Very strange instrumentation problem - Audi A6 4.2, 2007

[matthewcody]

Hi folks,

This forum has been a gold mine for me and I'm hoping for one more win... I have a 2007 A6 4.2 with 85,000 miles on it. After the last oil change I started getting intermittent "low oil" warnings (not oil pressure, just oil volume). My mechanic said that he's not seeing any codes but that it'd make sense to swap out the unit. Made sense to me. The symptoms were that the warning would come on at various times - sometimes after 2 hours of highway driving, sometimes right before I hit the end of the driveway.

Now here's the interesting and strange part.

3 weeks ago it was VERY cold out here - around 8 or 10 degrees F - and I had to start the car. When I did I got all kinds of warning lights, including MIL and the 'traction control/abs' light as well. The car also ran quite roughly for the first 2 minutes but drove OK after that. The MIL and ABS lights remained on for 2 weeks (I didn't really drive the car, just moved it), and then it was only the MIL light.

Flash forward 3 weeks later and all the warnings are now gone. I've had it out for several hours and not even the oil level warning is coming up anymore.


So... I'm bringing it in for an oil change, but what the hell do I do? Be happy all my problems have miraculously been cured? Or start digging for a real and significantly ugly problem?


Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[SinCityA6]

Have the battery and charging systems checked. Low voltage on the battery can and will cause sensors to act oddly. Being that it was very cold and the car was running very rough, I would hazard a guess your battery is on the way out.


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[matthewcody]

Thanks and will do - I"d hate to hear it, as I replaced the battery (at the dealer) not too long ago - but it would be somewhat of a pleasure to stick this up their you-know-what... after a $2,000 steering column replacement a few years ago.