justins911

Disclaimer: This fix is not endorsed by Audiworld.com nor myself, the poster. This fix worked for me and it may work for you. Follow my instructions at your own risk. If you are not mechanically inclined, then have a professional mechanic do this for you. I am not liable for any damage you do to yourself, your vehicle or your property as a result of following these recommendations.

The Story:

I took my 2000 Audi A4 B5 1.8T Quattro ATW car in for an Ontario Drive Clean emissions test and failed. My Check Engine light was on which is an automatic fail. The failure code was P0441. I was told that this code was a faulty Secondary Air Injector (SAI) pimp and that it was cost over $1,000.00 parts and labour for a new SAI.

The Problem:

After much research, I found out that a common issue with the SAI is a damaged outlet hose (In layman’s terms, the hose had a hole in it). I would suggest you check this first if your car has failed emissions with the same fault code.

How to Test:

1. First locate the SAI underneath your car. You will probably have to remove the lower plastic engine cover
2. Make sure your car is in neutral or park (whatever the case) and your handbrake is on
3. Stand out of the way of your car while you have somebody start your car from cold (NOTE: your engine must be cold as the SAI only works when the engine is cold. It’s best to do this first thing in the morning after your car has sat all night)
4. After the car is started and you’re sure it’s not moving, lay down in front of it and both listen for a leak and reach up around the hose and feel for an air leak. If it’s leaking, it will be really obvious. (NOTE: when you reach into the engine bay, make sure your hands are clear of any moving belts or fans)

Tools Required:

1. Standard screw driver
2. Crowbar
3. Jack
4. Jack Stands

How to Fix:

1. Audi sells the SAI outlet hose for around $60.00. These hoses have a shelf life and you will find an expiry date on the package. Make sure you check it before you pay for the part. Don’t buy an expired hose. There are rubber o rings on the hose that get hard and brittle over time and you want them fresh.
2. Once you have the new hose, jack up the front passenger side of the car. Support the area with a jack stand. It should be high enough for you to comfortably slide under the passenger side of the car (Note: do not rely on your jack alone as they can fail. Make sure you support the car properly with a jack stand)
3. Remove the old hose. To remove the hose, squeeze the plastic ring connected to the end of the hose by applying pressure with your thumb and finger to the ridges (this releases the connectors) and pull the hose off. See the arrows in the image
4. If you are lucky, this will be a simple removal. My lower connector was easy but mu upper one was a bit difficult. I removed the hose clamp and hose for the intercooler to give me more room. I stuck a standard screwdriver through the ring to break it off the connectors. Then I worked the hose back and forth twisting it around until it came off
5. Then plug in the new hose. I started at the lower connector and pushed it on until I heard both sides of the ring lock the connectors. The upper connector went in a bit but I had to gently persuade it to go all the way in with a crowbar
6. If you disconnected the intercooler hose, reconnect that. Then re-install the lower plastic engine cover
7. Your check engine light should go off in a few days after three or four cold starts

Good luck!

Prospeeder

The code doesnt point to any one item really, it just means the system is not working. As you found theres more to the system than just the pump, good job.

justins911

That's the scary part. Had I just gone with the suggested repair, I would have spent over a grand instead of $60.00. There may be many issues relating to the SAI, but the leaky hose is an easy one to identify first and hopefully helpful in the process of elimination.

justins911

I have also created a video: