I have just been told that my 2002 A4 3.0L cannot be diagnosed at an Audi dealer in Ontario because it has an after-market stereo. They say the only codes they get back on their diagnostic equipment is "no stereo found" or something like that. They say it would make no difference to remove the stereo, the same results will be received. So now they say the only thing they can do to determine why there's a Check Engine light and Air Bags light is to manually trace.

This makes no sense to me. How could the diagnostic equipment be so useless?

Any suggestions?

Cheers,
Russ

 

my suggestion would be take it to an autozone or pepboys or oriely or advance and have them scan the car. Then get the print out and take it back to the audi dealership rub it in their face and laugh and tell them to shove it. But thats just me.
But i would check under the seat and make sure the airbag plug is plugged in right.
DIY: B6/B7 Airbag light (Audi TSB)

 

So to close the thread, after insisting they had to be able to do something to tell me what problems my car had, they reported (2 hours later) that they had been able to by-pass the aftermarket radio by disconnecting it and shorting a connection. Funny, as it took me some 15 minutes to find The "Aftermarket Radio Problem" over at Vag Com producers Ross-Tech. Gotta love it when dealer service people are that clueless.

I'm going to check on the air-bag igniter issue myself; first by checking the plug connections, and then replacing the connector if it seems warranted...thanks pa4ul!!

Finally, my CEL was, they say, the result of 2 bad catalytic converters (and some value, haven't got the actually diagnostic output yet.) Total cost to repair the issues was some C$4000...so I told them to take a hike!

My experience with Audi Service (up here in Ontario, Canada) has totally sucked. I feel like they only really know VW and haven't got a clue, or care, when it comes to Audis. Guess I'll go looking at threads on vag com and see about finding someone to help me deal with these issues outside of a dealership.

Cheers,
Russ

 

well what code is on the cats. IS it the p0420 one or the other for just the 02 sensor. Cuz the cats and sensors throw two different codes depending on which is bad. U can always go for hfc that are only about 250 a piece. But the install on a 3.0 is a pain from what ive heard from others. Ive only worked on a3.0 a few times and let me tell u that motor is crammed in there. Eek! Either way feel free to ask questions here too. Alot of guys are really bright and we also have some certified audi techs on the site aswell. There is a plethora of info on here just gotta poke around a bit.

 

Well, first, should I be asking these questions in this thread? If not, should I make a new post and, if so, in a different category?

For now, as I said, I don't have the diagnosis report. Unfortunately, I'm trying to get the car ready to have a breathalizyer installed and so I can't drive. I had a friend take it to the dealership. I asked him to be sure he got the diagnosis but I won't see it until Thursday.

I will say that this car has cost me next to nothing (apart from 2 plastic wiper motors), but in the last 6 months it has virtually fallen apart. I am the only owner, but in the last 6 months we had to replace the wiring harness in the driver's door as the wire casings turned to powder. We fixed that, but since that was done we have had no end of warnings. I have constantly thought that these reports were the result of more wires that have casings that failed. Who knows...seems Audi doesn't care.

I had thought this would be my car for a long time. Granted, 11 years is a long time, but I thought the quality that went into building it would've lasted me longer. Fixing all the wiring in the car isn't what I want to do for a living, but it seems I won't know what is truly wrong with the car if I don't...that sucks.

When I get the diagnosis report from the dealer (which I expect will include the codes, but that may be hopeful) I'll update the thread.

Thanks all.

Cheers,
Russ

 

Dang, just want to say that after re-reading my posts I sound really negative.

I have always loved my A4. I'ver never had a car that cost me so little, nor made me look so good.

I still think I made the right choice in buying my 2nd one (both new), but I do think that up here they've left us to either being ridiculously rich (which I used to be) or incredibly resourceful (which I now hope to become here). Take that for what it's worth to you. I feel Audi should do more to help us maintain our vehicles, but perhaps I'm outta touch.

Cheers,
Russ

 

owning an audi is a love hate relationship. Its a beautiful car that seems to never age. Sure it can be a pain in the **** but with a little tender love and care she will take care of you. The online community for this platform and brand is unreal. Wether it be audizine audiforums votex audiworld. Now these sites will pretty much give u any info u could ever want on the car including detailed descriptions diy articles to local g2g's. The community is always willing to help audi on the other hand throws us to the dogs. But the techs on each site are very savy and are always willing to help!