James R.

Today when I got in my car to go to work I turned the car over and it started w/o any trouble. <p>But then I noticed that the car was shaking...so I immediately popped the hood and looked at the motor...it was sorta wobbling back and forth..not exactly the harmonious motion I'm used to from this engine (1.8T)<p>After about 30~40 seconds the car smoothed right out and ran like a champ...but that wobbling kinda put the fear in me that something might be wrong with the car?<p>Here's the scenario...55 Degrees Fahrenheit parked on a level surface 1.8TMS Chipped with Neuspeed 0.8 Bar...93 Octane fuel car in Neutral with the clutch engaged (not pushed in)spark plugs changed from stock to a set of Beru Ultra's one temp range colder than stock.<p>This is the first time the car has ever acted up. Do you think this could be what would happen if a plug were burnt or fouled? Possibly one cylinder was missing for a moment, which upset the balance of the engine causing the car to shake like it did? Or possibly a bubble got into the fuel line causing the car to behave strangely?<p>Thanks all for your help <br>

ErikR

This is not an entirely unusual occurence. If the check engine light did not go on you are doing great (still ok if the light goes on). But keep an eye on it in the future.

ChuckH

...it up and it will run on what seems like three cylinders, and it won't run normally until I start driving it, even if I turn it off and restart. When it is doing this, there is a lot of unburnt gas coming out of the exhaust. It's done this three or four times in 104K miles. The last time it did it was about a week ago, and it's about time to replace the plugs, dist. cap, and rotor, so it may have something to do with that. I probably wouldn't worry too much unless it does it again. May not hurt to call your dealer and atleast report it. Good luck! :-)<p>Charles<br>

James R.

Thanks...No check engine light or anything like that...it just sorta shook for a sec and then stopped shaking, has your car done that??

Peter

I have a B5 1.8t and had the same exact problem this morning(are you in So Cal.?). My Check Engine light did come on. You can imagine the misery involved with seeing that! Anyway, I took it to the dealer and found out what you already know. The car had a cold start misfire. The VAG tool identified the #1 cylinder misfireing. But there werent any other fault codes to suggest a real problem. I think occasionally our engines do this. The dealer sent me on my way.....I'm not really worried about it....

James R.

Wow that's eerie...yeah I'm in So Cal not that I'd think it'd have any bearing on the car doing that sort of thing.<p>Wow I'm surprised to see that the ECU is that smart it threw a DTC for a missing cylinder...I'll have to check and see if any codes are in the Climate Control address #1. The A4 logs all that crap at this address which can be read from the climate control...I removed my instrument cluster and it knew about it <p>My check engine light didn't come on though..I just started the car and noticed that the car was shaking violently (compared to normal) so I ran out to look under the hood...yuk it was sorta wiggling back and forth...and then it suddenly stopped shaking and began running like a swiss watch.<p>Did the dealer suggest any possible reason...or give you any indication that damage could be done by running like this??<p>Thanks for your reply

James R.

Wow that's eerie...yeah I'm in So Cal not that I'd think it'd have any bearing on the car doing that sort of thing.<p>Wow I'm surprised to see that the ECU is that smart it threw a DTC for a missing cylinder...I'll have to check and see if any codes are in the Climate Control address #1. The A4 logs all that crap at this address which can be read from the climate control...I removed my instrument cluster and it knew about it <p>My check engine light didn't come on though..I just started the car and noticed that the car was shaking violently (compared to normal) so I ran out to look under the hood...yuk it was sorta wiggling back and forth...and then it suddenly stopped shaking and began running like a swiss watch.<p>Did the dealer suggest any possible reason...or give you any indication that damage could be done by running like this??<p>Thanks for your reply

CharlieG

I've had this happen twice on my 98.5 1.8TQMS. Both times the check engine light came on and subsequently went out by the end of that day (engine ran perfectly after the initial stumble). Dealer said that it was the dreaded cold start misfire and on my second service, replaced my ECU with a later rev. that is supposed to be less sensitive to this condition. They also stated that the use heavy motor oil can be a contributing factor. Since the first time it occured was on original oil and the second time was on Mobile 1 10W-30, I'm not totally sure I agree with this. In any event, this is one reason my dealer had told me that Audi was now recommending lighter oil (5W-30 or 10W-30) for year-round use in cooler climates (I'm located in the Northeast).<p>One thing I seem to remember prior to each occurance was that I had run the engine for a short period of time and then shut it off (several times for the first incident as I was wiring up my radar dectector and needed to test for a proper source of power) the day before this happened (both times it was in the morning on may way out to work). I have since learned that this is not a very good thing to do (start and stop, not the going to work part, although some of you may disagree :-) as it can lead to a flooding condition - some have reported that they could not start the car at all. <p>My $0.02,<p>Charlie<br>98.5 1.8TQMS (11,000 miles)

DavidG

This scenario happened to me virtually verbatim last week. The can had not been started in about 36 hours and it was about 50F outside. I was fueled up with Sunoco 94 gasoline and the vehicle was parked on a very slight upward incline.<p>The car ran uncharacteristically rought at startup, causing the check engine light to initially flicker and then remain on steadily after about 5-10 seconds. After shutting down the engine and waiting a while, it started up fine, but with the light still on. However, the light eventually extinguished itself by the end of the day.<p>Interesting how most of the service issues with this car are actually reproducible quirks rather than random defects.

ErikR

Yes, every once in a while, even without the N...