Hey peeps... new here so go gentle on me...

My service was due a month ago... but knowing I've got my bonus due in a week's time, I waited, knowing I can get the full service, 4 new tyres, mot, and new tax disc in one big hit...

Unfortunately, yesterday, when I started her up, the engine sounded like it was clattering... i want to say like a diesel, but when I opened the bonnet, it was just a very noisy clattering noise, and when I revved the engine it sounder better, but when it dropped back to idle, the noise was more apparent.

No warning lights on, and any time it's asked for oil, I've always topped it up.

Once the initial start up idle settled down to a normal idle of say 800rpm, it seemed ok, so I went for a drive. Then after parking up got back in my car a bit later, restarted the car and suddenly the engine note had changed, and the exhaust note was deeper, the engine felt lacking power and the idle was now around 700/750rpm.

What the heck is going on here?!

I haven't driven it since because I'm worried if I do, I'll do some kind of fatal damage... any of this sound familiar? Something to worry about or not? Help would be appreciated!

 

Rule no 1: never wait until she "asks" for oil.

Are you seriously that addled that you don't check your oil level using the dipstick at least once a month or 1000 miles, whichever comes first? Anyway, if you've waited for this light to come on before adding or checking oil, then you have probably been doing damage to your engine for while.

As for the rest, if you haven't stopped driving her and haven't made an appointment at the dealer or your mechanic, do it ASAP, and don't continue to drive it.

 

Thats not good, definately tow it to a mechanic.

 

Earliest Audi can see the car is Friday... so will take it down there first thing... not gonna drive it at all between now and then...

They said the warning light is the engine management light and it could be a number of things... but an inspection will tell me more... I guess that's best or we'll just be guessing otherwise.

Bad timing though regardless... 4 new tyres and a full Audi service was going to set me back the best part of £1100 and now I'm wondering what else awaits me... supposed to be relocating house in 3 weeks too! Happy days! LOL

 

Result. Went to the garage today after a recommendation from a friend. Before we'd even started this guy noticed a piece of plastic in the engine bay that was sticking out from the radiator and into a pulley and the drive belt. "Well that's where the noise is coming from, so problem 1 sorted" and he ripped the piece of plastic out. Luckily for me it hadn't snapped the bloody belt or my engine would have been toast.

Then he hooked the car up to the computer and logged in - turns out a camshaft sensor on the B bank of the engine has gone - that's the bank for cylinders 1,2 and 3 on the left side of the engine. This sensor is key to sending information to the engine management on what the camshaft is doing, what the exhaust gases are doing I think, and consequently allows the engine management to adjust the timing of the engine and the cylinders accordingly. The engine has variable valve timing too, so without this sensor, the engine misfires and goes lumpy and splutters, and hence I was so concerned.

In fact, to protect itself, apparently the engine goes into a kind of default mode called "limp mode" where you have enough power to get to a garage, but it won't allow you access to all the horses.

After talking to Audi parts supply, he can get the sensor for me tomorrow and it turns out he doesn't even need to take the engine apart, he can just lift the car up, pull the old sensor out, and put a new one in, and it should instantly clear the fault and return the engine management to normal! Audi were gonna charge me £100 just to tell me that and I bet you they would have told me I needed 101 different other things doing too...

Not only that, I needed 4 tyres, so he's going to do them £100 cheaper than Audi which more than covers the cost of the sensor! So bit of a result I'd say! Panic over!

 

Congrats on the good outcome!

 

That's great that you got it sorted!

You must be chuffed now.

 

Ok I was chuffed, but the problem is back...

Picked the car up and when the guy from the garage started her up, it sounded like a bloody tractor and it completely took him and me by suprise after hearing her running sweetly moments before.

Further investigation has shown that we think there's issues with the cam shafts and the associated chains and tensioners.

If the tensioners don't keep the cam chains under perfect tension, they can rattle around until the oil pressure comes up. So revving the engine will help and cause the noise to disappear, but on a low idle, it rattles like hell.

This is a problem since the 3.2 V6 FSI uses variable valve timing, and so it's still not driving correctly.

But good news is the part is £133 and 1 hours labour and they don't have to break the engine apart.... so irritating, but glad I've found the issue out finally. Keep you posted. Hoping we've nailed it once and for all!!!!

 

Oh and I'm told this problem has happened loads on the 1.8T's and 2.0T's, but not he 3.2 V6's... so if your car sounds like a tractor, I could potentially save you a lot of hassle in figuring it out...

Also key to note is that the FSI's drink oil. My car needed 6.5 litres in the service. And the V6 and V8 (as in the RS4) will tend to drink a litre of oil every 1-3000 miles depending on how quick you like to drive...

So it's back to basics and doing oil checks every month - letting the oil go low is probably the main reason I'm having this cam issue and my technician reckons the main culprit was the previous owner because it's easy to take a new car and just drive it.

Never mind. Lessons learnt.

 

Previous "owner" neglect is always a concern when purchasing a used vehicle, especially if it was leased. The leaseholder often could give two ***** about what happens to the car after it leaves them, so basic maintenance that an owner might do is ignored. This is wrong on many levels, but you can't change people.

Anyway, wow 6.5 litres...that's bad...the full capacity of the 3.2 FSI is 8.1. Another incentive to do those checks regularly.

Glad you got it sorted.