2007 A3 Sportback 2.0 tdi s-line broke down an hour after collecting it

**paul the 6th** · 10-07-2009,12:45 PM

Hi everyone (posted this in the "new members section" with an intro & bit of background about me but thought it made sense to ask in the specific sub forum as well)....

collected my beautiful 2007 a3 sportback s-line (2.0 tdi) from VW York at about half 6 last friday... 7:45pm I was stood looking at the car and on the phone to VW assistance getting it recovered as it had broken down...

Driving along a straight b-road (from york to rufforth village on the west side), 6th gear at about 60mph I pressed for a bit of acceleration but the rev's just bogged down and I had a total loss of power. Rolled into rufforth and pulled into a side road where I tried to start it 3 times. Nothing.

First thing on monday, one of the VW mechanics started the car first time. Their finance director took the car home with him (York to driffield) to see how it was driving. It didn't break down but apparently it wasn't running right, so they sent it down the road to Audi York (both VW and Audi are JCT600) as it's still under warranty.

Just spoke to VW about an hour ago - the technicians have replaced the fuel filter which has cured the 'hesitation' the FD experienced, but then the car has broken down again since. The tech's are completely baffled...

Oh and they've also noticed a knocking noise coming from the rear suspension so they're gonna look at that while it's in the shop.

In the meantime I've got an '09 Eos convertible which looks slightly ghey but is lovely to drive (and I'm quite sure its got the same engine as my audi)...

So, my faith in Audi is still strong but in a million years I'd never have bet this would happen. It's 29,000 miles by the way with one lady owner before me.

Can anyone shed any light on a possibly cause? I've spoken to a friend who works for volkswagen group uk as a technical advisor (on the phone) who said it could be 101 things but to be patient.

Not a pretty sight

his **** is pretty mingin as well

The lovely to drive but incredibly ghey eos...

**kkp0897** · 10-07-2009,09:16 PM

Lovely looking motor and shame you're having some unknown probs with. Like your mate said, it could be 101 things but the only thing for me that springs to mind, out of experience, was when I tanked the car with petrol when my audi was a diesel. I drove it about 1 mile down the road and it died on me. Your fuel could be possibly contaminated. Not sure if they're able to take a sample but I'm wondering what'll happen the next time you are able to tank your car.

Best of luck and hope they sort it.

**a8 tech** · 10-07-2009,09:29 PM

most common area
fuel pressure and delivery looking at the pressurisation pump in the tank also crank senders are becoming more common of late but if no fault codes then fuel pressure is the way to go because for the engine to cut out and struggle to restart then without a fault code generally means there is is insufficient fuel pressure so a quick check of mvb for quantity whilst tandem pump pressure tester connected and visible to the driver will tell you a hell of a lot.Check the tank for oil returning from the fuel system indicating defective tandem pump or pitted injector seats or cracked fuel galleries causing fuel pressure loss which the tests i have suggested will highlight as you need 10 bar plus of pressure when accelerating any less and the power will drop off and cutting out will occur.But always check the earth connections for the engine ecu near the nsf headlight located on the chassis leg and voltage supply also and the very worst case i have seen recently relating to similar complaint lose 30 connection at the battery but this stored sporadic terminal 30 codes

**kkp0897** · 10-07-2009,10:10 PM

Now you sound like a person who knows what they're talking about!!! You didn't happen to design the Audi fuel system by any chance?

**a8 tech** · 10-07-2009,10:17 PM

lol,I have fixed a fair few of these 2.0 pd units and i can say i think i have seen every senario there can be and i am so glad the pd unit has finished because the new common rail engine has so far been very reliable like the good old 1.9 pd unit in my opinion

**chiefwiggumpi** · 10-07-2009,10:28 PM

A8 tech is the new common rail likely to be more reliable? If so why?

**a8 tech** · 10-07-2009,10:37 PM

Good question and there are so many answers mainly based around egr functions and fuelling as the pd unit struggled on until it was no longer workable with EU DIRECTIVES FOR EMMISIONS and the DPF system lends itself to the common rail engine more so then the pd unit.Without getting into the differences in the engines and fuel systems i base my view on faults and so far the 2.0 common rail is proving very reliable but it had to be as this engine goes in the bread and butter cars A4,A6,A3 which brings the money in and funds the big projects like R8 and the Rs range as Audi market share continues to grow above and beyond BMW and Merc reliability is a must,i think most B8 owners who run the common rail will vouch for it.Don't forget I am a technician so i naturally look for fault in a depressing way lol

**Smartpainter** · 20-07-2009,08:41 AM

Hi Paul the 6th. Your car is just about identical to mine and I'm experiencing the rear suspension knocking noise as you previously mentioned. Just curious to know if and how it was resolved.
Cheers.

**paul the 6th** · 20-07-2009,05:58 PM

Originally Posted by Smartpainter

Hi Paul the 6th. Your car is just about identical to mine and I'm experiencing the rear suspension knocking noise as you previously mentioned. Just curious to know if and how it was resolved.
Cheers.

Hi everyone, forgot to post back and let you all know that the car was fixed/finished with last monday and I collected it on tuesday morning.

It has been absolutely sound ever since. The lady in the service department who dealt with me said she wasn't entirely sure what the problem had been but the invoice for the work carried out showed that a fuel line behind the rear passenger seat had come loose and was renewed along with the appropriate clips etc... the car has been fine since.

As for the knocking noise from the rear suspension, it turned out to be the rear suspension bearings in the strut tops. They replaced these and also balanced the wheels as they noticed a slight bit of vibration above 80mph during the road test...

I bloody love it!! It's such a fun car to drive fast and it looks fantastic...

my friend grace even said "how pretentious is that?" when she first saw it parked on double yellows outside her house (I was quite chuffed with that as she's quite posh/from suffolk so rarely impressed with stuff oop norf).

Hopefully this will be the end of the bad luck with my first audi. Now to post a question about chipping and the potential engine wear implications...

**chiefwiggumpi** · 20-07-2009,06:42 PM

Hi paul

Glad to hear the cars sorted and youre pleased with it i love the power/performance of the 2.0tdi unit.......just a matter of interest how was york audi? Thats who i placed my order with and since i did it all over the phone i was curious what you think of the service/staff