Timing Belt Settlement for A4s
02-26-2006, 07:04 AM
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Timing Belt Settlement for A4s
for all you who know i had a timing belt break and those who do not around 80,000. It was quoted by some people that there is no successful lawsuit on the recent post by fadi999. read the following<ul><li><a href="http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2005/07/17/class_action_can_be_engine_of_change/?page=1">http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2005/07/17/class_action_can_be_engine_of_change/?page=1</a</li></ul>
02-26-2006, 07:29 AM
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Re: Timing Belt Settlement for A4s.... they got reimbursed i edited the article>
The body shop worker, who was selling her a part, casually mentioned that Audis like hers were known for having timing belt problems and suggested she might want to have it replaced.
She didn't give the warning much credence, since the car had just been in for its 75,000-mile checkup and no one at the Audi dealership had mentioned replacing the timing belt. Audi itself recommended that the belt be replaced at 90,000 miles.
But the very next day her engine seized up and stopped as she was making a turn across oncoming traffic on a state highway. The timing belt had snapped, paralyzing her car and causing $4,847 of engine damage.
''This is the stuff of class-action lawsuits," Schwartzman wrote to Audi in January. ''Audi should at a minimum reimburse us for the expenses we incurred because service technicians went 'by your book' and, in doing so, knowingly put us at considerable risk."
What Schwartzman didn't know was that Audi was already aware of the timing belt problem. More than two years earlier a class-action lawsuit alleging defective timing belts on all 1997-1999 Audi A4s with 1.8-liter turbo engines had been filed in New Jersey. The company chose not to warn its customers about the potential danger until a preliminary settlement was reached in May.
Audi spokesman Axel E. Catton said the company was not obligated to inform customers until the extent of the problem had been fully determined, but Schwartzman said she believes the company had a moral obligation to act more quickly.
''As soon as they had enough information to indicate that their timing belts were not safe, there was a duty on them to inform people," said Schwartzman, who runs her own Boston public relations firm. ''The consequences of them not doing so were huge, not just in terms of the cost of repairs but in terms of human life. Someone could have been killed."
Edward ''Ted" Millstein, a lawyer with Berger & Montague in Philadelphia who helped file the class-action case against Audi, acknowledged the automaker was under no legal obligation to notify customers until a settlement was reached.
''Different companies handle this differently, but it is innocent until proven guilty," Millstein said.
Millstein estimated more than 1,000 of the 35,000 Audi A4 owners had their timing belts break prematurely, although data are still being gathered.
When Schwartzman reported her timing belt incident to Audi in January, a company official told her she would receive no compensation because her car was beyond warranty. Schwartzman then sought mediation through the attorney general's office and contacted the Globe. An Audi spokesman told the Globe at that time that he knew of no recurring problem with the company's timing belts.
In February, Schwartzman received a letter from Audi regional coordinator Ingrid Evert stating that time and mileage deadlines for vehicle maintenance are recommendations and not ''a guarantee that you will not experience a shortcoming in manufacturing with any component(s)."
Nevertheless, Evert offered, ''as a gesture of goodwill," to pay half the repair bill. Schwartzman accepted the offer. But in May she received a letter from Audi informing her that her timing belt problem was not isolated.
''Some Audi owners have reported internal engine damage resulting from a broken timing belt," said the letter, which outlined a preliminary class-action settlement. ''If the timing belt of your vehicle were to break, the engine will not run and may sustain serious internal damage."
Audi, without admitting any guilt, agreed to pay for any timing belt-related repairs through 105,000 miles. The settlement also mandated inspections of Audi A4 timing belts at 40,000 and 80,000 miles, but did not cover replacement of a timing belt as part of regular maintenance. The new timing belt warranty transfers to subsequent owners of the vehicles.
Under the settlement, Audi will pay the balance of Schwartzman's repair bill, something that she said wouldn't have happened without the class-action lawsuit.
She didn't give the warning much credence, since the car had just been in for its 75,000-mile checkup and no one at the Audi dealership had mentioned replacing the timing belt. Audi itself recommended that the belt be replaced at 90,000 miles.
But the very next day her engine seized up and stopped as she was making a turn across oncoming traffic on a state highway. The timing belt had snapped, paralyzing her car and causing $4,847 of engine damage.
''This is the stuff of class-action lawsuits," Schwartzman wrote to Audi in January. ''Audi should at a minimum reimburse us for the expenses we incurred because service technicians went 'by your book' and, in doing so, knowingly put us at considerable risk."
What Schwartzman didn't know was that Audi was already aware of the timing belt problem. More than two years earlier a class-action lawsuit alleging defective timing belts on all 1997-1999 Audi A4s with 1.8-liter turbo engines had been filed in New Jersey. The company chose not to warn its customers about the potential danger until a preliminary settlement was reached in May.
Audi spokesman Axel E. Catton said the company was not obligated to inform customers until the extent of the problem had been fully determined, but Schwartzman said she believes the company had a moral obligation to act more quickly.
''As soon as they had enough information to indicate that their timing belts were not safe, there was a duty on them to inform people," said Schwartzman, who runs her own Boston public relations firm. ''The consequences of them not doing so were huge, not just in terms of the cost of repairs but in terms of human life. Someone could have been killed."
Edward ''Ted" Millstein, a lawyer with Berger & Montague in Philadelphia who helped file the class-action case against Audi, acknowledged the automaker was under no legal obligation to notify customers until a settlement was reached.
''Different companies handle this differently, but it is innocent until proven guilty," Millstein said.
Millstein estimated more than 1,000 of the 35,000 Audi A4 owners had their timing belts break prematurely, although data are still being gathered.
When Schwartzman reported her timing belt incident to Audi in January, a company official told her she would receive no compensation because her car was beyond warranty. Schwartzman then sought mediation through the attorney general's office and contacted the Globe. An Audi spokesman told the Globe at that time that he knew of no recurring problem with the company's timing belts.
In February, Schwartzman received a letter from Audi regional coordinator Ingrid Evert stating that time and mileage deadlines for vehicle maintenance are recommendations and not ''a guarantee that you will not experience a shortcoming in manufacturing with any component(s)."
Nevertheless, Evert offered, ''as a gesture of goodwill," to pay half the repair bill. Schwartzman accepted the offer. But in May she received a letter from Audi informing her that her timing belt problem was not isolated.
''Some Audi owners have reported internal engine damage resulting from a broken timing belt," said the letter, which outlined a preliminary class-action settlement. ''If the timing belt of your vehicle were to break, the engine will not run and may sustain serious internal damage."
Audi, without admitting any guilt, agreed to pay for any timing belt-related repairs through 105,000 miles. The settlement also mandated inspections of Audi A4 timing belts at 40,000 and 80,000 miles, but did not cover replacement of a timing belt as part of regular maintenance. The new timing belt warranty transfers to subsequent owners of the vehicles.
Under the settlement, Audi will pay the balance of Schwartzman's repair bill, something that she said wouldn't have happened without the class-action lawsuit.
02-26-2006, 07:44 AM
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they did... read end of article>
Audi, without admitting any guilt, agreed to pay for any timing belt-related repairs through 105,000 miles. The settlement also mandated inspections of Audi A4 timing belts at 40,000 and 80,000 miles, but did not cover replacement of a timing belt as part of regular maintenance. The new timing belt warranty transfers to subsequent owners of the vehicles.
Under the settlement, Audi will pay the balance of Schwartzman's repair bill, something that she said wouldn't have happened without the class-action lawsuit.
Under the settlement, Audi will pay the balance of Schwartzman's repair bill, something that she said wouldn't have happened without the class-action lawsuit.
02-26-2006, 02:39 PM
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Audi letter...
<center><img src="http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0UgAAALQZm1C8U90W1XFqXiT4K9B7rEHTmhDwCG6S14gf5eRbZ H7HvmxPBnRfPWeb8Ql0!tuPfLpsW5O9oncxicv!!qD8YHjP!l6 lKEOIxbsW7wvlee!wlbc6kZ9tLYCI/AudiTimingBeltNotice1a.jpg?dc=4675526521095784063" ></center><p>
02-27-2006, 03:00 AM
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Does NOT apply to the TT's.... I fought Audi of America on this issue and lost.....
They were very adamant that the settlement applies to the models specified ONLY. While they agreed it was the same engine they said I would have to try to start another class action that specified the TT's
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02-27-2006, 04:04 AM
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Well please join me in the fight, i have contacted the lawyer in phily regarding this matter,
who was involved with the class action suit. i wrote to him on sunday. if i do not get anywhere with him, i have several lawyers that i can work with. please email with some details so i can pass this info on.