NHTSA Complaint #11258174 — 2017 AUDI S3

AFTER PURCHASING A 2017 AUDI S3 I IMMEDIATELY ENCOUNTERED HORRIBLE CHATTERING OF THE WIPER BLADES IN MY VERY FIRST DRIVE IN THE RAIN. I HAVE SUBSEQUENTLY TAKEN MY CAR TO THE AUDI DEALERSHIP TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE 10+ OCCASIONS. THIS CHATTERING AND SKIPPING OF THE WIPER BLADES IS SO BAD THAT I AND MANY OTHER A3 / S3 OWNERS NO LONGER USE OUR WIPERS IN THE RAIN AS THEY CAUSE MORE OF A DISTRACTION THAN GOOD. MOST OF US ARE NOW USING RAINX OR SOME OTHER REPELLENT TO EVACUATE THE WATER. I SENT THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP VIDEO IN 2017 AND SO FAR THEY HAVE : POLISHED THE WINDOW, REPLACED THE BLADES TWICE, REPLACED THE WINDSHIELD, REPLACED THE DRIVER SIDE WIPER ARM, AND NOW BACK TO POLISHING THE WINDOW AGAIN. I DECIDED TO ESCALATE TO AUDI USA AND RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING RESPONSE: WE UNDERSTAND WHEN PURCHASING A LUXURY VEHICLE YOU DON'T EXPECT CONCERNS TO ARISE. HOWEVER, OUR RESOURCES SHOW THE CHATTERING YOU'RE EXPERIENCING HAS BEEN REVIEWED BY MULTIPLE RESOURCES AND IT HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED AS OPERATING AS DESIGNED. WE REGRET TO LEARN THIS HAS NEGATIVELY IMPACTED YOUR AUDI EXPERIENCE AND WILL ENSURE THIS INFORMATION IS DOCUMENTED FOR OUR RECORDS. WHILE WE ARE UNABLE TO ASSIST WITH THIS CONCERN, SHOULD ANY NEW INFORMATION BECOME AVAILABLE, PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO REACH BACK OUT TO US. THE REASON I AM BRINGING THIS TO NHTSA IS I BELIEVE THE LACK OF VISIBILITY, AND THE UTTER COMMOTION THIS CAUSES DURING RAIN IS DANGEROUS. I ALSO BELIEVE A3 / S3 OWNERS NOT USING THEIR WIPERS DURING THE RAIN IS ALSO DANGEROUS. I MUST EMPHASIZE, THE BLADES WORK FINE FOR ABOUT 5 - 10 MINUTES THEN THEY START CLATTERING AND JUMPING ALL OVER THE WINDOW. THIS CAN HAPPEN SITTING STILL BUT ESPECIALLY WHILE MOVING. LIGHT RAIN OR HARD RAIN DOESN'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE. ALTHOUGH I CHECKED 35MPH AND 18000 MILES THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE MILE ONE AND ALL SPEEDS.