Bought A2 1.4 for my girls to learn in

miniswift

A2OC Donor
Hi,

I bought 2004 A2 1.4 for my girls to learn to drive in.
To be honest, I wanted one for a long time and needed an excuse to buy it.

I have a few questions which I can search and learn... which I did.
So A2 1.4 is OK to run on E10 unleaded.
Door hinge/frame does drop and had a recall before.
EPC light came on but found out that it needs charged and so on.

What I would like to know are following if you can, please!
1. Does it have on board information system?
2. How do you know if your car is already door hinge repaired by Audi(search came up with either hinge or door frame stress crack)
3. Are all doors aluminium as well?(if frame is cracked, may be TIG weld it?)
4. How good is 1.4 engine if it was looked after by previous owners(it has 144k miles). Drives well for 75ps!

My car didn't come with owner's hand book but came with history folders which has service/finace/MOT/insurance doc slots into.

Thanks people!
 
Welcome!

1) - do you mean OBD2 that can be polled with plugged in VCDS or reader (this is built in as standard) - or the Driver Information System (mpg, range, averages, journey time etc.)? For the latter, there will be rocker buttons on the ends of the windscreen wiper stalk if the option was specified as new. If not, it can be retrofitted by @timmus.
2) hinge repairs under warranty stopped a while ago. There was a lot of discussion on here a few years back, but basically if it's not falling off then it is probably o.k. Hinge bolts can be a bit loose, so checking that these are tight is always an idea. The check strap can also fail internally (behind the larger loudspeaker) ; re-engineered ones can be bought within A2oc from @depronman (who also rebuilds the windscreen wipers to better than new).
3) mostly. Not entirely certain about the cracked frame question.
4) depending on exactly which version of the 1.4 (AUA early, BBY later; the primary difference being the AUA has a single coil pack with 4 spark plugs, and the BBY has 4 separate coil packs, one on each cylinder), they can be more or less prone to something called Piston Slap. Apart from that good maintenance (regular oil / fluids and filters) is the key, but when over 100k you do need to think about replacing ignition parts and ensuring that the EGR / Throttle body are clean. Belts should have been done probably twice by now. Various issues with the ignition and induction bits can contribute to EPC lights etc, wobbly idle, occasional misfires etc. Obviously be aware also that various sensors can be life-expired, but at least there are less of them to go wrong than the 1.6 if the service history is patchy.

Ours is now running on E10 (standard 95 octane supermarket fuel) - you apparently can't do this with a 1.6FSi.

Battery may be old.

Once battery known good, reset the errors, run it and see what comes back as something to focus in on.

Best of luck!
 
Welcome!

1) - do you mean OBD2 that can be polled with plugged in VCDS or reader (this is built in as standard) - or the Driver Information System (mpg, range, averages, journey time etc.)? For the latter, there will be rocker buttons on the ends of the windscreen wiper stalk if the option was specified as new. If not, it can be retrofitted by @timmus.
2) hinge repairs under warranty stopped a while ago. There was a lot of discussion on here a few years back, but basically if it's not falling off then it is probably o.k. Hinge bolts can be a bit loose, so checking that these are tight is always an idea. The check strap can also fail internally (behind the larger loudspeaker) ; re-engineered ones can be bought within A2oc from @depronman (who also rebuilds the windscreen wipers to better than new).
3) mostly. Not entirely certain about the cracked frame question.
4) depending on exactly which version of the 1.4 (AUA early, BBY later; the primary difference being the AUA has a single coil pack with 4 spark plugs, and the BBY has 4 separate coil packs, one on each cylinder), they can be more or less prone to something called Piston Slap. Apart from that good maintenance (regular oil / fluids and filters) is the key, but when over 100k you do need to think about replacing ignition parts and ensuring that the EGR / Throttle body are clean. Belts should have been done probably twice by now. Various issues with the ignition and induction bits can contribute to EPC lights etc, wobbly idle, occasional misfires etc. Obviously be aware also that various sensors can be life-expired, but at least there are less of them to go wrong than the 1.6 if the service history is patchy.

Ours is now running on E10 (standard 95 octane supermarket fuel) - you apparently can't do this with a 1.6FSi.

Battery may be old.

Once battery known good, reset the errors, run it and see what comes back as something to focus in on.

Best of luck!
Good post?????????
 
Welcome!

1) - do you mean OBD2 that can be polled with plugged in VCDS or reader (this is built in as standard) - or the Driver Information System (mpg, range, averages, journey time etc.)? For the latter, there will be rocker buttons on the ends of the windscreen wiper stalk if the option was specified as new. If not, it can be retrofitted by @timmus.
2) hinge repairs under warranty stopped a while ago. There was a lot of discussion on here a few years back, but basically if it's not falling off then it is probably o.k. Hinge bolts can be a bit loose, so checking that these are tight is always an idea. The check strap can also fail internally (behind the larger loudspeaker) ; re-engineered ones can be bought within A2oc from @depronman (who also rebuilds the windscreen wipers to better than new).
3) mostly. Not entirely certain about the cracked frame question.
4) depending on exactly which version of the 1.4 (AUA early, BBY later; the primary difference being the AUA has a single coil pack with 4 spark plugs, and the BBY has 4 separate coil packs, one on each cylinder), they can be more or less prone to something called Piston Slap. Apart from that good maintenance (regular oil / fluids and filters) is the key, but when over 100k you do need to think about replacing ignition parts and ensuring that the EGR / Throttle body are clean. Belts should have been done probably twice by now. Various issues with the ignition and induction bits can contribute to EPC lights etc, wobbly idle, occasional misfires etc. Obviously be aware also that various sensors can be life-expired, but at least there are less of them to go wrong than the 1.6 if the service history is patchy.

Ours is now running on E10 (standard 95 octane supermarket fuel) - you apparently can't do this with a 1.6FSi.

Battery may be old.

Once battery known good, reset the errors, run it and see what comes back as something to focus in on.

Best of luck!
So I can get in touch with fellow memeber to get it fitted. Do I buy a new stalk or need more work?
I used to drive few Audis when my parents were still in UK, So I do miss this functions.
Hinge wise, door drops about 5mm so I could look into tightening first then look at actual hinge then. I restor Minis and old Swift so i should have enough tools!
My enigne is with 4 coil packs. It has been replaced before i bought this car. My car came with a new starter motor, O2 sensor as it is intermitten fault which i haven't seen. This car was only driven 3k miles/year for last 4 years.
Service history is patchy but since 2017 but qualified mechanic who turn to bus driver was looking after it for last 5 years.
So I hope it will be OK.

Thank you for the info!
 
4-coil pack engine is BBY - actually when you said 2004 this should have told me already.

@timmus uses original manufacturer / quality stalks and his own loom extensions, there is no point buying Ebay or Alibaba stalks to do this yourself because although the plastic moulding is probably similar, it is the connectors and wiring where the quality is very obviously different. Various kits for similar retrofits are usually made for Volkswagen Transporter etc (or left-hand drive vehicles), and the lengths are not ideal (ie 15-20cm too short in the wires). Finally, Tom is an expert at precise removal and re-assembly of A2 interior panels so the result is similar quality to a factory-fitted option. I did buy an Ali stalk and Ebay wiring loom, and then realised how poor the quality was as well as the fact I would need to extend the wiring myself before installation. Watching Tom install his own kit on my car made me realise what you are paying for and I have used the cruise for hours at a time in the past 3 years (mostly pre-Covid) for long journeys where it has made a huge difference. Where there is a critical safety element you want competence in the installation - I could not guarantee this doing it myself.

You probably also need to think about suspension and brakes - often anti-roll bar bushes in the front as well as drop links and other rubber components that wear out. These are cheap to replace and get rid of clunks when going over road imperfections. Rubber bushes and pads for springs at the rear as well, even if the shock absorbers do not need to be replaced (which they usually do). If replacing shocks then it makes sense to replace the strut top bearings in one procedure. Discs / pads and drums etc also need to be looked at if not recently replaced.

Finally also from experience with the 1.4i and 2 other A2s - plastic lids for the coolant expansion tank, oil filler on engine and fuel tank also benefit from replacement with newer parts to ensure that sealing parts are in good flexible condition to maintain pressure seals. Again these are cheaply available at oem or near-oem quality from Febi-Bilstein or other similar suppliers.
 
Thank you for your advice.
The car has been fitted with new drop links.
The pervious owner looked after this car well even though close to DIY but new discs and pads for front and new shoes for the rear brakes.
ABS light is on but needs to check with VAG reader as my cheap and cheerful reader only read code for EPC light.

Suspension wise, I will take my car to my mate who is MOT inspector as well as ex-police chief mechanic.

Where does Tom lives? I'm in Durham so may be too far to get it fitted by him. If so, do you think he can sell me his kit and I can fit them myself.
Or ask my mate to fit it for me.
I drove this A2 for only 20mins when I bought it and waiting for 1st Oct to Tax it then I can do shake down to see any more issues.
I'm charging batteries with slow charger to make it bit healthier but may need replacing. I think alternator is OK as it was charging 13.5v when it was idling.

Any more advice will be greatly appreciated as I'm new to A2 ownership!
 
The ABS light can be illuminated by an ABS fault (sometimes ABS sensor cable), but also happens secondary to what the ODBII reader tells you on polling the ABS ECU is an (engine) ECU fault - which could perhaps be related to the EPC light. In our car you clear the ABS fault code, then change menus and read / clear the engine ECU code(s), which are usually related to an intermittent "Manifold Inlet Pressure sensor" or similar "fault" - sometimes suggesting 'implausible' reading (ie, out of range). In our case this was largely eliminated by replacing the oil cap on top of the engine and the fuel tank filler cap (the former mostly though), and also giving the oil cap mounting area on the rocker cover a very good wipe down with kitchen roll and some carburettor cleaner as there was a burnt-on crust of oily crud around it from where the original oil cap was gently seeping as the seal was perished and not sealing properly - this can also arise from small cracks in plastic pipes around the throttle body / intake area causing the air volumes to be slightly out. Now the incidence of this particular spurious error has declined from every few weeks to once a year.

Tom is based in / near Lancaster if I remember correctly so not a huge distance from Durham cross-country. The key thing with Tom is the factory-standard standard of the installation - second to none.
 
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