Mark: Hi, it's Mark Bossert. I'm here with Bernie Pawlik, Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, BC Canada, and we're talking cars. How you doing, Bernie?
Bernie: Doing very well.
Mark: So today we have an EV guest appearing on the show. It's a 2017 A3 e-tron. What was going on with this vehicle?
Bernie: So there was a warning on the dash that was a little bit perplexing, and we can show pictures in a minute, but it took us a while to figure out what the actual warning meant. Looked through the owner's manual. Nothing. All our repair information, nothing. A few phone calls to some of our tech experts, nothing. Finally, after a while, we figured out what it was. There's a switch and a lock for the EV door on the front bumper. And that turned out to be the problem.
Very expensive part, by the way. I'll just say right up front, and maybe we can get in some pictures and have a look.
Mark: Okay. So no other problems that the owner was experiencing, just the warning light.
Bernie: No, nothing else, just this warning light on the dash. We scanned the vehicle, did a full vehicle scan for codes, nothing at all in any system. There was fully free of any defects of any sort, which, you know, is usually indicated. But of course if the warning light's on, that's often the item functioning properly.
So there's our beautiful 2017 e-tron. This is a hybrid, by the way, not a full electric.
There's our light there. I didn't put an arrow to it, but just below where it says EV, there's a little light on the front. And at first we thought, oh, maybe there's something wrong with one of the parking sensors or maybe the radar sensor for the lane changing operations. But we did a few tests just around that area. And there was no codes, the system seemed to operate properly and usually there'd be another warning on the dash, but there wasn't. So that was that.
Finally, after a great deal of time, I'm embarrassed to say, we figured out that it was to do with the EV door. You can see this is when the driver's door open. It's actually a beautiful graphic if you can look up close. It actually looks like a real door being opened and closed. It's pretty cool. But unfortunately with that EV door, it just showed a little red dot. So it took a while to figure out.
So there's the EV door, which is the Audi logo in the front grill.
Mark: And this is what it looks like open.
Bernie: That's what it looks like open. This is a view from underneath, and that red arrow is pointing to the part we replaced. Yeah, there's a front view of it open. You can see the charging port is to the right. And that arrow points to the piece that we replaced.
Mark: So this is a lock you mentioned?
Bernie: It's a lock and switch mechanism and basically keeps the door closed. But I mean, it was always closed. It was never a problem. And the owner had no complaints. You know, the charging door worked fine. So it wasn't like it was an actual issue, it's just like an electronic issue. And actually, had we not replaced it, I mean, it may not have ever been a big deal, but of course it's annoying when you have a warning light on a dash on a nice car.
Mark: Well, what are the potential problems? If that lock didn't work, would this pop open perhaps?
Bernie: Well, it could, but that door is spring loaded. So it actually stays closed naturally. It takes a slight effort to open it. So I suppose going down the highway, you know at a certain speed.
Mark: Hit a bump. Or there's back up really fast.
Bernie: Yeah. Or if you're in some kind of huge crosswind that might do something.
This part came with the switch and this was completely missing. This is a little plunger that goes into that switch, it was part and parcel. And that piece was missing. Of course, we didn't realize till in hindsight, oh, okay. That part's missing. We just realized after diagnosing it for some time, go, okay, the switch is defective and this all came part and parcel in one piece.
Mark: So this part was broken. What we're looking at here is broken in other words.
Bernie: Yeah. Well, that part is actually fixed. That's the new part. The plunger sits in a different spot and clips in.
Mark: It's telling the car that it opens it or what's the function of the plunger, do you think?
Bernie: It basically tells the car that the door is closed and it'll actually lock the door in place. I assume that's when it's moving because when you shut the car off, you can open the door, no problem.
And this is the item, I'll just put it out there. Just over $800 Canadian. Dealer only. For this little piece. And that little red tab there, which comes with a cord on it, is basically an emergency release. So assuming that the thing locks up somehow and won't release, or you'll lose electrical power, something happens, you can pull that and it'll release the charging port door.
Mark: So once you diagnosed and found out what the problem was, replaced the part, what happened?
Bernie: Light was off. All fixed.
Mark: Vehicle run good? Looks pretty good shape for 2017. Hundred thousand kilometres.
Bernie: Yeah. Fantastic shape. Even less than a hundred actually. Yeah. Fantastic vehicle. Really nice. You know, we have a lot of expertise and sometimes our expertise is challenged because new things come in the door and it just takes some time to figure out what it is. Sometimes we have to use our noggins.
Mark: So you mentioned you looked for this and your team looked for this in the owner's manual. There was no definition on it, even on all your resources, because you guys have lots of resources across North America on experts Yeah. Who deal with all these types of cars. And nobody had seen this before?
Bernie: Nope. Nope. You know, it just took a lot of head scratching and finally looking Okay. This makes sense. Then once we finally found it, we're going, duh, you know.
Mark: Well, I don't know if it's a duh. It's not even showing exactly where it was. If we look at the picture.
Bernie: Well, yeah, I know. You look at the picture, it doesn't even show it being on the centre. So it's kind of odd the way it's positioned. If it showed up being right in the middle or even to the left, it would actually make more sense.
Mark: So it's over here on the right?
Bernie: Yeah, exactly. Which was just kind of perplexing. We're going, well, maybe it's something to do with a park sensor, because that's kind of where those things are located. It could be like a right hand, there's a couple park sensors there. It could be that could be out, but yeah, it doesn't show it. If it was right in the middle or maybe even to the left. You go, okay, that kind of makes sense.
Mark: Yeah.
Bernie: Now we know. And so whoever's watching this video, if you have an Audi 2017 Audi e-tron, and you have that light on your dash. Now, you know.
Mark: With their complicated charging door instead of just a door, it's all hidden.
Bernie: Yeah, that's right. Exactly.
Mark: And as always, complication is wonderful until it goes wrong.
Bernie: Exactly. Yeah.
Mark: So if you're looking for service for your Audi e-tron hybrid EV, the people to see in Vancouver BC are Pawlik Automotive. You can reach them at (604) 327-7112 to book your appointment. Or you can go online at pawlikautomotive.com. You can book your appointment right there. They'll get ready for your appointment. They're experts. 25 times voted Best Auto Repair in Vancouver by their customers. Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, BC Canada. Thanks so much for watching and listening. Thanks Bernie.
Bernie: Thank you, Mark, and thanks for watching.
