SirTrixMagoo

I was having the same problem... no start first thing in the morning, worse in colder temps. Hold the key, in 5- 10 sec intervals... and a jump pack on the battery the FIRST time I tried it had it turn right over. (the jump pack stopped working after the first time.)

Had the battery tested... it was fine.

finally broke down and ordered the starter.

It's been around 20F the past two mornings and It's kicked over strong, first try, both times. (knock on wood)

BTW, eventually it will just not start one morning. Coincidentally, my starter gave out the morning after ordering the new one!!! I got so frustrated with it... I eventually (after 20 minutes) held the key for to long and melted some of the epoxy on the solenoid! I would strongly advise against waiting.

AreenS4

degree weather.

TXurS6

I doubt they designed a part knowing that it would likely fail in cold temperature. They sell enough cars in cold weather areas that they design the cars with that in mind.

I'm not excusing them for the problems, I had it on my 2004 S4. And it's all the more frustrating because you a stranded right when you need to go somewhere. But, saying they have horrible engineers because they think everyone lives in 80 degree weather is a little over the top.

The bigger problem here I think is AoA and some dealers. It's a known problem and it happens quite often. Rather than own up to it and replace the starter and relays at the first sign of this problem they would rather risk further damaging their customer service image.

nguyen1368

How hard of a job is it? How much was the starter?

SirTrixMagoo

It's actually not a big deal as long as you have a fender engine brace/ hoist. (a motor mount has to be removed along with some other parts to get to it)

I got the starter from Carson @ Riverside 201.758.1600 x.122

starter $226.96
core charge $75
Shipping both ways $12.18

i should mention other dealers wanted $360 for the starter and I couldn't find any local part stores that carry it. I decided not to go with a generic starter on-line because it's not a 10 minute job to replace.

AUDIocee

Since posting, this is the second time the car has been back to Audi (Calgary). I just got a call that my car is ready for pickup. Of course, there's a hitch, for the starting prob, they were replacing the clutch switch. Well, they somehow broke the clutch switch during the install and have to order a new one so they just put the old one back. wtf! By the time it's installed it'll probably be summer again, we're already hitting the 50's today...

Frustrated

AUDIocee

With the clutch switch replaced, I am still having the cold start issue.

Note: I just posted about sticky revs/dbw issues being solved by the replaced switch.

AUDIocee

So I contacted Glenmore Audi (service mgr) on March 3, 2008 about the starting problem persisting with no reply, contacted them again last week, and again today. Still no response.

Today it is 0C (32F) and my car will not start at all, I tried for a good 10 minutes this morning. It used to only occur below -5C (23F), but now it's happening even at +5C (41F).

AUDIocee

I finally just took it in last week on March 17th. They ended up replacing the ignition switch. When I got the car back, I noticed the steering wheel was a bit off centre, so I have to take it back to get that corrected.

After a week of driving, the starting is still delayed. I noticed that it gets worse if the car sits for a couple days. I'm gonna try to drop it off tonight.

AUDIocee

Finally got the car to the dealer, here in Calgary we've had a cold couple of days and a ton of snow! So hopefully it won't start for them this morning. I'm going to head down to Glenmore right now to see them try to start it. Since that last post, they corrected the steering wheel position, but obviously the car still has a starting issue. When I first took it in in January, I had told them I believe it to be the starter, the mechanic now agrees... but they still need more evidence pointing to the starter??? Not sure why, I call it bad service!