2001 Audi A4

A4'S HAVE A POORLY DESIGNED CAM TENSIONER THAT EVENTUALLY LEAKS OIL. THE COST TO REPAIR THE ITEM IS APPROXIMATELY $1000. THE DEALER (CAROUSEL AUDI) EVEN ADMITS TO THE FACT THAT IT IS A POOR DESIGN AND THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT IT AT THE DEALER. I'VE ALSO READ NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT IT ON AUDI FORUMS. THE LEAK TYPICALLY FOUND SHORTLY AFTER THE WARRANTY PERIOD HAS EXPIRED. I FEEL STRONGLY THAT THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL ON ALL RESPECTIVE CARS TO HAVE IT REPAIRED! *NM

FRONT BRAKE FAILURE. OUT OF FOUR PAD/SHOES, 3 PADS PHYSICALLY SEPARATED OFF OF THEIR RESPECTIVIE SHOES. ONE OF THE THREE ACTUALLY CAME OUT DURING DRIVING. WHEN THIS OCCURED, I TEMPORARILY LOST BRAKING ABILITY AS THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR WITHOUT PROVIDING ANY DECELARATION. CAR NEEDED TO BE TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP AS IT BECAME USAFE TO DRIVE. THE REMAINING PAD/SHOE THAT WAS NOT SEPARATED WAS IN REAONABLE CONDITION MEASURING 7.7MM (OUT OF 10MM). THE TWO REMAINING SEPARATED PADS ARE CHIPPED SHOWING MAJOR DELAMINATION AND MAJOR DEGREDATION. REMAINING PADS & SHOES HAVE BEEN SAVED. BRAKE PADS/SHOES & ROTORS WERE REPLACED BY IRA AUDI 97 ANDOVER STREET DANVERS, MA 978-739-8806 THIS APPEARS TO BE A CATASTROPHIC PRODUCT FAILURE ONCE THE PAD LETS LOOSE COMPLETELY. EVENTS LEADING UP TO FAILURE: ABOUT A WEEK BEFORE, I WAS HEARING A THUNK SOUND WHEN THE CAR WOULD CHANGE FROM REVERSE TO FORWARD MOTION. THIS OCCURED ONLY AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS SITTING OVERNIGHT.

12/2004, PURCHASED CERTIFIED 2001 AUDI A4 FROM BEECHMONT AUDI IN CINCINNATI, OHIO. CAR HAD A COMPREHENSIVE 300+ POINT INSPECTION PERFORMED BY AUDI AS PER PAPERWORK. 5/20/2001, VEHICLE TAKEN TO BLUEGRASS AUDI IN LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY FOR A BRAKE ASSIST PROBLEM. SEVERAL DAYS PRIOR TO BRINING THE VEHICLE IN, I WAS IN REVERSE LEAVING MY GARAGE WHEN I FOUND THAT I NEEDED TO PUSH THE BRAKE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR TO SLOW AND STOP THE VEHICLE. I NOTICED WHEN I DROVE FORWARD THE PROBLEM WENT AWAY. I TRIED BACKING UP AGAIN AND FOUND THE BRAKING TO BE NORMAL. LATER THAT AFTERNOON I WAS GOING TO LUNCH AND WHEN I BACKED UP THE VEHICLE DIDN'T HAVE ANY BRAKE ASSIST AGAIN AND I HAD TO PUSH ON THE BRAKE PEDAL WITH MAXIMUM FORCE. TOOK THE VEHICLE TO MY LOCAL AUDI DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD BY THE SERVICE MANAGER THAT THE CAR NEEDED A BRAKE FLUSH. THEY PERFORMED THE BRAKE FLUSH, BUT THAT DIDN'T FIX THE PROBLEM. I RETURNED THE VEHICLE BACK TO AUDI SEVERAL DAYS LATER AND WAS INFORMED THAT THEY FOUND THE PROBLEM WITH A GROMMET THAT CONNECTS TWO VACUUM HOSES AT THE BULKHEAD. THEY ADDED A CLAMP TO STOP THE AIR FROM ESCAPING THE SYSTEM, BUT THE NEXT DAY IT PROVED NOT TO WORK. THEY ALSO INFORMED ME THAT THE BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS WERE WITHIN AUDI LIMITS. TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK AND WAS INFORMED THAT THEY NEEDED TO REPLACE THE GROMMET. AFTER THE ITEM WAS REPLACED, IT STILL HAS THE SAME PROBLEM AS OF 7/4/2005. IN SUMMARY, THE VEHICLE HAS A BRAKE ASSIST PROBLEM IN REVERSE AFTER THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN SITTING FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. IN MY UN-SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, THE BRAKE ASSIST FAILS IF THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN SITTING AND NOT RUNNING FOR LESS THAN 2-3 HOURS. WHEN THIS OCCURS, THE BRAKES OPERATE, BUT MAXIMUM BRAKE PRESSURE IS REQUIRED TO STOP THE VEHICLE UNTIL THE PRESSURE BUILDS UP. THIS COULD BE AN ISOLATED INCIDENT, BUT I THOUGHT I WOULD PASS THIS INFORMATION ALONG JUST IN CASE THERE ARE OTHERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM.

I'D LIKE TO FILE A COMPLANT FOR A FAULTY VEHICLE COMPONENT ON MY 2001 AUDI A4 (MILEAGE: 30,000 MILES). THE ABS AND BRAKE WARNING LIGHTS ARE COMING ON SIMULTANEOUSLY. I'VE BEEN READING A LOT OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON THE INTERNET (THAT'S HOW I FOUND THIS SITE). DEALER SAYS THERE'S A "FAULT CODE IN THE ABS CONTROL MODULE"...AND WANTS $1500 (!) TO REPAIR IT. THE ABS UNIT SHOULD NOT BE FAILING AS FREQUENTLY AS IT SEEMS TO BE IN THIS CAR. FOR A $1500 COMPONENT TO MALFUNCTION WHEN IT'S RARELY ACTUATED IS BEYOND COMPREHENSION. THE TSB SHOULD FORCE AUDI TO PERFORM A RECALL AND/OR COMPENSATE CUSTOMERS FOR THIS OUTRAGEOUS PROBLEM.

'01 A4 2.8: (1) DIGITAL DISPLAY IS BLURRY AND CANNOT FULLY UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING THE COMPUTER IS DISPLAYING, (2) INTERNAL OIL SEALS HAVE BECOME DEFECTIVE CAUSING A FOUL BURNT-OIL SMELL WITHIN AND OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE, (3) TRANSMISSION DOWNSHIFTS VERY HARD AND ROUGH, (4) VERY POOR DESIGN BY THE ENGINEERS TO PLACE A CUPHOLDER DIRECTLY OVER THE STEREO AND HEATER INSTRUMENTATION WHICH HAVE CAUSED MY BUTTONS TO STICK. HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO VARIOUS DEALERSHIPS AND SHOPS AND TECHNICIANS HAVE STATED THAT THE SEALS ARE OBVIOUSLY A DESIGN FLAW AND SO IS THE DISPLAY PANEL WITH HAS SOME SOFTWARE OR LCD PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH IT. *AK

OIL LIGHT CAME ON. IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER AND CHECKED ENGINE OIL LEVEL. NOT LOW. TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP. ORIGINALLY DIAGNOSED AS NEEDING A NEW OIL PUMP DUE TO OIL SLUDGE. ON FURTHER INSPECTION THE DEALER FOUND SCARRING ON THE ENGINE BEARINGS AND WEAR ON THE CAMSHAFT. UPON FLUSHING ALL THE PRE-EXISTING OIL OUT OF THE ENGINE, METAL FILINGS WERE FOUND. NEW DIAGNOSIS: COMPLETELY NEW ENGINE REQUIRED. AUDI, USA KNOWS THIS IS A PROMBEM WITH A4 1.8T. THEY'VE EXTENDED WARRANTIES AS A DIRECT RESULT. YET BECUASE I'M THE SECOND OWNER AND CAN'T PRODUCE ALL PREVIOUS OIL CHANGE RECEIPTS, I'M BEING REQUIRED TO PAY FOR THE NEW ENGINE. THIS IS A POOR ENGINE DESIGN THAT I SHOULDN'T BE HELD LIABLE FOR.*AK

THE TIE RODS ON MY CAR WORE OUT AFTER ONLY 45K MILES. I DISCOVERED THIS WHEN I TOOK THE CAR IN FOR REQUIRED SAFETY INSPECTION. THE REPAIR SHOP SAID THAT THIS IS VERY COMMON ON AUDI VEHICLES, AND THEY REPLACE 4-5 SETS PER WEEK. I FEEL THAT THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A DESIGN FLAW WITH AUDI AND THAT A RECALL SHOULD BE REISSUED. THERE WAS A RECALL ON 98 AND 99 AUDI TIE RODS, BUT IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THERE IS STILL A PROBLEM. THE REPAIR WAS $250. I FEEL THAT THIS IS QUITE DANGEROUS AS I WASNT EXPECTING A MALFUNTION SO SOON, ESPECIALLY ONE THAT INVOLVES SUCH A VITAL COMPONENT OF VEHICULAR SAFETY.