Audi A3 1.8 Turbo 1999 Very low power problem.

This car has covered 102,000 kms and is in top condition. Suddenly, in city
driving at about 50 kph power drops suddenly. As speed slows I selected a
lower gear on the automatic which helped a little. After perhaps one
kilometer of spluttering along it was very difficult to coax along. In
neutral it will rev freely but it is very averse to much load. We
suspected an unburned fuel smell which would point to an ignition flaw.
The car will start but too power deficient to go anywhere after being
towed home. Is there anything us amateurs can check out / maybe fix before
unloading vast quantities of $$$$$$$$ on the problem. This is my daughter's
car which makes low cost repair highly desirable!! Any advice greatly
appreciated.

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Rangiawhia wrote:
> This car has covered 102,000 kms and is in top condition. Suddenly, in city
> driving at about 50 kph power drops suddenly. As speed slows I selected a
> lower gear on the automatic which helped a little. After perhaps one
> kilometer of spluttering along it was very difficult to coax along. In
> neutral it will rev freely but it is very averse to much load. We
> suspected an unburned fuel smell which would point to an ignition flaw.
> The car will start but too power deficient to go anywhere after being
> towed home. Is there anything us amateurs can check out / maybe fix before
> unloading vast quantities of $$$$$$$$ on the problem. This is my daughter's
> car which makes low cost repair highly desirable!! Any advice greatly
> appreciated.
>
> --
> Message posted using http://www.talkaboutautos.com/group/alt.autos.audi/
> More information at http://www.talkaboutautos.com/faq.html
>
>
If you can find someone with a VAG system to pull the error codes you
will be able to narrow down the problem.

But just guessing, things I would suspect a
- large vacuum / boost leak in the intake between the turbo and the
throttle body
- broken timing belt tensioner causing the belt to slip. If this is the
case running the engine at all is very likely to destroy it completely.
- one or two failed coil packs (likely due to the fuel smell)
- Failed waste gate actuator possible but wouldn't cause this much loss
of power

It is probably a high risk to drive it at all until the codes are
available to diagnose.

Call a recommended independent Audi mechanic. Do NOT take is to a
general shop that is not familiar with Audi

Was anything checked like the oil level? Might be too full.
Might be that N75 valve for the turbo.
Might be the Coolant Temperature Sensor.
Might be a clogged cat conv or exhaust.

Like TonyJ said, try to have it checked out.
I will assume that the fuel is good. ;-)


"TonyJ" <"tonyjnospam at nospam visi.com"> wrote in message
...
>
>
> Rangiawhia wrote:
>> This car has covered 102,000 kms and is in top condition. Suddenly, in
>> city
>> driving at about 50 kph power drops suddenly. As speed slows I selected a
>> lower gear on the automatic which helped a little. After perhaps one
>> kilometer of spluttering along it was very difficult to coax along. In
>> neutral it will rev freely but it is very averse to much load. We
>> suspected an unburned fuel smell which would point to an ignition flaw.
>> The car will start but too power deficient to go anywhere after being
>> towed home. Is there anything us amateurs can check out / maybe fix
>> before
>> unloading vast quantities of $$$$$$$$ on the problem. This is my
>> daughter's
>> car which makes low cost repair highly desirable!! Any advice greatly
>> appreciated.
>>
>> --
>> Message posted using http://www.talkaboutautos.com/group/alt.autos.audi/
>> More information at http://www.talkaboutautos.com/faq.html
>>
>>
> If you can find someone with a VAG system to pull the error codes you will
> be able to narrow down the problem.
>
> But just guessing, things I would suspect a
> - large vacuum / boost leak in the intake between the turbo and the
> throttle body
> - broken timing belt tensioner causing the belt to slip. If this is the
> case running the engine at all is very likely to destroy it completely.
> - one or two failed coil packs (likely due to the fuel smell)
> - Failed waste gate actuator possible but wouldn't cause this much loss of
> power
>
> It is probably a high risk to drive it at all until the codes are
> available to diagnose.
>
> Call a recommended independent Audi mechanic. Do NOT take is to a general
> shop that is not familiar with Audi

Thankyou Tony and Dave. I have just noticed on starting, below the odometer
a flashing message "service INSP" is persisting. Maybe thats telling us
something if we knew audi language? Plan to chase up the diagnostics angle
tomorrow. Keep you posted.

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Rangiawhia wrote:
> Thankyou Tony and Dave. I have just noticed on starting, below the odometer
> a flashing message "service INSP" is persisting. Maybe thats telling us
> something if we knew audi language? Plan to chase up the diagnostics angle
> tomorrow. Keep you posted.

Just means you have a service inspection due.

Not a diagnostic message.