It is with both smugness and a heavy heart that I start this thread. Smugness because this thread will deal with what I've always known: Germans are almost incapable of making a long term reliable car..particular as it pertains to electrical systems. Heavy heart because this is IQ's car..and she's going to feel the pain and sadness.
So..let's get to the beginning. The beginning being the purchase of a 2008 Audi TT Quattro with 3.2L and 6 speed manual. A bit of a unicorn car. IQ wanted this car because she was looking for something with winter capability on those real sour days. She also wanted a coupe and a manual. That didn't leave many choices. She was also smitten with my brilliant Audi TT build I had done previously...so she wanted one for her own. So this is how we ended up here to begin with. Now she didn't go into this blindly. She knows the history of FGCs. My friends, her friends, those we know who've had FGCs...we've witnessed much ass-hattery first hand. True, we owned a couple of 911s that were problem free. But I've always felt Porsche was a notch or two above other FGCs. A Porsche is what other FGCs want to be when they grow up. So she was prepared for some silliness...but hopefully it would be minimal.
A pre-purchase inspection revealed some mechanical bits that needed attention. Normal wear stuff; rotors, pads, sway bar links. Less normal? One of the front coil springs was broken. There was an intermittent temperature gauge issue. It wasn't working during the inspection, but was working again immediately after. Also, the oil pressure sensor was toast. Looking online, this is an extremely common issue. I am Jack's Complete Lack of Surprise that the Germans haven't mastered something as simple as a pressure sensor. Shocker.
The owner said he had a new pressure sensor he'd install. So he did. But the problem persisted. There was some suspicion that because he didn't have a VAG-COM, he couldn't clear the CEL. Next, AngryChicken informed me that he suspected buddy was using a cheap Chinese knock off part and the forums basically said that was a no-no. Makes sense I guess. If the CEL won't stay off with a German OEM part, it probably won't with a Chinese part.
Arrangement were made to bring the car to a shop in Ottawa while I waited to sort out the logistics with my other car purchase, shipping, etc.
Once at the shop, a course of action was formulated. Angry Chicken had a spare set of springs which he VERY generously offered for our TT. We'd replace the springs, the pressure sensor with OEM and also the temperature sensor/sending unit with a OEM. These are all easy fixes. Except the shop (allegedly) had issue with the shock mounts being rusted stuck. In the past when I've deal with this, it was no big deal. Cut the bolts off with a cutting wheel or torch, and the shock falls out. I'm still pretty fuzzy why it caused the shop more grief than it should have. My mechanic suspects that the shop knew I lived waaaay out of town and that I had a Visa card.
The pressure sensor was installed as was the temp unit. Everything seemed well...except for what I was billed.
The day the car was being dropped off for trucking, the owner called me and said the pressure sensor warning was back on. Oh FFS, it begins. Wasn't much I could do at this point. I half thought, after my experience at the shop, that maybe he hadn't replaced the sensor at all and was just hosing me. But I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I half suspected the plug..since those get kinda old, cracked, etc over time and would deal with it here.
So now that we have the car, it's time to get it safetied and finish the work that needed to be done. Of course, while waiting for that I started cleaning the car, trouble shooting, etc. Just goofing off with the car in the garage like most of us do. One evening, the driver's window stopped working. Just..dead. Odd. Couldn't figure it out. Then, out of nowhere, the rear spoiler retracted in and out all by itself! I thought for sure battery. I checked battery and it cam back with 10.5V. Pretty flat. I also suspected that *might* be part of the sensor issue. Low voltage causing the sensor to go bananas. So I charged the battery that night and lo and behold, the window worked in the morning. So I went out and bought a new battery and added that to the list of things to replace as part of the safety process.
Day of the safety comes and goes. Everything works...save for that stupid pressure sensor. Got an alignment done. Cars drives really nice now.
Onto today! I went out to recondition the driver's seat as it was pretty dirty. Spent a couple hours doing that. Noticed the window didn't "dip" when I opened the door. FFS....window not working again!! Also....cell phone won't pair with audio device. Not only will it not pair...the cell phone can't even see the car. Then I took the car for a ride. Oddly, the pressure sensor error went out....but then the engine temperature gauge stopped working at that exact moment. Just as I was pulling into the driveway, the pressure sensor alarm came back...and the engine temperature gauge started working! The window continue to not work.
So I'd say there's a short/bad ground or something...and it's likely shared between pressure sensor and temp gauge. No idea WTF is up with the window or the cell phone pairing.
None of this sounds like it will be pleasant or cheap to track down.
So there you have it! Up to speed on typical FGC electrical issues!!
