Non Start Problem

[sundowner]

My dealer disconnected the exhaust valve so always open on my 2012 V10 Spyder pre delivery. I took delivery last Thursday and I'm having a cold start problem. On three different occasions, when the car is cold, I turned the key to start and nothing happened. No clicking, no message, nothing but silence. On two occasions I had to take the key out and attempt to restart about a half dozen times before it started. This morning it started on the second attempt.

Car is currently in Service and the SA is telling me that the exhaust valve disconnect is probably causing the non start issue. Has anyone else experienced or heard of this? Thanks.

[M3R8]

I don't know the internals of the car enough to give an authoritative answer, but IMHO this is complete bulls-h-i-t. If this was the case, the car should have least attempted a start...

Check your battery voltage on the gauge, it should not be much below 12 otherwise this is how the car would respond.

However, I'm guessing that is not the issue since it would have never started, even after 100 attempts.

So unless you can talk sense into them, have them reconnect it and see for themselves.

How often did it happen?

[sundowner]

I don't know the internals of the car enough to give an authoritative answer, but IMHO this is complete bulls-h-i-t. If this was the case, the car should have least attempted a start...

Check your battery voltage on the gauge, it should not be much below 12 otherwise this is how the car would respond.

However, I'm guessing that is not the issue since it would have never started, even after 100 attempts.

So unless you can talk sense into them, have them reconnect it and see for themselves.

How often did it happen?

It's happened on three different occasions since last Thursday, always when cold (relative term as I am in Southwest Florida) first thing in the am, and the battery voltage is well above 12. I just spoke to the SA and he said that he was planning to reconnect the valve in order to diagnose the problem.

[M3R8]

Further, take a look at randombloke's post at Disconnect exhaust valve, so always open?

Yeah, let them do whatever they want to do, they'll figure it out

[mngolfer]

It sounds like you have a short in the brake switch during starting. If this switch is shorting out you get no power to the start motor, but what do I know...nothing.

[sapien]

It is definitely not the exhaust valve, but who knows, they may have done that whole procedure incorrectly and screwed something else up. What dealer is this?

[sundowner]

It is definitely not the exhaust valve, but who knows, they may have done that whole procedure incorrectly and screwed something else up. What dealer is this?

Audi of Ft. Myers. I gave them toecutters instructions and pics. But, you're right, who knows what they did.

[sundowner]

You are going to love this. The SA just called to tell me that they have already spoken to Audi and that they did NOT tell Audi that the exhaust valve had been disconnected. The SA told me that the first thing Audi said to do was to make sure that the very line they disconnected was not blocked. This sounds like a crock of s**t to me unless they changed something on the 2012MY. I asked them to check for a short in the brake switch while they had it in and he said that he would. They are going to reconnect the valve, keep it overnight, and start it first thing tomorrow morning to see what happens. I have a feeling I will be taking it back again.

[Yspokes]

If you get nothing with the key inserted (you said you had to remove it a couple times), and no click, or anything, I would have them check the chip in the key or for a possible Body computer issue. This issue has nothing to do with the vacuum lines they disconnected.

[sundowner]

If you get nothing with the key inserted (you said you had to remove it a couple times), and no click, or anything, I would have them check the chip in the key or for a possible Body computer issue. This issue has nothing to do with the vacuum lines they disconnected.

Unfortunately, for me, the SA is convinced that the vacuum line is the cause of the problem. He doesn't seem willing to test for other possible causes, including the chip in the key, which I mentioned to him this am when I dropped off the car. I'm just going to have to go along with reconnecting the vacuum line and wait for it to happen again before he is willing to go further.