Re: Really bad TT ownership experience

[Stephen Gutierrez <resops@yahoo.com>]

Don't get to mad because you know audi will have a
recall on it some day

--- Joseph Rae <quattro@ptinet.net> wrote:
> Like I said I would have delivered the car back to
> audi though their
> showroom window by now :)
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Brad Willis" <bwillis@san.rr.com>
> To: <quattro@audifans.com>
> Sent: Saturday, December 11, 1999 10:40 AM
> Subject: Really bad TT ownership experience
> 
> 
> > It has come to my aTTention that my troubled TT
> has been a recent topic of
> > conversation here recently.  A number of you have
> sent me private e-mail
> > messages, and I thank you for your 100% supportive
> comments.  I did check
> > the archives and review prior posts pertaining to
> this subject, and I
> wanted
> > to add a few comments.
> >
> > With regard to the speculation that I am missing
> shifts, am perhaps
> > inexperienced with a stick shift, am imagining
> problems because there was
> a
> > problem before and so forth, I must say that all
> of these speculations are
> > absolutely incorrect.  In fact, this seems to be
> the attitude of most at
> > Audi, which is frankly annoying the hell out of
> me.
> >
> > I have been driving a manual transmission in
> excess of 15 years, and the
> > first car that I ever owned was a manual.  I have
> provided Audi with over
> 40
> > other cases of FWD TT owners who have mostly
> experienced the identical
> > experience to mine, which is a periodic grinding
> of the 2nd gear syncros.
> > There is no grinding of other gears, and I like
> pretty much everyone else,
> > do miss a shift, on occasion. I certainly know the
> difference between a
> > missed shift and a loud grind from out of the
> blue.
> >
> > Since I took delivery of the TT in May 1999, this
> grind has occurred over
> > 200 times, in my estimation.  It happens most
> often when the weather is
> very
> > hot and when I have driven the TT for a long
> period of time.  Under those
> > circumstances, I usually get a lot of grinds, but
> not always.  The grinds
> > are mostly very loud, and embarrassing
> >
> > When the grinds first began at 5500 miles, they
> occurred on every shift,
> so
> > of course this was easy to duplicate.  At that
> time, the transmission was
> > replaced.  At that time, the Service Manager told
> me that Audi was having
> > problems with some of the FWD transmissions, but
> that the problem had been
> > resolved.  I think that he said that the problem
> was due to some
> metallurgy
> > problem related to the gears, so something like
> that.
> >
> > Shortly thereafter, the 2nd gear grinds began
> again, only this time it was
> > an intermittent occurrence.  This time, the
> dealership was also able to
> > recreate the problem.  They replaced gears,
> syncros, sliders and so on,
> but
> > this did not fix the problem.  They have also
> tried 3 types of
> transmission
> > oil.  The factory oil was a very thin synthetic,
> and the mechanic told me
> > that it looked like water.  They switched to a
> thicker conventional tranny
> > oil, but that did not help either.  The last
> attempted repair involved
> > switching to Mobil 1 synthetic transmission oil
> and adjusting the
> linkages.
> > That too did not help.
> >
> > After all of this, I have the pleasure of being
> insulted by Audi and being
> > told by their Technical Rep that he did not
> believe that a problem
> existed,
> > that he felt that my shifting technique was the
> problem, that no amount of
> > repairs would make me a happy customer, and that a
> divorce was in order.
> > Can you imagine how much this pisses me off.
> >
> > When I talk about this 2nd gear grind, understand
> that it does not occur
> as
> > I am releasing the clutch, as it would if one were
> missing the shift.  It
> > occurs with the clutch pedal fully depressed.  In
> other words, depress the
> > clutch, shift into 2nd, and a loud grind
> immediately occurs before the
> > clutch has been released at all.
> >
> > In addition to this, there are a number of other
> problems, most of which
> > have still not been repaired.  These include:
> >
> > 1. An intermittent reset of the instrument pod.
> >
> > 2. A faulty fuel sensor, which can show a 1/2 left
> when the car is bone
> dry
> > (a number of other owners have also had this
> problem, and several have run
> > out of gas).
> >
> > 3. A loud metallic rattle when accelerating or
> decelerating (Audi says
> that
> > it has something to do with a turbo release
> valve).
> >
> > 4. Leak in the power steering pump line
> (successfully repaired).
> >
> > 5. Loud rattle of the rear privacy cover (replaced
> and is now fine).
> >
> > 6. Breakdown of the wheels' finish (replaced and
> is now fine).
> >
> > There's more, but you get the idea.  I would
> expect Audi to have this
> > attitude:
> > "Gee, Brad. You were interviewed by Anita Lienert
> for Audi Magazine to be
> > our featured owner.  You formed the SoCal TT Club,
> and have provided much
> > information to current and prospective owners, you
> have referred TT buyers
> > to your dealership, and you own one of our high
> profile Neiman Marcus
> > Special Edition TTs.  Now you are having major
> problems and frustrations.
> > We are very sorry and embarrassed that these
> things are happening, and we
> > will do whatever is necessary to make things right
> and to keep you a happy
> > customer."
> >
> > Instead, I get this attitude:
> > "You are a pain in the ass and an annoying
> customer.  You don't know how
> to
> > properly drive a stick shift, and all of these
> grinds are because you are
> > either missing the shifts, or perhaps you are
> lying about things, or are
> > crazy.  There's nothing we can do to make you
> happy, because you are so
> > unreasonable."
> >
> > Well there is something that they can do to keep
> me happy.  FIX THE DAMN
> CAR
> > AND LOSE THE ATTITUDE!!!!
> >
> > Sorry to go on for so long, but I thought that
> this might shed a bit more
> > light on the subject.
> >
> >
> 
> 

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