njkadesi

So, I'm leaving from work late last night after working long hours due to problems we were having at work, I pull out of the parking lot and pull up to the traffic light. All of a sudden, my engine makes a strange sound and the check engine light begins flashing. My engine begins beating irregularly, almost like a heart murmur and the light goes green. I continue on as I was meeting up with a couple of friends for drinks and food and I realize that my car was in 5th @ 2000 rpm and my mpg indicator was reading like 9 mpg. I continue the remaining 1/2 mile to the restaraunt attributing it to the bitter cold that had engulfed New England last night.
I finished dinner an hour later and come out to my car, hoping that everything would be normal. I turn it on and on comes the check engine light sinking my heart to the bottom of my chest. I let it idle for a few more minutes hoping that it would help. Alas, this did not help. So I decided to call Audi Roadside and give them the details. After I gave the details to the operator, I was asked whether the check engine light was just on or if it was flashing. I replied it was flashing and then there was a brief (seemed like an eternity) silence followed by "That means it's serious." My heart sank lower. The operator then proceeded to take down my location for the towing company and assured me that the tow truck would arrive in under 100 minutes!!! (This was the average response time in my area last night.) So I waited, for about an hour and a half in 15 degree weather for the to truck to arrive. The tow truck arrived finally and towed me to the dealership where I normally have my service done. (This part seemed to last only about 5 minutes after the wait in the bitter cold.) I dropped my car off at the dealership and called a cab for the couple of miles to my apartment. After a few more minutes in the cold, the cab arrived to escort me home. At this point my ordeal had already lasted about 4 hours.
I woke up this morning, got ready and called the cab company again to drive me to the dealership. Luckily, I was the first one there and was able to turn my car in quickly. They provided me with a big green chevy (I didnt realize it was an impala because I was too busy staring at the hot chick renting me the car.) I drove to work and as I walked into my cube, I heard my phone ring. It was the guy from the Audi dealership and he said he had news for me; that they had been able to check the car out in the half hour since I had left the place. He said that apparently there is a spring above the cylinders that had snapped rendering one of my cylinders useless till they could replace it. They are going to overnight the part and replace it tomorrow.
At this point I should probably mention that I bought my car last April. It is a 2001.5 1.8T with about 16000 miles on it. I am just posting on this forum because I a first time Audi buyer and like everyone on this forum I love my car. However, this occurence has left me dumbfounded, especially after another co-employee of mine (who also has a A4) said that he had to have his whole engine replace after about 4 years with about 50000 miles on it. Is this normal? To me, this sounds like a very big deal but I wanted your opinion on it (and maybe any positives.)

Thanks,
Heartbroken in MA.

bugbbq

I'm going to go out an unplug my CEL so that I never have a problem. ;-)

Pizzicato

Whats your problem? It was covered under warranty !!....right

njkadesi

Only about 1/2 mile.

markbradford

It says clearly in the manual not to drive the car if the CEL is flashing.

Pizzicato

lol

njkadesi

Right. My problem is not with the fact that its covered under warranty, but the fact that something major like this happened within a year of buying it.

Pizzicato

thats not major !!

Bill In SoCal

but I'm not saying it doesn't happen. At least it is now and not after warrenty is up.

kyan

Generally A4s r pretty reliable as long as the maintenance is done right.