While driving engine light came on. Vehicle lost power, and became difficult to steer. Vehicle was towed to a gas station, and I t was discovered the timing belt was defective.
1999 Audi A4 engine complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 28 of 28, newest first, as owners wrote them.
After starting the vehicle a fire broke out inside the engine compartment. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.
1999 audi a4 1.8t quattro, VIN: [xxx] timing belt failed while driving. Maintenance schedule recommends replacement of this belt at the interval of 105,000 miles. This failure occurred at 67,600 miles one month after warranty ran out (per audi, carfax indicates car still under warranty). This extremely early failure suggests a manufacturer defect exists with this engine. Audi advocate investigating at this time, but has suggested that this manufacturer defect will not be covered by audi. I disagree, this should be covered as an unacceptable failure, impossible to avoid by consumer, as I would never have guessed to replace at an earlier time, let alone, at 50% of manufacturer"s recommended interval. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Time belt failure at 65k miles while driving 65 MPH on highway caused over $5k in repairs. Dealer recommended looking at other repair centers because it could not look at the car for 7 days because the backlog of other audi's with same problem. Internet search found 10 other timing belt failures ranging from 45k to 98k on similar models. Known issue with audi corp of america.
Water pump went out, causing the timing belt to fail. Failing timing belt caused it to jump but luckly it didn't cause any engine interference.
At approximately 68,800 miles the timing belt on my audi a4 1.8t quattro broke as I was pulling into traffic. This occured approximately 6 weeks after the expiration of the manufacturers extended warranty. The auto has been meticulously maintained since its purchase and has all the pertinent service records. The current repair estimate is $4,000 to $5,000. The current recommended replacement interval for the timing belt by audi is 90,000 to 105,000 miles. Audi USA currently will not provide any assistance in the repair of this vehicle. I have performed some internet research and aside from the 2 complaints on the federal safety agency website I have found numerous similar complaints of aud a4 and vw passat 1.8t timing belts breaking well in advance of the 90,000 miles service interval. This appears to be a manufacturers defect and the vw audi should be responsible for the repair of this problem I believe. Fortunately for me I was not hit as my car failed pulling into traffic. I believe this defect poses a significant risk should it fail at an inopportune moment.
Rapid and catastrophic failure of water pump disrupted timing chain and LED to severe damage to engine, requiring its replacement. This incident occurred while I was driving at night on a limited access road without shoulders. I needed to go several hundred yards, at most, to pull off road for safety. Audi's 3-year warranty had expired, and so it offered no help, despite low mileage and regular maintenance of the car.
The timing belt failed at 48,000 miles causing major engine damage. All sources state this belt does not have to be replaced until 90,000-105,000 miles.
My timing belt failed at 69000 miles and caused engine damage (replacement of heads). Total repair cost came to $4000. Seems to be a common failure prior to the recommended 90k change interval. I tried scheduling the changing of the timing belt at 6800 miles but was told to wait by an audi service department. Currently working with audi for repayment.
The vw/audi 1.8t engine has been experiencing an alarming number of premature timing belt failures, causing instantaneous power failure and catastrophic valve train damage. (search audiworld.com for timing belt failure.) failures have occurred as low as 45k miles. Mine went at 90k miles although the service manual makes no mention of scheduled replacement. If this had happened while passing or on the interstate, a serious accident could have occurred. These vehilcles should be recalled or at least audi should notify the owners of the problem. The timing belts should be replaced to avoid a potential fatal accident. There is also a known timing belt tensioner problem in pre-2000 model year cars that causes failure.
Turbo-charger broke down. It should not have happened at 68000 as it is not a wearable part. The car started stalling, pressed gas pedal but there was no movement. Scale of the RPM's on the dash board went all the way to 5500 RPM's, when I pressed a gas pedal, but the car did not move. Suddenly, I was engulfed in humungous amount of white smoke. Brought car to don rosen audi service center and they are saying that repair will cost me some $1,600 at least. But, I brought my car in, month ago to don rosen audi authorized service center with complaint that there was white smoke coming out of the exhaust and that vehicle was running at 60% of its power. They looked at it and said they did not see any problem, particularly that the turbo-charger was just fine. I said, maybe there is no smoke coming out right this moment, but it is happening every single day, few times a day, and please to look at it better. They've just sent me home telling me there was no problem. I told them that it was their mistake by not listening me when I complained on time to fix it. But they did not want to hear my argument. Now, I have to pay for the repair I've told them month and a half ago to fix. Plus, this brake-down should not have happened at first place at this mileage. Also, when I visited them month ago they've told me that I need to change a timing belt only. I see that timing belt, as a part costs only $40, but they want to charge $1,000 to fix it. I do not think that the labor costs $960 to replace a timing belt.
Leaking water pump caused timing belt to fail causing $8500 engine damage on a 1999 audi a4 with only 28k miles.
When the car was about a year old, the entire airbag system had to be replaced, the repair facility noted to me that I was lucky to bring it in when I did, as it was at risk for spontaneous deployment. Additional problems included an oil pump failure ($750) at about the three year mark; and occasional sudden lurching/RPM revving or sudden onset of a 'lag' in power, which the dealer noted when I brought it in but could do nothing about. I have also had problems with the fuel indicator gauge being grossly inaccurate - indicating I have used only a quarter tank of fuel to drive 350 miles. However, the most bothersome ongoing problem is four or five trips to the dealer to repair a non-functioning cruise control system. Each time they have 'replaced the vacuum hoses' but this 'repair' will begin to fail again later that same day. The system will either fail to engage altogether, or it will be engaged during highway driving, then within a few minutes, the speed will continually decrease until I have to manually disengage the system and turn it off. I reported this to audi of america's corporate customer service (very friendly and helpful) who helped me arrange another service visit, but the problem has never been resolved. Cruise control has never worked and I'm giving up on it ever working. I just have to pretend that I don't have it, which is very annoying during highway travel.
The engine stalled without warning which caused the brakes and power steering to fail. *jb....
1999 audi a4 2.8 with 39000 miles and 6 months off waranty leaking oil from engine cam seals and from rear differential seals
We own an audi a4 that we have had too many repairs. The car has needed a turbo at 55,000 miles, oil pump at 63,000 miles, ignition computer at 68,000 miles and rack and pinion steering at 73,000 miles. We are aware that the car is at high mileage, but this car is suppose to get 200,000 miles out of it. The car was serviced at dealers the entire time. We think that perhaps there are defects in the car that other drivers are experiencing.
August of 2001 the car broke down and was towed to an audi dealer. That dealer informed us that the engine siezed and he would need approval from audi of america to perform the repair under warrenty. Audi of america's representative took several weeks to return a decision not to honor the warranty because we had our oil changes at independant service stations instead of audi dealerships. We attempted to contact that representative but we were not allowed to speak with him nor would they release his name. We attempted to speak with his supervisor, but audi of america told us there was no supervisor, that representative was the final decision, and there was no appeals process. We were given the name of the vice president after many attempts to appeal the decision, but were not allowed to speak to him. We wrote him a letter which was never returned. We have filed a law suit against audi of america and two of the dealerships. Dt
Was driving approximately 30mph when the vehicle stalled out. Engine check light had came on & then off before stalling. Towed to dealer. Mechanic informed owner the air intake hose was detached & proceeded to reattach the hose. The stalling happened before on 12 sep 1999.
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