I am the proud new owner of a 1996 Audi A4, Front Wheel Drive, 5-speed, 2.8 V6 12-Valve. I love my car so far, and it appears to have been maintained well and cared for. I have been reading the manual and trying to learn everything I can about it. I am wondering if anyone here can help me with a couple of things:

1- When I start the car, where the trip odometer is, it will say "1n2" for awhile, and I read in the owners manual that this means it needs to be serviced, and additional work may need to be done. I am wondering if there is anyway to reset this myself? Is there a tool I can buy? I am going to tune up the car myself (new plugs, wires, fuel and air filter), as I have read bad things about the local Audi dealership. Should I replace anything else while I am at it?

2- The exhaust system sounds like it has a little leak and it is rattling really bad, especially once the car is warmed up. I have not really had a chance to lift the car up yet to look really close, but it sounds like the rattle is coming from the catalytic converter. This is a bit strange to me, since the car recently passed the state emissions inspection. Does anyone know a good place to buy stock exhaust parts cheaper than the dealer? Or if there is a known culprit in the A4 exhaust I should look at?

3- The driver's side power window sometimes will not go up, it acts as if it is getting stuck on something or the motor runs really slowly. I have the auto up/down feature enabled, and it will not go auto up when it is having a bad moment. It goes up a little, not even half way, and then will go down. The only way for me to get it to go up when it is acting stuck is to hold the button and make it go up slowly, and when that does not work, going up little by little, so as to not wear down the power window motor. Going down, it is fine, and most of the time it works without incident, but then it has it's moments. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I have never owned an Audi or a German car for that matter, but I am in love with this car already, despite it needing a little TLC. Thanks in advance to anyone who offers any help or advice!

 

I will give you this advice.... they say you get what you pay for but that is not always true and exhaust is one of them. a custom bent exhaust is not only cheaper but will last you 3 times as long as a pre-bent system bought. the window sounds like a weak motor or a severely dirty track. you may be able to clean it but may also have to replace it if it is rusty. Can't help you with the trip meter as I am not familiar with that.

 

Hello and welcome!

1. The best advice if you want to DIY the car is purchase a VAG-COM from Ross-Tech. This tool plugs into the OBD II port, and will allow you to diagnose most anything electronics-related with your car yourself, plus reset the service interval reminders (and even modify when they occur).

2. Ditto on having a local cat-back exhaust made. Not too many pre-made options out there for the 12v other than a good local shop doing the work. Will cost less too. Plenty of threads on the forum regarding muffler choices, with Magnaflow being popular.

3. Most likely the window regulator. I would advise removing the door panel to check out, and get a new one before it also takes the motor out with it.

Cheers,

Steve

 

For your 1n2 thing try this:

http://www.audiworld.com/tech/elec26.shtml

JOsh

 

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I am going to try to get my car to Meineke this week to see what they say. Does anyone know how much a custom exhaust would run me? I finally looked under the car yesterday and both catalytic converters will need to be replaced, as well as the flex pipes and the rear connectors, so basically everything back to the resonator box! I have found replacement parts online, but I am wondering how many oxygen sensors I will need to buy (2 or 4?), and if anyone has done the universal sensors (how hard it is to splice in the wires?), or if anyone knows where I can get cheap direct fit ones. If I do get a custom exhaust, I just want it to sound stock, smooth and quiet. My dad seems to think that Meineke or Midas is going to come back with a price of like $1200, which I hope is not true. Say it is not so!

I also got to finally look at the engine good and take the covers off! It is actually easy to replace the plugs and whatnot! I am thrilled about that! I think my car needs a tune-up and I also noticed that the hose that runs from the air box to the intake is falling apart, and has holes in it, and has been duct-taped up by the previous owner. I am thinking my car will run so much better (and hopefully get a little better MPG) once I get a new one. I am checking around online, but does anyone know where I can get this? Otherwise I will have to order it from the rapist, I mean, the dealer. Going to check esctuning.com when I get done with this post.

I tried the computer reset thing on my car that ThePaintBall Guy suggested. It did not work, and I think it is because my car is older, and pulling out the brightness button actually moves my clock a minute forward, instead of tying into the computer. Looks like I will be investing into a VAG-COM soon!

I am very excited to see, feel, and hear how my car will drive after I get it all fixed and tuned up. I think it is going to PURRRRRRRR! And be more powerful! Thanks again for everyone's input, I really appreciate it!

 

Also..........does anyone have instructions on how to remove the instrument panel? I have a few bulbs out that I want to take care of. I also need to know where the cabin filter is and how I get to it. I am pretty sure the one in there now is old as dirt and smells and is probably breaking up in pieces and coming out of my vents. Any help is greatly appreciated!