Judding on A3 2000 1.6 petrol

[rosswhall]

Hi all,

I have an issue with my A3 2000 1.6 - ocassionally when starting up, the engine starts to judder or the revs are lost and it takes a little longer for the engine to start. Additionally when it is driving the problem sometimes re-occurs where-by the engine power is lost and it starts to judder for a few seconds and then it kicks in again. Reving the engine seems to conmtrol the issue.

However on other occasions the engine runs normally without issue - but after driving for around 1 hours the problem comes back.

I have seen a similar issue posted for a diesel 1.9 and was wondering if this problem is related (MAF) and if so can I fix it in the same way?

I would appreciate any help!

Thanks in advance,
Ross

[omegadirective]

I used to have that on the same model car. It used to worry me because I had loads of things checked and nothing solved it.

I had the timing belt changed and it's been absolutely fine since. The timing belt can stretch and slip slightly, which causes the juddering as the car VERY slightly misfires. Corrects itself after a second or two.

Other things which may affect the timing belt could be heavy polution, such as being stuck behind articulated vehicles for long periods with so much dirt coming out of their exhausts. This can cause the belts to warp slightly, giving them more freedom to slip.

Then again it couldbe, and hopefully is, something as simple as a MAF. Try also your throttle body alignment (get it cleaned and recalibrated using VAG-COM or similar).

If it seems to take a little while to start, maybe check your battery incase it's the first signs that it is on its way out!

[rosswhall]

Hi thanks - I'll give this a go and hopefully it will resolve it.

Cheers,