'01 Starts up fine but shudders on start

[lizhill]

Searched around here a bit and can't find anything like the problem I've been having for about a month now.

So, my '01 turbo has 66k miles on it now, and while I was over in Pullman (60 degrees in the AM and 90 during the day) working one morning I noticed that when I started it, it fired just fine but gave a big shudder before it started idling normally. I'd been driving it every day, and it didn't do it every morning... just a couple times until I moved back to the Seattle area. Now I don't drive it every day and whenever I skip a day, the next day I do drive it it does the shudder.

I've never had it die after starting or had any problems while driving, just this shudder then everything's normal. I'm concerned it might be a symptom of something else (timing belt hasn't been done yet) so I want to take care of it ASAP if anyone has thoughts.

I checked the oil yesterday after it did the shudder and it's not gunky, but it was a tad low so I topped it up. Today it started fine, but that could also be because I drove it yesterday.

[D2Beetle]

Off the top of my head; a sensor or coil pack is going out. Get it scanned; not all codes cause CEL lights.

[FootScoot]

Mine does the shudder thing too. It's fine when I first start it cold and it goes to high idle, but as the idle starts coming down, that's when it does the shuddering. Once it reaches normal idle it's fine again. Very annoying.

[katiex10204]

I agree with the coil pack going out thing. I just had mine done again for the third time, and this is always one of the first signs, for me at least. Then, I was having a "flutter" at idle and at stops, rpms would go up and down constantly. Got my coils done and it's perfect again

EDIT: I didn't have a CEL at all either, but my mechanic had the codes when he scanned it.

[lizhill]

Okay, sounds like solid advice. Two questions though:

1) Is changing the coil packs something that's fairly easy/affordable to DIY? I don't have any experience with it, but I'm down to learn.

2) If I were to DIY, where could I go that would be able to scan it for free/minimal cost just to make sure there aren't any other codes? I assume that's more than Napa/O'Reilly can do, but is the dealership likely to charge me an arm and a leg?

Fletcher has 66k miles on him and I have no service records so would you also recommend doing the spark plugs at the same time?

[lizhill]

So, I took it to my dealership because their website said they would diagnose and repair malfunctioning ignition coils on all 2001-2007 models for free as part of a service program, and it turned out to not be my coils at all. In fact, they told me that the previous owner had all the coils replaced under warranty in June of last year.

Apparently, the problem was from misfire codes stored on the ECM because the software was outdated. So of course they charged me $107 on top of their $107 diagnostic fee to update the software. Then it started just fine.

Normally I'd be more upset than I am that I had to pay $215 for something so minor, except that I have zero experience with car software and don't have the resources to do it at home. And hey, at least he starts... right?

[Smileybug]

Shouldn't need to update any software to my knowledge. Never heard of that being done, unless there was a tune done. My '99 never had anything like that done. Sounds to me like they may have just cleared the codes...