EighTT

I had a recent conversation with an Audi of America employee. I told this person that I believed that Audi generally made a very good product. However, in the past, they seemed to either ignore recurring problems, or were otherwise failing to address them in a proper manner.

I asserted that this was not only hurting their reliability ratings, but it was costing Audi money and causing their customers to face unneeded frustration. As examples, I cited continual problems with instrument clusters, fuel senders, FWD transmissions, turbo bypass valves (aka diverter valves) and such.

While this individual didn't admit to any error on Audi's part, they did believe that the new Tread Act was going to improve the situation.

I had not heard of the Tread Act, which stands for the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act.

Some of the well publicized tire failures of years past led to the creation of this act, but its scope covers far more than just tires. The bottom line is that manufacturers are going to now be legally required to address recurring problems and report them to the NHTSA. They must compile complaints and warranty claims and disclose them on a quarterly basis, as required by the Act's mandates which includes an "early warning" provision.

I can't help but think that, in the long run, this new law will be beneficial to the manufacturers and consumers, though there is obviously a substantial administrative and compliance expense.

For a brief overview of the Tread Act, follow the link. For more info, go to your favorite search engine and type in "Tread Act".<ul><li><a href="http://www.warrantyweek.com/archive/ww20030331.html">Tread Act</a></li></ul>

EasTTcoasTT

And then notice who their owners are. Are they the type of people/enthusiasts who would even notice a problem?

EighTT

They'd certainly notice.

For example, if a Honda owner's tranny made a loud grinding sound frequently upon shifting into 2nd gear, do you think he'd ignore it?

Of course he wouldn't.

What if the gauges on his dash danced about like a ping pong ball, or his car ran out of gas when he was still showing 1/4 tank remaining. Would this Honda (or other make) owner be so unsophisticated/ignorant so as not to notice or report?

Obviously, that's not the case.

True, automotive enthusiasts tend to be a bit more fussy than the mass motoring populus, but we shouldn't minimize or dismiss some of the problems that have occurred.

Audi makes a fine car and once they begin handling some of these issues properly, their reliability ratings are going to improve in a dramatic fashion. I believe this new Tread Act is going to ultimately help them.

EasTTcoasTT

But the honda driver mostly would choose stick for gas mileage.. not performance. They would never shift fast enough to grind.

EighTT

The FWD 2nd gear tranny grind did not require a fast shift. Any driver would certainly have noticed and reported it.

In the past, I believe that Audi was slow to address recurring issues. They'd either deny that a problem existed, or else take inadaquate steps to resolve the issue. I can present many examples, if needed.

While Audi is tight-lipped about this, there was apparently an issue with some of the DSG transmissions on the 3.2 TT, including mine. As much as I want to take delivery of my car, I have to say that Audi was very much on top of this. As soon as it appeared that there was a problem, they corrected it on the assembly line. They then put all involved cars on hold, made the corrections and inspections, even flew teams of experts from halfway around the world.

In the past, I don't think they would have grabbed "the bull by the horns" in this manner. I'm anxious to get my new TT and a bit concerned about the retrofit to my car, but I'm glad to see that they seem to be attacking the problem with vigor. I don't think they would have handled this the same way a few years ago.

EasTTcoasTT

But no car manufacturer is J&amp;J with regard to recalls.

EighTT

The front wheel drive TT had a problem where the transmission would periodically grind when one shifted into 2nd gear. Not everyone experienced this, but many did. The issue was not due to driver error, nor was it due to the selection of the incorrect gear. We had somewhere between 250 and 300 documented cases of this (AudiWorld and VW Vortex).

My point is that a Honda driver would obviously have noticed this and reported it to the service department.

So it's not necessarily an issue of Audi owners being enthusiasts and thus more "fussy", causing them to report issues where the owners of other cars would not.

EasTTcoasTT

In the past, I don't think they would have grabbed "the bull by the horns" in this manner.

That's what I was referring to. I don't think that selecting gear issues or anything which could cause.. for lack of a better term.. incorrect acceleration would be something audi would screw with.

TwisTTer

together.

Their focus should be on customer satisfaction.
There are too many Audi owners who swear that they will never buy another Audi because of the poor service received during ownership of their vehicles.

I don't believe the TREAD Act will resolve this issue. It will make our vehicles safer and will minize potential liability resulting from lawsuits in the future.

AOA needs to step in and drill the idea in its personnel to provide impeccable service. Lexus has done it right why can't Audi do it too?

EasTTcoasTT

Why do I see the ingenious maneuver screwing over US automakers, and the foreign ones won't end up complying, etc.