New 1.5 tfsi engine

[MarkA3]

Hi, I'm very interested in this thread.

I bought an A3 1.5 TFSI 150 (manual) a couple weeks ago and I've been experiencing very similar issues.
When I accelerate there's a good couple of seconds lag where there's very little power from 1500rpm, eventually followed by a surge of acceleration from 2500-3000rpm. When I change into the next gear again the power drops right down again and then picks up again with another surge. I thought the idea of these modern engines was to deliver a smooth power delivery throughout the rev range. I'm coming from a 12year old Honda Civic 1.4 which pulled smoothly from 1500rpm upwards. 

I tried different Engine settings for Audi Drive Select, but they didn't help. Is this expected behaviour for TFSI engines? I don't think I can get used to this see-sawing acceleration, so I'm worried I might have to sell.

[bens3]

On 11/6/2018 at 10:47 PM, MarkA3 said:

Hi, I'm very interested in this thread.

I bought an A3 1.5 TFSI 150 (manual) a couple weeks ago and I've been experiencing very similar issues.
When I accelerate there's a good couple of seconds lag where there's very little power from 1500rpm, eventually followed by a surge of acceleration from 2500-3000rpm. When I change into the next gear again the power drops right down again and then picks up again with another surge. I thought the idea of these modern engines was to deliver a smooth power delivery throughout the rev range. I'm coming from a 12year old Honda Civic 1.4 which pulled smoothly from 1500rpm upwards. 

I tried different Engine settings for Audi Drive Select, but they didn't help. Is this expected behaviour for TFSI engines? I don't think I can get used to this see-sawing acceleration, so I'm worried I might have to sell.

We have progressed a little our vehicle has been deemed defective and has been returned and currently looking for a replacement as Audi do not have a fix yet for the problems we have experienced

[Andy1962]

if this is the case that the new ? engine is replacing the existing 1-5

why are all dealers told this instead of just fobbing people off or trying to sell them something more expensive 

How did they deem your car defective ?

what reasons did they give ?

My car has been in 4/5 times with these problems to NO wecan't find anything wrong !!!! 

[oake]

What Car? have a review of the Seat Ateca with the 1.5 TSI engine, and this comment struck me:

Quote

We loved the old 1.4 TSI for its low-down grunt, its willingness to be revved and just how quiet and smooth it was, no matter how hard you worked it. Thankfully, the 1.5 TSI exhibits all of those characteristics, save for its low-end flexibility. Seat claims that the 1.5 TSI produces the same torque over the same band of revs, but the new engine doesn’t seem to have the same level of get-up-and-go about it when you put your foot down for an overtake.

What Car? article

So they recognise that the new engine doesn't perform like the 1.4, but they don't seem too bothered by it. Could there be some basic flaw in the 1.5's design that causes varying levels of flat spots at low revs, and the test car exhibited the problem mildly enough to be acceptable, whereas some other 1.5 engines are more badly affected?

Either way, it seems there's potential cause for concern....

[David1996]

Hi, I thought this would be the most suitable thread for this post and just wanted to ask whether anyone with a 2017+ A3 1.5 DSG has had any issues with a squeeking noise (only way I can think to describe it) when moving off from stationary or at low speed.

This is something we've been experiencing for a good 6 months if not longer now and it was mentioned to Audi recently when the car went in for a service. Still there when we picked the car up again, so we called the dealership and they sent the AA out to inspect it at the roadside who also heard the noise and suggested that it may be the clutch. The car then went in to be looked at by Audi and after two days they said they were unable to reproduce it from both cold and warm starts. However, despite saying that they were unable to replicate the noise themselves (and according to the invoice did not carry out any work) it now no longer seems to be there but want us to let it know if it returns. 🤔This happened any time we moved off, so it seems a little coincidental that as soon as it goes in to be looked at for this specific issue suddenly it's no longer happening when they're telling us no work was carried out. 

 

Any advise / thoughts on what this may have been would be much appreciated.

 

[Mark57hv]

The ombudsman has been in touch and is upholding my complaint about the car which is great news!  They have said that the bulletin Audi provided confirms that repairs are required. Therefore they believe there is an inherent defect with the car, whichwould have been present at the point of supply. Because of this, the car cannot be deemed of satisfactory quality, so VWFS are liable to put things right.

They’ve not had a response from VWFS so have now escalated further and hopefully this means I should get my deposit plus interest back in return.  If anyone else has taken out a lease or PCP and have experienced similar issues with their car then I suggest you contact  VWFS and ask for the car to be returned citing that the ombudsman will rule in your favour against them if they don’t.

best of luck and will update when I here more

[Steve Q]

21 hours ago, Mark57hv said:

The ombudsman has been in touch and is upholding my complaint about the car which is great news!  They have said that the bulletin Audi provided confirms that repairs are required. Therefore they believe there is an inherent defect with the car, whichwould have been present at the point of supply. Because of this, the car cannot be deemed of satisfactory quality, so VWFS are liable to put things right.

They’ve not had a response from VWFS so have now escalated further and hopefully this means I should get my deposit plus interest back in return.  If anyone else has taken out a lease or PCP and have experienced similar issues with their car then I suggest you contact  VWFS and ask for the car to be returned citing that the ombudsman will rule in your favour against them if they don’t.

best of luck and will update when I here more

Glad you've had a great result Mark 🙂 hope it gets sorted quickly. When you return your car, what you going to get next? 

[bens3]

On 2/14/2019 at 6:47 PM, Mark57hv said:

The ombudsman has been in touch and is upholding my complaint about the car which is great news!  They have said that the bulletin Audi provided confirms that repairs are required. Therefore they believe there is an inherent defect with the car, whichwould have been present at the point of supply. Because of this, the car cannot be deemed of satisfactory quality, so VWFS are liable to put things right.

They’ve not had a response from VWFS so have now escalated further and hopefully this means I should get my deposit plus interest back in return.  If anyone else has taken out a lease or PCP and have experienced similar issues with their car then I suggest you contact  VWFS and ask for the car to be returned citing that the ombudsman will rule in your favour against them if they don’t.

best of luck and will update when I here more

We were in the same position fortunately they backed down before it went to FOS, as they couldn’t guarantee us not having the same problem with a like for like we opted for an s3. So I was advised there is a software fix which is awaiting to be developed but until then expect customers to continue with faulty cars! The ironic thing was few days after collecting the s3 the dealership put our old one back on the sales pitch!! Safe to say I won’t be purchasing or taking our current car back to that particular dealership

[Denise]

I purchased an A3 1.5 TFSI 35 - S-tronic, late last year after trading in my A3 1.4 TFSI .  So disappointed.  My issue is on acceleration with the automatic gearbox, from 1st-3rd gear it revs like crazy sometimes passing over 3,00 revs on the counter, (sounding like a manual where the driver is forgetting to change gear or a joyrider), I have to take my foot of the accelerator just to stop it! very embarrassing.  After it reaches 4th gear though or at a steady speed, it is fine.  I took it to my local Audi dealership when it was a few weeks old, who took it for the shortest test drive, but kept it for the day, put on diagnostic etc and guess what? as usual nothing wrong or showing up!  I don't want to go back as I know the response will be the same, so just putting up with it. My 1.4 engine was so smooth on automatic gear changes. 😔

Audi should have left the 1.4 TFSI engine alone. 

After having several Audi's all with their little annoying habits, I think after the experience with this car I think it's time to change.

 

[Anoid]

Hi, I bought a pre registered Audi A3 35 1.5 TFSI with 132 miles on the clock from Audi Edinburgh five days ago. The day after I bought the car it started to violently shudder when ever I accelerated. This is very worrying when pulling out of a junction or overtaking. I have to lift my foot off the accelerator or the car stalls. I took the car back to the dealer and they said they could have a look at it in May. I asked for my money back and they said they could look at it on Friday. This behaviour continued for another day then disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. The car then drove fine for a day then reverted back to jumping when accelerating. I will be happy if they can fix the fault on Friday but will be asking for my money back if the problem persists. This kangarooing occurs when accelerating in all gears.
 

[Magnet]

Hello Andrew,

I’m sorry to hear of your problem, and can understand your concerns and discontents. OK, allow them one more try at making a permanent fix, but I this were mine I too would be following your wishes of formally rejecting the car. 

If you are going down this route, then asking for your money back is OK, but I my suggestion would be to take advice from the Citizens Advice and follow their guidelines on how to formally reject the car. I would anticipate that this will be conducting this via. a Recorded Delivery letter to the dealer principal, rather than simply asking to reject it. 

Good luck with getting a satisfactory resolution.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[Walkervic]

We bought our A3 1.5 last year, i initially thought it was me but when my husband took it out he agreed that there was a problem and it would "kangeroo" quite dramatically when pulling off in 1st gear.  It also self accelerates on occasions.  We took back to Audi and were initially told they were aware of the problem and where waiting for a fix.  We heard nothing and so took back again a few months later, to be told that the fix was due beginning of the second quarter.  After driving it around Birmingham recently my husband said that this dangerous in traffic and complained to Audi direct.  They have now advised there is as yet no expected date due for the repair.  Now in discussions to what to do next.

[Magnet]

Hello Vicky,

Sorry to hear of your issue with this car. If this were mine, I would not be taking part in any discussions other than those based on formally rejecting this car and having all your outgoings refunded without delay. The car is deemed to be potentially dangerous, the dealership has been given opportunities to resolve the issue; Audi are aware of the ‘greater picture’ involving other such vehicles and are working on it, but cannot give you a date by which it will be resolved. 

I’m really not sure for how much longer discussions need to be carried out. Citizens Advice will no doubt advise you how to formally reject the car. 

Hope some of this helps,

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[JohnO]

On 1/25/2019 at 3:22 AM, David1996 said:

 

 

Hi Gareth,

Squeaks are notoriously odd things to sort out.  Has it come back?  I think the clue here is that it went away after it had been 'looked at' by the dealer.  So something changed while it was there.  From my experience of a zuzzing sound in a Ford mondeo when driving between 30 and 45 MPH, (a leaf stuck in the radiator, which whistled between those speeds), to knocks when cornering, which turned out to be a cricket ball under a seat rolling around, it could so easily be not related to the car itself, but to some foreign object, or something loose, which should be tight.  Plastic batteriy covers are always worth checking for tightness, so my bet is they went round prodding things, which unintentionally cured the squeak.   I had a woman report a loud roaring noise at speed, which disappeared when I shut her bonnet properly!

Please let us know if you ever found out the cause.

regards,  John

[Magnet]

Hello John,

Sorry, but I’m not sure what post you are reply to. Perhaps you could let us know.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[ChesterDog]

Afternoon All,

Sorry to continue this thread, but I have to take out my frustrations on my keyboard.  I bought an Audi approved A3 1.5 tfsi and am having all the same ‘kangaroo in the engine’ problems as everyone else.  I brought the car in October 18 and although the problems were there from the start I just thought it was me and the fact I had just changed from a diesel A3.  It took until Jan 19 to realize there was a problem, so I booked it in at the Audi dealership.  They told me there was a problem with certain 1.5tfsi engines and a fix would be available the 1^st quarter, I periodically kept phoning them to find out about the fix to no avail.  The 1^st quarter turned into the 2^nd quarter and still no fix.  On the advice of the Citizens Advice I have written the dealership a letter stating the problems, including an email chain where they admitted there was a problem with the car.  Even though I have had the car for 8 months and Audi have had the chance to repair the car I have requested to return the car.  I am awaiting their response, but I am not holding my breath as they promised to phone me back many times. 

If I don’t get a satisfactory response I will use the Motor Ombudsman, as I paid a lot of money for my car and it is still not working as you would expect.  If anyone else has already gone through this process I would appreciate it if you could let me know what the Ombudsman said as I am losing faith that they will be able to help me.   

[gillw]

Hi all, I've stumbled across this thread after a quick google search. As you can probably guess I have taken delivery of a brand new Audi A3 1.5 35 TFSI (petrol) company car and I have similar issues to the ones mentioned in this thread. The car was built & registered last month (June 2019).  

I've spent the last 4 years driving an Audi A4 2.0 diesel which I loved and my wife drives an Audi A1 petrol so we love Audi's! MY company car was up for renewal and I initially wanted another A4, but because of all the emissions issues late last year these weren't available. So I ordered the next best thing I could which was the Audi A3 which seemed a reasonable choice as spec & size is similar and it's cheaper on tax! The car was originally due for delivery in March this year, but was delayed to June. I read on another forum the delay may have been down to the engine issues, but cannot confirm this. If it was true I would have hoped they found a fix by June.

As soon as I drove it out of our car park it was jerky in 1st & 2nd. I found the car difficult to drive and not smooth at all. At first I put it down to the transition from my diesel A4 to the petrol A3, but after 3 weeks things were no better. I booked it into the local Audi garage who confirm it's a "known issue" with Audi and they are waiting for a fix. As you can imagine the lease company my company uses is not particularly interested and have closed my complaint down.

Therefore I am stuck with this problem until Audi fix it. Has anyone heard any updates from Audi at all?

Thanks in advance 👍

 

[ChesterDog]

Hi,  I have not heard anything.  Audi have been telling me since Jan they are waiting for the update.  I got so frustrated I have changed to a A3 2.0 tfsi 40 which is fantastic.  You wouldn’t believe the difference from the 1.5 tfsi.  I’m not sure where you stand with a company car, but if it was only 3 or 4 weeks old I would be rejecting it straight away.  Look at the forums this has been going on since last year with no update.  You might feel differently as it’s a company car, but there is no enjoyment with the 1.5 engine.  I hope it works out for you. Regards

[gillw]

3 minutes ago, ChesterDog said:

Hi,  I have not heard anything.  Audi have been telling me since Jan they are waiting for the update.  I got so frustrated I have changed to a A3 2.0 tfsi 40 which is fantastic.  You wouldn’t believe the difference from the 1.5 tfsi.  I’m not sure where you stand with a company car, but if it was only 3 or 4 weeks old I would be rejecting it straight away.  Look at the forums this has been going on since last year with no update.  You might feel differently as it’s a company car, but there is no enjoyment with the 1.5 engine.  I hope it works out for you. Regards

Hi, thanks for the reply & wishes.

It's a tricky one as it's a company car. If I reject it, I will almost certainly be allocated something from the "pool" which consists of cars where the employee has left the business, so I could literally get anything. If I want to stick with Audi, my best option would be to sit it out and hope it either gets fixed quickly or doesn't get worse! 😞

[ChesterDog]

I’m sure the problem will be sorted at some point, so you’re right to stick with the car as it’s so much better than a 1 Series and I think it looks better than the new A Class.  Good luck.

[Nita]

I bought a Q2 with this engine in March 2019 and it has the fault described here - flat spot when accelerating in low gears. The dealer and Audi UK acknowledge the fault but have so far only offered unspecified financial compensation. As far as I am concerned the car is not fit for purpose and should be replaced under consumer protection law. The so called software solution has obviously been “in progress” for over a year with no realistic end in sight. Audi should not be selling this engine or at least should automatically replace those that display the problem.  May write to Which magazine to publicise the problem.

[Magnet]

Hello Nita,

’.......the car should be replaced under consumer law’. 

Are you going to formally commence this process? If so, I’m rather confused by the reference to ‘..May write to Which...’ -  rather than to Audi.

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Nita]

Already written to Audi. Little progress. 

[Magnet]

To inform them that you are going to formally reject the car within x days if they haven’t resolved your issue? 

[Nita]

Audi now say they have the software solution available!  Bit sudden.  Will update when I have  more info.