Hi,
I have a 1993 Talon Tsi AWD. I've owned this car for about 13 years and have had no problems with it, until now. I have maintained it well myself (timing belt, oil changes, CV joint replacement, etc.) and am somewhat familiar with the various parts of the car. Here's what's been happening the past few weeks :
It starts, idles and runs great but every so often, it will bog down and have no power. The check engine light comes on and smoke pours out the tailpipe. When it does this, there's virtually no throttle reponse and downshifting doesn't help either - the revs will NOT increase regardless of how much you press the throttle. This problem lasts anywhere from a few seconds to about 30 seconds, then it instantly goes back to normal. When I mean instantly, I mean just that - if I'm pressing hard on the throttle when it goes back to normal, it will really jump and take off immediatley, not like a gradual recovery. It seldom does it more than once or twice a day. When it occurs, the engine still seems to be running somewhat smoothly - like all 4 cylinders are still firing but just not making any power.
It does it in all weather, wet or dry, hot or cold. In any gear, at any speed. I've had it happen when pulling away easily from a stop light or just cruising down the highway in 5th. It does seem to happen a bit more often when I accelerating hard, but not always.
Engine temperature makes no difference, cold or warmed up. There's no noises, other than the sound of the engine bogging. I use premium fuel and the fuel filter was recently changed. Plugs and wires are good. The K&N airfilter was cleaned but that made no difference.
I can't figure out what is causing this, what is happening, and why it suddenly stops. It seems to be a completely random event. Any ideas? Thanks.
I have a 1993 Talon Tsi AWD. I've owned this car for about 13 years and have had no problems with it, until now. I have maintained it well myself (timing belt, oil changes, CV joint replacement, etc.) and am somewhat familiar with the various parts of the car. Here's what's been happening the past few weeks :
It starts, idles and runs great but every so often, it will bog down and have no power. The check engine light comes on and smoke pours out the tailpipe. When it does this, there's virtually no throttle reponse and downshifting doesn't help either - the revs will NOT increase regardless of how much you press the throttle. This problem lasts anywhere from a few seconds to about 30 seconds, then it instantly goes back to normal. When I mean instantly, I mean just that - if I'm pressing hard on the throttle when it goes back to normal, it will really jump and take off immediatley, not like a gradual recovery. It seldom does it more than once or twice a day. When it occurs, the engine still seems to be running somewhat smoothly - like all 4 cylinders are still firing but just not making any power.
It does it in all weather, wet or dry, hot or cold. In any gear, at any speed. I've had it happen when pulling away easily from a stop light or just cruising down the highway in 5th. It does seem to happen a bit more often when I accelerating hard, but not always.
Engine temperature makes no difference, cold or warmed up. There's no noises, other than the sound of the engine bogging. I use premium fuel and the fuel filter was recently changed. Plugs and wires are good. The K&N airfilter was cleaned but that made no difference.
I can't figure out what is causing this, what is happening, and why it suddenly stops. It seems to be a completely random event. Any ideas? Thanks.
