2000 AUDI S4 Complaints

2000 AUDI S4 WITH GAUGE CLUSTER PROBLEMS**NAR**CC THE PROBLEM DEVELOPED IN 2003 JUST AFTER THE WARRANTY PERIOD EXPIRED. THE PROBLEM HAS GOTTEN PROGRESSIVELY WORSE CAUSING A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. AUDI HAS BEEN AWARE OF THE PROBLEM FOR SEVERAL YEARS. AUDI UK CHOSE TO REPLACE THE CLUSTER FREE OF CHARGE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. THE CONSUMER IS REQUESTING THAT AUDI REPLACED THE CLUSTER IN HIS VEHICLE FREE OF CHARGE. *NM

2000 AUDI S4 HAS PROBLEMS WITH THE GAUGE CLUSTER .**NAR*CC THE CONSUMER INDICATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN AWARE OF THE GAUGE CLUSTER PROBLEM FOR SEVERAL YEARS. THE CONSUMER REQUEST THAT THE DEALER REPLACE THE PART AT NO CHARGE. *NM

I WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE TO WORK IN LONG ISLAND CITY, NEW YORK AND WHEN I WAS STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO TURN GREEN. THE AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON WITH A BEEP/CHIME TO LET ME KNOW IT WAS ON AND ABOUT 2 SECONDS LATER MY DRIVER SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED FROM THE SIDE OF THE SEAT. THERE WAS NO COLLISION INVOLVED. I HAD TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL FOR TREATMENT TO CUTS ON MY ARM AND SHOULDER. THE VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED HOME AND HAS NOT BEEN DRIVEN SINCE THEN. THE MANUFACTURER OF THE CAR HAS NOT RETURNED ANY OF MY CALLS, THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY, AND MY INSURANCE COMPANY SAID IT IS A DEFECT SO THEY DO NOT COVER THE REPAIR. SINCE THEN I HAD THE CAR LOOKED AT BY A PRIVATE LICENSED MECHANIC AND HE TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS AN ELECTRICAL SHORT DUE TO THE DESIGN. THE AIRBAG HARNESS RUNS IN THE SEAT AND THROUGH WEAR OF GETTING IN AND OUT OF THE VEHICLE THE HARNESS WORE AWAY AND SHORTED IT' S SELF OUT AND CAUSED IT TO DEPLOY. WITH NO WARNING THIS HAPPENED AND NOW AS A STUDENT AND FULL TIME EMPLOYEE (MY SCHOOL IS 17 MILES AND MY JOB IS 45 MILES AWAY) I REALLY NEED THIS FIXED ASAP. *JB

DRIVE BY WIRE (DBW) THROTTLE BODY SYSTEM FAILURE. ECU THROWS EPC CODE AND ENGINE POWER IS COMPROMISED. CAR MAY BE UNABLE TO EXCEED 40 MPH AND CAR MAY BUCK UNCONTROLLABLY. RESTARTING CAR MAY CLEAR CONDITION FOR A SHORT TIME. TRAFFIC NEGOTIATION WAS QUITE DANGEROUS, AS DBW SYSTEM MAY ERROR AT ANY TIME. DBW THROTTLE BODY SEEMS TO BE AN ANSWER TO A PROBLEM THAT DOES NOT EXIST. *JB

I OWN A MODEL YEAR 2000 AUDI S4. THE CAR HAS APPROX. 80K MILES AND THE ABS CONTROL UNIT HAS RECENTLY STARTED MALFUNCTIONING. THERE ARE NUMEROUS REPORTS OF FAILURES OF ABS UNITS ON AUDI A4 & S4S. THESE FAILURES OCCUR AS EARLY AS 30K MILES. UPON CONTACTING AN AUDI DEALERSHIP IN MY LOCAL AREA, I WAS TOLD THAT THEY SEE THESE FAILURES AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK. WITH THIS KIND OF FAILURE RATE & AT SUCH EARLY MILEAGE, I BELIEVE THIS IS A DEFECTIVE PART. I'M AWARE OF OTHER AUDI OWNERS ALSO HAVING FILED COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS PART. I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST A RECALL OF THE AFFECTED AUDI MODELS. *NM

ABS WARNING LIGHT ON DASH, ACCOMPANIED WITH A FLASHING BRAKE WARNING AND THREE BEEPS. THIS OCCURRED INTERMITTENTLY AND WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY. BASED ON SOME INVCESTIGATIONG, THIS APPEARS TO BE A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE ABS CONTROLLER MODULES ON VOLKSWAGEN AND AUDI VEHICLES. WHEN THE MODULE FAILS, IT RENDERS THE ABS SYSTEM INOPERATIVE AND CAN LEAD TO REAR WHEEL LOCKUP IN EMERGENCY STOPPING MANOUVERS OR IN SLIPPERY ROAD CONDITIONS. I HAVE REMOVED THE MODULE AND HAD IT REPAIRED. THIS SERVICE AT AN AUDI DEALER WOULD COST IN EXCESS OF $1000.

THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE REQUIRING ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY. THERE ARE NUMEROUS FAILURES OF THE ABS CONTROL MODULE IN 2000 AUDI S4'S PRIMARILY, ALONG WITH SIMILAR MAKES. THIS POSES A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY HAZARD. FAILURES ARE DUE TO A DEFECTIVE DESIGN OF THE CONTROL UNIT PORTION OF THE ABS MODULE. THE FOLLOWING LINK INDICATES HOW MANY FAILURES ARE OCCURRING: HTTP://WWW.USEDPARTSLIVE.COM/LIVE/2/YEAR/AUDI/MODEL/ABS_CONTROL_MODULE/ THERE IS A MASS MARKET FOR THIS ITEM PRIMARILY BECAUSE IT IS VERY EXPENSIVE FOR OWNERS TO REPLACE AT THE DEALER. RECENTLY, DEALERS HAVE BEEN REPLACING THE CONTROL UNIT SEPARATELY FOR ~600-700, BUT THERE IS NO ASSURANCE THAT THE NEW UNIT IS NOT ALSO DEFECTIVE AND PRONE TO FAILURE. IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THIS BECOMES THE CAUSE OF MORE POTENTIALLY FATAL ACCIDENTS.*JB

WHILE DRIVING ALONG CA-35 (SKYLINE BOULEVARD) AT APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH ON SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2005 DURING LIGHT TO MODERATE BRAKING AROUND A CURVE, BOTH THE ABS AND BRAKE WARNING LIGHTS ON MY 2000 AUDI S4 CAME ON, ALONG WITH 3 WARNING TONES. SIMULTANEOUSLY, A SUDDEN CHANGE IN BRAKE FEEL WAS DETECTED ALONG WITH A "THUNK" NOISE FROM THE FRONT REGION OF THE VEHICLE. THE FOLLOWING WEEK, I HAD THE CAR INSPECTED BY TWO INDEPENDENT SERVICE AND REPAIR ORGANIZATIONS, BOTH OF WHICH CONFIRMED AN INTERMITTENT ELECTRONIC FAILURE IN THE VEHICLE'S ABS CONTROL MODULE (A $1000+ PART). SINCE THEN, THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCES 3-4 OF THESE INTERMITTENT FAILURES DURING THE COURSE OF A DRIVING DAY. WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS NOT BRAKING, IT'S ANNOYING BUT SOMEWHAT INCONSEQUENTIAL. HOWEVER, WHEN THE PROBLEM HAPPENS DURING BRAKING, THERE IS DEFINITELY A MARKED CHANGE IN BRAKING BEHAVIOR AS THE ABS CONTROLLER GOES OFFLINE. UNDER EMERGENCY BRAKING SITUATIONS, I IMAGINE SUCH A FAILURE COULD BE A SUBSTANTIAL SAFETY AND RISK ISSUE. SOMEWHAT TAKEN ABACK BY THE TOTAL ESTIMATED REPAIR COSTS OF $1600+, I DECIDED TO DO SOME INVESTIGATION INTO THE PROBLEM AT SITES SUCH AS THIS (NHTSA ODI), AUDIWORLD.COM AND THE WEB AT LARGE. WHAT I FOUND IS A CONSISTENT PATTERN OF THIS SORT OF FAILURE ACROSS A WIDE SWATH OF AUDI MODELS DURING 1999 TO 2000. FURTHER, I HAVE ALSO LEARNED THAT THE ORIGINAL PART INSTALLED ON THE VEHICLE WAS REV. A AND REPLACEMENT PARTS BEING INSTALLED ARE REV. E. CONVEYING THIS INFORMATION TO AUDI'S CLIENT SERVICES THROUGH TWO WRITTEN LETTERS RESULTED IN NO ACTION ON THEIR PART BEYOND A CONFIRMATION OF "YOUR VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY, YOU MUST BEAR THE COST OF THIS REPAIR." THAT'D BE FINE WERE THIS A WEAR OR MAINTENANCE ITEM OR DUE TO MY OWN NEGLIGENCE; HOWEVER, I BELIEVE THE EVIDENCE STRONG THAT THIS IS A DESIGN AND/OR QUALITY CONTROL PROBLEM ON A CRITICAL VEHICLE SAFETY SYSTEM.

ABS COMPUTER MODULE FAILURE. ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL, THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON WHLE THE BRAKE LIGHT WAS FLASHING AND BEEPING. TOOK IT OT THE DEALER AND THE ABS PUMP WITH CONTROLLER WAS/IS BAD. THE PART WITH LABOR IS $1600.00. AFTER SOME RESEARCH, THIS PART GOES BAD ALOT AND IS A MAJOR SAFTY ISSUE. IF YOU BRAKE HARD THE REAR WHEELS WILL LOCK UP AND THE CAR COULD SPIN OUT OF CONTROL.

ABS FAILURE ON 2000 S4 WITH ONLY 60,000 MILES. THE ABS FAILURE LIGHT COMES ON RANDOMLY WHILE DRIVING. I HAD THIS PROBLEM CHECKED OUT WITH A CERTIFIED AUDI MECHANIC. HE STATES THE ACTUAL PUMP IS NOT THE PROBLEM, BUT THE CIRCUITRY THAT CONTROLS THE PUMP IS DEFECTIVE, AND ALSO STATES THIS PROBLEM IS VERY COMMON IN MY MODEL VEHICLE. ABS FAILURES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS DANGEROUS AS A BROKEN SEAT BELT, AND SHOULD BE REPAIRED AT THE COST OF THE MANUFACTURER (AUDI)