johnkk

Car is 01 2.7 A6 with manual trans. 150k miles.

2 days ago the car cranked for a few seconds and then started. By today, the cranking has lengthened to about 5-7 seconds. If I try an immediate restart, no problem. If I wait 10 minutes to overnight, the crank time extends to 5-7 seconds. Car runs fine once started. Thought I noticed a bit of gas odor from exhaust, but could be my imagination.

Scanned with VCDS (vag-com) and got no codes. Noticed a few miss-fires on cylinder 6.

Car has the updated CTS for last 50k miles. New plugs about 5k ago. Original fuel pump, but fuel filter changed about 50k ago.

Any ideas???

4Driver4

Coolant Temp Sensor is the place to start.

johnkk

Thanks. Should I just throw one in and see if it's fixed. Any way to test before buying the part?

4Driver4

Failure is often intermittent. Just swap it out. 50k is a decent run.

johnkk

thanks for help. Swapped the CT sensor and engine fires immediately when cold(or hot).

dmist

i have the same issue as the OP, long crank, bad odor, restart the car up just fine. my car is a 2005.5 A4 2.0T, is it the same issue?

johnkk

Seemed to be OK for a day, but long crank is back again. The temp sensors are a weak point on all Audi/VW's, and apparently a cause of many starting problems.

I'm puzzled.

4Driver4

With no codes showing and an intermittent problem, we are reduced to guesswork. My second guess would be crank position sensor.

johnkk

It seems that if the car sits and cools for more than 20 minutes, the car will consistently crank for 5+ seconds before firing. If you restart within 5 minutes, the car will fire immediately.

I thought a bad CPS would throw a code and that the cars usually would not start.

divil

What about between 5 and 20 minutes then? Is the cranking time somewhere in between during that time?

Could it be a small fuel leak? So after you stop the engine the fuel line is gradually depressurized. Then it would be more to do with the length of time since the engine was stopped than the temperature.

It might explain why you are getting a fuel smell, although it wouldn't be from the exhaust.