2000 Audi S4

LIKE MANY OTHER PEOPLE WHO OWN AN AUDI S4 WITH 50,000 MILES, I AM HAVING BRAKE LIGHT ISSUES. ONLY MINE ARE MUCH MORE SEVERE THAT WHAT I HAVE READ THUS FAR. I TOOK MY CAR IN FOR IT'S 60000, AND HAD THE MECHANIC CHECK THE BRAKE LIGHT. LEADING UP TO THE REPAIR, I HAD BEEN *LOSING BRAKE FLUID* ALMOST MONTHLY. THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN, FOR ANY REASON. BUT, MY MECHANIC TOOK THREE HOURS AND DISCOVERED THAT THE BATTERY WAS LEAKING SULFURIC ACID ONTO MY BRAKE LINE, MY POWER STEERING LINE, AND MY CLUTCH LINE. HE STATED, "ONLY A MECHANICAL MORON WOULD HOUSE THE METAL AND STEAL CABLES UNDERNEATH SULFURIC ACID." CONSEQUENTLY, I CANNOT DRIVE MY CAR ANY MORE AND THE REPAIRS INLCUDE THE TAKING OUT OF THE ENTIRE ENGINE TO GET TO THE SOURCE, WHICH MAY/MAY NOT BE ABLE TO BE FIXED. MECHANIC STATED THAT THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL ISSUE, AND THAT THE SAFETY ISSUE ON THIS TYPE OF DESIGN-FLAW IS OBVIOUS AND CERTAIN. I EXPECT AUDI WILL NOT COVER THIS DEFECT, CAUSING ME TO SHELL OUT, ARE YOU READY FOR THIS, 2-3,000 BUCKS TO GET IT REPLACED. [XXX] THE MAN. I'LL POST MORE WHEN I KNOW MORE.*AK INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

THE DOOR LOCKS AND ALARM SYSTEM FAILED WHEN MY CAR WAS STOLEN FROM THE IKEA PARKING LOT IN ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY. THIEVES PUNCHED OR DRILLED A HOLE IN THE DRIVER DOOR BETWEEN THE DOOR HANDLE AND DOOR LOCK AND WERE ABLE TO OPEN THE DOOR AND DISABLE THE ALARM SYSTEM AT THE SAME TIME. AFTER BREAKING THE STEERING COLUMN, STARTING THE CAR, AND OUTRUNNING POLICE, THE CAR WAS RECOVERED VIA LOJACK WITH ALL MY PERSONAL BELONGINGS GONE. AUDI SHOULD ADRESS THIS ISSUE BY MAKING NEW CARS WITH AN IMPROVED SECURITY SYSTEM AND BY DOING SOMETHING FOR EXISTING OWNERS TO FIX THIS COSTLY AND DANGEROUS PROBLEM. OTHER AUDI OWNERS NEED TO BE MADE AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM.*AK

AUDI USA HAS ENGINEERING CONTROL AND WERE CONTACTED AND PRESENT DURING REPAIR. UNDER VERY ICY CONDITIONS ON STRAIGHT ROAD, DURING ACCELERATION FROM VERY SLOW SPEED, VEHICLE PITCHED INTO OVERSTEER CONDITION. NOT ENTIRELY UNEXPECTED, BUT AFTER A DIFFICULT RECOVERY, WHEN ALL SEEMED OK, IT OVERSTEERED AGAIN QUITE VIOLENTLY. THIS WAS AGAIN RECOVERED, BUT IT APPEARED THAT THERE WAS AN ABS BRAKE INPUT , CERTAINLY NOT OF MY DOING. THE THIRD CYCLE WAS MORE SEVERE, AND I LEFT THE ROAD. NEITHER THE BRAKE NOR THROTTLE WERE TOUCHED DURING THE WHOLE CYCLE, BUT STEERING INPUTS WERE POWERFUL AS I ATTEMPTED TO SAVE THE DAY. THE SEPARATENESS OF THE CYCLES ALERTED ME TO THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE WHEEL SPEED SENSORS HAD DETECTED A DIFFERENTIAL SPEED AND APPLIED THE BRAKES. AUDI REFUSES TO RELEASE ANY DATA ON THE OPERATION OF THEIR ABS SYSTEM, AND THE VOLATILE COMPUTER DATA HAS GONE..IT IS NOTEWORTHY THAT SOME OF THE CONTROL FUNCTIONS PREVIOUSLY IDENTIFIED, ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL, ETC, ARE NOW EMBEDDED IN THE ABS . THE S4 DID NOT HAVE A STABILITY CONTROL MECHANISM, IT NOW DOES. THIS IS A VERY POWERFUL VEHICLE SYSTEM, AND IF IT SHOULD FAIL, THE CONSUMER SHOULD BE ABLE TO KNOW THE CRITERIA UNDER WHICH IT SHOULD, COULD OPERATE AND/OR FAIL. A YEARS WORTH OF COMMUNICATION HAS PRODUCED ZERO DATA FROM AUDI. *AK