NHTSA Complaint #10060652 — 2001 AUDI S4

I HAD JUST PURCHASED A 2001 AUDI S4 FOR CLOSE TO $40,000. WITH 1100 MILES ON IT MY CAR WAS STOLEN IN BROAD DAYLIGHT APPROX 3 PM. UPON FURTHER RESEARCH, I LEARNED THAT THE FACTORY PASSIVE ALARM CAN BE TRICKED INTO THINKING IT HAS BEEN DISARMED. A SMALL HOLE NEAR THE DOOR LOCK GAINS ACCESS TO A ROD THAT WHEN LIFTED DISARMS THE SYSTEM AS IF A KEY WERE USED, COMBINE THIS ACTION WITH THE WITH REMOVAL OF THE IGNITION, AND THE VEHICLE CAN BE STARTED WITH A SCREW DRIVER AND DRIVEN AWAY. I'VE ALSO LEARNED THAT VW/AUDI HAD THE TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE TO EQUIP THIS MODEL WITH AN ENGINE IMMOBILISER AS PART OF THE OEM ALARM SYSTEM. I'M AWARE OF DOZENS OF THEFTS OF THE AUDI S4 IN PARTICULAR AND AM READING OF MORE THEFTS OCCURRING WEEKLY. JUST DO A SEARCH ON WWW.AUDIWORLD.COM USING THE WORD "STOLEN" AND YOU WILL SEE FOR YOURSELF. MY EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN IN THE NY/NJ METROPOLITAN AREA. I THINK AUDI SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS GROSS OVERSITE ON THEIR PART AND OFFER A RETROFIT OF SOME SORT TO PROTECT MY INVESTMENT. I DON'T FEEL SAFE DRIVING MY VEHICLE FREELY ANYWHERE I WANT WITHOUT HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT IT BEING STOLEN. THIS PROBLEM HAS REACHED EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS HERE. *JB