2003 Audi A4

IT WOULD SEEM THAT I HAVE TWO OF THE ISSUES I'VE SEEN HERE WITH MY 2003 AUDI A4 CONVERTIBLE. I HAVE OWNED IT SINCE 2008 AND HAVE ALREADY REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION MODULE TWICE. AS DESCRIBED BY OTHERS, IT WOULDN'T ENGAGE REVERSE, OR GO INTO STANDARD MODE... BLINKING DASH LIGHTS, ETC... THE OTHER COMMON ISSUE IS MY REAR WINDOW. IT IS HOLDING ON BY LESS THAT TWO INCHES OF GLUE. THE REST JUST HANGS ON BY THE HEADLINER. THIS HAS RESULTED IN GALLONS OF WATER ENTERING MY CAR DURING RAIN STORMS. NOT TO MENTION THE VIBRATIONS WHILE DRIVING WITH THE TOP UP. *TR

WHILE DRIVING MY 2003 AUDI A4 ON THE MASS PIKE FREEWAY INTO BOSON, AS I APPROACHED A TOLL BOOTH, I TAPPED THE BREAK TO DISENGAGE THE CRUISE CONTROL. THE CAR SLOWED DOWN SO THAT I PASSED THROUGH THE TOLL BOTH AT APPROXIMATELY 18 MPH. AFTER PASSING THROUGH THE TOLL BOOTH, I AGAIN STARTED TO ACCELERATE, BUT ONCE TOUCHING THE GAS PEDAL, IT SEEMED TO GO DOWN ON ITS OWN, AND THE CAR ACCELERATED, NOT UNDER MY CONTROL. I IMMEDIATELY STEPPED ON THE BRAKES TO SLOW THE ACCELERATION, BUT AS SOON AS I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKES, THE CAR CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE TO ABOUT 60 MPH, AT WHICH POINT I APPLIED THE BREAKS AGAIN. LUCKILY, TRAFFIC WAS MINIMAL, AND I WAS ABLE TO KEEP CONSTANT PRESSURE ON THE BRAKE PEDAL TO KEEP THE CAR SPEED DOWN, AND AVOID OTHER VEHICLES WHILE THE BRAKES AND ACCELERATOR WORKED AGAINST EACH OTHER. INITIALLY, THERE WAS NOWHERE TO PULL THE CAR OFF THE ROAD, BUT THEN AS I APPROACHED A SMALL PULLOUT, I MOVED THE CAR INTO THE OUTSIDE LANE AND TURNED OFF THE ENGINE. I THOUGHT MAYBE THE CRUISE CONTROL HAD MALFUNCTIONED, AND BY TURNING OFF THE CAR, IT WOULD BE RESET. SO AFTER SETTING SEVERAL MINUTES, WITH THE CAR IN PARK, I TRIED STARTING THE CAR. THE ENGINE IMMEDIATELY REVVED UP TO FULL SPEED, SO I AGAIN TURNED THE CAR OFF. AFTER SETTING ANOTHER 10 MINUTES, I TRIED STARTING THE CAR AGAIN, AND IT STARTED NORMALLY. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR HOME WITHOUT EXPERIENCING ANY ADDITIONAL ACCELERATION ISSUES. AUDI LOOKED AT THE CAR AND DETERMINED IT WAS A FAULTY BRAKE SWITCH THAT PREVENTED THE CRUISE CONTROL FROM DISENGAGING. HOWEVER, THE CRUISE CONTROL WAS NOT ACTIVE WHEN THE UNCONTROLLED ACCELERATION OCCURRED, AND THEIR OWN MECHANIC SAID THE FAULTY SWITCH WOULD NOT EXPLAIN THE FULL THROTTLE ENGINE START AFTER SHUTTING OFF THE ENGINE. THEY SAID THEY REPLACED THE BRAKE SWITCH BUT WILL TAKE NO FURTHER ACTION. BASED ON THE AUDI MECHANICS COMMENTS, I DO NOT FEEL THE ISSUE HAS BEEN RESOLVED. *TR

THE HEADLIGHTS ON 2002 THROUGH 2007 (AND POSSIBLY TO CURRENT) AUDI A4'S HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO GO OUT RANDOMLY. OFTEN TIMES IT IS JUST THE SINGLE LEFT HEADLIGHT, OR RIGHT HEADLIGHT, WHICH GOES OUT. THIS IS ACCOMPANIED BY THE ERROR MESSAGE "LEFT/RIGHT HEADLIGHT DIPPED" ON THE DRIVER INFORMATION SCREEN LOCATED ON THE DASHBOARD. THIS CAN OCCUR FROM THE FOLLOWING CIRCUMSTANCES: -HEAVY OR SUDDEN CHASSIS VIBRATION (SUCH AS HITTING A POTHOLE OR EVEN SOMEONE PHYSICALLY STRIKING THE HEADLIGHT) -COLD WEATHER (EXAMPLES HAVE OCCURRED IN AS LITTLE AS 35 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT) -WATER OR MOISTURE IN THE ELECTRICAL WIRING THIS FAILURE CAUSES A SUDDEN LOSS OF HEADLIGHT OUTPUT, ENDANGERING BOTH THE DRIVER AND OCCUPANTS OR OTHER DRIVERS AND PEDESTRIANS IF THIS OCCURS AT NIGHT OR IN POOR WEATHER. SINCE A COMMON CAUSE IS POOR WEATHER/COLD WEATHER, OFTEN AT ITS WORST AT NIGHT, THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT RISK. AUDI OF AMERICA HAS NOT ACKNOWLEDGED THIS AS AN ISSUE DESPITE SPANNING SEVERAL YEARS OF VEHICLES. THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP HERE HAS REPLACED THE BULBS THREE TIMES (WHICH WERE FINE TO BEGIN WITH), THE HEADLIGHT ONCE, AND RUN SEVERAL ELECTRICAL DIAGNOSTICS - ALL AT OWNERS EXPENSE. THE PROBLEM GOES AWAY BRIEFLY AND THEN COMES BACK. CURRENTLY THE LEFT HEADLIGHT OF MY 2003 AUDI A4 HAS BEEN OUT FOR 4 MONTHS WITHOUT RECOVERING. THERE ARE MULTIPLE EXAMPLES OF THIS SAME ISSUE ALL OVER THE INTERNET, A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH WILL PROVIDE MORE EXAMPLES. THERE WAS NO CRASH ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FAILURE. *TR

MY 2003 AUDI A4 3.0 V6 DRIVER SIDE AUTOMATIC WINDOW BEGAN TO FAIL FOR THE FIRST TIME ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO IN 2008. ONE DAY IT JUST STOPPED WORKING COMPLETELY: STILL COULD ROLL DOWN, BUT ONCE DOWN, IT COULDN'T ROLL UP ANY MORE. I HAD TO USE MY HANDS TO HOLD IT FROM BOTH SIDES TO PULL IT UP. IT CAUSED SO MANY PROBLEMS, SOMETIMES REAL DANGERS, DURING THE OPERATION, UNTIL I PAID A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS TO FIX IT A FEW WEEKS LATER. ESPECIALLY IT'S SO DIFFICULT TO GO THROUGH TOLL BOOTHS OR SOME NARROW LANES WHEN I CAN'T OPEN THE DOOR EASILY WHILE NOT ABLE TO ROLL DOWN THE WINDOW, OR IN CASES I HAD THE WINDOWS DOWN FOR WHATEVER REASON, IT BECAME DANGEROUSLY DIFFICULT TO GET IT BACK UP WHEN NEEDED DUE TO RAIN OR SNOW CONDITIONS. I CAN HARDLY DESCRIBE ALL THE DIFFICULT SITUATIONS THAT MADE ME FEEL HELPLESS. BUT TWO YEARS LATER (2010), THE SAME WINDOW FAILED AGAIN WITH EXACTLY THE SAME ISSUE, NOT ABLE TO ROLL UP. I DELAYED REPAIR UNTIL NOW. WHAT'S WORSE NOW IS AT THE SAME TIME, ANOTHER WINDOW -- THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW BEGAN TO FAIL TOO! THAT'S A WINDOW I BARELY USE DURING THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS OF OWING THE CAR. ONE DAY WHILE DRIVING, THERE WAS THIS BIG LOUD SOUND LIKE AN EXPLOSION COMING FROM THAT WINDOW, AND I HAD TO STOP DANGEROUSLY ON THE HIGHWAY TO INSPECT WHAT HAPPENED UNTIL CONFIRMING IT'S THE WINDOW FAILURE. IT'S BEYOND ANY REASON TO EXPLAIN WHY IT WOULD FAIL WITH NO USAGE. THIS REAR WINDOW PRESENTED MORE SECURITY ISSUES TO ME TOO, BECAUSE EVEN IF I PUSH IT ALL THE WAY UP WITH MY HANDS, IT ALWAYS SLOWLY SLIDE DOWN TO LEAVE A BIG OPENING ABOUT 5 TO 10 INCHES WIDE. SINCE I PARK THE CAR ON THE STREET ALMOST DAILY, IT'S A REAL ISSUE TO WORRY ABOUT BURGLARS OR BREAK-INS. FOR THIS SERIOUS CONCERN, I HAD TO SEND IT TO THE DEALER FOR REPAIR, WHO QUOTED ME $460 TO FIX IT INCLUDING PARTS AND LABOR. CONSIDERING THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME TOTAL THREE TIMES, INCLUDING ONE THAT'S HAPPENED TO A WINDOW I RARELY USE, THIS SEEMS TO ME STRONGLY AN OBVIOUS MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT. *TR

SUDDEN ACCELERATION. I WAS COMING BACK FROM THE STORE, AND TWICE I STEPPED ON THE GAS AND THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR ON ITS OWN! I HIT THE BRAKE AND KEPT THE CAR FROM RUNNING AWAY WHILE I PULLED THE PEDAL UP WITH MY OTHER FOOT. WHEN I GOT BACK HOME, I PUT IT IN NEUTRAL, GAVE IT A LITTLE GAS, AND IT WENT INTO FULL ACCELERATION. I COULD FEEL THE GAS PEDAL PULL AWAY FROM MY FOOT AND GO TO THE FLOOR. I HAD TO TURN THE KEY OFF TO STOP IT. IT WAS NOT "FLOOR MATS" OR DRIVER ERROR. THE NEXT DAY, THE PROBLEM WAS GONE. I DROVE TO THE AUDI DEALER. THEY REPLACED THE GAS PEDAL ASSEMBLY AND THE PROBLEM APPEARS TO BE FIXED. *TR