Sabotage

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amp

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Had my (Y)2001 A2 1.4 SE serviced (sabotaged) at Croydon Audi last month and after a disappointing experience I couldn't wait to get away from there as soon as possible. It turns out however, that I have to go back :(

About 2 weeks ago on my way home I experienced a sudden drop in power from the engine and heard beeping from the dash warning me of a brake fault. I pulled over, switched the engine off and on again and it returned to normal so I drove home carefully and inspected the brake system without finding anything wrong.

No recurrance of the problem since then so uptil now I havn't thought much of it, until this afternoon when two yellow warning lights welcomed me back into the car - the EPC (Electronic Power Control) light and the Engine Management System symbol. This time though they won't go away.

It's odd how after all this time of ownership I've not once had any trouble with the car, and yet a few weeks after its 2nd service - when the car is supposed to be freed from any potential faults - I'm possibly faced with extra bills! Call me paranonid but there's something fishy going on, especially when you consider that on the day of the service my warranty expired and that the problem is one only Audi can fix!

[36] Audi [4]
 
amp - I have to admit that I would be very suspicious as well, but that is just my nature and so I understand how you feel. But I think it probably is just one of those things and I can't honestly believe that your dealer would have done anything deliberately to have caused a 'timed' fault with your A2.

Of course you could go to another dealer and ask them if something in the management system had been tampered with, I'm sure they would be able to tell using their diagnostics tool.

[img=left]http://www.a2forum.net/stuart.gif[/img=left]Stuart Diamond: A2OC Founder | Forum Administrator

2001 TDi SE:http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/uk1.htm Cobalt Blue Metallic | Open Sky Roof | Kenwood Mask CD | Front Centre Armrest | Front Centre Tray

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I had the same thing happpen to me about 5 months ago.

(the car was about 2 1/2 yrs old then.)

EPC came on, (i didnt have the brake beep thing) and a Audi tech man came out to my place of work to assess the fault.

After connecting his diagnostic tablet PC in the dash he found that a switch was failing and therefore sending the Engine Managment System to "run on a backup system." [13]

This wonderful switch was connected to the barke pedal, when the pedal is depressed, the switch is engaged, and the EMS reduces the ammount of fuel into the engine to improve fuel consumption. :(

Most of the footwell trim had to come out, and luckily, he had a spare switch in his car. The fault was recified immediatley, HARDLY A POWER ISSUE!

In conversation with the tech, Iasked how much that switch would cost if the warranty had expired. With a grin he said "somewhere near a tenner" and my next question was how much in total with labour. He smiled and was unable to say. [2] Thank god it was under warranty and cost me nothing.

I have mentioned this on the forum before, and what concerns me the most, as much as I love my car, the warrany expired last month and I will not go to Audi for work unless absoultley necessary. How is the "man on the street mechanic" supposed to find that fault? I would imagine a lot of "corporate" garages such as KwikFit would send you away for things like that. Simply as the only way to diagnose the fault would be to go to Audi and plug in their PC. [36]

And EPC would mean that the car would fail the MOT as on face value, there is a problem with the engine. Not good, i would recomend an independant Audi specialist and get them to check that switch. If you take out the switch, it's easy to see if is broken, the "plunger" sticks in and it takes some force to pull it out.

I kept the switch but I have left it at work, its about 5-6 cm in length.

Moan over,[15] best of luck and I hope it is only the same thing and nothing else. ;)

Neil Howells
A2 1.4 SE - Atlantic Blue
Symphony Radio, Electronic A/C
 
Hi guys, thanks for replying.

It probably is just one of those things, and in any case I can't prove anything, so I spent most of today going to 4 Audi dealers for a diagnosis.

I tried Wimbledon first who took out their VAG gizmo and found 3 faults to explain why the engine management light came on - problems with the electronic throttle, an exhaust valve and also a brake system fault. I told them to reset the system and see if the faults would come back, so they took the car into their workshop - where I couldn't see it (paranoia!:)) - and came back with a print out showing me the original faults and explaining that the faults nevertheless reappeared. Not content though I thought I'd go to Battersea who came up with the same faults (using an inferior looking VAG tool I must say, no touch screen for them!) and told me it would take about half a day to fix, which at £90 an hour I wasn't too keen on. The last two dealers on my 'dealer-crawl' were Dulwich and Croydon (shiver) which turned out to be a waste of time as they required you to be booked in for an appointment in order to diagnose your car [13].

Overall I would have to say that Wimbledon was the most useful and they said I 'might' be able to get the work done as a good will gesture since my car has always been serviced at Audi and the warranty only ran out a few weeks ago, otherwise it might cost me around £200 [29]. Hopefully they'll be able to sort something out and my fondness of Audi's won't be tainted, because after all Audi's are great cars and only their after sales lets the company down.
 
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