[s-cars] I am fed up!

[Kirby Smith]

You have my condolences, even though I buy Audi's with the expectation
of never letting them see the interior of a dealer's repair area. 
Ideally, one buys used cars with so much depreciation already taken that
the additional depreciation, in concert with repair [improvement] costs,
is manageable.  Or, one buys new, keeps the car for the warrenty period
only, and eats the depreciation in return for no additional costs. 
Doing both seems to me to be a form of self-flagelation.  For how many
years have we heard horror stories about Audi not backing its
customers?  Unless a class action suit appears on the ABS issue, I doubt
anything will be done.  Management probably believes that all new car
sales result from media advertizing, because their PR subcontractor
tells them so.

Since this failure is infamous, it seems odd that with the army of A4
owners no one has burrowed into the controller to determine which part
is at fault.  Then it would be an electonics repair, unless it was the
main CPU chip.

Alternatively, perhaps there are so many wrecked A4s that you could get
a used unit for much less money (unless all the wrecks were due to abs
failure).  Of course, the new unit might not last forever.  Are the
controllers from newer A4s compatible?

kirby


Igor Kessel wrote:
> 
> Folks,
> I am about to throw in the towel, sell my Audis and move to the other
> side. The 330ix seems more and more attractive by the minute.
> 
> Here's the scope.
> Sometime in November 2004 the ABS controller in the wife's '98 A4
> (WAUCB28D3WA077066) has quit at only 46kmi. In January 2004 I have
> finally found the time to VAG-COM the car and to look into the problem.
> The VAG-COM gave me the now infamous error:
> "01203 - Electrical Connection between ABS and Instrument Cluster
> 03-10 - No Signal - Intermittent"
> 
> Judging by the traffic on Audiworld the Bosch 5.3 ABS controllers are
> failing left and right on those cars. Some people with the
> out-of-warranty 1999 cars we successful in getting AoA to replace the
> controllers. So I decided to give it a try.
> 
> On 5 January 2004 I called AoA and opened the case #40003690 with Jeremy
> and explained the situation stressing my fears for the safety of my wife
> driving with the non-functioning ABS system on snow and ice. He
> conference called my local dealership, Don Rosen Audi in Conshohocken,
> PA and set up an appointment to have a look at the car in order to
> determine where the problem was. NOTE: at the time of the call he
> already knew both the year and the mileage of the car, yet he sent me to
> the dealer anyway.
> 
> On 7 January 2004 I had brought the car in for the diagnostic. Bob
> Gordon, the Sr. Audi Tech at Don Rosen, connected the VAG 1551 to my car
> and determined the bad ABS controller to be the culprit. Just as was
> expected by the yours truly.
> I immediately called AoA from my cell phone and advised Kimberly on the
> other end that she could contact Mr. Gordon and enquire about his
> determination.
> 
> Kimberly called Bob Gordon and he advised that the car did indeed need
> the new controller to the tune of $1300 + labour. She never got back to
> him with the determination regarding my case.
> 
> Today, 12 January 2004, I myself called AoA and got to talk with the
> third so-called "consumer advocate". He reviewed my case and advised
> that AoA would not be paying for the repair "because the car is so much
> outside of warranty". Lovely.
> 
> I asked the man then why the hell did AoA make me waste the day at the
> dealership and diagnose the problem, if their refusal to help was based
> on the age of the car? Which they already knew before they sent me to
> the dealer, remember? The guy on the AoA side gave me a bunch of lames
> like "their determination was based on the combination of the nature of
> the problem and the age of the car". To which I sarcastically remarked
> that did it mean that if it were a 15 cent ABS fuse they prolly would've
> replaced it, but not the $1300 controller?
> 
> I also told him that back in 2002, when the engine on my A4 failed due
> to the defective timing belt tensioner at only 4 mos after the warranty
> had expired with the mere 38kmi on the odometer (you prolly remember my
> posting about the head rebuild saga circa August 2002?), AoA didn't even
> extend the courtesy of a single replay to either of the two(!) e-mails
> that I'd sent them. That's why this time around I decided to call them
> up on the phone, speak to a live person and open a case with them.
> 
> I also advised him that for the past 10+ years I have been an avid Audi
> fanatic, who at any given time owned at least two Audis in the family
> and who had directly influenced at least a dozen purchases of Audi
> vehicles between my friends and acquaintances. I also advised him that I
> was fed up with the AoA attitude towards customer and was considering
> dropping Audis from my stable for good. And if Audi stands to lose such
> hardcore loyal Audi brand supporters like the yours truly, then how on
> Earth did they hope to keep the foothold on this market?
> 
> Folks, can you tell that I am pissed off and simmering like a teapot on
> the stove? Thanks for listening.
> 
> I'll also be sure to fill out the form on the NHTSA site.
> 
> --
> Igor Kessel
> two turbo quattros
> 
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