2003 AUDI A4 Complaints

THE HEADLIGHTS ON 2002 THROUGH 2007 (AND POSSIBLY TO CURRENT) AUDI A4'S HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO GO OUT RANDOMLY. OFTEN TIMES IT IS JUST THE SINGLE LEFT HEADLIGHT, OR RIGHT HEADLIGHT, WHICH GOES OUT. THIS IS ACCOMPANIED BY THE ERROR MESSAGE "LEFT/RIGHT HEADLIGHT DIPPED" ON THE DRIVER INFORMATION SCREEN LOCATED ON THE DASHBOARD. THIS CAN OCCUR FROM THE FOLLOWING CIRCUMSTANCES: -HEAVY OR SUDDEN CHASSIS VIBRATION (SUCH AS HITTING A POTHOLE OR EVEN SOMEONE PHYSICALLY STRIKING THE HEADLIGHT) -COLD WEATHER (EXAMPLES HAVE OCCURRED IN AS LITTLE AS 35 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT) -WATER OR MOISTURE IN THE ELECTRICAL WIRING THIS FAILURE CAUSES A SUDDEN LOSS OF HEADLIGHT OUTPUT, ENDANGERING BOTH THE DRIVER AND OCCUPANTS OR OTHER DRIVERS AND PEDESTRIANS IF THIS OCCURS AT NIGHT OR IN POOR WEATHER. SINCE A COMMON CAUSE IS POOR WEATHER/COLD WEATHER, OFTEN AT ITS WORST AT NIGHT, THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT RISK. AUDI OF AMERICA HAS NOT ACKNOWLEDGED THIS AS AN ISSUE DESPITE SPANNING SEVERAL YEARS OF VEHICLES. THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP HERE HAS REPLACED THE BULBS THREE TIMES (WHICH WERE FINE TO BEGIN WITH), THE HEADLIGHT ONCE, AND RUN SEVERAL ELECTRICAL DIAGNOSTICS - ALL AT OWNERS EXPENSE. THE PROBLEM GOES AWAY BRIEFLY AND THEN COMES BACK. CURRENTLY THE LEFT HEADLIGHT OF MY 2003 AUDI A4 HAS BEEN OUT FOR 4 MONTHS WITHOUT RECOVERING. THERE ARE MULTIPLE EXAMPLES OF THIS SAME ISSUE ALL OVER THE INTERNET, A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH WILL PROVIDE MORE EXAMPLES. THERE WAS NO CRASH ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FAILURE. *TR

MY 2003 AUDI A4 3.0 V6 DRIVER SIDE AUTOMATIC WINDOW BEGAN TO FAIL FOR THE FIRST TIME ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO IN 2008. ONE DAY IT JUST STOPPED WORKING COMPLETELY: STILL COULD ROLL DOWN, BUT ONCE DOWN, IT COULDN'T ROLL UP ANY MORE. I HAD TO USE MY HANDS TO HOLD IT FROM BOTH SIDES TO PULL IT UP. IT CAUSED SO MANY PROBLEMS, SOMETIMES REAL DANGERS, DURING THE OPERATION, UNTIL I PAID A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS TO FIX IT A FEW WEEKS LATER. ESPECIALLY IT'S SO DIFFICULT TO GO THROUGH TOLL BOOTHS OR SOME NARROW LANES WHEN I CAN'T OPEN THE DOOR EASILY WHILE NOT ABLE TO ROLL DOWN THE WINDOW, OR IN CASES I HAD THE WINDOWS DOWN FOR WHATEVER REASON, IT BECAME DANGEROUSLY DIFFICULT TO GET IT BACK UP WHEN NEEDED DUE TO RAIN OR SNOW CONDITIONS. I CAN HARDLY DESCRIBE ALL THE DIFFICULT SITUATIONS THAT MADE ME FEEL HELPLESS. BUT TWO YEARS LATER (2010), THE SAME WINDOW FAILED AGAIN WITH EXACTLY THE SAME ISSUE, NOT ABLE TO ROLL UP. I DELAYED REPAIR UNTIL NOW. WHAT'S WORSE NOW IS AT THE SAME TIME, ANOTHER WINDOW -- THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW BEGAN TO FAIL TOO! THAT'S A WINDOW I BARELY USE DURING THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS OF OWING THE CAR. ONE DAY WHILE DRIVING, THERE WAS THIS BIG LOUD SOUND LIKE AN EXPLOSION COMING FROM THAT WINDOW, AND I HAD TO STOP DANGEROUSLY ON THE HIGHWAY TO INSPECT WHAT HAPPENED UNTIL CONFIRMING IT'S THE WINDOW FAILURE. IT'S BEYOND ANY REASON TO EXPLAIN WHY IT WOULD FAIL WITH NO USAGE. THIS REAR WINDOW PRESENTED MORE SECURITY ISSUES TO ME TOO, BECAUSE EVEN IF I PUSH IT ALL THE WAY UP WITH MY HANDS, IT ALWAYS SLOWLY SLIDE DOWN TO LEAVE A BIG OPENING ABOUT 5 TO 10 INCHES WIDE. SINCE I PARK THE CAR ON THE STREET ALMOST DAILY, IT'S A REAL ISSUE TO WORRY ABOUT BURGLARS OR BREAK-INS. FOR THIS SERIOUS CONCERN, I HAD TO SEND IT TO THE DEALER FOR REPAIR, WHO QUOTED ME $460 TO FIX IT INCLUDING PARTS AND LABOR. CONSIDERING THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME TOTAL THREE TIMES, INCLUDING ONE THAT'S HAPPENED TO A WINDOW I RARELY USE, THIS SEEMS TO ME STRONGLY AN OBVIOUS MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT. *TR

SUDDEN ACCELERATION. I WAS COMING BACK FROM THE STORE, AND TWICE I STEPPED ON THE GAS AND THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR ON ITS OWN! I HIT THE BRAKE AND KEPT THE CAR FROM RUNNING AWAY WHILE I PULLED THE PEDAL UP WITH MY OTHER FOOT. WHEN I GOT BACK HOME, I PUT IT IN NEUTRAL, GAVE IT A LITTLE GAS, AND IT WENT INTO FULL ACCELERATION. I COULD FEEL THE GAS PEDAL PULL AWAY FROM MY FOOT AND GO TO THE FLOOR. I HAD TO TURN THE KEY OFF TO STOP IT. IT WAS NOT "FLOOR MATS" OR DRIVER ERROR. THE NEXT DAY, THE PROBLEM WAS GONE. I DROVE TO THE AUDI DEALER. THEY REPLACED THE GAS PEDAL ASSEMBLY AND THE PROBLEM APPEARS TO BE FIXED. *TR

THE REAR GLASS WINDOW OF THE CONVERTIBLE TOP OF MY 2003 AUDI A 4 HAS COME LOOSE. WE PAID A CAR UPHOLSTERER TO GLUE IT BACK IT IN BUT IT IS LOOSE AGAIN. IT WOULD BE VERY DANGEROUS IF IT FELL OUT WHILE TRAVELING. *TR

HEADLIGHT FAILURE. THE CAR GIVES A WARNING THAT THE "FRONT DIPPED HEADLIGHT" IS TURNING OFF. THIS FAILURE OCCURS EVERY TIME I START THE CAR. I HAVE REPLACED THE HEADLIGHT 3 TIMES BUT IT IS A FAULTY BALLAST, WHICH IS DEFECTIVE. *TR

IN MARCH 2009, I HEARD SOME LOUD NOISES FROM THE AREA OVER THE FUEL TANK. I TOOK IT TO MY MECHANIC AND THEY COULD NOT IDENTIFY AS IT WAS INTERMITTENT. THEY FINALLY DETERMINED THAT IT WAS THE FUEL FILTER AND IT WOULD NEED REPLACED BUT NOT URGENTLY. A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER, THE CAR STALLED AND WOULD NOT RESTART. LUCKILY IT STALLED AS I TURNED INTO THE GROCERY STORE PARKING LOT. I HAD IT TOWED AND IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE FUEL PUMP HAD FAILED. MY MECHANIC WAS SURPRISED AS IT WAS UNUSUAL THAT IT WOULD FAIL AS THE CAR HAD ON 47K MILES. THE PUMP AND FILTER WERE REPLACED. I WAS NOT MADE AWARE THAT THERE WAS A RECALL AND IT APPEARS THAT MY PARTICULAR VEHICLE WAS NOT PART OF THE RECALL, BUT I AM SUSPICIOUS AS I RECENTLY READ ABOUT THE RECALL THROUGH THE NHTSA THROUGH MY PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE. I ALSO DID NOT TAKE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER TO REPLACE AS THERE WAS NO RECALL FOR MY VEHICLE REGARDING THE FUEL PUMP. *TR

2003 AUDI A4 CABRIOLET, THE CAR IS PRACTICALLY NEW, ONLY DRIVEN IN SUMMER MONTHS. THE REAR WINDOW HAS SEPARATED FROM THE ROOF, APPARENTLY THE WINDOW IS ONLY SEALED TO THE ROOF WITH A LAYER OF GLUE. THE WINDOW CAN FALL OUT AT ANYTIME AS A RESULT OF THE GLUE LOOSENING. THE ONLY ALTERNATIVE IS A COMPLETELY NEW ROOF. *TR

SUDDEN, UNINTENDED ACCELERATION OF 2003 AUDI A4 WHILE IN 4TH GEAR. RPMS SPIKED AND REMAINED AT 7 AFTER FOOT WAS REMOVED FROM ACCELERATOR. EXPERIENCED LOSS OF CONTROL OF STEERING. WAS EVENTUALLY ABLE TO SLOW AND STOP CAR VIA BRAKES. AFTER COMPLETELY SHUTTING CAR OFF AND REMOVING KEY, CAR WAS RESTARTED AND ENGINE REVVED UP TO 7 RPMS WITH ZERO ACCELERATION. OCCURRED ON QUEENSBOROUGH BRIDGE - POLICE WERE CALLED TO ASSIST. *TR

I WAS DRIVING MY AUDI A-4 ON THE FREEWAY AT SPEEDS OF APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH WHEN THERE WAS A LOUD THUMPING ON THE LEFT FRONT OF MY VEHICLE. MOMENTS LATER, IT STOPPED BUT I NOTICED THERE WERE VIBRATIONS AND SHIMMIES ON MY STEERING WHEEL. I SLOWED DOWN AND PULLED TO SIDE OF FWY TO INSPECT THE TIRE. IT APPEARED FINE, HOWEVER, VIBRATION WAS STILL THERE. I PULLED ONTO SURFACE STREETS AT LOWER SPEEDS AND IT STOPPED. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, I PULLED INTO A GAS STATION TO TAKE THE TIRE OFF TO REPLACE WITH SPARE AND NOTICED SEPARATION OF THE TREAD, MEASURING APPROXIMATELY 31 INCHES LONG AND 1.5 INCHES IN WIDTH. I WAS SHOCKED THAT I DIDN'T LOSE CONTROL OR HAVE A BLOWOUT FROM THIS CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. *TR

MY WIFE AND I OWN A AUDI A4 CABRIOLET THAT RECENTLY HAD TO HAVE THE FUEL PUMP REPLACED. THE FUEL PUMP WAS CAUSING A VERY NOTICEABLE VIBRATION IN THE FUEL TANK. AUDI WAS CALLED AND TOLD ME THAT OUR VEHICLE WAS NOT IN THE GROUP THAT QUALIFIED FOR FUEL PUMP REPLACEMENT. THE CAR ONLY BEEN DRIVEN HAS 85,000 MILES AND IN MY OPINION A FUEL PUMP PROBLEM IS PREMATURE AND UNSAFE. UPON AUDI'S REFUSAL TO REPLACE THE PUMP I CALLED MY WARRANTY COMPANY TO PAY FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE FUEL PUMP. CONTINENTAL WARRANTY REFUSED TO PAY FOR THE REPLACEMENT PUMP. THE REASONING BEHIND THEIR DECISION IS THAT THE PUMP MUST HAVE COMPLETE FAILURE BE FORE THEY WOULD HONOR MY WARRANTY. AM I SUPPOSED TO STALL AT A RAILROAD CROSSING OR HIGH SPEED INTERSECTION BEFORE THE CAR IS CONSIDERED NON-DRIVABLE? *TR