2006 A3 2.0FSI Sport. "A characteristic of the car sir"

[Chelmsfordreda3]

Hi All,
My car "stutters" on moving off from stopped. Had a long saga with my local dealer and after many visits and even involving Audi UK they came up with the concept that the fault is not actually a fault but a "characteristic of the model". Apart from the fault the car is excellent. I have posted before on this subject but my dealer has given up - they replaced the EGR valve and a valve on the clutch housing but all to no avail. I wonder if anyone else has by now experienced this problem? I drove a quattro 2.0T A3 and noticed just once something similar to what I experience on my car but I would not have been troubled by it.

[ItalynStylion]

Originally Posted by Chelmsfordreda3

Hi All,
My car "stutters" on moving off from stopped. Had a long saga with my local dealer and after many visits and even involving Audi UK they came up with the concept that the fault is not actually a fault but a "characteristic of the model". Apart from the fault the car is excellent. I have posted before on this subject but my dealer has given up - they replaced the EGR valve and a valve on the clutch housing but all to no avail. I wonder if anyone else has by now experienced this problem? I drove a quattro 2.0T A3 and noticed just once something similar to what I experience on my car but I would not have been troubled by it.

I'm not an expert on the A3...yet, but I'll try to help anyways.

Is your A3 a manual and did you recently get an oil change? Also, once you have driven the car for a little bit does it go away? It sounds like you may have blown your rear main seal on the engine crank shaft. It can be done by putting more oil into the engine than it is supposed to have. It will leak out a little bit and get on the clutch surface and cause the clutch to shudder when you take off in the morning.

[Chelmsfordreda3]

Originally Posted by ItalynStylion

I'm not an expert on the A3...yet, but I'll try to help anyways.

Is your A3 a manual and did you recently get an oil change? Also, once you have driven the car for a little bit does it go away? It sounds like you may have blown your rear main seal on the engine crank shaft. It can be done by putting more oil into the engine than it is supposed to have. It will leak out a little bit and get on the clutch surface and cause the clutch to shudder when you take off in the morning.

Hi ItalynStylion
Car is a manual but its had this fault since brand new. I should have rejected it I know but at that time I had faith in Audi. Pretty sure its not oil on the clutch. I think it is related to the engine management as an Audi technician mentioned that clutch position was an input.

[Badger61]

Are you using 98 octane super unleaded in your car? pref not supermarket. Correct fuel pressure is critical for direct injection,between 30 and 110 bar, they need to check the gauze on the fuel pump in the tank for clogging, supply pump pressure and high pressure pump pressure,also check tumble flap operation this may require removal of the inlet manifold to inspect.One weak point is the fuel pressure regulating valve and is difficult to spot unless you run a test drive with a data logger attached which most centres wont have,(VAS 5051B or 5052 aren't quick enough)a slow build up of pressure from idle would cause the problem you have.

[Chelmsfordreda3]

Hi Badger61, using exclusively Shell V-Power 99 octane for last 15 months. Thanks for the fuel pressure ****ysis. As I stated this problem was from mile zero so not sure if gauze on fuel pump could be the problem. The other possibilities you suggest - would they only be a problem when starting off? The car is perfect in intermediate gear changes and engine is very smooth and free revving once the car is going. Another thing - effect not noticeable when engine is cold.
Regards
Robin