1998 Audi A4 Recalls, Problems & Maintenance

“THE ABS CONTROL UNIT ON MY AUDI A4 FAILED AFTER ONLY 67,000 MILES. I HAVE NO ANTI-LOCK BRAKING WHATSOEVER, AND AUDI HAS DENIED ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PART SINCE IT IS OUT OF WARRANTY”

“ABS/BRAKE LIGHT JUST STARTED FLASHING. THE ABS BRAKES ARE NOT WORKING ABS MODULE IS THE CAUSE. UNDER HARD BRAKING OR WET CONDITIONS THE CAR SLIDES LOOSES TRACTION. OLD PART IS STILL IN CAR TO EXPENSIVE TO REPLACE RIGHT NOW”

“ABS LIGHT COMES ON INTERMITTENTLY AND ABS SYSTEM IS NOT FUNCTIONAL. ABS SYSTEM ALSO USED IN ELECTRONIC DIFFERENTIAL CONTROL. AUDI DEALER DIAGNOSED AS A ABS CONTROL UNIT FAILURE WITH PART COST OF $2600 PLUS LABOR AND WAS REPAIRED BY AUDI DEALER”

“WHEN DRIVING IN THE RAIN, THE BRAKES DO NOT IMMEDIATELY GRAB. THERE IS A ONE HALF TO ONE SECOND DELAY BEFORE THE BRAKES BECOME EFFECTIVE. IT IS ESPECIALLY NOTICABLE ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN YOU HAVE NOT TOUCHED THE BRAKES IN SEVERAL MILES”

“SINCE I HAVE OWNED TH CAR, I HAVE EXPERIENCED A DELAY OR A LACK OF BRAKING ABILITY WHEN DRIVING IN THE RAIN. I HAVE HAD A FEW NEAR ACCIDENTS WHEN I HAD TO BRAKE SUDDENLY AND I HAD NO RESPONSE. LUCKILY I HAD QUATRRO AND ROOM TO MOVE. NORMAL DRIVING IS O.K”

“IN HEAVY RAIN OR SLUSH, BRAKING IS SEVERELY DEGRADED. IT APPEARS THAT THE BRAKE ROTORS AND/OR PADS ACT LIKE SPONGES IN WET WEATHER, AND CAN'T SHED WATER FAST ENOUGH DURING INITIAL BRAKING. A SCAREY 1-2 SECONDS WILL ELAPSE BEFORE THE BRAKES, UNDER HIGH PEDAL PRESSURE, WILL ENGAGE”

“WHILE DRIVING 1998 AUDI 1.8 T ALONG HIGHWAY WHEN TIMING BELT FAILED, WITHOUT WARNING, WRECKING ENGINE. CAR HAD ONLY 58K MILES, AND OWNERS MANUAL DOES NOT RECOMMEND REPLACING TIMING BELT UNTIL 90K MILES”

“AUDI A4 1.8T Q TIMING BELT TENSIONER FAILED AT 75,000 CAUSING CATASTROPHIC ENGINE DAMAGE. SERVICE INTERVAL PUBLISHED BY AUDI IS NO EARLIER THAN 90,000MI. TENSIONER FAILURE IS KNOWN DEFECT AND HAS BEEN REDESIGNED BY AUDI, YET AUDI WILL NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE DEFECT”

“WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS VEHICLE LOST ALL POWER AND WAS STUCK ON DANGEROUS FREEWAY OVERPASS. DEALER DIAGNOSED PROBLEM AND INFORMED CONSUMER THAT TIMING BELT TENSIONER HAD BROKEN, AND CAUSED EXTENSIVE ENGINE DAMAGE. ENGINE HAS TO BE REPLACED”

“WAS SLOWING DOWN FOR A RED LIGHT WHEN THE FRONT DRIVERS SIDE LOWER CONTROL ARM FAILED AT THE BALL JOINT. WAS PROBABLY TRAVELING 10-15 MPH IN TRAFFIC ON A 50MPH ROAD. THE FRONT LEFT HIT THE GROUND AND THE CAR STOPPED QUICKLY”

“1998 AUDI A4 FWD / 101,000 MILES / BROKEN DRIVERS SIDE FRONT LOWER CONTROL ARM / FRONT SUSPENSION COMPONENT (LOWER FRONT CONTROL ARM) SNAPPED AT BUSHING AS I WAS PARKING”

“CONTROL ARM ON MY 1998 AUDI A4 FRACTURED WHEN PULLING OUT OF A PARKING LOT, CAUSING COMPLETE LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL. AUDI TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN NHTSA # 10016418, #11242004 COMPONENT DESCRIPTION: 22”

“WHILE TURNING CONSUMER HEARD A LOUD NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT TIE RODS, AND IT WAS HARD TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL. DEALERSHIP WAS NOTIFIED, BUT DID NOT RESOLVE THE ISSUE. *AK”

“TIE RODS FAILED JUST AS IN RECALL CAMPAIN, BUT I WAS TOLD MY CAR FELL 1 MONTH OUTSIDE OF RECALL DATE, NOTHING DONE. *AK”

“NHTSA RECALL #99V248000 CONCERNING TIE RODS. THIS VEHICLE IS OUTSIDE OF RECALL SCOPE. CONSUMER HAS A FILE WITH AUDI IDENTIFYING THE FAILURE OF THE TIE RODS. MOISTURE/DUST PARTICLES ARE GETTING INSIDE SWIVEL BEARING”

“IGNITION SWITCH FAILS TO RETURN TO RUN FROM START AFTER STARTING CAR. IF THE THE KEY IS NOT RETURNED FROM START MANUALLY, THE ACCESSORIES (I.E WINDOWS, LIGHTS, RADIO, FAN, ETC) WILL NOT RUN AND THE STARTER WILL CONTIUE TO RUN POTENTIATING THE FAILURE OF THAT PART”

“THE PROBLEM: IGNITION SWITCH RETURN SPRING THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH MY IGNITION SWITCH. AFTER STARING THE ENGINE, THE RETURN SPRING DOES NOT FULLY RETURN THE KEY TO THE RUN POSITION, CAUSING A MALFUNCTION OF THE HEADLIGHTS AND CLIMATE CONTROL”

“CONSUMER STATES IGNITION SWITCH HOUSING IS DEFECTIVE, THE RETURN SPRING FORCE IS INSUFFICIENT FOR RETURNING THE IGNITION KEY TO THE RUNNING POSITION AFTER STARTING THE ENGINE, CONSUMER STATES THIS CAUSES ELECTRICAL ACCESSORIES SUCH AS THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS AND HEADLIGHTS TO”

“THROTTLE STICKING ON ACCELERATION IN SUB-ZERO DRIVING TEMPERATURES. BRAKES ENABLED ME TO STOP CAR AND SHUT OFF ENGINE. IF I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE BRAKE, THE CAR RE-ACCELERATED TO THE STUCK POSITION”

“IN EXTREME COLD WEATHER THROTTLE MAY UNEXPECTEDLY FAIL TO RETURN TO IDLE WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL IS RELEASED, MAKING IT VERY DIFFICULT TO STOP THE CAR. *AK”

“MY AUDI A4 AVANT 2.8 QUATTRO 1998 ACCELERATES ON ITS OWN IN COLD TEMPERATURES ( BELOW 15 DEGREES F ) AND TWO DEALERSHIPS FAILED TO FIND THE PROBLEM SO FAR. IT HAPPENS WHEN THE ENGINE HAS WARMED UP PARTIALLY, BUT HAS NOT REACHED IT'S OPERATING TEMPERATURE YET. *JB”

“I TURNED MY HEATED SEAT ON IN MY AUDI A4. I FELT IT GETTING REALLY HOT IN ONE SPOT AND SMELLED SOMETHING BURNING. I GOT OUT AND LOOKED AT MY SEAT TO FIND A HOLE BURNT IN THE SEAT. I CONTACTED AUDI THEY TOLD ME TO BRING TO THE NEAREST SERVICE CENTER”

“HEATED SEAT OVERHEATS. MELTS LEATHER. *JB”

“HEATING ELEMENT FAILED, MELTING THE SEATING SURFACE AND BURNING THE DRIVER. *AK”