a bit of a scare...

[Lee Levitt]

Away on a business trip this week, I got a call from my daughter that 
mom's '96 A6 lost its headlights and turn signals and is making weird 
transmission noises.

Shit, I'm not ready to replace this car...aside from a minor ongoing oil 
leak (onto the catalytic converter, stinky at times), it's still a great 
car, even with 205K on the odometer. Drives like a 3 year old car.

Some further long distance diagnosis, after having AAA flatbed the car 
to my mechanic, led to the conclusion that the top third of the class 
has already arrived at...faulty ignition switch.

When listening carefully to my daughter, I uncovered the fact that the 
weird "transmission" noise happens only after startup and while the car 
is in neutral or park. Not a transmission noise, but a starter trying to 
engage a running engine. D'oh.

Already fixed. :)

Learning here? Listen carefully to the womenfolk and keep asking 
questions until what you hear makes sense. :)