Audi A3 2.0 TDI Sport S line problems

[fm86]

I've just brought an 2004 Audi A3 2.0 TDI Sport S line and it seems to be very edgy when driving!!

Took it to Russell Automotive and they did a car check for £72 but now I need to spend another £144 to find out what the two problems are they found in the initial check (2 faults in gearbox (implausible transmission shift circuit open) and 2 minor faults in engine)

What to do.....Is this a commen fault???

[zollaf]

welcome.
now, its dfficult to say if its a common fault or not without actually knowing what faults you have. presumably for your £72 they have plugged in a diagnostic computer and found some fault codes, but havn't actually told you the exact codes, or have they. if they have, post those codes up for us.
so, what do you mean by edgy ? twitchy handling, lack of power ? ? ?

[fm86]

They did hook it up on a diagnostic machine but didn't tell me any fault codes....However my friend did hook it on at the local garage who said there was one fault which was:

19143p2711 implausible transmission shift circuit open

I only got the car last week........it's gear changes seem very slow and when i put foot down the rev goes really high before gear changes!!!

[zollaf]

ok, i will leave a possible explination of that fault down to someone with more experience of the dsg. did you buy from a dealer or privately ?

[fm86]

Brought it privately and was told they were selling to get a deposit for a house......not sure if that was the real reason now!!!

Thanks for your responses

[zollaf]

ok, hopefully someone like crasher will throw some light on this for you.

[pscocoa]

My response unfortunately is not going to be encouraging. My son has a 2007 A3 Auto 2.0 S and it has been nothing but a load of trouble and the Audi dealer has struggled big time in diagnosis of problems. He bought it late 2009 but by mid 2010 the gearbox edginess was bordering on dangerous - jerky and at low revs prone to suddenly pick up when you compensated on giving it more throttle. To cut a long story short it was off the road with Audi under warranty for 3 months - they provided loan car and did everything they could to reprogramme and make adjustments but at the end they had to bite the bullet and fit a new DSG gearbox. You will see several posts on here about the sensitive nature of the DSG - some think it drives like that and is normal - we proved it was not. Having said that if you do not have a warranty and initial evaluation reveals nothing (I have no confidence in Audi dealer diagnosis - will explain later) then see if you can cope with it as it is to avoid throwing more money at it. If you search on here you will see a number of threads on this subject. I think the new DSG and other related work cost Audi at retail prices something like £5k.

A second problem hit us in 2011 with poor starting and idling. Car came back yesterday after 6 months at Audi dealer - they replaced everything including cylinder head, fuel lifter, glo plugs etc - at the finish it was the starter motor - doh!! This was the LAST thing they changed and hat following a visit from Audi UK technician. The dealer again provided the courtesy car and in this respect could not be faulted - they should also be credited with not fudging the issue and saying there was no fault. But to take 6 months to come up with this solution seems crazy. So the car has been off road 9 months and more in just over 2 years of ownership.