Looking at HJ's car by car breakdown, I see that there is suspicions about the clutch on 130ps Passats. This should also be extended to 130ps A4s.
Am suffering some problems on this 10 month old car (10k miles) and although they are fixing them it is annoying. Not critising the dealer - Dane Audi, Chester, as they are very helpful, but it is just not what you expect after spending 20 grand.
Firstly, the car has always been difficult to get into 1st when stopped. Originally put it down to being new but then it got worse to a point when if it was damp or cold in the morning, until the engine got warm each time I pulled away the car juddered or kangarood. My dealer looked at it and asked me to monitor. Didn't get better (or worse to be honest).
Then 3 weeks ago when SWMBO was hoovering it she noticed the front passenger footwell was wet. Had to wait a week for a courtesy car and nuked the carpet each night to keep it dry on my way home from work. Dried it out but when it was raining it got wet again.
On Monday this week they looked at the car again for both issues and couldn't find the cause of the leak, taking the heater, etc. apart to see if the problem was from the matrix. Advised to monitor - not rained yet. Also looked at the clutch and now decided I need a new one and a new flywheel ? To be done under warranty.
Driving home from the dealer, the dash now rattles which drives me crazy and am worried that once the car is taken apart it may get worse - again no criticism of the dealer, just general experience of life !
What do you think ? I know that Audi are covering it and getting it fixed, I just feel rather fed up with the car now and wonder what will go wrong next.
JAJ
My point is, that even if Audi are
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IMHO it sounds like a faulty pressure plate - especially when cold, the clutch won't release properly.
(BTW re the leak - I'm sure they checked the cover around the pollen filter...)
El Dingo.
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Why didn't you get the multitronic transmission? Just passed 10,000 smooth, trouble-free miles.
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I appreciate how you feel..although mine wasnt an audi but a 6 mth old Vectra........I had a multitude of faults including rattles and likewise was worried about them taking the car apart...also my clutch/transmission would judder in the morning first thing........they just wouldnt have it...saying there was no fault found.......also the radiator made a terrible creaking noise on its mountings that was a well known fault........despite numerous visits they couldnt fix it..it got me down in the end..so much so that I ended up hating the car,the shape and indeed Vauxhall..everything about it.......I posted on here (tech forum )months ago about the faults and someone suggested I was paranoid!!.......I got rid of it 2 weeks ago..couldnt be happier.....
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I had the same problem with water in the rear passenger footwell on my Audi everytime it rained.
Something to do with the cover that collects and drains away the rain water, it had broken off.
Charged for housing,vw, cover and rainchannel, no problems since.
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VW were obvously concerned about the transmission in the 5 speed 130ps Passat because they restricted the torque output to 310nm where as with the 6 speed box it is 320nm. I believe it is the same 5 speed that is fitted to A4's which are also 310nm.
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Virtually all A4 dashes rattle. If the dealer takes it out then it will probably rattle more.
I would have thought the dealer would have checked the pollen filter cover since this is a well known problem.
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I had a 1989 big bumper Jetta which developed a rear footwells water leak - turned out to be the door linings which VW had difficulties with due to a supplier induced manufacturing problem.
To stray a little, I saw the new A8 in silver yesterday - stunning....
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Virtually all A4 dashes rattle. If the dealer takes it out then it will probably rattle more. I would have thought the dealer would have checked the pollen filter cover since this is a well known problem.
..and also from the VAG stable, SEAT Leon's are famous for rattling dashes. I think Passats may rattle too but I've not got first hand experience of them. What to VAG do with their dashes?
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The dashes on the passat/A4 is huge, and as has been mentioned before here, the mountings/fixings are very puny and simply can't take the strain.
Oh, and VW build quality sucks.
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>>Oh, and VW build quality sucks.>>
Not on my November 1999 Bora it doesn't - nor the 1989 and big bumper 1990 Jettas I use to own.....:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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My ex-2001 Passat was a dog. Dash rattled and creaked like there was no tomorrow. Constant electrical failures. Got rid after a year because I hated it so much!
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Blimey, if I'd had a pound for every time you've mentioned those.....
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VW quality may suck but the service is better.
I am in a battle with Audi regarding the recall on the bearing arms (See posting under Technical) and to try and get them to resolve a paint issue. Audi dealer doesn't have a body shop so use local VW facilities and VW dealer is helping to resolve the paint issue (too long to go into here and probably more for the Tech area).
I have had enough with Audi and regret the day I ever bought one for the wife.
Now that they have the vehicle in on a "service inspection" (they are denying its a safety recall) they have advised that the MAF sensor is not working and there is a fault on the temp sender and want to charge £225 to replace these items plus cost of bearing arm repairs - price as yet not advised.
I am just off to put a deposit on a new Primera 2.2 so lets hope they fare better!
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Check out this thread:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=4&t=26...2
It would appear this is a safety recall and Audi are obliged to inspect and replace as necessary.
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Thanks Malcolm but I am already aware of that thread and posted to it.
I need to confimr the recall details from the letter but I don't have it with me at present.
I think tne Garage are trying to charge people for the remedial work on these recalls - illegal surely - might need to get trading standards involved.
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I'd like to see this one appear as letter to HJ in his Sat Telegraph column, in the hope that wider coverage of such appalling behaviour by a manufacturer would perhaps shame Audi into ensuring its dealers be honest with owners. I wonder if they do (subtlely) try and avoid their responsibilities by sending confidential messages to dealers - or is it just another example of bad dealers.
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Their attitude to this, and especially their checking thoroughly on the service history of the cars, is a feature in this month's Car Mechanics.
The CM position is:
If it was a part which was serviced then the service history is relevant. If it isn't (as in this case), then the manufacturer should be replacing them all free of charge. Especially if its safety critical (as this seems to be).
Audi were the close second on my recent car choice list. I'm now very glad I didn't buy one.
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I think I will stick to Citroens after reading all of the above tales of woe.
Makes me feel rather good actually, given the positive experiences we have had with owning our Citroens. Mind you, I am not saying the dealers are any good, as I have yet to find a good one.
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You mean like the Citroen dealer that told my wife that the corrosion that was breaking through on the inside door edge of her 4 year old ZX wasn't covered by the corrosion warranty because it was rust - not corrosion.
He looked at it a little differently after I had "re-educated" him!
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You mean like the Citroen dealer that told my wife that the corrosion that was breaking through on the inside door edge of her 4 year old ZX wasn't covered by the corrosion warranty because it was rust - not corrosion. He looked at it a little differently after I had "re-educated" him!
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Yes, that sounds just like a Citroen dealer.
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I've been in many Audis, none of them rattle!
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I've been in many Audis, none of them rattle!
So have I. Older ones (80, 100) didn't rattle. Newer ones (A4) seem to - not so much as a rattle, more creaking.
I've taken the dash out and fixed the problem. Once you have the dash out it is easy to see why there is a problem. The dash is a big heavy moulding and the mounts are not substantial enough.
The dealers know about the problem and many people have had them fixed under warranty.
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I've been in many Audis, none of them rattle!
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Me neither. Tens of thousands of miles in numerous Audis and Skodas and not a rattle or squeak. And I'm not generally lucky with cars. My worst experiences with interior trim noises have been with a Picasso, a Focus and as a passenger in a MINI. My Alfa dash makes the odd strange noise but certainly nothing bad enough to make me want to undertake a visit to the dealer.
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Mine never rattled. But lots of things went wrong.
madf
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I beginning to wonder whether premium cars in the 1980s were better built than their equivalent ones now. Those old Mercs seem to be solidly made. Newer ones appear to crack up all the time. Is this due to a cost cutting exercise? Or are there more things to rattle and go wrong e.g. aircon, airbags, electric seats etc
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As someone who has been working for the German motor industry (on and off) for a few years, I would suggest the following:
1. About 10 years ago lots of younger German managers started appearing with US-earned MBA's. Started to impose 'Anglo-Saxon' management - rabid cost cutting and outsourcing of sub-assembly manufacture to Eastern Europe. Rise of 'Shareholder Value' ideology etc. Quality took a real hit.
2. Up until early-mid 1990's most German cars did not have much on-board electronics. Then they went mad with it and reliability took a hit. Value was taken out of the core vehicle components to pay for the electroncs. The German's don't have a big consumer electronics base like the Japanese and Koreans and didn't have the capability to produce sufficiently reliable electronics at low cost.
Some of the early-mid 90's German electronics (e.g. Bosch IKHA ECU on BMW's based around Philips 8031 microcontroller) is poor, really, really poor.
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Gee thanks guys.
Makes me feel so much better (but at least I'm not alone) ...
Anybody fancy buying a nice metallic black A4 estate. Great condition !
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Thought I'd give an update.
Was due to hand car to local dealer on 3rd Dec. Night before CD player (in-dash 6CD unit) went pop and broke too. Handed in to dealer and was given nice brand-new A6 1.9TDI Avant (old shape) multitronic to play in.
Thoughts on A6 are that the extra size would be worth having - boot is enormous compared to A4 and that extra rear legroom is beneficial - even if your kids are only 7 and 2, it's nice not to be kicked in the back constantly. The multitronic was fun for the first 10 minutes then I figured that it was less hassle and smoother to let the computer do the work for me. I've had a couple of these gearboxes in rentals and honestly always get bored and go back to regular auto eventually. On day 3 of the courtesy car had a puncture (3rd this year ...) and was beginning to feel really down with Audi. But - again the dealer (Dane Audi of Chester) showed itself in a good light. One of the service assistants had seen me at the side of the road and recognised the car, called the dealer and then they immediately called me on my mobile to see how they could help. Very effective - within about 10 minutes of having a puncture a 'god' had seen and called to help !
Overall, was impressed with the A6. Seemed a little dated inside but everything worked well. 1.9 engine struggled a bit with autobox and weight and consumption was at least 10mpg worse than my A4. Door bins seemed a very good design and much more effective than mine with their hinged openings. Very quiet on the motorway on a run from Chester to Leicester (gosh - we all go fast on that tollroad !). The rear screen and tailgate get very messed up - never noticed that as badly before. Don't know how long the front tyres would last though as it always seemed to trigger the traction control pulling away, even though I wasn't being an idiot. It always seemed to be damp so I'm sure that didn't help but it didn't seem right. The size of the car seemed to shrink when driving and it really enjoyed twisty roads - seeming to shring and be more 'chuckkable' than my A4. Also seemed (again my be a misconception) to have a better turning circle and more able to get around my crazily designed, tight cornered office carpark.
Back to the A4 - collected it back on the 13th (10 days later) with a new clutch, flywheel and CD player. The water had been traced to a faulty door seal apparently. So far it hasn't leaked but has spent most of the time parked in Liverpool airport so will test over next few days. The CD player works and seems to pick up more distant radio stations better than before - no loss of signal when driving along the A55 which is good. The gearchange also seems a lot smoother too. So far then all looks OK. Until the next problem ?
By the way - remember an old thread about the stunt show at Disney Paris but just want to add that it was awesome. I want one of those little red Opels (or even a rear wheel drive Corsa for some fun !). Seeing the stunts on screen doesn't do justice to the real-life skills that those drivers show.
Thanks (and sorry for long and rambling thread !).
JAJ
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