New A2 owner! Happy but with some gremlins

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davidwws

Member
Hi all!

New owner of a recently purchased 1.4 petrol A2 here :) 2002 Reg, 102k on the clock, serviced every year
Love the car, been eyeing it ever since it was launched and finally been able to find the excuse to get one.

I'd really like to get an opinion from other owners on a few oddities/bits which I noticed in the 3 weeks since I got it.

- Check engine light:
Code p0160 - Related to AMP sensor. Replaced this last week however code is now showing up again together with the
- EPC warning in the dash
It comes and goes, but it's usually on. brake lights work fine and engine seems fine, but I cant stand seeing those 2 yellow lights.

- Car shakes above 40mph
Wheel balancing for sure. Could it also be related to drop links that need replacing? I heard some clicking noise ONCE from the LH front wheel, but it never came back :/

- Battery warning light came on for a split second when RPMs dropped on uphill start.
Should I be worried?

- Power steering light
Came on once in 500 miles, turned it off/on and never showed up again.

Lots of questions for a first post :) but I'm paranoid by nature when it comes to cars/bikes and I'd really like to keep my new A2 in tiptop conditions.
 
Last edited:
Welcome to the forum!
These symptoms COULD be down to a failing battery or earthing problem. These cars do like stable voltages, and any number of odd warnings can come of if the voltage drops, and for some reason the brake switch is another common suspect.
No doubt more experienced A2 chaps will have further inputs.
 
My power steering light has been known to come on very occasionally (from new). In particular if you move the steering with the ignition on but engine off it can get confused. But once or twice for no good reason. Turn it off and on again. I've never worried about it.

I've got a loose nearside drop link. It makes a very distinctive rattle on lightly broken surfaces. No noise over big bumps. Does not affect handling or cause any steering vibration that I can detect.
 
A broken or worn drop link cannot cause any wheel vibrations, they do not have any impact on the location or operation of the steering.
In fact, I ran around in an A2 for several weeks that had no anti-roll bar or drop links fitted at all!!! (not by choice and not recommended)

All that happens is that the springs are less stiff when cornering (that is what an anti-roll bar is designed to do, stiffen the suspicion on cornering without stiffening it on normal straight ahead driving.

So your vibrations are likely to be wheel balancing or even a possible buckle in the wheel (much less likely)
Wheel balance vibrations are usually easy to diagnose, they tend to come in around 40 mph and smooth out as speed increases and then start to vibrate again at 80 mph (on track testing of course ;) ) and smooth out again over 80.

Steve B
 
Well guys, guess what?

Vibrations were indeed caused simply by some unbalanced tyres, which I replaced so all good :)

As for the battery, Simufly was spot on as I went to start the car last night and it was dead.. will give it a good charge tonight and see how it goes in the coming days. If that's what causes the AMP sensor to turn on the check engine light I'll be one happy kid :)
 
Quick update:

Replaced battery and cleaned the throttle body.
While I was at it noticed that the intake pipe was completely loose where it plugs into the throttle body, I screwed it on tight > reset the error with the Torque App > went for a ride and now the car feels so much smoother with RPMs stable at idle.
The P0160 error was most definitely a leak.
Result: no more engine/EPC lights!! :D

By the way: where on earth is the MAP sensor??? I looked at other posts and diagrams, but I cannot see it on the intake pipe nor can I see any cables coming out of it.
 
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