Brake light adjustment from factory, AoA are you listening?!
10-02-2000, 09:47 AM
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Brake light adjustment from factory, AoA are you listening?!
This is an open letter to AoA or anyone else interested who thinks they can do anything to help.
In lieu of my own experience and all the accounts posted here of brake light misadjustment and/or being rear-ended, I think this needs writing, I'm just surpirsed it was me to do it.
Now I realize you can't believe everything you see or read these days, especially on the 'net, and companies certainly don't have the time to investigate EVERY problem they hear reported, but Audi of America and its North American dealers would be doing themselves a great disservice to just disregard everything posted on this site as merely hearsay or unsubstantiated rumor. In my own experience here over the last 6 months I have found people both enthusiastic (okay, maybe some even a tad TOO enthusiatic!) and above all else knowledgeable on most of the subjects they choose to present or discuss. While some have accurate and useful technical information to present, the forum offers all an area for discussion which frequently brings common problems to light. A good example of this are the "radio gremlins" which many have reported and I have also experienced. The details posted here should indicate to Audi that this is NOT an isolated problem due to a few bad components or certain manufacturing lot, but rather a design defect that needs to be addressed by Audi and a resolution implemented for those of us who have this problem and are dissatisfied with it. Imagine my surprise when my salesman told me he'd "never heard of that before" when I called to tell him I loved my car except for the radio that seemed to frequently prefer different stations and listening settings than I did! I mean, what more could a manufacturer possibly ask for than a real-time "database" where it can garner data on customer satisfaction or potential problems of which they may have been previously unaware? Particularly in light of these current Ford/Firestone events, I'd think any auto manufacturer would want ALL the information they could get their hands on about potential problems which need correction. Of course, the bean counters might see it differently, up to a certain financial impact, that is. But there's also business sense (and cents) to be made these days by doing the right thing and demonstrating proactivity to resolve issues. This tact will ALWAYS win new and repeat customers.
So now let me stand down off the soapbox and get to the nitty gritty details....
In the past several months I have purchased two new 2001 A6s and I have been generally very satisfied with both of these to date. In August I took delivery of an Avant wagon for the wife and baby, and several weeks later a 2.7T for myself. One day on a return trip from an afternoon meeting I was following my wife as she drove her new Avant home with my 2 week old son safely secured in his car seat. We were headed south on the freeway in rush-hour stop and go traffic when at some point it occurred to me I hadn't seen her brake lights come on since I'd been following her. So I payed closer attention and sure enough, I consistently noticed that as she slowed her brake lights weren't coming on! Was she maybe downshifting the Tip to slow herself down instead of braking? I called her on the cell and she did indicate she was using the brakes. So I asked her to apply them several times while we talked but never did I see the lights appear, not once. Naturally, I was VERY concerned about this since this car is used primarily to transport my wife and baby son on a daily basis. Luckily we happened to be passing nearby an Audi dealer and so we stopped there. It was 5:30 and I was praying that someone would be able to attend to this repair immediately. As it turned out the service manager was more than happy to immediately rectify the situation once I demonstrated the problem. Of course, the baby probably helped a lot with that, too! So after 45 mintutes or so I verified it was fixed and we promptly got on our way. I was relieved to have this potentially very dangerous problem resolved, but I was disappointed in Audi for allowing a car to leave the factory with this condition which I consider totally unacceptable for ANY vehicle.
So, as it tuned out, several days later I noticed the cruise was no longer working. I knew it immediately, they had somehow over-compensated the adjustment. I scheduled an appointment for my wife to bring the car back and it was again adjusted. However, I noticed it was back to somewhat of it's original condition although not nearly as severe. Perhaps, I thought, this was as good as it would get so I was satisfied for now. As I said earlier I took delivery of a second A6 (2.7T) several weeks ago and this car had a similar issue. Not being able to get an appointment for several weeks, the closest dealer being over 20 miles away, and being fairly handy, I decided to resolve the situation myself. I checked here for posts describing the procedure but found none, only a single post saying the hardest part was removing the bottom dash panel, which turned out to be correct but not hard at all. Well, I'm happy to report that proceeding with extreme caution I did successfully get both cars adjusted to what should be spec'd as "correct" and/or "mandatory" operation for the brake lights. (I will post these instructions for those of you who may also want to do this. I'll also recommend that they be posted on the A6 FAQ board.)
AoA, I urge you, not only for your financial security but primarily for the safety of those individuals and families purchasing your vehicles to investigate this issue and put some sort of resoultion in place. The proper operation of brake lighting is absolutely crucial to vehicle safety and you can definitely implement stricter standards for ensuring their proper operation.
In lieu of my own experience and all the accounts posted here of brake light misadjustment and/or being rear-ended, I think this needs writing, I'm just surpirsed it was me to do it.
Now I realize you can't believe everything you see or read these days, especially on the 'net, and companies certainly don't have the time to investigate EVERY problem they hear reported, but Audi of America and its North American dealers would be doing themselves a great disservice to just disregard everything posted on this site as merely hearsay or unsubstantiated rumor. In my own experience here over the last 6 months I have found people both enthusiastic (okay, maybe some even a tad TOO enthusiatic!) and above all else knowledgeable on most of the subjects they choose to present or discuss. While some have accurate and useful technical information to present, the forum offers all an area for discussion which frequently brings common problems to light. A good example of this are the "radio gremlins" which many have reported and I have also experienced. The details posted here should indicate to Audi that this is NOT an isolated problem due to a few bad components or certain manufacturing lot, but rather a design defect that needs to be addressed by Audi and a resolution implemented for those of us who have this problem and are dissatisfied with it. Imagine my surprise when my salesman told me he'd "never heard of that before" when I called to tell him I loved my car except for the radio that seemed to frequently prefer different stations and listening settings than I did! I mean, what more could a manufacturer possibly ask for than a real-time "database" where it can garner data on customer satisfaction or potential problems of which they may have been previously unaware? Particularly in light of these current Ford/Firestone events, I'd think any auto manufacturer would want ALL the information they could get their hands on about potential problems which need correction. Of course, the bean counters might see it differently, up to a certain financial impact, that is. But there's also business sense (and cents) to be made these days by doing the right thing and demonstrating proactivity to resolve issues. This tact will ALWAYS win new and repeat customers.
So now let me stand down off the soapbox and get to the nitty gritty details....
In the past several months I have purchased two new 2001 A6s and I have been generally very satisfied with both of these to date. In August I took delivery of an Avant wagon for the wife and baby, and several weeks later a 2.7T for myself. One day on a return trip from an afternoon meeting I was following my wife as she drove her new Avant home with my 2 week old son safely secured in his car seat. We were headed south on the freeway in rush-hour stop and go traffic when at some point it occurred to me I hadn't seen her brake lights come on since I'd been following her. So I payed closer attention and sure enough, I consistently noticed that as she slowed her brake lights weren't coming on! Was she maybe downshifting the Tip to slow herself down instead of braking? I called her on the cell and she did indicate she was using the brakes. So I asked her to apply them several times while we talked but never did I see the lights appear, not once. Naturally, I was VERY concerned about this since this car is used primarily to transport my wife and baby son on a daily basis. Luckily we happened to be passing nearby an Audi dealer and so we stopped there. It was 5:30 and I was praying that someone would be able to attend to this repair immediately. As it turned out the service manager was more than happy to immediately rectify the situation once I demonstrated the problem. Of course, the baby probably helped a lot with that, too! So after 45 mintutes or so I verified it was fixed and we promptly got on our way. I was relieved to have this potentially very dangerous problem resolved, but I was disappointed in Audi for allowing a car to leave the factory with this condition which I consider totally unacceptable for ANY vehicle.
So, as it tuned out, several days later I noticed the cruise was no longer working. I knew it immediately, they had somehow over-compensated the adjustment. I scheduled an appointment for my wife to bring the car back and it was again adjusted. However, I noticed it was back to somewhat of it's original condition although not nearly as severe. Perhaps, I thought, this was as good as it would get so I was satisfied for now. As I said earlier I took delivery of a second A6 (2.7T) several weeks ago and this car had a similar issue. Not being able to get an appointment for several weeks, the closest dealer being over 20 miles away, and being fairly handy, I decided to resolve the situation myself. I checked here for posts describing the procedure but found none, only a single post saying the hardest part was removing the bottom dash panel, which turned out to be correct but not hard at all. Well, I'm happy to report that proceeding with extreme caution I did successfully get both cars adjusted to what should be spec'd as "correct" and/or "mandatory" operation for the brake lights. (I will post these instructions for those of you who may also want to do this. I'll also recommend that they be posted on the A6 FAQ board.)
AoA, I urge you, not only for your financial security but primarily for the safety of those individuals and families purchasing your vehicles to investigate this issue and put some sort of resoultion in place. The proper operation of brake lighting is absolutely crucial to vehicle safety and you can definitely implement stricter standards for ensuring their proper operation.
10-02-2000, 12:41 PM
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Looking forward to seeing your DIY writeup!
I think my lights engage a tad too late, but haven't looked into it.
BTW, your dealer should probably take a little of the blame on this, as I'd bet checking lamps is supposed to be part of the PDI.
BTW, your dealer should probably take a little of the blame on this, as I'd bet checking lamps is supposed to be part of the PDI.
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10-02-2000, 01:09 PM
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Re: Brake light adjustment from factory, AoA are you listening?!
Wow, didn't know that this was a major problem. I had my A6 brakes adjusted after I realized that I needed to really step on the brake to disengage the car from "park". I like my A6 but wonder sometimes if I should have bought something else. I've had lots of little things break/fall off...not good for a $40k+ car.
But what else is out there????
mk
But what else is out there????
mk
10-02-2000, 03:36 PM
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I, too, wonder if the many "rear enders" being had by new A6 owners are because of no brake lights!
My dealer at the time, Central VW/Audi, ignored me when I complained about this (I'd noticed that my rear-shelf brake light was often NOT on when I was holding the car at stop lights or when doing light braking in freeway stop/go traffic). They actually told me that the brake light sensitivity was "within spec." This is absolute BULL ROT! Brake lights that don't come on under light braking in real traffic ARE DANGEROUS and represent AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN.
Disgusted with this response from Central VW/Audi, I fixed the problem myself using much the same procedure described generally well by Doug_2.7T above (in a more recent post). I would debate his claim of "30 minutes max," however. Admittedly, I wasted a lot of time finding those two hidden screws behind the cover on top of the steering column. However, even if that had cost me zero time, I still think the process is a good hour or more worth of work, at least for someone doing this for the first time and being unusually careful because it's his/her own essentially brand new car.
Disgusted with this response from Central VW/Audi, I fixed the problem myself using much the same procedure described generally well by Doug_2.7T above (in a more recent post). I would debate his claim of "30 minutes max," however. Admittedly, I wasted a lot of time finding those two hidden screws behind the cover on top of the steering column. However, even if that had cost me zero time, I still think the process is a good hour or more worth of work, at least for someone doing this for the first time and being unusually careful because it's his/her own essentially brand new car.