NHTSA Complaint #10331766 — 2003 AUDI A4

MY 2003 AUDI A4 3.0 V6 DRIVER SIDE AUTOMATIC WINDOW BEGAN TO FAIL FOR THE FIRST TIME ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO IN 2008. ONE DAY IT JUST STOPPED WORKING COMPLETELY: STILL COULD ROLL DOWN, BUT ONCE DOWN, IT COULDN'T ROLL UP ANY MORE. I HAD TO USE MY HANDS TO HOLD IT FROM BOTH SIDES TO PULL IT UP. IT CAUSED SO MANY PROBLEMS, SOMETIMES REAL DANGERS, DURING THE OPERATION, UNTIL I PAID A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS TO FIX IT A FEW WEEKS LATER. ESPECIALLY IT'S SO DIFFICULT TO GO THROUGH TOLL BOOTHS OR SOME NARROW LANES WHEN I CAN'T OPEN THE DOOR EASILY WHILE NOT ABLE TO ROLL DOWN THE WINDOW, OR IN CASES I HAD THE WINDOWS DOWN FOR WHATEVER REASON, IT BECAME DANGEROUSLY DIFFICULT TO GET IT BACK UP WHEN NEEDED DUE TO RAIN OR SNOW CONDITIONS. I CAN HARDLY DESCRIBE ALL THE DIFFICULT SITUATIONS THAT MADE ME FEEL HELPLESS. BUT TWO YEARS LATER (2010), THE SAME WINDOW FAILED AGAIN WITH EXACTLY THE SAME ISSUE, NOT ABLE TO ROLL UP. I DELAYED REPAIR UNTIL NOW. WHAT'S WORSE NOW IS AT THE SAME TIME, ANOTHER WINDOW -- THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW BEGAN TO FAIL TOO! THAT'S A WINDOW I BARELY USE DURING THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS OF OWING THE CAR. ONE DAY WHILE DRIVING, THERE WAS THIS BIG LOUD SOUND LIKE AN EXPLOSION COMING FROM THAT WINDOW, AND I HAD TO STOP DANGEROUSLY ON THE HIGHWAY TO INSPECT WHAT HAPPENED UNTIL CONFIRMING IT'S THE WINDOW FAILURE. IT'S BEYOND ANY REASON TO EXPLAIN WHY IT WOULD FAIL WITH NO USAGE. THIS REAR WINDOW PRESENTED MORE SECURITY ISSUES TO ME TOO, BECAUSE EVEN IF I PUSH IT ALL THE WAY UP WITH MY HANDS, IT ALWAYS SLOWLY SLIDE DOWN TO LEAVE A BIG OPENING ABOUT 5 TO 10 INCHES WIDE. SINCE I PARK THE CAR ON THE STREET ALMOST DAILY, IT'S A REAL ISSUE TO WORRY ABOUT BURGLARS OR BREAK-INS. FOR THIS SERIOUS CONCERN, I HAD TO SEND IT TO THE DEALER FOR REPAIR, WHO QUOTED ME $460 TO FIX IT INCLUDING PARTS AND LABOR. CONSIDERING THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME TOTAL THREE TIMES, INCLUDING ONE THAT'S HAPPENED TO A WINDOW I RARELY USE, THIS SEEMS TO ME STRONGLY AN OBVIOUS MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT. *TR