The new "Unintended Acceleration"....?

[cobram at juno.com]

 Brett Dikeman <brett at cloud9.net> writes:

> Unbelievable bullshit.  Dangerous and defective car?
> 
> "There's absolutely no warnings in the car or in the owner's manual 
> that if you don't follow various precautions that this could 
> happen.""
> 
> The manual most certainly does- both the owner's manual and the 
> factory repair manual, I believe- though I don't have a 5000 manual 
> handy to check.  Further, the cover on the factory battery is bright 
> orange and warns the cover MUST be in place or the seat will contact 
> the battery terminal.  Even though I didn't have the factory battery 

You're wrong, at least for the 5000.  I have the Bentley for the 5000S
and 5000CS 1984,1985,1986 (car is story is a 1985) in front of me....and
it actually (page 27.6) and erroneously, shows the battery ON THE
FIREWALL like the Audi 90's.  There is NO mention of the under seat
battery that I could see, nor any mention of the terminal guard.
 
> in mine- the factory cover was right there, snapped over the "+" 
> terminal, with a VAG part number on it and the warning molded into 
> the shape.

My 1984 5KS has no such cover, aside from the one that came with the
battery (an interstate), and as far as I can recall (I bought the car in
1990) it hasn't had one since I bought it.

> FACT: it is IMPOSSIBLE to secure the two screws that hold the seat 
> front down if the seat has not been properly installed.  They just 
> won't line up or even reach.  It's actually VERY inherent that it 

My 1984 5KS has no such screw anchors, and I don't recall any on the 1985
models I've parted out.

My '84, and the half dozen or so '84's and '85's I've parted out over the
years, were all missing the upright piece that was bolted in to the
battery holder, this metal piece was supposed to keep the seat at bay,
but I suspect it was such a PITA to replace that very few people ever
did.  

There isn't much in the 1985 owners manual either, "To reinstall battery
in vehicle: Remove rear seatback cushion.  Place battery in vehicle and
tighten bolt of holding plate.  Reconnect positive cable.  Reconnect
negative ground strap. Reinstall rear seatbench cushion."  That's it, no
mention of any protective covers in the owners manual.  At the bottom of
the page (90) there is a highlighted note to "Always heed WARNINGS on
page 64."  Flip to page 64....and it's titled (all caps)  "Exercise
extreme caution when working under the engine hood" and contains the
standard warnings about neckties in fanbelts etc.

Just correcting your info to reflect the earlier type 44's, in no way do
I think this guy should get a nickle, for the other reasons you cited and
a few more.  He may indeed get a sympathy win in court, or a non
disclosed "go away" offer from Audi.  

BCNU,
http://www.geocities.com/cobramsri/