How to drive after clearing any engine fault codes? Like you stole it?

S3 Paul

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Bit of a strange one... today i was told that once you clear any fault codes from say the engine section on vag com that the car will be in "learn mode"?
so if you let your nan drive... the car will almost feel unmapped the first few times you "give it some "
So the person claimed... drive it hard once you clear the codes for say 20 mins... this way the ecu will strangley realise you drive like a twit and give you full power all the time?

I dont see any logic in this and dont like driving like a muppet on demand ,
Could you imagine that "chat" with officer dibble?
 
It does adapt to your driving style, but a quick mad blast would do little i would have thought you will always end up in traffic and it still adapting, I've noticed every time i reset the adaptations it seems livelier , probably because of the slow commute 5 days a week.
 
I hope somebody can answer it .
Full on yes or no,
I dont want to be doing just because somebody said it would help
 
ECU is constantly adjusting... it will adapt initially (which is typically the biggest step in adaption) then everytime you drive will checkand adjust if need be...

<tuffty/>
 
it's 100% true, although nowhere near as obvious on me7x as it is on ME3x

My daily is SLIGHTLY like this, but really not that much, the track car on the other hand, if you cruise all the way to work, then nail it in the last few miles, it's flat as anything. a few miles of giving it the beans and it perks up a treat.


This isn't just based on the butt dyno, but also seen on the boost guage too, 14-15psi max after a 1 hour motorway cruise, then after 10 minutes of thrashing it see's 17-18psi, sometimes even more
 
I think it's more of a throttle map thing that changes, you don't get more power as such, but if you drive fast, the throttle response is quicker to react.
 
load of rubbish

You know, every time you say something like that you are totally wrong.

As Prawn said, this is true. My car does it after a fault code clear it goes like **** and then for the couple of hours whilst I am hooning it (I only fault clear it on a sunday before a drive tbh!) it flys but then on the slow roll home letting it cool down it will not boost if I ask it too. At ADI as well it went really well, I cleared the fault codes after the first session and went for a spin with a couple of people and it was LOADS quicker than it's first track session after an economy drive up there. And when I drive it daily it takes 5/6 spools to be PROPERLY quick which is annoying, but it does help econ' on a daily basis. I'm getting 22.2MPG average at the mo, which is nice.
 
Its more of an issue on DBW cars as they have full control over the throttle, but may also affect the others. The ECU "learns" and adjusts the throttle response curve and boost request depending on how you drive the car.

What that means though, is that it doesnt matter if you drive it hard immediately after resetting it, if you then pootle around for many miles it will soften everything back off again.
 
You know, every time you say something like that you are totally wrong.

As Prawn said, this is true. My car does it after a fault code clear it goes like **** and then for the couple of hours whilst I am hooning it (I only fault clear it on a sunday before a drive tbh!) it flys but then on the slow roll home letting it cool down it will not boost if I ask it too. At ADI as well it went really well, I cleared the fault codes after the first session and went for a spin with a couple of people and it was LOADS quicker than it's first track session after an economy drive up there. And when I drive it daily it takes 5/6 spools to be PROPERLY quick which is annoying, but it does help econ' on a daily basis. I'm getting 22.2MPG average at the mo, which is nice.

ok - so what you are saying is if i drive around slowly after clearing fault codes and then decide to do a 0 - 60 sprint, or 60 - 100 sprint, it'll be slower than if i had ragged the car after i cleared the fault codes and attempted it?

please someone test this theory.......
 
A bit off topic but.....


Has anyone else noticed how good the car feels after you do a throttle body reset in vagcom?
 
ok - so what you are saying is if i drive around slowly after clearing fault codes and then decide to do a 0 - 60 sprint, or 60 - 100 sprint, it'll be slower than if i had ragged the car after i cleared the fault codes and attempted it?

please someone test this theory.......

Yes, absolutely, 100%.

It's measurable on my track car on the boost guage, drive it softly for an hour and get get 3-4psi LESS boost than when it's being thrashed, it then takes a good 10-15 minutes of thrashing for it to wake up and start boosting properly again

It's not just a fault code reset thing though, it's constantly learning and adapting
 
right, so the fact it adapts ALL the time and not just based on the first 20 minutes means my statement of "load of rubbish" was correct.......

remmeber the op asked if the first 20 minutes of driving would reflect the cars performance perminatley!
 
well, it's not a 'load of rubbish' completely, because how you drive after the first reset will be how it learns initially, and will effect it's power, but you are indeed correct in saying that it won't be a long term thing, as it will adapt over time as you change your driving style
 
i was on my iphone when i posted that "load of rubbish" s ocouldnt be bothered to write a long reply lolol
 
I have noticed this too my AUM goes like a t**t after codes are wiped compared to before ! Then sumtimes seems sluggish i thought it was summin wrong but when codes are cleared give it a hammerin and HELLO ! ! !
 
Also obviously at nite cold dense air will make cars run better my A3 goes much much better at nite would i get this performance with a FMIC ????
 
So going by my logic if you want your car to perform at its best you need to drive it hard all the time? Happy days.
 
You guys should try resseting the throttle position adaptation before driving off and see if your car 'feels' quicker!

DBW cars apply only, insert carkey into the ignition and turn to 'on' position so the dash lights up, but don't start the car. Now fully press the throttle to max for 5 secs, then release it for 5 secs before starting the car up.

Feel the difference!(most noticeable if you have been driving in traffic or just come off a long run on the motorway!)

Enjoy. :)
 
Think i will give this a go tomorrow.