe my head gaskets are gone. I'll keep trying to figure this out. I like this Audi, it has alot of problems but I'll try my best to fix it. It is my first European car, bit different that the JDM cars I'm used to.

 

Take a look at the sticky post up top from auditech79 regarding sludge. That may be a good route to go if you do have that issue.

 

Just an update.

I did a nice coolant flush today and refilled the system with the right coolant, some Prestone (orange 50/50 mix). Took a 8 mile drive and the car was perfect. Temps stayed right where they should be. Not a single light on the dash. I'll keep observing this little B5, hopefully I can nurse her back to health.

 

I'm concerned the issues will come right back. It sounds like if you refill everything it will run fine, like it did recently for you, and it did during the test drive. Keep a REALLY close eye on it and don't stray too far from home until you're sure things are fixed.