Chat Audi A2 1.6 FSI - And I'm the new owner!

thestable

Member
Hello everyone.

I've just picked up my new car yesterday! After having a troublesome A4 Cab 1.8T for the last few years I wanted to get a smaller car for mooching about in and that has a bit of space to carry my photography kit in. This little motor caught my eye as just the ticket. I had a look about and found the one I'm now the owner of was the first and only one i looked at and test drove.

It's been about a bit has a few miles on the clock 116,000 but is clean inside and out. It's been through WOM automotive a few times and started life in the same hometown as me at HWM motors.

It's got a few bits that I am going to sort out looks wise. A scuff on the nearside rear corner and some curbing on the rims. Mechanically it's still to be looked over but after looking over this forum i see it has a common problem i found AFTER i test drove and paid for it... The low rev juddering or power loss. It's very strange! but the main thing is it's mechanical issues and not electrical issues like the A4 had that I can't justify paying to fix, when nothing is actually wrong with it!

A tidy little motor and can't wait to get her working and looking 100%

So Hi again and thanks for answering any questions. Also if there is any garages worth visiting in north london please do let me know!

Cheers
 
Welcome to A2OC!

I'm a fellow Fsi owner and they are great little cars.

I can't help in terms of garages in North London, but i'm sure one of the other forum members will be able to recommend somewhere.

Please feel free to have a look at the socials page. It's always great to meet new members. We have a range of events that normally run between April and September. We have one more this year - the end of season meal in Birmingham which is always popular, but if you can't make that, please look out for the 2018 social diary when it is released.

Any questions please ask :)

Teresa
 
If you haven't already, start running her on 98+ Octane petrol (Super unleaded), it makes the world of difference, as does a decent injector cleaner in with a tank of super unleaded.

You've caught the bug!

Nick
 
Welcome,

First step with any woes is to get a diagnostic scan with VCDS (formerly VagCom) at a garage, who may charge, or free from a member. Post it on here if you want help. My money is on the infamous 17439 (from memory).

Not local to you and can't help with a garage, but I would say choose a garage carefully as most will not be familiar with your A2.

Good Luck - Andy
 
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Low rev troubles could well be a 17439 as Andrew has mentioned. This one can be detected with a generic OBDII reader if you have one kicking around as well. I didn't catch it either as I thought it was just me not being used to the throttle/clutch.

Hope you enjoy the adventure, and post some pics up if you can :)
 
Awesome!
Thanks for the advice already. I've spent the last couple of days getting to know this forum and the wealth of information that is on here!
It's booked in for a full service and diagnostics scan this weekend through one of my dad's friends (probably from where most business comes from... Down the pub!) I've ordered in a new coil pack, but filled her up with normal squirt when i picked her up so will run that out and fill her up with 98 and injector cleaner.

Hopefully the full service and filter swap should help too. I can't help but think there might be a little exhaust blow somewhere too, but will know a lot more what she is really like by sunday evening. I've also noticed that the seatbelt don't return at all and neither does the parcel shelf so I might see about sourcing a new one of those and giving the seatbelts a soak and clean to see if that helps the problem without having to replace them.

With the 17 inch wheels it's a stiff ride, but I can't wait to get her running smoothly so I can have a bit of fun!

I'll be sure to post a couple of pictures shortly. I can't wait to get this cool little car 100% and looking clean as!

cheers!

Al
 
Awesome!
Thanks for the advice already. I've spent the last couple of days getting to know this forum and the wealth of information that is on here!
It's booked in for a full service and diagnostics scan this weekend through one of my dad's friends (probably from where most business comes from... Down the pub!) I've ordered in a new coil pack, but filled her up with normal squirt when i picked her up so will run that out and fill her up with 98 and injector cleaner.

Hopefully the full service and filter swap should help too. I can't help but think there might be a little exhaust blow somewhere too, but will know a lot more what she is really like by sunday evening. I've also noticed that the seatbelt don't return at all and neither does the parcel shelf so I might see about sourcing a new one of those and giving the seatbelts a soak and clean to see if that helps the problem without having to replace them.

With the 17 inch wheels it's a stiff ride, but I can't wait to get her running smoothly so I can have a bit of fun!

I'll be sure to post a couple of pictures shortly. I can't wait to get this cool little car 100% and looking clean as!

cheers!

Al

I hope that you have found the "How to" Index thread, lots of good info on there!!!

http://www.a2oc.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?90-Index

Steve B
 
I've also noticed that the seatbelt don't return at all Al

Congratulations on your acquisition and welcome.

I used a silicon spray when my seat belt wouldn't retract. Solved the problem but not before I had unfortunately closed the door on the seat belt buckle causing a few scratches :( So a job to sort sooner rather than later.
 
And Here she is

There is the thing that is supposed to be a cheap car, but will probably end up costing me a fortune!
FullSizeRender.jpeg

The front wheels are on the list to do. They were not treated well by the previous owner.
IMG_4638-1.jpegIMG_4637-1.jpeg
 
There is the thing that is supposed to be a cheap car, but will probably end up costing me a fortune!
View attachment 31961

The front wheels are on the list to do. They were not treated well by the previous owner.
View attachment 31962View attachment 31963
I would suggest that it is worth getting them checked for buckling, they are very prone to that, especially on the inside rim.

They can be straightened, it is just that the alloy seems quite soft for some reason, and yet the wheels are VERY heavy and so should be stronger than they are.

But they are one of the best looking wheels you can get as standard for the A2 (in my opinion)

Well worth a refurb.

Steve B
 
I certainly hope it's not the intake manifold. after doing a bit of reading it looks like a PITA job and could be a bit on the expensive side too!
I'll know on sunday as i mentioned
 
I've also noticed that the seatbelt don't return at all and neither does the parcel shelf so I might see about sourcing a new one of those and giving the seatbelts a soak and clean to see if that helps the problem without having to replace them.

Try cleaning the plastic part of the top mount on the door pillar that the belt slides through . Mine were so filthy they were stopping the belt from sliding over them.
 
Try cleaning the plastic part of the top mount on the door pillar that the belt slides through . Mine were so filthy they were stopping the belt from sliding over them.

Furniture polish on it will do the job.. Pull the belt fully out a few times to free it up and a squirt of furniture polish and it should be fine.

Steve B
 
The tatty front wheels might not be the whole fault of the previous owner.

I agree with Steve the nine spoke are the best looking tyre but the recommended tyre 205/40/17 (from memory)
offers zero rim protection and give a harsh ride.

I live in a small village with narrow streets and to avoid head ons both drivers have to get right over to thier kerb and wheel scrapes occurred however careful I was - too busy watching the imminent offside near collision. I changed wheels to 195/55/17 (from memory) which gives better rim protection, keeps the speedo the same, and gives a marked marked improvement in comfort level.

I want to keep the nine spoke on my second project car but must investigate alternative tyres.

Good luck with the scan.

Andy
 
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Hi I bought an fsi on ebaywith a few faults, including broken actuator for the manifold flaps. It ran like a dog with virtually no power and engine management light on when I picked it up. My previous fsi also had the actuator crack, but ran pretty well. The second fsi was vastly improved by changing the fuel and air filters, massive difference. I did the manifold later, but the filters helped a lot. Fingers crossed it might be simple and cheap, my Bosch fuel filter was £5. The old one was Audi, and from the state of it an original part, full of black gunge. Great cars once they run at full power. Have fun

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To make matters worse. I think I’ve been screwed over by the trader by him not telling me there was anything wrong with it. I doubt they have to but still. It appears the engine warning light has been switched off completely as it doesn’t appear when you first turn in the engine on at start up.
 
To make matters worse. I think I’ve been screwed over by the trader by him not telling me there was anything wrong with it. I doubt they have to but still. It appears the engine warning light has been switched off completely as it doesn’t appear when you first turn in the engine on at start up.

I've delved deep into the cluster software and know of no way to disable the engine management light entirely. However, having opened many clusters in my time in order to perform surgery of one sort or another, I have found many FSI clusters with the engine management light de-soldered from the main circuit board. On one occasion, I found that the feed to the EPC light had been paralleled to the engine management light. As such, the engine management light appeared to illuminate when switching the ignition on but then disappeared. This will have been done to fool the MOT inspector, no doubt.

I've made my sentiments about the FSI clear in various other threads, so I'll copy some text I wrote previously...
The FSI is a great engine when it's working properly. However, it is by far the least reliable of all the engines available in the A2. Whilst some have been lucky, I think even its biggest fans have to concede this to be true. It was VAG's first attempt at a direct injection petrol engine and therefore features the inevitable teething troubles of a new system. They are relatively rare, don't feature widely in other cars and are very poorly understood by a vast majority of garages. People have spent huge amounts of money just trying to get the engine management light to switch off. When you then take into account the troubles with fuel injectors, coolant loss, swirl flap actuators, coil packs, etc, you can understand why some owners keep an emergency fund. I'd suggest that a large majority of threads started on this forum about engine difficulties relate to the FSI.

I'm all in favour of people buying FSIs and keeping them on the road. They're great because they're A2s! But, much as I hate to say it in the wake of your purchase, if you're buying an A2 with low-cost motoring in mind, then the FSI ought to be at the bottom of your list.

Cheers,

Tom
 
Unfortunately it looks like I might have too much of a problem so have contacted the dealer that sold it to me in Amersham and he is arranging a garage to look at the engine light being disconnected issue and also the diagnosis scan on the car. What a shame. If it’s not worth fixing I might ask for my money back and look at a more reliable 1.4 or 1.4tdi if the fsi is so unreliable.


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Hi Tom,

It is more likely to have been done to make the car easier / more valuable to sell.

The EML is not a fail problem (unless they have changed that recently)

I have seen a few "Advisories" stating the EML light was on, but no failures, since it is not a safety item as such!

But these days I have no confidence in my knowledge of any MOT related rules, they change them frequently.

Steve B
 
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