DRIVERS ASK, TOM ANSWERS: WARRANTY

PROBLEMS SOLVED

Dear    Tom,

Q I own a 2000 Audi and the engine light keeps coming on. I took it to my

mechanic and he said I needed a new catalytic converter. I took it back to the
Audi dealer, and they said I needed new sparkplugs. (They never mentioned
the catalytic converter.) They put new sparkplugs in and the check engine
light is still illuminated. They told me that the light would go off after driving
the car for a few hours, which it did; however the light is back on again! I
went for an inspection (California) and the car failed for emissions. The
dealer wants to charge me again for a diagnostic and the car smells like rotten
eggs! What is going on here?!

Samantha—Fresno,    California

Samantha,

A Call Audi customer service and get with your local service zone rep. You

should have documentation that the catalytic converter needed replacing
before the warranty went out. This should be enough to get Audi to pay for
the replacement of the catalytic converter, but make sure someone checked
why the cat went bad. Usually they go bad due to the dumping of excess fuel
into the engine, causing the cat to receive more gasoline than it can process.
When this happens, a rock of carbon forms inside the cat, restricting exhaust
flow. Catalytic converter replacement does not guarantee the problem is
solved. Get to the root of the problem, the excessively rich fuel mixture, or
this will happen again!