1999 AUDI A6 Complaints

FLAMES STARTED SHOOTING OUT THE DRIVER'S SIDE VENT ON 1999 A6 SEDAN.*MR WHILE DRIVING SMOKE BEGAN COMING OUT OF THE AC VENTS THEN FLAME STARTING COMING OUT OF THE DRIVER'S SIDE VENTS. THE DRIVER WAS ABLE TO PULL OF AND EXTINGUISH THE FIRE. THE CONSUMER SUSTAINED A SMALL BURN WHILE PUTTING THE FIRE OUT. THE CONSUMER LOOKED ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE AND FOUND A RECALL ON THE IGNITION SWITCH (04V13300) BUT HAS NOT RECEIVED A NOTICE ABOUT THE RECALL. *NM

ABS CONTROLLER FAULTY. ABS WARNING LIGHT ON AND FLASHING BRAKE WARNING LIGHT. AME PART APPEARS TO ALSO GIVE SAME PROBLEM ON VW PASSATS AND AUDI A4. *AK

THROTTLE STUCK. IT HAPPENED DURING SUB ZERO WEATHER WHILE CONSUMER WAS DRIVING ABOUT 70 MPH ON A HIGHWAY. CONSUMER HAD TO USE BOTH FEET ON THE BRAKES TO PULL OVER. WHEN CONSUMER PUT VEHICLE IN PARK IT RED LINED. CONSUMER SHUT VEHICLE OFF , AND TURNED IT BACK ON WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS. THEN, DEALER LOOKED IT OVER, AND SAID THEY COULDN'T FIND ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE VEHICLE. *AK *NM

WHILE WASHING THE TRUCK CONSUMER NOTICED THAT THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE SIDEWALL ON THE OUTSIDE EDGED CRACKED, AND THE NYLON BELT WAS VISIBLE. A MONTH LATER, THE INSIDE FRONT LEFT TIRE WAS SHOWING THE SAME FAILURE. DEALERSHIP ACKNOWLEDGED THE FAILURE, BUT WAS NOT PROVIDING A CAUSE OR REMEDY. THEY WERE ONLY WILLING TO PROVIDE A PARTIAL PAYMENT ON A SET OF NEW TIRES.*AK

ABS BRAKE PUMP ON 1999 AUDI A6 AVANT FAILED AT APPROXIMATELY 80,000 MILES. NO ACCIDENTS HAVE OCCURRED, HOWEVER, AUDI REFUSED TO REPLACE THE PUMP CITING THE VEHICLE HAD TOO MANY MILES. THIS CAR IS JUST OVER 5 YEARS OLD. IT SEEMS ODD THAT A SAFETY ITEM LIKE AN ABS BRAKE PUMP WOULD FAIL AT THIS POINT IN THE VEHICLE'S LIFE.*AK

WHILE TRAVELING HOME ON THE ATLANTIC CITY EXPRESSWAY, MY WIFE AND I NOTICED A PECULIAR SMELL COMING FROM THE VENTS. AS THE ODOR GOT STRONGER, WE DECIDED TO PULL OVER AND CHECK UNDERNEATH THE HOOD. WHEN I LOOKED UNDERNEATH THE HOOD, I SAW NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY. A FEW SECONDS LATER, I HEARD MY WIFE EXITING THE VEHICLE BECAUSE THE CABIN BEGAN TO FILL WITH SMOKE. UPON CLOSER REVIEW, I SAW A SMALL FLAME INSIDE THE DRIVERS SIDE VENT. WE WORKED FRANTICALLY TO PUT THE SMALL FLAME OUT HOWEVER, WE HAD NO IDEA THAT THE FLAME WAS MUCH MORE INTENSE THAN WHAT WAS VISIBLE. SECONDS LATER, THE ENTIRE DASH WAS COMPLETELY ON FIRE. DUE TO TRAFFIC CONDITIONS, IT TOOK THE FIRE DEPARTMENT 22 MINUTES TO REACH THE FIRE CONSEQUENTLY; THE VEHICLE WAS COMPLETELY DEMOLISHED BY THE TIME THEY ARRIVED. AFTER SPENDING AN HOUR OR SO GIVING THE STATE POLICE THE DETAILS OF WHAT HAPPENED, WE FINALLY REALIZED THAT OUR CELL PHONE, HOUSE KEYS AND OTHER IMPORTANT ITEMS WERE LOST IN THE FIRE. WE HAD TO WALK HOME- (3 MILES) AND WAIT FOR MY PARENTS TO BRING OUR SPARE KEY SO WE COULD GET INTO OUR HOUSE. IT TOOK US MORE THAN A WEEK TO GET ALL OF THE PAPERWORK SUBMITTED TO HAVE OUR DRIVERS LICENSE, SOCIAL SECURITY CARD, ETC. REPLACED. MY PERSONAL COMPUTER THAT HAD MORE THAN 100 SENSITIVE WORK-RELATED DOCUMENTS  (WORTH MORE THAN THE PC) WAS LOST. THESE DOCUMENTS ARE COMPLETELY UNRECOVERABLE AND I HAVENT BEGUN TO EVALUATE THE AMOUNT OF TIME IT WILL TAKE TO REPLICATE THEM.*AK

MY HUSBAND AND I WERE DRIVING OUR 1999 AUDI A-6 SEDAN ON A LIMITED ACCESS HIGHWAY, WE NOTICED AN ACRID SMELL IN THE CAR. SUDDENLY SMOKE BEGAN POURING OUT THE AC VENTS THEN FLAMES BEGAN COMING OUT THE VENTS ON THE DRIVERS SIDE. *AK I CALLED THE AUDIOF AMERICA HELP LINE ON THE 16TH OF JULY, GAVE A REPORT AND ON JULY 19, SPOKE TO ANETTE JOHNSON WHO TOOK A FULL FEELING VERY UNSATISFIED BY MS. JOHNSONS UNHELPFUL, THOUGH SYMPATHETIC RESPONSE, I DID A WEB SEARCH USING THE TERMS AUDI, FIRE, DASHBOARD AND DISCOVERED THAT ON MARCH 23, 2004 IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT AUDI WAS RECALLING 172,888 VEHICLES BECAUSE A WIRING PROBLEM COULD CAUSE A FIRE ON THE DRIVERS SIDE. EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO US! I THEN WENT TO THE SITE WWW.INTELLICHOICE.COM/REPORTS/VEHICLEREPORT.EFM/VEHICLE_NMB/11642/SECTION/RECALLS THERE I DISCOVERED THAT THEY DISIPLAY ALL CURRENT INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE NHTSA IN THEIR RECALL DATABASE AND YOU HAD NOTED THAT 22 REPORTS HAD BEEN FILED ON FIRES ON THIS VEHICLE. ARE WE THE 23RD OR THE 85TH? I CALLED MS. JOHNSON BACK AND ASKED HER WHY, WHEN I DESCRIBED EXACTLY WHAT AUDI WAS RECALLING CARS FOR SHE HAD NOT TOLD ME ABOUT THE RECALL AND OFFERED TO REPAIR OUR CAR SINCE IT FELL UNDER THAT PROBLEM. SHE SAID THAT AUDI HAS NOT RELEASED THIS IFORMATION THAT IT WAS PENDING. YET I TOLD HER YOU HAD ASSIGNED A RECALL NUMBER TO IT (ACCORDING TO THE ABOVE SITE). THAT NUMBER IS 04V133000. I AM APPALLED THAT NEWS OF THIS PROBLEM HIT THE MEDIA ON MARCH 24, 2004 AND WE WERE NOT NOTIFIED. A FIRE JUST LIKE THE ONES DESCRIBED IN INTELLICHOICES SITE OCCURRED TO US AND WE CERTAINLY COULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED. YET, THE AUDI REPRESENTATIVE TOLD US THAT OWNERS STILL HAD NOT BEEN NOTIFIED. MY HUSBAND AND I STILL ARE HAVING HORRIFIC FLASHBACKS TO THAT TERRIFYING MOMENT WHEN FLAMES LEPT INTO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. WE STRONGLY URGE YOU TO TAKE ACTION TO MAKE AUDI NOTIFY ALL OWNERS OF CARS LIKE OURS IMMEDIATELY.

I NEED SOME ASSISTANCE REGARDING AUDI, THE AUTOMOTIVE COMPANY, AND I DO NOT KNOW TO WHOM TO TURN TO. AUDI ACKNOWLEDGED A PROBLEM WITH ITS 1999 AUDI A6 AUTOMOBILE. HOWEVER, THEY DO NOT WANT TO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR IT.*AK PLEASE SEE MY LETTER BELOW TO GET A FULL UNDERSTANDING OF THE SITUATION. POSSIBLY YOU CAN ASSIST ME IN THIS MATTER. MY PERSONAL E-MAIL ADDRESS IS [XXX] JULY 8, 2004 AUDI OF AMERICA, INC. ATTN: CUSTOMER RELATIONS 3499 WEST HAMLIN ROAD MAIL STEP 2 WEST ROCHESTER HILL, MI 48309 REIMBURSEMENT OF REPAIRS UNDER RECALL DEAR SIRS: I AM WRITING TO YOU IN REGARD TO YOUR WORLDWIDE RECALL AS DISCUSSED IN THE ATTACHED WALL STREET JOURNAL ARTICLE DATED APRIL 29, 2004. AS MENTIONED IN THE ARTICLE, AUDI IS RECALLING A6 MODELS BUILT BETWEEN 1997 AND 1999 IN REGARD TO POSSIBLE PROBLEMS WITH THE VEHICLES RUBBER BOOTS ON THE FRONT AXLES. UNFORTUNATELY, BOTH RUBBER BOOTS ON EACH SIDE OF THE FRONT AXLE OF MY AUTOMOBILE (1999 AUDI A6) HAD TO BE REPLACED DUE TO THIS PROBLEM THAT AUDI HAS DISCOVERED AND ACKNOWLEDGED AS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY. THE RIGHT FRONT BOOT OF THE VEHICLE WAS REPLACED ON OCTOBER 1, 2003, BY AUTOBAHN SERVICE CENTER, INC. AT A COST OF TWO HUNDRED AND ONE DOLLARS AND THIRTY-FIVE CENTS ($201.35). THE LEFT BOOT WAS REPLACED ON JULY 1, 2004, BY DANBURY AUDI AT A COST OF TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY ONE DOLLARS AND SEVENTY-SEVEN CENTS ($291.77). COPIES OF BOTH INVOICES ARE INCLUDED ALONG WITH THE CORRESPONDING CREDIT CARD RECEIPT FOR EACH REPAIR. THE TOTAL FOR BOTH OF THE REPAIRS AMOUNTS TO FOUR HUNDRED AND NINETY THREE DOLLARS AND TWELVE CENTS ($493.12). KINDLY REMIT A CHECK TO ME AT THE ADDRESS IN THE LETTERHEAD IN THE AMOUNT OF FOUR HUNDRED AND NINETY THREE DOLLARS AND TWELVE CENTS ($493.12) TO REIMBURSE ME FOR THE NECESSARY REPAIRS TO MY AUTOMOBILE STEMMING FROM THE AUDI ACKNOWLEDGED PROBLEMS RELATING TO THESE REPAIRS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C

WHEN STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE VEHICLE SURGED FORWARD. THE CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE AND PULLED OFF THE ROAD. THE CONSUMER WILL CONTACT THE DEALER ABOUT THIS ISSUE. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *JB

UPON ACTIVATING THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT HEATING ELEMENT, THE STEERING WHEEL HEATER BEGINS TO HEAT. THE STEERING WHEEL, AFTER A SHORT WHILE (APPROX 5 MINUTES) REACHES TEMPERATURES UNBEARABLE TO THE TOUCH, AND ALSO BEGINS 'BURNING THROUGH' THE STEERING WHEEL CASING IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS. *AK