1998 Audi A4 idling, dying

Tiny
BONE007_46
  • MEMBER
  • 1998 AUDI A4
  • 4 CYL
  • AWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 145,000 MILES
I recently got an oil change, the next day when I start up my car, the rpms drop and fluctuate rapidly, eventually dropping to 0 and then the engine dies. It seems like it cant hold the idle speed. When Im driving, when I come to a stop the rpms drop again way below 1000, and the car starts to shake and it dies when the rpm drops to zero. The next day, its not doing it anymore, but it slightly did when I slowed to a stop. When I am parked its not fluctuating anymore, its holding the rpms steadily. Whats wrong with it?
Saturday, January 10th, 2009 AT 10:21 AM

6 Replies

Tiny
2CARPRO JACK
  • MECHANIC
  • 11,533 POSTS
They may have left the key on in your car and it killed the battery, now it is relearning. Did you visually look for anything wrong under the hood like vacuum lines off or cracks in the tube from the air box to the engine?
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Saturday, January 10th, 2009 AT 4:37 PM
Tiny
BONE007_46
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I checked under the hood and everything seems fine. You said the car might be relearning, what does that mean. Also, if it is relearning, is that why it became better the next day? So does that mean it will eventually go back to normal? How long would that take? Its alot better today which is the second day, its almost non- existent, just when I slow down to a stop, the rpm slightly dips and theres a bit of shaking.
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Saturday, January 10th, 2009 AT 6:12 PM
Tiny
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Sometimes they (the computer) needs to relearn the parameters if the battery goes dead. It I spossible it will be ok without any work, but if it is shaking it may be misfiriing, possibly in need of a tunr up if it hasnt been done yet
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Sunday, January 11th, 2009 AT 7:38 AM
Tiny
BONE007_46
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Ok, so if I do need a tune up, what kind of tune up should I get, because I know places like pepboys has 3 different kinds of tune-ups. Someone on this forum asked a similiar question regarding idling and how it dropped and shook when they slowed down, and the technician replied to him and mentioned an idling control problem, computer related problem. Could this be a possible problem for me? Because we have similiar issues. Its day 3 now, and there are no signs of the problem that occured two days ago. When I first start up the car, itt holds the rpms steady. When I slowed down though, it did drop once out of many slow downs but ALOT less drastic than 2 days ago. What are your thoughts on this?
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Monday, January 12th, 2009 AT 9:23 AM
Tiny
2CARPRO JACK
  • MECHANIC
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If it hasnt been tuned up before, I highly suggest it. I would shy away from Pep-Boys and the such, ask around for a VW shop they will be able to help you out with your Audi, only use OE parts, they last longer and perform better. Also clean out around the throttle bore with carb cleaner and a rag. It will help stabilize the idle
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Monday, January 12th, 2009 AT 9:28 AM
Tiny
BONE007_46
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You didnt answer my other questions. I asked you if this could be a computer related problem. Also I read something about an idle control problem and it sounded like mine. Is this also possible? So you think that after the tune up it should be fine? And what about the way its behaving now, as if that problem doesnt exist anymore, and everything is working fine. Also its been really cold out this month between 10-20 degrees, could this be something that causes this? What are your thoughts on this. Thanks.
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Monday, January 12th, 2009 AT 12:10 PM

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