Audi A6 2000 engine won'e start!

Apr 21, 2008 13 Replies

Bought a 2000 Audi A6 two days ago, with 70,000 miles on it. The car was running great till a few hours back when I parked it and got out of the car. I saw a parking spot closer to my apartment so decided to go back and park the car there. To my astonishment, the car completely refused to start!! It was working fine 5 minutes ago, and now its not starting at all. The engine is not even trying to start. There is a yellow check light on the display with something which looks like a engine with a slash across it. I have no clue what to do. I have 3 month dealer warranty, would the repair cost be covered by it or would this be something major?



Are there any buttons/switches in the inside which I could have pressed to stop the engine from starting??



Any help would be greatly appreciated!


You didn't do anything wrong. There is an error in some component that the CEL (check engine light) is indicating. You need an OBD2 interface and computer of device to pull the actual code of the failure to know where to start.

Its not clear from your description if the engine is turning over but the engine is failing to start or if the engine is not even turning over. If the latter, you may just have a battery failure due to an internal short and it may start after a few hours or the next day. If the latter, it will happen again and again ... until you get a new battery. Dealer might cover it.

The problem, minor or major, should be covered by the dealer warranty. You should call them to see if they will pay towing also. If it is a quattro DO NOT allow it to be towed like a regular car. It must be loaded on a flat bed trailer to transport. Towing on a dolly can be extremely expensive and probably ruin the car.

I think the first thing would be to contact the seller..............let them sort it out.

Don't change anything yourself, don't spend more money, its their problem.

No.

When you try to start the engine, does the starter motor sound normal, or is it more of a high pitched sound like it is not encountering any resistance? If the latter, you have dropped (broken) a timing belt. I have heard of them breaking as the engine is shut off. If they break while the engine is running, the pistons will eat all the valves.

If you have a good warranty, this repair should be the responsibility of whomever sold you the car. If valves are broken, it can be expensive. (Been there with a '94 S4 that ate all 20 sodium filled valves, plus a bent cam shaft when I encountered a big deer one lonely night!)

Good luck.

Dave

My 97 A4 V6 has an inherent problem that I have lived with for a few years.

If I start the engine from cold and then switch it off almost immediately it just will not start unless,

  1. I disconnect the battery for a minute or so.
  2. I keep winding and winding while pumping the throttle. It will eventually, 3, 4, 5 minutes start to fire and pick up.

While doing 2 the engine sounds like there is no compression and to be honest it sounds like its not turning over at all............but it must be.

I strongly believe its one of the numerous sensors in the system that requires replacing but knowing any dealership they will change the wrong ones first so as to get as much dosh out me before they change the culprit. So much for the OBD system for finding the fault.

I had the timing belt and all other goodies changed out 20K back.

dj

If it is turning over it might be a bad coolant temperature sensor. Maybe leaking injectors?

I listened to a V6 engine that did not start. It sounded like it had no compression similar to breaking a timing belt.

The owner was told by the dealer that the engine was flooded. So I agree about maybe changing that coolant sensor. Maybe spark plugs also!

Tony, do you know where it is located and what it looks like so I can change it myself.

and dave AKA conclusion just might be right.

dj

I am not sure on the V6. but you could visit

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and search the archives for your year and model. You will probably be able to find DIY threads and may also have pictures.

It's possible that "tpow" is in the UK and has a 2.6 litre V6 (code ABC engine) which is different to the 2.8 litre. I'd look on vagcat.com for the position of the sensor(s).

Thanks Tony and Graz you are correct, 2.4 V6 I will look where you say

I have a similar problem with a V6: operating temperature doesn't go above 70 deg C and idle speed in Neutral is around 1000 rpm. I suspect one of the temp senders.

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