JMG

To everyone,

Since I have owned my car I have experienced many problems with it, and I have posted most of them on this board for advice. And it has always come through for me.
Now I need to ask for a huge favor from this community. I have recently had my 4th major problem with my S4 and my car only has 4,900 miles on it. What I need is for some people to help me look up the problems my car has experienced, but only by different people on this board.
My dealership today called me in to have a talk with me, they said that every single problem I have had is caused by my abuse and bad driving, which I know I am not doing either, and that they are having a problem justifying my warranty claims. They say I have racked up $7,000 dollars in warranty work so far, which I do not doubt. Yet the thing that I said is I'm not the only one with these problems, and this is where the board comes in. I will be searching the archives for the same problems as mine, but I would like your help finding anything you could for me. So that I have as much proof as possible that these problems are not limited to my case. This information is for presentation to my dealership and an AoA representative when we meet again soon.

My problems are as follows:
1. 1st and 2nd Gear Syncros bad
2. Blown Turbo/Strange whistle (not the sound of turbo spooling)
3. TBB, I don't really need to find info for this one, but it was a problem that my dealership couldn't solve until I told them about it.
4. Slipping/bad clutch, I don't even think it is possible to wear out a clutch in less than 5,000 miles. Not unless you are dropping the clutch at 6000 rpm at every stop light.

Plus I have had some small problems, such as leaking slave cylinder on my clutch, small coolant leak by the turbo's, and an engine overheat at one point.
I do not ask for you to spend any time you don't want to on this, all I ask is for a little assistance on finding information to present to AoA to prove that my car is not a limited situation. Thank you so very much for any help you can provide.
Post anything you find on the board or e-mail me, either is fine. Thanks again.

~ Jason

itsfknmikv

I am not sure that I can provide you with much, however I too have had the synchro problem, and was also accused of power shifting and racing the car. Needless to say the warranty still covered it.

I am not sure Audi cares much what people on this board thinks, but moreover the feedback they are getting from dealer service departments.

GRocky

What's your typical driving style? You don't use the clutch as a footrest or anything, do you? This can wear out a clutch after a couple thousand miles if you do spend a lot of time in the car... the clutch stays engaged (if only slightly) and wears away, but replacing a clutch before 5000 miles is just unheard of unless you've been doing redline clutch-slip launches. You've gotta understand, however, that it's not your dealership's lack of desire to help you out, but rather Audi's hesitance to shell out a few grand for a clutch when they are unsure of your driving style. The other problems you mention could just be "lemon" style defects... when Saab first released their turbocharged cars, the head gaskets and turbos (as well as other high-stress components) could blow out 5 minutes after delivery of the car. One weak link in the system could cause this, and they SHOULD be able to take responsibility for that. Having owned what you might consider a "lemon" in the past, I know how frustrating it is. You might want to actually contact someone at AoA to plead your case, though that rarely produces results at the dealer level. In my Volvo days, I knew a few people that complained enough to coerce Volvo into buying back their lemon S and V70s, or swapping their car for a new Volvo, if the customer was willing to take the chance a second time.
I assume it would help all of us shed a little light on your situation if you could tell us a little more about your car -- any mods? Did you get it early on (pre 2000)? If you did modify your car, you're probably not going to get any sympathy from Audi or your dealer because they can claim that your car was "operating beyond its intended specification" and all that mumbojumbo. Everything this side of your clutch issue reeks of "lemon" to me, but a blown clutch could also be due to it being poorly assembled at the factory.. who knows ... I'm really sorry to hear that you've had these problems with your S4, at any rate... I certainly hope you don't decide to leave the Audi "family"

matthewk

about fixing his car. it sounds like it is just your dealership that wants to f##k you in the a$$<p>matthewk
00 Porsche Boxster S
(Previous S4 Owner)

<img SRC="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/AudiWorldPics/2000/house.gif"<br><br>

audgie

<p>Paul Roderick
'99 A8 4.2 quattro
'98 C43 AMG
(awaiting delivery of) '00 ML55 AMG

Corey S

...your car just has problems.

Just as a comparison, I am aggressive (but not overly so) on the street, and I drive the **** out of my S4 on the track and at autocrosses. Chances are, I have as many autocrosses and track hours as anybody on this board, and I've only had the TBB break on me. I would be pretty upset with them, if I were you.

I don't mean to start a dealership-flaming war here, but that's rediculous.

Perhaps it was built on a Friday.<p>Corey S
00 Nogaro S4

<img SRC="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/AudiWorldPics/2000/CSNogaroSig.jpg">

Rich Martin

Jason,

As long as you know you haven't abused the car, I think you should stand up for yourself with this dealer, and not let them, as matthewk so delicately puts it, f*ck you. As was said earlier, the clutch problem, at the least, speaks of poor construction. The TBB is a well documented problem here, at least, and Audi found it enough of a problem to redesign the part. If this is the first S4 turbo with a problem that they've seen, they're not a high volume dealer, and I wouldn't want them replacing my turbo.

If your dealer doesn't care enough about the Audis it sells to be aware of things like the TBB, and then blames you when things go wrong, I'd be going to someone else, who might appreciate your business down the road. They'll be able to see the car's warranty history, but might know more about things like the TBB. Competing dealers tend to be sympathetic when you tell them that their competitor is abusing you.

A lot of this depends on factors you haven't described, like your driving habits, mods, etc. You might try a search for your dealer's name in the archives to see if they have a pattern of dissatisfaction that might gain a bit more credibility in dealings with Audi. They do have at least a theoretical desire to keep customers happy. If you haven't already, I'd demand an audience with the regional Audi rep and document your experiences with both the car and dealer to him or her.

Continue your archive search, and be aware that they will counter that others are "abusing the car" just like you. They'd have to take apart the transmission in order to prove bad construction, and they don't want to do that. Still, blaming the customer who's coming in with problems on a top notch car is bad business. Just as the problems you're having could be related to abusive driving, they could also be related to poor construction, and they shouldn't automatically place blame on you.

Good luck, and let us know how things are going.

Rich
'98 2.8Q sport
'01 Nogaro, soon!

Jonathan Devens

I would definately pursue lemon law options in your state. In addition, I have had problems with items in the past and nothing worked better than a letter from my lawyer- it just lets them know you are serious. My experience with dealers and manufacturers (and I equate both to what gets stuck under my shoe when I walk my dog) is that when 100 people have a problem, they tell them all to "buzz off"- they know that 85 will because they are lazy, stupid, etc. Of the other 15, they will fix 8 and "work" with 7 because they know that bunch will not take "customer abuse" as an answer. In the end, the math works for them. And I don't think Audi is any better than GM in it's care for it's customers. They should INSIST on fixing that car. I put off getting the '00 S4 because I was wary of a "new" car. That kind of performance and service is unacceptable. Yeah, the new Lexus may be "plasticky", but I guarantee Lexus would never pull this ****.

Al Cantara

I don't know if I can offer you much help but consider the following:
1) Contact other dealers (call out of state if need be) and get them to acknowledge any of the problems you have had as being "typical" or recurrent on the S4. Note the name of the person to whom you talk and then maybe you can have them enlighten your dealer (I wouldn't ask them to call your dealer, have your dealer call them...we don't want to impose).

2) Check audi's technical service bulletin website to see if any problems you are having are listed there. It's at :
http://www.tech.vw.com/audi/index.htm
I had some problems that are listed there that my dealer knew nothing about...honest. When I brought them the printout of their own TSB from the web, they were embarassed to say the least.

3) Lastly, and I hate to suggest it {cringe}, but if all else fails, you may have to hire an attorney. If you are certain that your driving style is not the cause of the problems, you purchased an expensive automobile with a warranty. If it is a factory defect, they have to pay...period...I don't care if it's $20k. The only problem with this is it costs money. But if you call your state bar association they may be able to provide a consumer advocacy lawyer who would be willing to at the very least write a "nice" :-) letter to your dealer.

If your dealer continues to bully you, I would tell him that you have already called the state attorney general, will be calling AoA, and have taken steps to retain a consumer advocacy lawyer.
I would then politely tell him that you are going to share your experience with his dealership on the internet message board of every audi site to let people know how he treats his customers. Perhaps the local news would be interested, too. Or an editorial in the newspaper...noone likes bad publicity.

JMG

I wouldn't consider myself either, I know I'm not a bad driver (sure it's my opinion, but this isn't the first car I've driven this way, just the first with problems.Plus I've done my share of driving schools) As for a hard driver, I push it, not to it's limits, and not all the time. I've, as I'm sure many others have, bumped the rev limiter a few times, and done a few (4 or 5) high rpm (4000, 4500rpm)launches. Other than that I'll I do is drive it the way it was built to be driven.

~ Jason