NHTSA Complaint #10174749 — 2000 AUDI A4

I AM AN OWNER OF A 2000 A4 1.8T AUDI. THE OWNER'S MANUAL STATES THAT THE TIMING BELT SHOULD BE REPLACED AT 105,000 MILES AND ALSO STATES THAT IT IS A "LONG-LASTING" BELT. I HAVE 95,000 MILES ON MY VEHICLE AND THE TENSIONER AND DAMPER FAILED WHEN I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT A SPEED OF 65 MPH; THE CAR JUST STOPPED, AND I HAD TO NAVIGATE THROUGH FOUR LANES OF HEAVY TRAFFIC TO THE SHOULDER IN A CAR WITH NO POWER- SCARY AND DANGEROUS! THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE MECHANIC'S, AND SINCE I WAS 5 HOURS AWAY FROM HOME, I HAD TO RENT A CAR FOR THE NEXT 12 DAYS WHILE IT WAS BEING REPAIRED. $3300.00 LATER, AND AFTER TWO TRIPS UP THERE (10 HOURS ROUND TRIP FROM HOME) I GOT MY CAR BACK AND WAS INFORMED WHY THE WHOLE THING HAPPENED (DEFECTIVE PARTS). THE MECHANIC SHOWED ME ALL THE DAMAGE THAT WAS DONE-INCLUDING ALL 20 BROKEN AND TWISTED VALVES! APPARENTLY, AUDI KNOWS ABOUT THESE PROBLEMS, AND OTHERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME THING, BUT AUDI HAS NEVER MADE ANY ATTEMPT TO NOTIFY ME OR OTHER A4 OWNERS OF THIS SERIOUS AND DANGEROUS PROBLEM. THIS IS A FINICKY CAR AND WHEN THE TIMING BELT GOES, IT ALSO CAUSES SIGNIFICANT ENGINE DAMAGE, WHICH IS VERY COSTLY TO REPAIR. BECAUSE AUDI KNOWS OF THIS PROBLEM, AND HAS NOT INFORMED THE CUSTOMERS, AND BECAUSE THE OWNER'S MANUAL INDICATES REPLACEMENT AT 105,000 MILES, I WILL ADAMANTLY PURSUE REIMBURSEMENT FROM THEM THROUGH THEIR CORPORATE OFFICE. I READ OF ONE OTHER PERSON ON THIS SITE WHO HAD THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM--IF YOU HAVE ALSO, PLEASE POST YOUR COMPLAINT! *JB