Power Steering Not Working!!

A bit off topic - but we were in a friends A3 2.0TDI a while back (manual g/box) and thought it a bit noisy and rather too much vibration from the engine.... Same friends wife's 147 JTD is more refined!
 
Yes Alex, it is still warranted and yes, my dealer does know of the re-map.

As regards the smoothness (or lack of it) of the 2.0 TDi engine, all I can report is what I find - this particular A3 (which has done 3200 miles) is silky smooth and very quiet and refined. Yes, you know it's a diesel you're driving as opposed to a petrol, but it is a very civilised powerplant, especially compared to the somewhat raucous 3-pot engine in the A2.

I am somewhat tempted to ask my dealer to just do a straight swap, to make up for the various faults I;ve had, but a) I don;t think he'll go for it, no matter how good a relationship we enjoy and b) it wouldn't be fitting for a co-owner of this forum not to be an A2 driver!
 
Hi Skipton,
I tried a straight swop for an A3 2,0l tdi too - Smith Knight and Fay at Stockport. But the drop was simply too big fo me to accept for my A2.

By the way keep looking out for you in Skipton!
 
Very drole!

And by the way, I don't live in Skipton, it's a long story how I got my nickname but I actually live over the border in Saddleworth (look at the Googlemap for more info).
 
My dealer phoned up to ask me what the problem was today, despite me providing them with a full VAG-COM scan, showing a number of DTCs - I am not impressed. They say they can't find a problem and that there are no fault codes listed!

So either I imagined it all and somehow managed to get VAG-COM to agree to my dream, or it's an intermittent fault which could come on again, possibly whilst on the move, which doesn't bear thinking about, or they're incompetent. One of the 3 options is correct and I'm erring towards the middle or latter ones.

I've just penned a very long letter of complaint to Audi UK - we'll see what happens.
 
Right - the latest installment!

I picked the New Tank up from the dealers this morning and did a scan on it there and then, just to see that all was tickety-boo, which the scan confirmed.

They said they'd not been able to trace down the power steering fault, but they'd adjusted the bonnet catch as I asked, to stop 1 rattle and then given it a wash and brush up (neglecting to fix a dodgy reversing light switch too, 'cos they couldn't find a problem).

I drove off (eventually, after dropping the mother of all stalls when I forgot I wasn't in a DSG car any more!) and the spouse and I wnet doing the usual Saturday shopping.

Lunchtime came and went and although I noticed quite a few minor paint marks (which I think have been done by the dealers, but I cant' be sure) and a bubbling piece of ally trim (which has already been replaced once), I was quite glad to have the little, characterful A2 back home.

I set off back to the dealers, to report these minor faults (oh, and the bonnet catch rattle had re-appeared by now again!) and I was feeling quite chipper!

Got onto the M60 at Ashton and a loud beep alerted me to a problem - I didn't know what, because I was just joining and was looking over my shoulder at the time.

I looked down to see the bloody power steering/ABS light on again, but couldn't really tell that there was a fault, due to my speed and the straightness of the road. As soon as I came off at Stockport howver, it was a different matter - the power steering had failed again, only 4 hours since I took the New Tank back.

Anyway, I was very calm at the dealers (although I could feel my face flushing with the blood pressure) and I'm back in the A3 again. The gauling thing is, I got the New Tank back with the fuel light on, and put £36 of diesel in, which they'll use now to test it with. I've got to fill up the A3 tomorrow again as well, cos that was on a 1/4 tank.

I really am in a quandry as to what to do, do I keep persevering, or chip the New Tank in for the nearest thing in their current range, the Sportback A3? Part of me wants to see the back of that car, I know it'll take a long, long time to get the trust back again, but then again, I do love it to bits.

And you can't take the back seats out of a Sportback, to take bulky Ikea purchases home!

Ho-hum!
 
Hi Skipton
In a way it is a blessing that the power steering fault returned so quickly - at least the dealer should be able to get on and fix it this time. Assuming they do a good job then hopefully within a few weeks you will have forgotten about this daft idea of trading the Tank in for an A3. Purely on a selfish note, i'm sure sure none of us would want to loose you from the A2oc.

Now I know it's down to personal taste but I nearly bought a facelift (surgery which definitely went wrong) A3 just after the launch. When the deal was about done, I took one final look at the gleaming motor in the showroom - and tore my cheque up. The A3 used to be one of the nicest looking Audi's in the range but with that new grille - yuk.
I guess from the model you were looking at you would be talking of over £15K to change. Reliability is unlikely to be any better than the A2 so just imagine what would happen to the blood pressure while discussing a new VagCom printout with the service manager.

Seriously, my advice would be to get the Tank fixed, run it another month, then decide if you really want to get rid.

Cheers Spike
 
Hi Spike,

Firstly, let me assure you that I don't particularly WANT to get rid of the New Tank for an A3, and I agree that another Audi will be susceptable to the same niggles and faults as my current car.

In any even, I wouldn't resign from the A2OC (unless it was deemed that I had to actually own an A2), so no worries on that front.

I actually do like the look of the new grille on 2005/06 Audis - you could say that the 'goatee' has grown on me! But the A3, although a much more refined car in every sense of the word is just so much more bland. I bought into the A2 because of its design first and foremost. Then when I found out that it was (meant to be) quite economical and spacious, they were the icing on the cake and I've run an A2 for the last 4 years now.

You are ultimately right - I will take back the New Tank when they say it's fixed (again) and run it for a good while longer, fingers crossed! I hope to be turning up to the Audi Driver International meeting in an A2 again this year, otherwise I'll be shunned by the group and miss out on a chance of a biscuit from Woolys missus!
 
Hey Mike,

Sorry to hear about the A2 woes. I know how frustrating it can be when the dealer doesn't resolve issues first time. I spent nearly 3 months in various courtesy cars when I had my second A2. It's the hassle and inconvenience that's the real grind. On the plus side - you aren't putting any miles on your A2.

I'm sure you'll keep us in the loop over the next few days - but in the meantime, I'll send you a set of window stickers to remind you of why the A2 is such a great car. Reading this has prompted me to get the discount cards sorted out too (see announcements in an hour or so...) :)

Take it easy,

Ben
 
Pox-box? What's on eof those?

Anyway, to continue the saga, I got a call from Smith Knight Fay in Stockport this morning to say that they'd tracked the fault down to a fuse which had blown, but not cleanly so that it kept making contact intermittantly!

That's all well and good, but why was it missed last week, what made it blow (they're 80amp fuses!) and has any further damage been caused by it reconnecting periodically?

I'm going to see them this afternoon and to take it for a drive with a technician beside me.

Ho-hum, such is life I s'pose!
 
Well, I am coming rapidly to the end of my tether!

I had a test ride (albeit around the dealership) with the workshop manager this afternoon, to point out various faults (or what I consider faults) on the A2. The steering problem seemed to be sorted, but I showed him the amount of pull to the left (it actually went left despite the adverse road camber!), the brake judder, the EGR noise and various squeaks and rattles.

He has arranged for me to book in for two days in April to sort these out. Apparently, the blown fuse was not actually blown, but had failed mechanically, leading to it being able to still short out if jolted. This part of their story was changed after I asked for the reason behind an 80A fuse going in the first place.

I was told that as they didn't have another one there, they'd soldered it back together and put it back on my car and they'd order one in to be fitted when I take the car in in April.

I was also told that they needed the car I'd been issued with back, as it was a demonstrator and they needed to use it - great!

So, I left the dealership, once again quite chipper at having the New Tank back. I picked the missus up from work and went to a council meeting, met her again afterwards and stopped off for some food on the way home. When I got back into the car and started it up, the dreaded error symbol returned, but then went out after a couple of seconds, and all was fine.

We had dinner, then I had to go out and lo and behold, the warning came on again, but went out as before.

On my return journey, the warning lit up again only this time it stayed lit and the power steering was gone again.

I drove home and immediately put the VAG-COM on it. This revealed a different code to the one last week - a failure of the steering control unit ie the pump/reservoir assembly.

As I was parked awkwardly (I basicallly slung it in out of disgust) I decided to park the car properly to save time in the morning. I started it up and the steering was back to normal!

So, a quick 3 pointer later I turned the engine off, got out of the car, locked it and waited a few seconds, then got back in and started again - the warning light was back, but then self-extinguished after a few seconds. This happened again, and again, then on the 4th attempt, it came on and stayed on.

I am getting so frustrated now - I'm not even angry any more, I've gone past that stage. I'll be phoning Audi Customer Care again in the morning - we're on first name terms now! Depending on what they say, I'll be back to S.K.F and really in their faces this time.

What makes it so much worse is knowing that the A2 is not in production any more and that I couldn't get another like mine even if I tried. I really think they can't be bothered any more and that I'm just a whingeing b*gger who has a little knowledge (a dangerous thing?). In fact, although nothing was said today, I got the impression that they thought I'd sabotaged the fuse to carry on the problem, although to what end I don't know.
 
Hi Skipton
You may know this already but according to an article I read, the electric steering pump is fitted with a thermal cut-out and a pressure regulating valve. The pump works hardest during slow speed manouvers (parking) so if the regulator is sticking, this could overload the motor and cut out the pump. Repeating the switch off / restart cycle may have been enough to override the thermal cut-out and blow the fuse(or melt the solder) again. Did one of your scans also show high alternator current ?

Cheers Spike
 
No Spike, no high current.

Also, yes, I am aware of the thermal cut-out on the unit, but this is not the issue here - on tonights occasions, all faults whether self-clearing or not, happened on starting the car, before any manouvring took place. This was also the case on the original occasion at Ikea. Only last Saturday did it actually occur whilst driving and that was whilst the wheel was fairly static, on the approach to the M60.

Thanks for the suggestion though.
 
Audi are now stripping the entire front end of the New Tank and it looks likely that it will need a new ECU and steering controller module!

If it were up to me, I'd ask for a new alternator/voltage regulator as well, because that was the first fault code showing 10 days ago, but it isn't up to me and I still get the impression that SKF want to do the job with the minimum of parts changed.

In all probability, I'll now be parting from the New Tank - I just can't trust it any more. Besides which, if/when I come to sell in a few years, when asked the question "Any problems?" what do I do: lie or tell the truth and knock a large sum off my asking price!

If Audi are so confident of the car, let them tell that to a new buyer, I haven't got the front to lie.

If I do end my period of ownership, will I be ostracised from the club? And what about future meets? I still intend to get my other half into an A2 in the future, but she won't have my current one in light of what's happened to it and frankly, I don't blame her.
 
I'm Gutted i won't be able to read your rants!!

Only joking

Are you going to stay away from Audi's? It seems the Dealer are your biggest problem, if they sorted it the first time you went in, you would possibly be more confident with the "New Tank"

With a Dealer like that, it may not matter what Audi you have!!

Emm
 
I must admit that if I had experienced this nightmare, I'd be thinking twice about having another Audi!

It's a bit like the Mercs made after the mid 90's, with their rust issues and dodgy electrics. Our 98 C-class had a rust spot go nearly through the roof with no external damage to the paint to explain it... Wouldn't buy another one from a later year!
 
Are you a footballer?

Dear Skipton,
Really sorry to read about your woes. I bought my A2 from the same dealer as you. They were Ok in sorting out my long list of problems, pulling to the left, wheels needing balancing and one replacing cause it was bent(part contribution, Sir?). The Sat Nav plus went thankfully whilst still under warranty cause the head unit needed replacement. They did all of this painlessly- well apart from the inconvenience of the drive from Skipton to Stockport. In the end what did it for me was the coil packs. They told me there would be no damage to the catalytic converter whilst driving with a missfire. I've since had 7 of these fitted. But I swopped to Audi Bradford and they have been really Ok with me. So too has Audi customer service. My A2 has loads of extras and when I read all the threads of this and that going I begin to think of Toyotas and Skodas. But the A2 is an engaging little car in its own right. I am due the second service at 37k and will report. I would be disapointed not to read your contributions in the future.

Perhaps Skipton, you need to be a United player to get good service in Stockport?
 
I know what you mean, but my hands are pretty much tied - I won't get a good price from a non-Audi dealer and besides, I pretty much think my particular car is a Friday afternoon special.

I've just had another phone call from Audi UK saying that they are moving towards a resolution (!) and that they are now thinking that the root cause of the problem is water in the electrics (!) , and the ECU (!!!).

To me, that sounds like an excuse for not replacing anything, ie saving money on components (the dealer has already tod me that they won't replace anything that can't be absolutely proved to be broken, because they won't get paid out from their warranty company).

So they put a hair dryer over the parts in question, bung a bit of silicone sealant around and hand the car back. I'm really not happy with a solution like that, I don't think it's unreasonable of me.

So, barring another A2 90 TDi (look at the dealer stock - there's 3 nationally, none with Open Sky and leather), the only other option open to me is a 5 door A3. It's not ideal, being a very bland looking car, but it's really my only option at the moment.
 
You won't get much of a price from an Audi dealer either. My A2 cost £17,5K second hand and 8 months old with 6K miles on the clock. Former Audi management car and was on the NEC Motor show stand in 2002. I wanted a car with sunroof and climate. I tried an A3 with Tdi 140 with CVT auto box as a loan car when the front roll bar was replaced (I have looked at lots of threads on this site, they're really interesting). It had amazing in mid range pull. After less than six months I was quoted £11k as a trade in. Ouch! Still I really bought the A2 for the longer term.

Re your electrical problems surely they must do more than simply dry them out. How old is your car? 12 months? I would speak again to Audi UK, maybe to one of their managers. I think of all the electrics in mine and I shudder. Don't give in. Non illegitemae carborundum.

If you don't have trust in Audi I have a V70 D5 SE since new. Nothing has gone wrong save a rear speaker needed adjusting. I have over 50k miles in 20 months in this bus. Its not as engaging as the A2 but is still decent to drive and very comfy. The dealers quote me a price for servicing and hey presto, thats what it is. Except the last service where the bill was £20 cheaper than quoted.
 
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