NHTSA Complaint #10317123 — 2004 AUDI A4

I HAVE OWNED MY 2004 AUDI A4 1.8T QUATTRO FOR FOUR YEARS. THE PROBLEM THAT I AM HAVING IS A MASSIVE ISSUE THAT HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF OTHER B6 PLATFORM OWNERS ALSO HAVE, THE WATER PUMP IN OUR VEHICLES IS VERY PRONE TO FAILURE. THE WATER PUMP FOUND IN OUR US MARKET VEHICLES HAS A PLASTIC IMPELLER THAT IS KNOWN TO SNAP, CRACK, OR LEAK CAUSING THE PART TO FAIL. I HAVE HAD TWO OF THESE PUMPS FAIL IN THE PAST TWO YEARS. THE FIRST ONE FAILED AT AROUND 74K IN JULY OF 2008 WHEN THE PART WAS NEARING IT'S REPLACEMENT DATE. THE SECOND FAILURE OCCURRED IN JANUARY 2010 AT ROUGHLY 98K MILES. SO I HAVE HAD TWO FAILURES IN A VERY SHORT TIME PERIOD. NOW AUDI IS FULLY AWARE OF THIS BUT HAS NEVER HAD A RECALL OR EVEN ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT IS THEIR FAULT FOR RELEASING A POORLY DESIGNED PART. WHEN A PUMP FAILS IT USUALLY GOES VERY QUICKLY. IN MY CASE IT LEAKED AND THEN I LOST AC COMPRESSION. I AM LUCKY THAT I KNOW CARS AND KNEW TO IMMEDIATELY PARK THE CAR AND GET IT INTO THE SHOP. I KNOW THAT MANY OTHER PEOPLE HAVE HAD SIGNIFICANT ENGINE DAMAGE BECAUSE THE FAILED PUMP CAUSED OVERHEATING. THE PUMP IS ALSO PART OF THE WHOLE SYSTEM THAT DRIVES THE TIMING BELT SO A FAILURE COULD ALSO CAUSE CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE IF THAT BELT SEIZES UP. OVERALL IT IS A HUGE PROBLEM AND EACH TIME A PUMP NEEDS TO BE REPLACED THE ENTIRE TIMING BELT SERVICE NEEDS TO BE PERFORMED WHICH RUNS ABOUT $1700.00 AT A DEALERSHIP AND AROUND $800-$1500 AT INDEPENDENT SHOPS. I FEEL THAT THIS IS VERY UNFAIR TO US AS OWNERS, BUT THAT IT ALSO PUTS THE PUBLIC AT GREAT RISK IF A FAILURE OCCURS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS OR IN TRAFFIC. LIVES ARE ALREADY AT RISK ENOUGH ON OUR HIGHWAYS AND THE LAST THING THAT I WANT TO DO IS CAUSE BODILY HARM OR PROPERTY DAMAGE BECAUSE A COMPANY RELEASED A POORLY DESIGNED PART AND DID NOTHING TO IMPROVE IT. I REQUEST THAT THE NHTSA LOOK INTO THIS ISSUE. IF YOU SEARCH SITES LIKE AUDIWORLD.COM AND AUDIZINE.COM YOU WILL FIND LOTS OF INFORMATION AND FIRST HAND ACCOUNTS. *TR