seniortomato

Very weird situation, wondering if anyone's seen this before on a 2000 A4 1.8T:

One cold morning, the car wouldn't start. The engine would turn over, but no go. I had the car flatbedded to the dealership, where it started just fine with no work. The guys gave me a carwash and sent me on my way.

On the way back, CEL light went on. Very rough idle (between 900 and 1000 RPM at stops), black smoke coming out. At the dealership again, they replaced the sparkplugs (which were worn), and the car ran great for about 5km. Again, exact same rough idle/black smoke.

CEL comes on (flashes) next day when I start it. Again I had it towed to the dealership, where it didn't even start anymore. There was no spark. They tried replacing the crank sensor, but that did nothing. They put the old one in again, and the car starts, but runs very rich. Now they're recommending trying to replace the oxygen sensors.

Oh, and I had my timing belt replaced shortly (a week) before this whole thing started.

It doesn't seem like they know what they're doing? Has anyone seen such symptoms before?

alms_lefko

What were the codes from the CEL?

If you know thats VERY helpful... if not, well it could be a long list of things

Joey T

We need to know what codes they pulled, what engine you have, and what mods.

seniortomato

Yes, I know, but I don't have a Vag tool. The mechanic was saying their scan tool picked up lots of misfires (when the car was running). I dont think he mentioned any codes when the car wasn't starting.

seniortomato

I am thinking of getting a new dealer. I still have 3 tows left on my canadian tire assistance package, up to 250km. It should be enough to get me to another dealer.

1.8T from 2000, all stock.