EricBell

*Engage Rant Mode*

The car: 99.5 A4 2.8 qms.
Problems over two years:
-Headlight washer motor died.
-Headlight died.
-Control arm issue- front and rear.
-Front driver and passenger door alignment issue- just got the driver side door corrected after 4 attempts.
-2nd gear munched, no idea what happened here. Crunchy from day one, thought "It's new." R&R tranny because of this.
-Constant "tink!" noise from somewhere when starting from a standstill.
-Rear brakes ate themselves.-no, I don't leave the e-brake on :-)
-Windows make that god awful noise going down, fixed many times.
-Wiper blades last 3 weeks.
-A/C head unit crapped out.
-Driver seat starting to "shift" while braking, haven't approached dealer on this one yet.
-Every now and then car likes to try and stall when I come to a stop, and continue trying after I've stopped.
-Not a big deal but BRAKE DUST FROM HELL.
-Top-Dead-Center sensor died.
-And now I've got a hissing sound that is being caused by what can only be the worst vac leak in history. It sounds like the reverse of a BOV. By this I mean it stops when I'm in the throttle and gives the big hiss the rest of the time. Going to take it to the dealer in the morning.
Some of these problems the car has been taken in for multiple times.
And none of this includes the regular checkups.
I've a BOOK of service recpts at this point. I'm thinking they'd be a good way to set this car on fire.
I'm so happy I spent $36,000 on this car. First NEW car I've ever bought and I'm real sure the friggin last Audi I'll ever own. I'm seriously thinking about telling the folks I advised to buy an Audi, and then did, to get rid of it and never look back. Merry Christmas Audi, 6 customers gone, all of them heading for a repeat buy.

*End Rant Mode*

Thanks for your time, sorry you had to see this.

-Eric-PissedOff-Bell

Mikey L

Sorry to hear about all your problems, but as you know this level of issues isn't common.

bugbbq

I love to hang up on people like you

Monkeyboy

this could happen with any vehicle. Edmunds gave a lousy review to the Isuzu Rodeo because it left them stranded (2x I think). My wife got one - loves it, very reliable.
We had a Ford Windstar - car from he11! Friends love theirs, no problems.

Bottom line - if you got a lemon, find a way to sell it ASAP. Take the (hopefully small) hit, as we did with our Windstar. Be done with it. No one can change the bad taste in your mouth after an experience like that. It's up to you as to whether they get a second chance. I for one will never, never, ever, never buy another Ford.

AFORARI

i have an a4, but my mom has a 1999 A62.8q. that is the worst car ever. the brake pad were no where to be found after only 6 months from buying the car. we bought the car new with 35 miles. wtf! the gas gauge broke 3 times. it would be empty when the gauge said full. and vice versa. finally about 5 months after the last gas gauge fix, audi had a recall on the gas gauge. HEH! then the steering was off. the car was in for service 10 times in 3 months to fix the pulling. it would pull to the right. Even after, it is starting to pull again. ONly to the left NOW. HEH. Now, in the middle of the summer. the ac broke. the car was in for service 5 times in 1 month. they said it was fixed, we drove away it was broken. then they fixed it again, it broke.ETC....Finally, the serviceman took the car and drove it for about 20 min. He realized that were not fixing it. MY father will never buy another audi ever. He has talked with the head of Audi in North America bc we lost our car for 3 months b/c there were no brake pads in all of north america for the A6. But i will be back for the new a4.

BetterThanVW

I would be investigating the lemon law if i were you.

Arch57

Sorry to hear about all the problems. I have the same year A4 2.8QMS and have only had to have the pop-up headlight washers fixed and an O2 sensor. Meanwhile my wife's 97 BMW 528iA has had a host of problems. It sucks when you end up with the lemon but another Audi may be totally perfect. I would take advice and sell now, cut your losses and pain.

Good luck

tihsyloh

I had a similar situation with a VW GTI VR6 a few years ago. I wrote a well though out, professional letter to VW of North America. I made about 25 copies and sent them to multiple high ranked people at VW of NA. Within three weeks I received responses from five or six people including the President. Within a month, they sent a check for my loan payoff to the dealership, had me take the car over there, traded my keys for the check, and offered me the total amount of out of pocket expenses I had incurred during my ownership of the car (i.e. payments, insurance, tires, everything) off the MSRP of a new car.

In retrospect, I should have purchased another VW as it would have cost me about $7000 less then sticker, but I choose not to.

I'm not saying that this will happen to you, but I can advise that you not deal with the dealership anymore. It is not going to get you anywhere. You need to go direct to Audi of NA and, in a very professional manner, demand that they either refund the amount that you have spent on the car or replace the vehicle with something better in order to make you happy. A friend of mine had done something similar once with a 1-year-old C-230 that was not doing well. MB of NA gave him a brand new C-230 Kompressor.

saintor1

These things last 200000 miles trouble-free!!! AH!

It didn't take long to lose all illusions. What is really annoying is having to lose almost a day every 3 months.

GPO - Needs a car!

I'm telling you, buy a '96 model, mine doesn't have any problems.