I have had my A3 1.8TFSI S line for 6 months but have experienced a lack of power in 1st gear when pulling off from junctions. traffic lights etc. This only occurs in wet conditions. Once 2nd is selected it drives like it should do. I Have had it tested for any fault codes at my local independent garage and nothing came up. Anybody else had a similar issue in the wet?
I would imagine given it is FWD that in the rain the the traction control is restricting power to the front wheels as it detects slip. Once in 2nd gear traction control is not needed and away you go. To solve it, avoid hard throttle in low gears in the rain...or buy a Quattro
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Maybe...
More than likely, but then this would be accompanied by a tell tale flashing idiot light on the dash.
Worn out ditchfinders would produce the same effect as the traction control.
2 things to try; 1/ look for the idiot light when pulling away in first, and 2/ turn off the traction control (push and hold the button until you get a message that says something like "oh noes, you is gonna crash real bad if you isn't careful") and see if it still does it.
The OP has gone to the trouble of getting the car plugged in though, so I think he'd probably have noticed the idiot light flashing at him if he was just being lead footed. This kind of rules out traction control intervention...
There may also be another cause though, which I admit is pure speculaution on my part and would be considered outlandish if it weren't already common practice, and if VAG hadn't already proven themselves so adept at writing software that does funny things to engines. (did anyone else read the article about VW group cheating in the Sunday times last weekend? If I didn't already own one, I don't think I'd be buying one)
Just for a moment then, and because I've got the day off tomorrow and am well into a four can Stella sesh, let's hypothesise...
Given the sophistication and systems integration now built into these cars, and I think VAG are pretty much leading the field in terms of just how many bits of its cars talk to each other, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that some bright spark has decided to limit torque in first gear in certain situations. The use of multiple engine maps is now commonplace, with some manufacturers of certain bright red shouty Italian cars even going to the trouble of utilising a different engine map for each gear. I first came across a simpler version of this about 10 years ago in a Mazda 3 MPS though. The Mazda 3 lacked the AWD system of its larger stablemate, so it would deliberately limit torque in first gear to give the driver a fighting chance of getting off the line using only the front wheels whilst being equipped with an engine that developed rather more twistiness than the S3 of the day.
Could there a similar system on the A3 being driven by the OP? A rain and light sensor or even a simple "wipers on" signal could be used as a prompt to limit torque... Things like this have been done before for various reasons. Mazda used it to stop owners turning expensive tyres to smoke plumes, but my favourite was the Cadillac V8 in the '90s's that owners found ran like an absolute pig when the air con was turned off, stalling, stuttering and lacking in power. Weirdly though it was just fine when the air con was on. It turned out the emissions tests dictated that air con must be turned off, so Cadillac used the air con switch to to do something very VW, and change engine maps to something more environmentally friendly during official testing. Cadillac also echoed VW's efforts by getting caught...
How to test? If you have a rain sensor, cover it up so the car thinks it's not raining. If you have manu-matic wipers, turn them off. Now try pulling away in first and see if the problem is still there...
Can number 4 beckons though, so I'm not driving anywhere...
It's not the traction control as I'm talking about normal driving from a standing start. I've seen the traction control light flash twice in 6 months ownership. I ain't no boy racer. The tyres are SP4's with less than 4,000 miles on them as they were put on at my insistence when I purchased the car. Before the fault codes were read I thought it might be the coil packs but nothing came up on the reader. Interesting theory about the engine maps but surely it would affect all other similar engined models and I've not come across any other similar experiences on the forum.
Thanks for your crass banal comment. Really enjoyed your contribution to my genuine query.
Thanks for your crass banal comment. Really enjoyed your contribution to my genuine query.
Coil packs would give you a noticeable misfire, an engine reluctant to rev, and would definitely result in a fault code.
I don't know if youve read many of the posts on this forum, or intend making many more of your own, but it might be better to wait a while before telling members their responses are crass or banal.
Put yourself in our shoes, a newb just asked us why his car won't pull away as quickly in the rain. If that's not a question that rings the alarm bells for potential boy-racers, halfwits or trolls I don't know what is... In much the same way as its wise not to complain about the service in the restaurant until you're sure no-one can spit in your food, it's best not to alienate the guys on a car forum who you're asking for help until after they've helped you...
as usual a great insight......
you should partake of more 4 can wife beater induced posts
I think there's a sweet spot somewhere around 1/3 of the way through the third one. Interest, insight and tolerance decline rapidly after that point...
My car seems to lack torque in gears 1 & 2 but above that - whoosh. I've read that in the diesel cars (not sure about petrol) that this is deliberately programmed into the OE ECU map to protect the clutch - however, I've neither seen anything definitive on VAG headed paper nor anything about it being rain sensor sensitive. 
Hm, seems strange that you'd feel a power decline if you haven't driven it aggressively enough to have the TC come on more than twice. Those 1.4's are quick engines, assuming you have the 150 COD? They are very happy to spin the fronts, lots of torque.
The 1.4 S&Tonic I had would spin it's wheels with very little provocation. I found it quite irritating trying to find the balance point where a sufficiently brisk departure devolved into a tyre squealing display of twattishness.
The OP has the 1.8 manual though. I haven't driven that engine in any VAG platform.
My 2 litre scirocco used to get very upset if I floored in in 1st or even second, which is one reason I switched to the S3. It's entirely possible when it's ******* down with these turbo motors
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Yep, I can back that up. I had the 122ps and it was a good little engine and would spin its wheels with ease. I recently drove my grandparents S Tronic COD, I was amazed just how easily that spun up off the line!
I have driven a 1.8T in a TT, that was a quick car by any standards so I'd expect that it would be much more likely to suffer from the TC intervening.
Wifes manual TT is the 1.8T and no "power loss" issues encountered on that. It is however an excellent engine.
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I had this issue on my 1.8 tfsi also (in the rain too weirdly enough) never got to the bottom of it even with Audi, car felt like it had about 50bhp in 1st gear then come 2nd gear its got full power. Turning off traction control seems to fix the issue, which isnt ideal obviously. Especially if you floored it, as it would wheel hop like crazy, which feels horrible.
I'll try turning off the traction control next time it rains as GSB & SJ43 suggested. Apart from this issue, i'm more than happy with the car and its performance. Thanks for all the comments.
I had the 1.4 TFSI 122ps in 8P A3 guise (at the same time @Joetidman had his scirocco) and it span its fronts with ease from a standing start, much much harder in my S3
