[BiturboS4] Intermittent Engine Stall

[Bryan Buus]

The most bizarre thing recently started to happen with my 2001 S4.
Occasionally I'll let off the clutch and the engine will just die.  No
sputtering or anything, just "poof!" -- the tac slides to zero.  Often, if
I'm at a stoplight, I'll not even notice that the engine isn't running until
the light turns green..  I've also had this happen when I'm in gear and
pretty much coasting on the highway.  In this case, the engine dies and
immediately starts up again (it's essentially being jumpstarted).  When this
happens, the ESP and ABS lights come on and stay on until I shut the
ignition off and start the car again (at which point everything appears to
be ok).  The shutoff "feels" electronic -- like a sensor that's misbehaving.

This is happening about 3-5 times per tank of gas.  I'm trying to find a
pattern; so far it seems to happen around mid-tank and sometimes when the
tank is near empty.  Typically multiple stalls will happen a few minutes of
each other.

The dealership mechanic has checked for error codes (as have I with my
VAG-COM) and didn't find anything.  They reset the throttle body(?), but
that hasn't had any effect on the problem.

Has anyone had this happen to them or have a clue as to what this might be?
I'm about to go on a road trip around the US and would like to have a fully
functional vehicle! :-)

Thanks,

Bryan