I have a 2004 A4 3.0L Quattro Wagon with 117000 miles on it.

I was driving this morning, and after 1 miles of leaving from my house, the car started sputtering while I was driving and the yellow check engine light started blinking. I pulled into the turning lane to get off the main road, and as I turned and pressed the accelerator, the car would barely move, it was sputtering with almost no power.

I got it to the side of the road and had it towed to my house. When I turn on the car it idles really low and fluctuates between 450-600 rpms and sputters and shakes.

Any idea what the problem could be? Tow truck guy said it might be fuel pump or spark plugs, or maybe the OBDII sensor? I checked the service records (I bought it used a year ago and have all the service records) and the OBD sensor doesn't look like it's ever been replaced. Don't those usually go out after 100k miles?

Please help...thanks.

 

Since you have the check engine light on is better to pull the codes and take it from there.
go to your closest autozone or advance and have them scan the car for you or if you have a scanner do it your self
I know that when you have a blinking cel means that there is a misfire but there could be more.

 

So my friend and an OBD II scanner and here's what it said

P0300 Random / Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected
P0301 Cylinder 1 Misfire Detected
P0304 Cylinder 4 Misfire Detected
P0305 Cylinder 5 Misfire Detected
P0306 Cylinder 2 Misfire Detected

More info on the problem, I had 1/8 of a tank of gas left, and my fuel filter has been humming for 8 months when the fuel is below 1/4 (I even changed a new fuel filter 3 months ago, so it's probably the fuel pump that's humming).

After car was towed home, it sat for 4 or 5 hours before my friend came over with his OBD II scanner, it started fine this time but showed the codes above. My friend though there might be some debris kicking up in the fuel tank since it was low and suggested I fill it up and see what happens. We went to fill it up and then re-ran the codes. NO ERROR Codes. Is that weird?

He suggested I changed the spark plugs & spark wires. The last time the plugs were done were at 75000 miles (car has 117k miles now), don't think the wires have been changed.

Any insight from anyone based on the above? Thanks!

 

i would for one order some new coilpacks. thats first. But defintly order a pump also. Yours is on its way out and will leave your stranded one day. Ask me how i know! Either way its a simple install on the pump. Just gotta follow the instructions on the diy to get the pump out which takes a little twisting and turning in the right way.

 

Thanks for the reply. Is there any way to diagnose if the loss in power is in fact the fuel pump? Sounds like I need one anyway, but if I replace that, what if that's not the issue in the loss of power?

I'm reading some forum messages regarding people with the same symptoms and it sounds like the coilpacks were the issue and it's a known problem with Audis...

Have you experienced the coilpack issue before?

 

Someone from another message forum mentioned that it's probably not the coil packs as filling the gas tank appears to have solved the problem for now. I guess logically that makes sense because if it was the ignition coils that were bad, they would cause misfires whether or not the gas tank was full or almost empty right?

Sounds like the fuel pump might be the more probable cause. Anyone experience the same symptoms I had from a failing fuel pump?

 

okay easiest way to know if your fuel pump is going out is that you hear a whining noise from the trunk. But an other way to test if your coilpacks are bad is to swap cylinders. then rescan. IF the misfires follow to packs u know its those. But you seem to have multiple problems with your car if u are getting that whine noise along with those codes.

 

Well there are NO error codes anymore after I filled up the gas tank, the car is running fine. We rescanned twice and there's no errors, so I don't think I even need to swap out the coilpacks to test those.

The whining has been going on since i bought the car 9 months ago, but has been working fine since then. One mechanic told me just to not let the gas tank run too low and I don't have to worry about the noise unless that noise changes or something else happens (maybe what happened to me is the 'something else that happens')...

 

well just keep an eye on those and maybe its a safe bet to be sure those coilpacks are the revised ones. If not u can go to audi and they will replace them for you for free under the warranty.

 

oh, what do you mean audi will replace the coil packs for free under warranty? i don't have any warranty left as the car is 2004. was there a recall?