Weird Problem, Please Help Me!!

[johal87]

Hi all,

im back again and ive got another a3, after various other cars im back where i started lol

brought a audi a3 2.0 tdi sport dsg yesterday
53 plate, with 59k on the clock, mot tax and good service record!

took it for a test drive, was abit smokey, but ok, drive fine, gearbox WAS fine...

brought the car as it was all ok bar a few marks..

getting out of essex the DIS started flashing were the gears are located on the screen, and i couldnt change gear? engine managment light came on.. so i stopped the car and rang the guy, he goes its never happened before, and you took it on a good run your self and it was fine..

turned the car off and on.. managment light remained, but i could drive the car as normal, 2hours and 15 minutes on the motorway, car was fine.. doing the speed limit of cause!

Next day.. started the car, light remained but it drove fine.. 5minutes down the road on the way to work, the engine managment light went off, and i thought yes wow its all sorted, maybe it was just because it has not been driven in a while?

finshed work, it all started again, about 6 times in a hour..

any advice would be great people! and sorry its long, but i just thought i would try and answer everything once

 

[Staz]

Have you had any luck on this mate?

 

[10blazin]

looks like the guy is a dishonest shyte and ripped you off , i feel for you mate i really do thats right out of order id paint strip his other car to shyte .....

 

[Johnny Bravo]

Not good! Better go to a service to test it for errors. Ask them to pay extra attention to the gearbox.

 

[Staz]

looks like the guy is a dishonest shyte and ripped you off , i feel for you mate i really do thats right out of order id paint strip his other car to shyte .....

We are not in the habit of recommending that people cause criminal damage on this forum.

That's a warning 10Blazin.

 

[gixxer600k4]

do you get any juddering on tick over? what's your fuel consumption like?

 

[10blazin]

We are not in the habit of recommending that people cause criminal damage on this forum.

That's a warning 10Blazin.

sorry staz i stepped over the mark there ..???

about the car just take it on the chin mate ....hope you get it sorted and its not to expensive i know id be straight back to the guy though

 

[Igdos]

Hi all,

getting out of essex the DIS started flashing were the gears are located on the screen, and i couldnt change gear?

Downer this happening so soon after you buying it.

If this happens it is a fault with the DSG control system - those lights flashing means it's entered a back-up programme which will keep the car in third gear no matter what you do, to protect the gearbox and engine from the fault in the control system.

Guess it's a dealer job to check over.

So I think it's more electronic rather than mechanical fault - hopefully they're easier to fix!

 

[Twizzler]

You have two problems there, the most expensive of which will be the replacement of the Mechatron. This is the unit that controls the gearbox and costs around £2k to replace.

 

[Hastie1776]

I would take it to the orignal owners garage as the garage would of had past history on the fault if he'd taken it in for tests.(whihch I bet he would of) Check you books to see who serviced it locally and I bet thats the garage he would have taken it to.. If he said it didnt have the fault but the Audi dealers know about it then a visit should be made.
Just a thought.

 

[Staz]

I was thinking about this earlier. It's a real bad situation to be in. You test drive the car, it's ok so you buy it and then there's a problem that apparently wasn't there before.

It's a classic con but with modern cars the problems are generally more expensive to fix. This is an amazing advert for VCDS if ever I saw one.

I would recommend that anyone looking to buy a new Audi/VW etc either buys a VCDS cable themselves or pays someone to come with them to test the car and find any fault codes. The outlay far outweighs the cost of a major repair!

You could say that the seller may have VCDS also and could clear all the codes. Well yeah he could, but just make sure you take the car for a comprehensive test drive and then test it again. It's not fool proof but it's something at least!

 

[Johnny Bravo]

A VCDS is not enough. When buying a SH car one MUST take it to a dealer's service to check it in detail. I'm telling you that there are ways to hide damage from VCDS. A missing airbag can be hidden with an electric resistance.
Many people here in RO bought card from DE that proved to be total wreaked and repaired.

 

[johal87]

hi guys!

sorry i havent been on, so heres my update

1, i cant really do anything, "sold as seen" but.. when the times right, i think justice should be done, its only fair..

2, the consumption on its fine i think, 32mpg around town? 49/50 on the motorway?

3, i've noticed, if i drive the car "normal" it doesnt mess up *touch wood*, and only messes up if i put my foot down hard for a while.. like im putting to much stress on it?

4, i could try and chase up some old service history, but i really doubt i can do anything with it, as its a private sale

5, i had the car checked by a friend of mine, with VCDS i believe, he didnt have a full look, but the faults that came up were to do with the gearbox, and it says the electronic module is defective?? and the relay has gone on the headlamp washers, and a few others which to do with a dead battary, but they all cleared fine, and they came up again..

6, knowing its a module? could i point it down to a single componant? or would i need the whole electrics box?

7, i wouldnt say theres a judder, but the rev counter is abit lumpy on stand still, and speedo its a little jumpy under 60..? like it wont stay still at 50, it will jump between 49-51

and today its only messed up once, i've done a good 50 miles over the day, varied speeds, areas, etc, and its been fine to be honest

thanks for all the comments guys

 

[Staz]

A VCDS is not enough. When buying a SH car one MUST take it to a dealer's service to check it in detail. I'm telling you that there are ways to hide damage from VCDS. A missing airbag can be hidden with an electric resistance.
Many people here in RO bought card from DE that proved to be total wreaked and repaired.

I don't think for the standard private sale you are going to encounter many instances of people trying to pull the wool to such an extent.

And realistically you are not going to take a car to Audi for a once over when buying private either.

VCDS is the next best thing for electronic and internals faults. Bodywork and damage is another matter altogether that everyone should be looking out for on a purchase anyway.

 

[JST_A3]

6, knowing its a module? could i point it down to a single componant? or would i need the whole electrics box?

It's a very complex module, a combination of electronic & hydraulic components, so probably not possible to do any fault-finding or repairs.

A number of failures of this unit have been reported, here's a thread from the VW GTI forum that might be of interest:

http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56598

Steve

 

[jb111s]

When buying a 2nd hand car privately get the AA or similar to check it out beforehand. For about £130 they'll check it all over thoroughly & also plug in diagnostics to check everything is ok.

When I saw my car I paid the guy a deposit, insisted on the AA inspecting it, it got checked over & got a 20 odd page report & paid for it in full the next day.

 

[johal87]

i agree, i should have had the car checked properly..

update.. drove the car again today, and its going fine.. it just seems to happen if i stress the car out..

and the engine managment light has gone off