has my Audi "Cisero'd"?!?

[nostatic]

Went out yesterday to pick up the boy and "click" goes the starter. Hmm. No problem, I have Audi Roadside Assistance. To their credit they were very polite and got someone out to give me a jump within about 40 minutes (the car was parked outside my apt). It starts up, I pick him up and drive around for about 30 minutes.

Go out today to pick up the boy (I ride the bike to work) and "click". Well, OK...the battery is factory and 2.5 years old so while that isn't great it isn't totally out of line. I walk to school to get the boy (we walk there a lot of mornings anyway - about 15 blocks), and stop at the dealer on the way back as parts/service is about 4 blocks from my apt. Well, service it, turns out parts is about a mile away but they say they'll send over the battery. I walk the boy home, then turn around and walk back. I get the new battery and heft it home.

Figure out how to remove the various covers and clamps and swap it out. Go to turn the key and the car starts no problem. The clock reset to 12:00 but I'd expect that. Hmm, the ESP (traction control) light is on on the dash. And the airbag light isn't going out. I shut it down and restart...same story. Plus the one-touch window feature doesn't work. I noticed that right after getting jumped yesterday this didn't work, but after driving awhile it did, so seems maybe low voltage or current makes this not work right.

Sooo, have an appt to drop it off Monday morning. Hopefully something with the ECU just needs to be reset but I'm fearing some greater electrical gremlin that killed the battery in the first place.

Have I been "Cisero'd"?!? Time will tell...

[Rick V]

Hey Jim, Look, you are an adjative.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by Rick V

Hey Jim, Look, you are an adjative.

I do try

[bell]

sometimes you need to cycle the windows all the way down, then up for the one touch feature to start working again, do one window at a time, i run into this when hooking up amps and such on vw's/audi's/acura's/etc.....
sounds like it could be a bad/corroded ground strap on the battery or engine.....

[Scott R]

CAN-BUS system, you will probably need a hand held CAN-BUS scanner to clear the lights. I've been seeing this on a lot of the new CAN-BUS cars after a battery failure.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by bell

sometimes you need to cycle the windows all the way down, then up for the one touch feature to start working again, do one window at a time, i run into this when hooking up amps and such on vw's/audi's/acura's/etc.....
sounds like it could be a bad/corroded ground strap on the battery or engine.....

+1 on reprogramming the windows as noted above after battery being disconnected. Your owner's manual addresses this IIRC. Don't know about the rest, but like Jim, I also am not too thrilled with my Audi compared to my older BMW in the quality/reliability dept Too bad, as they are wonderful cars to drive.... if only they never broke or were easier/cheaper to work on when they do.

[nostatic]

kudos to bell and Tim for the windows trick - they are happy. That stuff about the manual is just crazy talk though...what next, common sense?

Still have the errors so hopefully that will just be a code clearing. You'd think the electronics were Italian or something...

[the]

most modern cars are like that. you can't just swap out the battery without resetting a bunch of things. at least it's not like an early 2000s mercedes, where swapping out the battery causes half of the computers on the car to blow.

[9dreizig]

Resetting stuff is pretty easy to do. In this day and age you've got to own a ODBII scanner just to reset the little stuff as well as check to see if the lights are little things or big things..\I carry one in my audi

[onewhippedpuppy]

......and so it begins.

[nostatic]

heh...

The only upsides are:

a) it is under warranty
b) the shop is 3 blocks from my apartment
c) I ride the Aprilia to/from work
d) there's always the lemon law

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by nostatic

kudos to bell and Tim for the windows trick - they are happy. That stuff about the manual is just crazy talk though...what next, common sense?

Still have the errors so hopefully that will just be a code clearing. You'd think the electronics were Italian or something...

I thought Lucas was British

I have that song from Fantasia running through my head as the soundtrack to this thread

[HardDrive]

Wow am I glad I don't own a VW anymore.....

[temo79]

I've seen a device where you can plug a 9v battery into the cig. lighter socket while you change the big battery... so you dont have to reset anything.

[Rick Lee]

My 993 still has the original battery and it's never had a problem. Resetting stuff with an OBDII scanner is usually a short-term fix. You'll find out the hard way when you go to smog the car and fail for unreset ready monitors. I went through this yesterday with AZ emissions and the correct reset procedure is almost impossible to do on a public road without attracting police attention.

[Jims5543]

The sad part of all of this is that you have accepted that your battery died after 2.5 years. I find that unacceptable when you consider you paid a premium for that car warranty or not. My Dodge truck was 5 years old when I traded it in and it still had its original battery. My two Toyota Tacoma work trucks are 3 years old original battery and none of these 3 vehicles have EVER been in for warranty issues.

Same goes for my FJ.

Somehow we try to convince ourselves its o.k. and just a fluke that our Audi's keep having problems.

Nostatic - I hope that is the end of your problems. My Audi started in on me at 3,500 miles and it has never ended. I also hope your service dept is competent mine is not and furthermore when I was stranded in North Carolina that dealership was on par with my local one, of course no service visit would be complete with some sort of cosmetic damage to the car.

I West Palm Beach they are good for giving the car back with bionic bird ***** on it that etches into the clearcoat. I NC they gave it back with a big greasy hand print on the A-pillar. I am sure I will be penalized for the damage when I do my lease return.

BTW- Thanks for making me an adjective.

[Scott R]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

My 993 still has the original battery and it's never had a problem. Resetting stuff with an OBDII scanner is usually a short-term fix. You'll find out the hard way when you go to smog the car and fail for unreset ready monitors. I went through this yesterday with AZ emissions and the correct reset procedure is almost impossible to do on a public road without attracting police attention.

Its not ODBII, its the newer CAN-BUS, and this is not some pesky "catalytic converter inefficient light" emissions crapola, these lights fire by design when power is lost. You need a newer scanner, with CAN-BUS capability to clear them. You can get VAG-COMM for your laptop and manage the system that way, or a newer handheld scanner. ODBII is no longer in use on the newer cars, discontinued.

[Rick Lee]

Well, my 1200GS has Canbus, so I guess I'll need to invest in that new tool eventually.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by temo79

I've seen a device where you can plug a 9v battery into the cig. lighter socket while you change the big battery... so you dont have to reset anything.

If you do that, make sure to disconnect or turn off the inside lights and the engine compartment courtesy light or they will drain that 9 volt down quickly.
They sell em but I made my own from spare junk in the garage, took 2 minutes.

[Scott R]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Well, my 1200GS has Canbus, so I guess I'll need to invest in that new tool eventually.

I'm in the same boat actually, being a wrench on the weekends. I suppose when I get my first MIL with a CAN-BUS I'll have to invest, its never ending.