Shaking and sputtering idle on startup ??? WTF??

[Runge]

Picked up an '11 A4 quattro last Tuesday. Have had this happen 4 times. Happened twice last week starting the car after work, and happened this morning when I started it (parked in garage overnight) and this evening when I started it after work. Fairly annoying. Car has 700km on it right now so it's not carbon buildup like has been suggested.

Has been humid here lately but it doesn't do it all the time. I've also got a vibration in the seat from 95-125km/h which tends to go away around 130. Thinking a rear tire out of balance? Was thinking that would have been caught on the pdi???? Can't say I'm really pleased but I love the car. Just a few wrinkles.

see if it does tomorrow morning after it rained this afternoon. now for speed, try different sections of the 417. I found that certain parts I would get vibrations but other parts of 417 it would be smooth.

[JMMDMD]

I'll let you know tomorrow morn. I left it out in the rain on the weekend on purpose to see if it would do it but it didn't!

Ya some parts of the highway are better than others and some days worse than others. Going in to the dealer next Friday for the stone chip preventing plastic stuff they have put on the front end and to have them check out the vibration. Feels like a back tire or something. Some people have said control arms are the culprit but I can't see how that would make a difference. Would also think if it was front suspension I'd feel it in the wheel, which I don't. Will also mention the cold start issue and see where they go with it.

Off topic, but Runge, what did you do for winters? Mark Motors suggests the 17" pilot alpin pa3's on some audi alloys. Is that what you went with?? I know it's early but I'd like to get an idea on what to go with.

[JMMDMD]

No issue this am oddly enough the vibration in the seat was barely noticeable on my way to work. Weird how it comes and goes.

[Runge]

I'll let you know tomorrow morn. I left it out in the rain on the weekend on purpose to see if it would do it but it didn't!

Ya some parts of the highway are better than others and some days worse than others. Going in to the dealer next Friday for the stone chip preventing plastic stuff they have put on the front end and to have them check out the vibration. Feels like a back tire or something. Some people have said control arms are the culprit but I can't see how that would make a difference. Would also think if it was front suspension I'd feel it in the wheel, which I don't. Will also mention the cold start issue and see where they go with it.

Off topic, but Runge, what did you do for winters? Mark Motors suggests the 17" pilot alpin pa3's on some audi alloys. Is that what you went with?? I know it's early but I'd like to get an idea on what to go with.

called clear-bra. They might try to sell you a 5 year wax junk, don't get that! that control arms issue was for 2009 models as far I have read. fixed it in 2010 and 2011.

winter - first 17" is the smallest you can run on our A4's. I picked mine up right during spring, so never had to get winters..yet. but my plan is to pick up a set of semi-used 18" A5/S4/S5 rims or even 18" A4 sport rims and use those for winter. (can go 19" but have to be real careful with potholes). - Tires, no idea, have to check tirerack and go from there. I've had good luck bridgestone Blizzak's though on other cars, so might give those a shot.

[A5MD]

It happened to me today for the second time. The first time was around 2k miles and I currently have 3,800 miles. Don't know what to do!!!

[dracolnyte]

argg happened again today, 6th time. i rmb last night i was babying my car though... and this time it seems to last like 30 seconds where as before, it would go away after 10 seconds.

[lockeed]

Can't believe how many people are experiencing this! Nothing is being done, still no clear answer as to the source of the problem....

[A5MD]

As for my case, last time it happened was nearly 2k miles ago. I doubt if I bring it in they will replicate it.

[dracolnyte]

im bringing it to my dealer tmr and in addition ask about vagcom

[dracolnyte]

OMG! it happened again, two days in a row! but this time, i caught it on camera so now im gonna bring it to the dealer after its uploaded on youtube and posted here

[lockeed]

looks like your video didn't upload entirely?

[Runge]

OMG! it happened again, two days in a row! but this time, i caught it on camera so now im gonna bring it to the dealer after its uploaded on youtube and posted here

[video=youtube;-w0A0Yux2-I]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w0A0Yux2-I

looks about right. needle jumping up and down, well under 1k rpm's

[hender]

nice job catching it on video! but...is that all it did? mine will last for much longer than that...go up and down, up and down, then finally reach 1200. not to mention the sounds of the engine struggling make me die inside a little bit.

[JMMDMD]

Mine has been doing it 30-40% of the time on cold start lately. Getting very annoying. Going in this Friday for a wheel balancing, will mention the start and hopefully bring in a video of it too. I'll let you know what they say.

[dracolnyte]

sorry, when i was recording it with my blackberry, the bluetooth hooked up with my phone and stopped the recording. I brought it in to the dealer and they verified that there is an issue and the CEL is on. I booked and appt with them on Fri to have it looked after. initial diagnosis suggests misfiring. too bad they said that they are gonna wipe out my vagcom codes

[JMMDMD]

Dealer had it this morn. They scanned and found no codes, no history of codes. Service advisor said it was normal and due to direct injection. I wouldn't call it normal for a car to do that. Anyhow, hasn't done it the past few days. The other issue was some vibration in the seats on the highway, they road force balanced the tires, might have made a slight improvement but it's definitely still there. Will give it a couple thousand k's and go from there.

[dracolnyte]

i dropped mine off this morning and still heard nothing from them yet. drove me back in a shuttle... dunno how im gonna go get my car back

[dracolnyte]

damn dealership, i brought it in 8:30 in the morning and I aint getting my car back today and they close at 6pm >:(

[naemcivic]

That is so sad news, so no phtoshot nor VCDS session this weekend? By the way did you go to agincourt or uptown this time? And what loaner did you get for the long weekend? Let's hook up before you head back to 'Loo.

[dracolnyte]

That is so sad news, so no phtoshot nor VCDS session this weekend? By the way did you go to agincourt or uptown this time? And what loaner did you get for the long weekend? Let's hook up before you head back to 'Loo.

nah i'll get it back tmr morning, if not then im gonna go steal my car back from the stealership lol. i went to uptown but thats the last time im going there. horrible sales staff. i didnt get no loaner man, they dropped me off in front of my neighbourhood in a dodge shuttle

[lockeed]

Holly cow!!! That's bad, a Dodge shuttle !! No loaner ??

[naemcivic]

At least stay in the family, use a Veedub.

[dracolnyte]

check out how they carry you around in the states

[naemcivic]

Yo bro, I got a loaner for my 8K, 25K and warranty visits. You just got to stress it to them. If they give me a Civic I'll biatch out at them.

[dracolnyte]

k got my car back, they found no fault codes except some licence plate light bulb out and ambient lighting error.
they said if its more frequent and serious then they would take apart my manifold and clean it for carbon build up. coilpacks are okay

[lockeed]

In other words, they don't have a clue of what's happening! This means that audi has not yet released a TSB for this problem....

Since my girlfriend does 90% of the mileage wih the car, I'm interested in geting a fun summer car just for myself. Yesterday I test drove a 2007 RS4, and there's a recall on this car to replace all 8 ignition coil. I think what's gona end up happening is probably the same thing on our B8... because I personaly think this issue comes from a misfire....

[ThePiombino]

Took mine in this past Friday to have this checked out. The SA told me immediately that there is a software fix for this. He told me that it would wipe my ECU flash, but I figured that it was better to have the cold start issue fixed and have to reflash than to deal with the cold-start sputtering forever. So I OKed the move. Picked my car up the next morning. Didn't have an opportunity to cold start before today (went to re-do some VCDS settings that were also reset) and wouldn't you know it- WORST cold start YET. The car felt like it was going to stall. Normally it would hit about 1200 RPM and just sputter for a few second then smooth out. This time, RPMs could barely stay above 500. I'm livid. Not only did they wipe my ECU and VCDS settings, but they somehow managed to make things worse!!!

[dracolnyte]

Took mine in this past Friday to have this checked out. The SA told me immediately that there is a software fix for this. He told me that it would wipe my ECU flash, but I figured that it was better to have the cold start issue fixed and have to reflash than to deal with the cold-start sputtering forever. So I OKed the move. Picked my car up the next morning. Didn't have an opportunity to cold start before today (went to re-do some VCDS settings that were also reset) and wouldn't you know it- WORST cold start YET. The car felt like it was going to stall. Normally it would hit about 1200 RPM and just sputter for a few second then smooth out. This time, RPMs could barely stay above 500. I'm livid. Not only did they wipe my ECU and VCDS settings, but they somehow managed to make things worse!!!

nice one! i wonder would an APR/Stasis flash help cause my friends with chipped ecu's dont experience this

[gtg196w]

what RPM should the car idle at when starting? Does this number change as a function of starting ambient temperature? I noticed that mine is usually at 700 RPM when idling at start... It is kind of noisy though, which concerns me.

[dracolnyte]

normal idle RPM after a cold start should be around around 1,100 - 1,200. I don't think ambient temps make that big of a difference, it is starting to get colder these days and I just experienced a mini-sputtering start up today. 700RPM is normal if you have started the car earlier in the day before.

[dracolnyte]

omg i dunno to sigh or to laugh but it just happened again tonight as i was about to park my car inside my garage. cold start, ambient temp: 14oC and I was running on 93 octane.
I got pissed so then i decided to step on it to 2k rev and its all fixed lol.

So this eliminates ambient temperature/humidity and octane level factor out of the equation...

I think i really need a chip...

[hender]

I think i really need a chip...

you and me both, brudda

[Ox2gen]

hender
u've got the best signature I've seen yet

[Ryan_T]

I just had this on an A5 2.0T. The car shook hard as it started the engine. The shaking lasted 1-2 second, basically on the typical initial crank. I never had this in my A4. Normally I don't drive the A5, so I never noticed this until today. Car's been in the garage for a few days, and I highly doubt my dad would floor it often/at all. I wonder if his much milder driving style is a contributing factor to the shaking issue.

[Crucible35]

I've had this for quite a while. I no longer think it's humidity based on the last few weeks. Had it again this morning....not sure what to make of it. I will be bringing it up at my next sched. maintenance but planning on taking it to Uptown where I bought the car since I want them to deal with another issue that Mississauga Audi couldn't diagnose. Yuck!

[dracolnyte]

HEY GOOD NEWS GUYS! this hasnt been happening any more for the last month. i think its due to the old weather, but its throwing me licence plate errors tho haha nice trade off i guess?

[JMMDMD]

Mine hasn't done it for 2+ weeks either. Weird...because before that it was almost every other day for 2 weeks.

[Runge]

Mine hasn't done it for 2+ weeks either. Weird...because before that it was almost every other day for 2 weeks.

same here...maybe 3 weeks. back in August was last time.

[lockeed]

Same thing here, running OK for the past month...

[dracolnyte]

WOW what the heck.... IT JUST HAPPEN again today, sorry to bring up an old post but sooner or later its going to happen again in the summer.
But I think I know what is the cause, it is the air quality... it was +5 degrees Celsius outside and it happened for the first time in the last 3 months... Its not humidity.

When I walked outside to get in my car, I smelt smoke, like either something burning, or someone bbqing or maybe my roommates were just blazing and then I started up my engine and it started shaking. Maybe a new K&N or APR CAI can help fix this?