NHTSA Complaint #10184423 — 2001 AUDI A4

2001 AUDI A4 1.8 TURBO: THE TIMING BELT BROKE WHILE THE CAR WAS TRAVELING IN HEAVY, RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC CAUSING THE CAR TO BE IMMEDIATELY DISABLED AND STOPPED WITH NO OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE THE CAR OFF OF THE HIGHWAY. THE 3-LANE HIGHWAY WAS BACKED UP FOR 6 MILES WHILE POLICE AND EMERGENCY WORKERS WORKED TO TOW THE CAR. THE DISABLED CAR LED TO A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION WITH TRAFFIC BACKED UP FOR OVER 1-HOUR ON A 3-LANE HIGHWAY WITH A 55 MPH SPEED LIMIT AND COULD HAVE EASILY CAUSED ADDITIONAL ACCIDENTS. THE TIMING BELT FAILURE CAUSED EXTENSIVE, ADDITIONAL DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE THAT IS ESTIMATED TO COST ABOUT $5,000-$6,000 TO REPAIR. MY AUDI A4 HAS THE SAME 1.8 T ENGINE AND ITEM (TIMING BELT) AS IN THE 2001 VW 1.8 T AND THAT ITEM HAS BEEN RECALLED. THE TIMING BELT DEFECT IN THE 2001 A4 APPEARS TO BE QUITE WELL KNOWN TO THE TWO AUDI DEALERS THAT I FREQUENT. SINCE I BRING MY AUDI IN FOR SERVICE AT THE REGULAR INTERVALS - AND SINCE THE TIMING BELT ISSUE IS WELL KNOWN TO AUDI - I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED THE AUDI DEALERS TO BRING THIS ISSUE TO MY ATTENTION SO THAT WE COULD HAVE REPLACED THE BELT AS PART OF REGULAR PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE. THE FACT THAT THIS WELL KNOWN PROBLEM WAS NOT HANDLED IN PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE LED TO A VERY DANGEROUS TRAFFIC INCIDENT AND CAUSED EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE'S ENGINE. *JB