1999 Audi A4

TURBO-CHARGER BROKE DOWN. IT SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED AT 68000 AS IT IS NOT A WEARABLE PART. THE CAR STARTED STALLING, PRESSED GAS PEDAL BUT THERE WAS NO MOVEMENT. SCALE OF THE RPM'S ON THE DASH BOARD WENT ALL THE WAY TO 5500 RPM'S, WHEN I PRESSED A GAS PEDAL, BUT THE CAR DID NOT MOVE. SUDDENLY, I WAS ENGULFED IN HUMUNGOUS AMOUNT OF WHITE SMOKE. BROUGHT CAR TO DON ROSEN AUDI SERVICE CENTER AND THEY ARE SAYING THAT REPAIR WILL COST ME SOME $1,600 AT LEAST. BUT, I BROUGHT MY CAR IN, MONTH AGO TO DON ROSEN AUDI AUTHORIZED SERVICE CENTER WITH COMPLAINT THAT THERE WAS WHITE SMOKE COMING OUT OF THE EXHAUST AND THAT VEHICLE WAS RUNNING AT 60% OF ITS POWER. THEY LOOKED AT IT AND SAID THEY DID NOT SEE ANY PROBLEM, PARTICULARLY THAT THE TURBO-CHARGER WAS JUST FINE. I SAID, MAYBE THERE IS NO SMOKE COMING OUT RIGHT THIS MOMENT, BUT IT IS HAPPENING EVERY SINGLE DAY, FEW TIMES A DAY, AND PLEASE TO LOOK AT IT BETTER. THEY'VE JUST SENT ME HOME TELLING ME THERE WAS NO PROBLEM. I TOLD THEM THAT IT WAS THEIR MISTAKE BY NOT LISTENING ME WHEN I COMPLAINED ON TIME TO FIX IT. BUT THEY DID NOT WANT TO HEAR MY ARGUMENT. NOW, I HAVE TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR I'VE TOLD THEM MONTH AND A HALF AGO TO FIX. PLUS, THIS BRAKE-DOWN SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED AT FIRST PLACE AT THIS MILEAGE. ALSO, WHEN I VISITED THEM MONTH AGO THEY'VE TOLD ME THAT I NEED TO CHANGE A TIMING BELT ONLY. I SEE THAT TIMING BELT, AS A PART COSTS ONLY $40, BUT THEY WANT TO CHARGE $1,000 TO FIX IT. I DO NOT THINK THAT THE LABOR COSTS $960 TO REPLACE A TIMING BELT. *NLM

WHEN THE CAR WAS ABOUT A YEAR OLD, THE ENTIRE AIRBAG SYSTEM HAD TO BE REPLACED, THE REPAIR FACILITY NOTED TO ME THAT I WAS LUCKY TO BRING IT IN WHEN I DID, AS IT WAS AT RISK FOR SPONTANEOUS DEPLOYMENT. ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS INCLUDED AN OIL PUMP FAILURE ($750) AT ABOUT THE THREE YEAR MARK; AND OCCASIONAL SUDDEN LURCHING/RPM REVVING OR SUDDEN ONSET OF A 'LAG' IN POWER, WHICH THE DEALER NOTED WHEN I BROUGHT IT IN BUT COULD DO NOTHING ABOUT. I HAVE ALSO HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE FUEL INDICATOR GAUGE BEING GROSSLY INACCURATE - INDICATING I HAVE USED ONLY A QUARTER TANK OF FUEL TO DRIVE 350 MILES. HOWEVER, THE MOST BOTHERSOME ONGOING PROBLEM IS FOUR OR FIVE TRIPS TO THE DEALER TO REPAIR A NON-FUNCTIONING CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEM. EACH TIME THEY HAVE 'REPLACED THE VACUUM HOSES' BUT THIS 'REPAIR' WILL BEGIN TO FAIL AGAIN LATER THAT SAME DAY. THE SYSTEM WILL EITHER FAIL TO ENGAGE ALTOGETHER, OR IT WILL BE ENGAGED DURING HIGHWAY DRIVING, THEN WITHIN A FEW MINUTES, THE SPEED WILL CONTINUALLY DECREASE UNTIL I HAVE TO MANUALLY DISENGAGE THE SYSTEM AND TURN IT OFF. I REPORTED THIS TO AUDI OF AMERICA'S CORPORATE CUSTOMER SERVICE (VERY FRIENDLY AND HELPFUL) WHO HELPED ME ARRANGE ANOTHER SERVICE VISIT, BUT THE PROBLEM HAS NEVER BEEN RESOLVED. CRUISE CONTROL HAS NEVER WORKED AND I'M GIVING UP ON IT EVER WORKING. I JUST HAVE TO PRETEND THAT I DON'T HAVE IT, WHICH IS VERY ANNOYING DURING HIGHWAY TRAVEL. *NLM

WE OWN AN AUDI A4 THAT WE HAVE HAD TOO MANY REPAIRS. THE CAR HAS NEEDED A TURBO AT 55,000 MILES, OIL PUMP AT 63,000 MILES, IGNITION COMPUTER AT 68,000 MILES AND RACK AND PINION STEERING AT 73,000 MILES. WE ARE AWARE THAT THE CAR IS AT HIGH MILEAGE, BUT THIS CAR IS SUPPOSE TO GET 200,000 MILES OUT OF IT. THE CAR WAS SERVICED AT DEALERS THE ENTIRE TIME. WE THINK THAT PERHAPS THERE ARE DEFECTS IN THE CAR THAT OTHER DRIVERS ARE EXPERIENCING.

AUGUST OF 2001 THE CAR BROKE DOWN AND WAS TOWED TO AN AUDI DEALER. THAT DEALER INFORMED US THAT THE ENGINE SIEZED AND HE WOULD NEED APPROVAL FROM AUDI OF AMERICA TO PERFORM THE REPAIR UNDER WARRENTY. AUDI OF AMERICA'S REPRESENTATIVE TOOK SEVERAL WEEKS TO RETURN A DECISION NOT TO HONOR THE WARRANTY BECAUSE WE HAD OUR OIL CHANGES AT INDEPENDANT SERVICE STATIONS INSTEAD OF AUDI DEALERSHIPS. WE ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT THAT REPRESENTATIVE BUT WE WERE NOT ALLOWED TO SPEAK WITH HIM NOR WOULD THEY RELEASE HIS NAME. WE ATTEMPTED TO SPEAK WITH HIS SUPERVISOR, BUT AUDI OF AMERICA TOLD US THERE WAS NO SUPERVISOR, THAT REPRESENTATIVE WAS THE FINAL DECISION, AND THERE WAS NO APPEALS PROCESS. WE WERE GIVEN THE NAME OF THE VICE PRESIDENT AFTER MANY ATTEMPTS TO APPEAL THE DECISION, BUT WERE NOT ALLOWED TO SPEAK TO HIM. WE WROTE HIM A LETTER WHICH WAS NEVER RETURNED. WE HAVE FILED A LAW SUIT AGAINST AUDI OF AMERICA AND TWO OF THE DEALERSHIPS. DT