Re: Audi of America, are you listening?

[Chris Newbold <Chris_Newbold@transarc.com>]

Ti Kan wrote:

> Gee, why do you guys have such bad luck with your cars?  My 96 A4q
> is going to be 3 years old as of next month and so far it has been
> quite trouble-free.  The only thing that failed was the radio, and a

Now you're done for, Ti. You shouldn't have said anything :-)

The 100 and 90 introduced in 1992/3 were similarly heralded as quantum
leaps in quality as the A4 in 1996. Here's the list of blown/broken/
defective bits I've encountered in the last 5 1/2 years. Tell me, does
this seem like quality?

To add insult to injury, some of the parts which failed were the subject
of recalls either for different symptoms or on different models (slushbox).
However, since the *same* part failed in a different way, or the *same*
part failed on my 5spd, Audi refused to even *consider* paying *any*
of the cost of the part or labor.

- cracked a/c evaporator
- porous oil pump
- faulty ISV
- dead CC temp. sensor
- disintegrated cat
- shot ball joints and tie rods (at 32k miles!)
- 3 seized brake calipers (one front, both rear).
- blown dash lighting (numerous)
- blown amplified rear speakers (3 times; obviously bad design, prone to
				 shorting out)
- failed radiator fan motor bearings (at < 10k miles!)
- burnt-out window regulator
- stripped sunroof motor gears
- delaminated outside mirror
- rear window seal/trim which won't stay in place for more than 5 min.
- broken ignition switch
- pair of failed O2 sensors
- split windshield washer reservoir
- 3 failed steering dampers (again, poor design, eventually upgraded)
- leaky P/S hose

Most of that stuff I did not have to pay for, since it was covered by
the Advantage program. Now, it did scare the !$$!%*@ out of me that once out
of warrantee that the car would bankrupt me if things kept failing at the
same rate...

-Chris
1993 90CS 5spd 73k miles