My First A2

tnpali01

Member
Finally got myself an A2 , really a project but much more than a car... like a piece of art.. its stood the test of time... . After seeing these new 20years ago ,all shiny in an Audi showroom and never being a position to afford one, I have finally realised a dream. The design and concept seems as relevant today in todays ULEZ world as it did then.. My A2s a 1.6 FSI SE with a long todo list.. and this is only what I know ....

Deep Deep Deep clean needed... 🤢
Cambelt / service needed
Fishpond in boot, wet carpets
No Radio reception - presume this is because the aerial unit is literally under water
No Reversing lights
Wiper arm scoring screen
various suspension clonks
Missing pixels in DIS
EPC EML lights on
Jammed rear seats
one working key
sun baked UV headlights
Non closing service flap... infuriating as seems to be no way to secure bonnet or leave car locked , the flap keeps popping open of its own accord and alarm goes off .
No Engine Undertray
various hoses just seems to be hanging rather than clipped where they should be / missing hoses eg water drain cup?
Bodged wiring mods, fixes
NS rear window winder not working
Very sloppy gearchange , but all gears seems to work and no strange whirring or noises

Hoping I will be able to tackle most of this myself,. learn more about the A2, enjoy my A2, make some friends and share my experiences too :)

Regards Neil
 
Finally got myself an A2 , really a project but much more than a car... like a piece of art.. its stood the test of time... . After seeing these new 20years ago ,all shiny in an Audi showroom and never being a position to afford one, I have finally realised a dream. The design and concept seems as relevant today in todays ULEZ world as it did then.. My A2s a 1.6 FSI SE with a long todo list.. and this is only what I know ....

Deep Deep Deep clean needed... 🤢
Cambelt / service needed
Fishpond in boot, wet carpets
No Radio reception - presume this is because the aerial unit is literally under water
No Reversing lights
Wiper arm scoring screen
various suspension clonks
Missing pixels in DIS
EPC EML lights on
Jammed rear seats
one working key
sun baked UV headlights
Non closing service flap... infuriating as seems to be no way to secure bonnet or leave car locked , the flap keeps popping open of its own accord and alarm goes off .
No Engine Undertray
various hoses just seems to be hanging rather than clipped where they should be / missing hoses eg water drain cup?
Bodged wiring mods, fixes
NS rear window winder not working
Very sloppy gearchange , but all gears seems to work and no strange whirring or noises

Hoping I will be able to tackle most of this myself,. learn more about the A2, enjoy my A2, make some friends and share my experiences too :)

Regards Neil
sounds like it'll be a labour of love and time well spent. good luck and welcome to the club!

drew
 
sounds like it'll be a labour of love and time well spent. good luck and welcome to the club!

drew
Thanks Drew, yes a lot to do... and enjoy... Almost forgot the various button air con, elec windows , central lock switch, ASR and headlight switch which all seems to be sheding a skin or already white plastic. Thank you for your welcome :)
 
Welcome to the club and knowledge base for the A2. The Fsi has a strong following here and some experts to help you.

First thing for me would be the adjust the catch on the service flap! There is an amount of adjustment on the latch in the grill.

Then start a restoration thread and everyone will chip in for parts and solutions :). If you haven't yet, join market place and you find everything you need. sadly fsi are becoming popular breakers at moment. Good news for you though.
 
Almost forgot the various button air con, elec windows , central lock switch, ASR and headlight switch which all seems to be sheding a skin or already white plastic.
our cars are notorious for this. audi used a soft touch paint which hasnt really stood the test of time!

good news is most of these buttons can be replaced with hard touch plastic ones or good condition soft touch; you just need to be quick to grab them!
 
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Welcome aboard, Sir. A very useful port of call is B&F Autos down in West Hounslow. Really know their way around an A2 and don't charge silly money. Gary or John. 5 minute walk from West Hounslow Tube.
 
Welcome aboard, Sir. A very useful port of call is B&F Autos down in West Hounslow. Really know their way around an A2 and don't charge silly money. Gary or John. 5 minute walk from West Hounslow Tube.
Thanks , thats not too far away from me too.
 
Goo Evening,

I missed this thread on Monday (not to well), but welcome.

You mention poor radio reception, 'No Radio reception - presume this is because the aerial unit is literally under water'.

I think with the the FSI you will have 4 aerials in the boot lid, in the dry so probably not aerials not culpable but where they joint in the diversity unit on the boot floor is most likely the culprit. Many threads to read.

However there is no point fixing the diversity unit until you cure the damp problem first. Good news, cheap enough to fix but a bit of work. The damp is most likely caused by failed vents behind the bumper, either replace or cheaper reseal. The vents are there to release the cabin pressure when you shut the last door. Some pictures

The vents are behind the rear bumper under the tail lights, picture credit to Kleynie.

image.jpeg



image.jpeg


For more links to read Google 'a2oc wet boot'.

Andy
 
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Goo Evening,

I missed this thread on Monday (not to well), but welcome.

You mention poor radio reception, 'No Radio reception - presume this is because the aerial unit is literally under water'.

I think with the the FSI you will have 4 aerials in the boot lid, in the dry so probably not aerials not culpable but where they joint in the diversity unit on the boot floor is most likely the culprit. Many threads to read.

However there is no point fixing the diversity unit until you cure the damp problem first. Good news, cheap enough to fix but a bit of work. The damp is most likely caused by failed vents behind the bumper, either replace or cheaper reseal. The vents are there to release the cabin pressure when you shut the last door. Some pictures

The vents are behind the rear bumper under the tail lights, picture credit to Kleynie.

image.jpeg



image.jpeg


For more links to read Google 'a2oc wet boot'.

Andy
Thanks Andy... hope you are feeling better, and thank you for making me welcome.

I've had Rovers Ford and Vauxhalls over many years that leaked into their boots but nothing prepared me for what was the battery box in my A2 ....... The box was literally full of water, and had clearly been collecting there for sometime , battery was almost submerged to almost the top near terminals, and the aerial box ( diversity unit ?) was underwater. not helped by the incline of my driveway. . I have removed the water, cleaned the box, I have temporarily relocated the aerial unit to the area by the offside rear light . Taking the bumper off looks like a weekend task . Yes I need to address the root cause of the leak, thanks for the pointers . I have confirmed the diversity unit is the source of the radio issue. I swapped with same unit from an A3 temporarily to test , and radio is now working.... need to source a replacement from ebay presuming the insides of the old one are fried and dont dry out .
 
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All sensible replies...

BUT the first thing to do is GET A SECOND WORKING KEY.
Ive got a ebay blank on order but I think its held up by Royal Mail , will get that cut asap just so I can get into the car if needed. agreed a priority is to explore and get a second remote / immobilser key . Good Advice thanks :)
 
Welcome Neil,

Sounds like a good project to keep you busy...

You will get great advice from this lot

For the alarm, push the service flap at the top and see if the hazards flash when you lock the car with the remote.

My A2, bought for my son, honest, had the service flap always open (not closing fully on to the sensor) so the alarm would siren after a couple of mins, this was bypassed by pressing the alarm button by the drivers door B pillar before closing the door and pressing the close button on the remote, this prevented the alarm going off, but to fix properly you need to adjust the service flap so it closes tighter onto the sensor. Just need a screwdriver on the catch.

Then the alarm will fully lock and hazards flash to say all doors and service flap are closed
 
ciao, anch'io ho recentemente preso una A2 FSI con alcune cose da sistemare. sulla mia la luce di retromarcia non funzionava, perché la lampadina era guasta. Si trova sotto l'auto vicino al cambio, il meccanico ha fatto il lavoro per me. per ripristinare i pulsanti del clima, ho deciso per il momento di coprire quelli scoloriti con i classici adesivi che riproducono le scritte.
 
Thanks Andy... hope you are feeling better, and thank you for making me welcome.

I've had Rovers Ford and Vauxhalls over many years that leaked into their boots but nothing prepared me for what was the battery box in my A2 ....... The box was literally full of water, and had clearly been collecting there for sometime , battery was almost submerged to almost the top near terminals, and the aerial box ( diversity unit ?) was underwater. not helped by the incline of my driveway. . I have removed the water, cleaned the box, I have temporarily relocated the aerial unit to the area by the offside rear light . Taking the bumper off looks like a weekend task . Yes I need to address the root cause of the leak, thanks for the pointers . I have confirmed the diversity unit is the source of the radio issue. I swapped with same unit from an A3 temporarily to test , and radio is now working.... need to source a replacement from ebay presuming the insides of the old one are fried and dont dry out .
When you get around to fixing the rear vent leak (although this is the most likely source of ingress roof channels are also a possibility, especially if you have OSS). Do NOT be tempted to re- seal them with silicone, this will only work for a while and the seal will break again. The ingress is usually between the body/vent seal not the vent itself. If the car has had any sort of nudge up the rear it is possible the body panels around the vent are distorted and the vent will not seat properly (often there is very little external sign of a rear nudge), a tell tail can be that the side edge of the bumper does not alignment flush with the body (many A2’s have this). A new vent is cheap (it is a standard Audi part used on many vehicles all the way back to the Audi 100!)
When fitting or refitting the vent, bed it onto a non hardening Mastic. Be generous if there is any body panel distortion, as it will fill and adhere well. This will ensure years of trouble free use. Believe me I have been there not just with the A2 but with the sealing of windows on boats.
 
Welcome Neil,

Sounds like a good project to keep you busy...

You will get great advice from this lot

For the alarm, push the service flap at the top and see if the hazards flash when you lock the car with the remote.

My A2, bought for my son, honest, had the service flap always open (not closing fully on to the sensor) so the alarm would siren after a couple of mins, this was bypassed by pressing the alarm button by the drivers door B pillar before closing the door and pressing the close button on the remote, this prevented the alarm going off, but to fix properly you need to adjust the service flap so it closes tighter onto the sensor. Just need a screwdriver on the catch.

Then the alarm will fully lock and hazards flash to say all doors and service flap are closed
yes the lights flash when the alarm button on the flap is depressed and it goes off as soon as the flap returns to where it currently wants to sit. My car the catch just seems to be completely missing the latch however it is adjusted. Wondering whether the bonnet is actually in the wrong place to be able to lock the flap as everything else seems to be correct
 
ciao, anch'io ho recentemente preso una A2 FSI con alcune cose da sistemare. sulla mia la luce di retromarcia non funzionava, perché la lampadina era guasta. Si trova sotto l'auto vicino al cambio, il meccanico ha fatto il lavoro per me. per ripristinare i pulsanti del clima, ho deciso per il momento di coprire quelli scoloriti con i classici adesivi che riproducono le scritte.
Thanks , I think mine is either the switch or the wiring, I need to get the car on ramps to have a better look. Yes have seen the stickers . At the moment I am living with the worn buttons as there is so much more to fix. the stickers are definitely one option. I may explore this or trying to find a suitable A4 unit to swap buttons from . I think there was also someone on the site offering a refurb service . Not sure from the thread if they are still offering this though. Hope you are enjoying your A2 as much as I am ... im 9 days in😍
 
I have confirmed the diversity unit is the source of the radio issue. I swapped with same unit from an A3 temporarily to test , and radio is now working.... need to source a replacement from ebay presuming the insides of the old one are fried and dont dry out .

If you haven't already done so, you should pay £2 to have access to the marketplace here:

I would imagine that one of our regular breakers here will be able to let you have a replacement diversity unit, and at rather less cost than eBay is likely to want.
 
If you haven't already done so, you should pay £2 to have access to the marketplace here:

I would imagine that one of our regular breakers here will be able to let you have a replacement diversity unit, and at rather less cost than eBay is likely to want.
Already done 😃
 
Then try posting an ad in the 'wanted' section.
Thanks for the tip.... wouldnt have thought about Wanted if you hadnt mentioned it , I will start with the essentials I need now and once ive sorted the rear vent seals i'll post for a diversity box. in meantime the ipod/aux cable with my phone will suffice
 
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