2001 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro review from North America

At 7300 miles I had a speaker and the fuel sending unit replaced.

At 9,000 miles an ignition coil was replaced.

At 13,000 miles an ingnition coil was replaced.

At 22,000 miles the check engine light came on, but the technicians couldn't find a problem. The left rearview mirror and a speaker were replaced and the car was serviced for a water leak that soaked the carpet twice. The fuel guage was operating erratically, but technicians could not duplicate.

At 25,000 miles the cruise control switch, an interior light, all the ignition coils, and the front armrest were replaced.

At 29,000 miles a headlight was replaced.

At 30,000 miles the windshield and headlight washer pumps and left rearview mirror were replaced.

At 36,000 miles another part on the windshield washing system and front brake pads were replaced. The brake pads had apparently cracked and were barely hanging on. The technicians also couldn't find a problem with the engine surging.

After my last appointment the engine almost died at an intersection and again on the interstate on my way home from the service center. Currently the sunroof intermittently won't close, the fuel guage is providing erratic readings, and the engine still surges and can't decide whether to downshift, upshift, or utilize the turbo charger on hills, but I refuse to take it back until it dies or I reach the next scheduled maintenance period (40,000 miles).

I recently contacted Audi Customer Care about replacing this car or terminating the lease and allowing me to purchase another vehicle from the Volkswagen family. They offered to let me purchase a new Audi at sticker price and roll my remaining lease payments into it's cost. In other words, they want me to give them back the care, reward them by purchasing another, and keep paying for the one I don't have any more.

I get approached by other A4 owners in public wanting to compare the problems we've had.

I've found that using 83 octane fuel versus the recommended 91 octane actually makes the engine run more smoothly and doesn't seem to reduce the power too much.