1998 Audi A4 t from North America - Comments

All steering control arms and links needed to be replaced at 85,000 miles (a $1,700 repair job!). A known problem for which Audi has not issued a recall.

Replaced rear differential seals and CV boots at 72,000 miles.

Replaced the window control safety switch (keeps kids from rolling down the back windows) at about 75,000 miles. Another item that the Audi dealer refused to repair under warranty, so rather than take the chance of my daughter getting her arm chopped off by a passing car, I paid for the replacement myself.

Idler assembly for the air conditioner belt is broken, not replaced yet (mechanic has a replacement part on back-order).

Needed fix to increase the range of the remote keyless entry to a useable level (it was about 10' before this change). Even though this was a known problem (listed in an Audi Technical Service Bulletin), the dealer refused to repair it under the warranty.

This car has excellent handling and is well thought out ergonomically. Overall, it's fun to drive. It's great looking and gets many comments.

However, I'm afraid it may bankrupt me in maintenance costs! That certainly takes some of the fun out of it for me.

The driver's seat and position are great, but the passenger seating is not that good and the back seat is dismal.

It has embarrassingly low torque off the line. You have to get to 5K RPM before the turbo really comes in.

The climate control seems convenient at first, but is hard to live with. It's especially bad at keeping the windows de-fogged during rainy weather (for some reason it decides that the air conditioner should not be on and there's no way to override that).

The Bose stereo is fantastic. The bass is a little boomy, but that's OK in a car. The GAIA feature (which varies the sound according to your speed) is a little annoying at times).

You Have to realize it's a Luxury car not a sports car. I used to have a modified RX-7, and of course the A4 is slower, but I expect that. The luxuries make up for it.

Hello,

The A4 is an excellent car, but too bad it became so expensive in maintenance. Another comment to warn future purchasers of this vehicle is the TIMING BELT TENSIONER.

This is something that tends to malfunction before it's

time. And if it does happen, your vehicle will be in serious

danger if you don't catch it in time. Check the AUDI forums,

years 98-99 had the same problems. Please proceed with caution when purchasing this beautiful vehicle.

Hi,

How did you know that the steering control arms/links needed replacing? Was there any indication during normal driving? The reason for asking is I have a 97k mile A4 and have noticed a slight clunk from the front passenger side front wheel area when travelling over uneven surfaces at low speeds.

Thanks,

Jimmy.

I had the same problem. The clunk is the sign of the problem.

Mike.

The climate control system turns on the aircon for the de-fogger because the ideal way of -de-fogging the windows is to have it set on heating with the aircon on, your windows will defog within seconds, try it..

I have also replaced my front right CV joint, as it got really bad during U-turns, loud clunks used to happen, $450 later and it runs like a beauty. The timing belt is my next step as I have noticed wear on it, previous driver never used to take care of the car until it went into my hand:)

Great car to drive, pretty quick for a luxury too. And for the above comment about it being slow of the start, either dump the clutch a little to get it going (will wreck your clutch in the long run) or purchase yourself a bigger turbo. I'm sure you'll be happy with the results afterwards.

I'm about to turn 16 years old, and since the A4 needs such high maintenance, I am not sure if I should get the 1998 Audi A4 or 1995 Saab 900 SE?