2006 Audi A4 2.0 T

Brief History of problem.

Bought the car over a year ago. Great commuter car for a 45 minute commute. I have had a problem where if I drive a second time shortly after turning the car off (for example, I stop somewhere on the way home from my commute, or I go to the store or go get something to eat, etc.) then the following problems arise:

The car lurches and sputters

Scan showed Cylinder 4 misfire

I replaced both the spark plugs and the ignition coils, and there definitely was improvement, but my car would still sputter upon driving it a second time (see above.)

The problem worsened to where now my car starts to sputter while driving it the first time after about 30 minutes. My car will start to sputter and shake as I start to accelerate. Here's the weird part: the sputtering and shaking only happens when I press the gas petal lightly. If I continue to press down on the gas petal, then the car accelerates without sputtering and shaking--however the car doesn't accelerate as fast as it should. Once this problem starts, then my car sputters and shakes at red lights while idling. Here's another weird part: if I turn off my car at the light and turn it on again, then the sputtering / shaking at idle goes away. However, the sputtering upon light acceleration remains.

Since this new problem has developed, I have replaced the ignition coils with new coils yet the symptoms are exactly the same. I checked the spark plugs and they look good. They are also gapped correctly.

I've read quite a bit in these forums and others and here's the possibilities I've come up with:

Wiring problem
Vacuum problem
Temperature sensor problem

I'm hoping that the added detail will help with a proper diagnosis. Thank you in advance for any help. If the problems seems obvious, please bear in mind that I am a very low level mechanic. Like level 2 maybe on an 80 scale.

 

Are you still getting cylinder 4 misfires....?