Gasoline engine turns on unexpectedly

[Nuje]

The condensation is the reason why, if I get the ICE unexpectedly kick in, I take it for a bit of a drive. If you live in humid and cool climate, you'll often see water almost pouring out of tailpipes on other cars - I don't want that sitting in my exhaust system, corroding things from the inside out.

Plus, condensation forms in the engine oil, too. So, getting the oil up to full operating temp (i.e., above 100°C) is good to "boil" off that condensate so that it doesn't degrade the oil.

 

[Jacks A3 ET]

The A3 etron is IMO very much a "compliance" vehicle... If you study the amount of things put into making the entire package work you'd have a hard time believing that this car would make the company any money. It existed to meet fleet mpg goals. None of the components are shared with any other models in their line up, even the 1.4T is a special edition. You can compare this car with a plain jane A4 that sells for about the same price but is powered by nothing more than a 2.0T and a 12V battery for electrics. Perhaps half the complexity.

Having said all that not all the work done has been in vain, you have PHEV versions of the Q5, A6, A7 and A8. You can see a lot of the work done on the A3 get reused in those models... Sure, some of the bits are different, the ICE, the gearbox, HV battery etc but I think they all have the same foundation that was laid down by the A3... Thus I don't think I agree that this is a totally neglected model.

The reason why they won't sell the A3 PHEV anymore in N America is because they have the EVs now to meet fuel economy fleet averages... the A3 was brought in in 2016 after the diesel scandal... The diesels were the original plan for meeting CAFE standards. The A3 PHEV does not make sense financially to the company, it was sold to avoid big fines.

The A3 Sportback e-Tron has returned. See coverage of this New version on YouTube, as a 2024 model. Apparently only a Euro model, but although the body and interior are significantly changed - the PHEV design is very similar. Somewhat larger EV Battery - but same 1.4 ICE packaged with it. I think our A3 model is the -8V, and this is called 8Y, or 4th generation of the A3 still on the MQB platform.
From what I read in Wiki the 1.4 was used in other Audi's and VW lines from 2006 on. That was the EA111 version. No doubt this e-Tron version is somewhat different as it is the EA 211 version. And in the e-Tron there is no Starter or Alternator. However in the same model years it produced the same HP & Torque figures, as the other 1.4 in orher VW vehicles..