RE: brake anomalies

["Dupree, Jim" <dupree@alldata.com>]

First off:
Any brake problem should be taken very seriously and corrected immediately
if the vehicle is to be used at all,  even if it is an expensive repair. If
the repair is too expensive do not use the car! There is NO EXCUSE for
endangering yourself and others by operating a vehicle with defective
brakes.

That said:
I spent almost 20 years working as a professional mechanic for 3 different
dealerships and 2 different independent shops. Although I mostly focused on
German cars, I have significant experience with the following makes: VW,
Porsche, Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Fiat, Ferrari, Isuzu, Peugeut, Acura, Ford,
Toyota, and  Nissan. 

In my experience Audi has NO MORE brake problems than any other make. In
addition, Audi brakes are more powerful than most cars by far.  I am often
very uncomfortable with the brakes in most US and Asian cars I drive.
Yes I have certainly done my share of brake repairs on Audi's but the
majority of them were wear or lack of maintenance related repairs.
I personally have yet to experience a brake failure that left the vehicle
completely without brakes, severely diminished (unsafe) brakes I have dealt
with.

I have a VW Camper Bus in my driveway that has been there for 6 months now
because the brakes failed. I had a intermittent condition where the brake
pedal would go most of the way to the floor before providing any significant
brake function, it happened on 3 different occasions. I replaced the master
cylinder and that cured the problem. (dealer price on MC $300, local
supplier $68) Two months latter a wheel cylinder leaked out enough fluid the
MC sucked air and I suddenly had almost no pedal again. I probable should
have done the wheel cylinders when I did the MC but they weren't leaking yet
and I was in a hurry and didn't want to spend the $$. Luckily I was on a
local errand 2 blocks from my house and the front brakes could stop the bus,
turned around immediately and parked the bus in the driveway where it still
sits. Had it happened 3 days latter I would have been on my way to Laguna
Seca with my whole family aboard and everything for 12 days of vacation,
would not have been good.

The sudden failures some listers described sound like mastercylinder
problems to me and they should get repairs done right away. 
Is there some component that is failing on Audis tat we should all be
concerned over and run out and replace, I don't think so. I don't see any
pattern or history to indicate a wide spread problem with Audi brake except
that many of us have 10 - 15 year old cars (or older) and that makes most
any component susceptible to failure.
Keep your Audi maintained and inspected regularly and fix it when it breaks.

Jim Dupree
1984 4kq
1984 4k 
1978 VW Bus (sitting in the driveway)
1971 Porsche 914 (keeping the bus company)
1991 Ford Explorer (recent mastercylinder)

		-----Original Message-----
		From:	Hien Pham [mailto:hienpham@mindless.com]
		Sent:	Friday, June 04, 1999 6:56 AM
		To:	quattro@audifans.com
		Subject:	Re: brake anomalies



		> The problem with people in denial is that they like to
talk down the
		> magnitude.
		>
		> If anyone evey takes a count of listers with brakes
problems in on the
		list,
		> i am sure he/she will notice that it isn't "two other
listers" ...
		>
		> I am shocked ...
		>
		> It's funny how how without any proof, somebody can make an
outright claim
		> that: "your suggestion is not correct, but here is my
analysis and you
		have
		> to go by this."
		>
		>
		>
		>