NHTSA Complaint #10452563 — 2003 AUDI A4

AUDI INTRODUCED THE CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE TRANSMISSION (CVT) TO NEW AUTOMOBILES ABOUT 2003. THE CVT WAS TOUTED AS A HIGHLY RELIABLE TRANSMISSION IN AUDI SALES BROCHURES WITH LESS MOVING PARTS. THE TRANSMISSION CONTAINS A TRANSMISSION CONTROL MODULE (TCM) WHICH FAILS EARLY. I TOOK MY CAR IN WHILE UNDER WARRANTY WITH CLAIMS OF THE TRANSMISSION "HOPPING" AND AUDI TOOK NO ACTION TO CORRECT. MY CAR NOW HAS 150,000 MILES ON IT AND THE TCM HAS FAILED COMPLETELY. UPON REVIEWING SEVERAL AUDI FORUMS, I HAVE LEARNED THAT THIS PROBLEM IS EXTREMELY COMMON AND AUDI HAS NOT ACKNOWLEDGED THE PROBLEM. MANY PEOPLE WITH SIMILAR AUDI'S IN YEAR AND WITH THE SAME TRANSMISSION HAVE EXPERIENCE THE FAILURE. THE FIX IS TO HAVE NEW TCM'S INSTALLED AT A COST OF APPROXIMATELY $2,500, WHICH REQUIRES THE REMOVAL OF THE TRANSMISSION TO REPLACE THE TCM. WHILE I HAVE READ MANY NARRATIVES OF AUDI OWNERS EXPERIENCING THIS PROBLEM, I DO NOT KNOW IF ANYONE HAS FILED A COMPLAINT REGARDING THIS ISSUE. IT WOULD APPEAR THAT APPROPRIATE TESTING OF THE MODULE WAS NOT CONDUCTED TO A SATISFACTORY LEVEL AND COMPONENTS WERE INSTALLED WITH FLAWS. MY UNDERSTANDING FROM RESEARCH ON THIS TOPIC IS THAT THE SAME CVT WAS LICENSED TO NISSAN FOR INSTALLATION WITHIN THEIR VEHICLES AND THE SAME PROBLEMS ARE OCCURRING. I BELIEVE THIS TO BE A CONDITION OF MANUFACTURER RECALL AND CORRECTION AT NO COST TO THE OWNER. I HAVE ALSO HEARD OF THE PROBLEM FROM LOCAL MECHANICS. *JS