[V8] New experience...not welcome, either.

[Roger Woodbury]

We've been experiencing an increasing amount of drivability issues with my
wife's 100CS Avant.  The symptoms were loss of power, reluctance to
downshift and general malaise.  

The first time it was reported to me I found the floor mat all coiled up
underneath the accelerator, and putting the mat back where it should have
been corrected the problem.  

Then it began to happen again, and finally happened when I was driving the
car.

The diagnosis is a plugged catalytic converter.  That is the first time that
I have had a converter go bad on any car.  The car has in excess of 135,000
miles to date, all but the first 39,000 miles are ours.  

I am braced for the estimate, which will include finding out why the airbag
light is on, and I am not looking forward to THAT diagnosis either.  So we
have so far today, the catalytic converter, an upper rear control arm, an
oil leak in the front, which may be the valve cover gaskets, and the
mysterious airbag issue, which is either a wire broken or the airbag
controller itself.  Also the switch on the top of the transmission that
controls the backup lights is out, and the Audi part new is $400...we will
NOT be buying a new Audi part for that, of course.

Anyone on this list done catalytic converters before?  OUCH!

Roger