Hi all,

I have a 2001 A4 1.8T Quattro with 69,000k miles on it, I’ve owned it since new. I could use some advice really badly. Just had my check engine light come on, and start flashing. The Manual says not to drive it if that happens. Was close to an auto parts store, they checked it with their machine and the only code that came up was P0302, Cylinder 2 misfire detected. It runs very rough since that light came on about an hour ago. Could not find any shop open today to look at it.

The reason I am freaked out about this is a I have an interview for my dream job Monday morning at 9:00AM. I’ve been unemployed for more than six months now and I need this job.

The Manual says don’t drive it if the CEL is flashing. The interview is only about a mile (each direction, from my house). I thought about taking the bus or walking, but we have so much slush/snow here my shoes/suit would look like crap when I got there.

I guess my question is, is it safe to drive that distance an back then drive to the shop? I don’t want to do any more damage to the car, since like I said I’ve been out of work for six months, so I’d be screwed if it was the 2k like the last time I had work done on it.

Any advice, pretty freaked out since this job interview is the best (and pretty much only) thing I’ve had in the last several months.

The only other thing I have noticed is that starting about 10 days ago, when it’s really cold, sometimes I can’t get the car out of park (automatic). Just won’t move out, the little put your foot on the break light goes off, but shifter won’t move. Tried using my spare key that I’ve never really used, that seemed to work until this morning, same thing happened with the new key.

Have to turn it off/on a few times then it usually works, though this morning had to try for about 20 mins before finally worked. Is this somehow related?
Any advice is appreciated, a bit freaked out, don’t want to be late for my interview or show up looking like crap but also don’t want to ruin my car that’s paid off.

Thanks!

 

The misfire was probably caused by a bad coil pack in cylinder 2, you'll be fine driving it a couple miles that way.

If you have time (or desire) tomorrow to troubleshoot it yourself, you can try swapping the coil packs between cylinders 2 and 3. Clear the code and go for a short drive. If the misfire moves to cylinder 3, you've got yourself a bad coil pack.

Good luck with your interview!!

 

A new coil pack is around 35$ and really easy to change

 

Thanks CCA4!

Less freaked out now.

I'm not sure what coils even are So not sure I should go under the hood and mess with anything that might make it worse. I'm that guy who can't even nail something into the wall straight, not very mechanically inclined.

I do that the A4 Service Manual, maybe it has pictures and step by step directions, LOL.

 

1. Pop hood.
2. Remove engine cover
3. Unplug cylinder #2 and #3 coil pack connectors
4. Remove two (I believe 5mm) allen bolts holding coil pack down
5. Swap with #3 coil pack
6. Reverse procedure

Then see if the misfire pops up as P0303. If it does you need a new coil pack. With such low miles you could probably just replace the misfiring one without trouble. I just replaced my 4 original coil packs with 127xxx miles on them with Beru replacements when I had my misfire last month.

 

Cyl 1 is closest to the front of the car and count up as u move to the rear of the engine. I don't think 01 1.8's even have the bolts holding them down, if the coil packs don't have bolts just pull them up and out, disconnect the connector and swap 2 and 3. You may even get lucky and the parts store might help u change it I'm not sure though.

 

On that engine the coils have a recall so stop by your audi dealer and ask them to change them for free

 

Thats a good point, they did do a recall on coilpacks. Though if you've been getting regularly scheduled maintenance at an Audi dealer, they should have replaced them by now. If you don't feel comfortable messing with the motor, you should be fine to wait until after your interview. Just swing by your regular mechanic the next chance you get and tell him you think you've got a bad coil pack.

 

You guys are correct,my 01 A4 1.8T AWM Automatic was misfiring,turns out it was a bad coil pack.

I originally went to autozone and bought another coil pack for 23.00 and had it replaced by my mechanic but then i remembered about the recall,i said the hell with this!

I took it to my local Audi dealer and sure enough,they said my audi A4 is covered under the recall.

They simply told me to come back at 1:30 PM,wait in the lobby while my Audi A4 was serviced. I ate croissants and drank coffe as i waited

I was bored and i had my diggy cam around my neck,so i recorded for a few minutes,notice my A4 B5 in the lobby area with another Audi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk0mjAVZyBY

 

Hi all, thanks for the great advice/help.

I am going to try and fix it myself, my first ever car repair project. They have an Actron Scanner tool on sale at my local parts store, and with a coupon I also found I should be able to get it for less than $30.

So is this what I do:
Switch Coil pack from 2 to 3. Use scanner to clear code, drive around for a bit, see if light comes back on, check code. If P0303 then it’s the coil pack and I can just replace the one on Cylinder 3 now?

But if I get the same error code for Cylinder 2 even after that, would it be a spark plug issues, is that something I can replace just 1 of , or do they all need to match, so I have to get 4 and replace them all?

Thanks!

Off to parts store now.