My 2003 Audi A4 is overheating I drove about 2 miles and the temp gage went all the way up and the coolant light came on. The coolant resevoir is a little low but not below the minimum and there does not appear to be any oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil .

The puddle is in fact frost and condensation from the AC system. It is normal that this happens and you notice it 5 to 10 minutes after you park..

Top up the coolant anyway.

Its very possible

could be faulty coolant temp sensor

Hi there:the Audi manual never talks about a 2 stage aux fan just that the aux fan runs with ac on and it can run with out ac on if there is an overheat issue on the coolant side where as the a4 info clearly states a 2 stage aux fan system that would lead me to think the early 4.2 did not use a 2 stage system. Your car is not overheating and boiling over out of the coolant tank it is showing a little hotter than what would be perfect but it is still in what Audi calls acceptable range. The whole coolant system is new I would start looking at your sensor and gage systems there is a coolant sensor in the rad but that is most likely new if they replaced the rad. The gage uses a temp sensor on the engine for the gage I would replace that sensor and test the gage with a resistance input tool we have at the dealer. Could be a gouge or the wiring to it. There is a coolant fan module that could be defective if your sure there was a two speeds to the aux fan.




Hope this helps; also keep in mind that your feedback is important and I`ll appreciate your time and consideration if you leave some testimonial comment about this answer.

Thank you for using FixYa, have a nice day.

does the check engine light come on or flash when the running issue starts? sounds like you have an ignition coil dropping out intermittenly.

possible bad thermostat

white smoke usually means blown head gaskets,have radiator fan checked,water pump,check coolant for oil in coolant,could be blown in between cylinders,causing coolant to go out exhaust,have compression check done on cylinders.

You are over the average at 200k miles, and it is probably just the thermometer, have you ever overheated? Rule of thumb is that if you have ever overheated, you need to replace the thermometer. To tell you the truth, you can get away without having one. Just make sure that the car isn't overheating, because you don't have a working temp gauge to tell you it is. If it were me, I would wait until the car has to go to the shop again, then ask them to look at it, probably nothing.

Good luck!
EJ

If the light comes on under acceleration or cornering, but your temp is fine, then your coolant level is slightly lower than normal, the sensor doesn't pick it up when the car is level...Add a little coolant and the light won't come on

Sounds like you need a temp sensor for the gage. There's 2 under the hood one is a 2 wire in the intake manifold driver's side & a single wire one under the exhaust crossover pipe,also driver's side. You want to change the single wire one. Yes,it's tough. If it's still overheating quick, then it's a head gasket.