2001 AUDI A4 Electrical System Problems

THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER 99% CANNOT BE READ DUE TO THE LCD DISPLAY FADING. HAVE DONE MULTIPLE SEARCHES AND 9 OUT OF 10 PEOPLE HAVE THIS SAME EXACT ISSUE. AUDI NEEDS TO STEP UP AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS ISSUE. THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING ISSUE AND NEEDS TO BE FIXED. THIS HAS BEEN A HUGE PAIN FOR ME BECAUSE SOMETIMES MY CAR WILL BEEP AND DISPLAY SOMETHING ON THE LCD SCREEN BUT BECAUSE IT'S FADING I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT IT'S TELLING ME. I DON'T WANT TO BE DRIVING AND SOMETHING LIFE THREATENING HAPPEN BECAUSE OF A MISSED MESSAGE BECAUSE THE LCD SCREEN IS BROKEN. FIX THIS BEFORE PEOPLE GET HURT AND START FILING LAWSUITS. *TR

MY 2001 AUDI A4 HAS CENTRAL LCD DISPLAY TO DISPLAY ALL SORT OF INFORMATION, BUT THIS DISPLAY FAILS IN MOST OF A4S JUST AFTER A FEW YEARS. THIS IS CRITICAL FOR VEHICLE SAFETY, BECAUSE THIS CAR DOES NOT HAVE ANY OTHER INDICATORS TO SIGNAL ABNORMAL CONDITIONS OF THE CAR SUCH AS LOW COOLANT, CHECK ENGINE, ETC. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN KNOWN MORE THAN FIVE YEARS, BUT THE MANUFACTURER HAS NOT BEEN RESPONSIBLE. PLEASE LOOK AT HTTP://AUDIFORUMS.COM/FORUM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=46512 FOR OTHER PEOPLE'S COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. *TR

THE LCD INSTRUMENT DISPLAY IS "PIXILATED" -- UNABLE TO CLEARLY DISPLAY INFORMATION REGARDING THE STATUS OF THE VEHICLE, INCLUDING SAFETY-RELATED INFORMATION SUCH AS FAILURE OF SAFETY-RELATED COMPONENTS (ANTI-LOCK BRAKES ETC.). THIS COULD LEAD TO A CRASH OR PREVENT THE TIMELY RESPONSE TO A SAFETY-RELATED PROBLEM. ON-LINE FORUMS INDICATE THAT THIS IS A FREQUENT PROBLEM WITH AUDI A4S. *TR

1) THERE IS NO TRIGGERING EVENT LEADING UP TO THE FAILURE. IT JUST APPEARS OVER TIME. 2) THE LCD SCREEN IN THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER HAS LINES OF PIXELS THAT DO NOT LIGHT UP. THIS IS CONSTANT, WITH MORE LINES OF PIXELS GOING OUT AND PERMANENTLY STAYING OUT OVER TIME. AS A CONSEQUENCE, IMPORTANT WARNING MESSAGES ARE NOT DISPLAYED OR READABLE; SUCH AS WORN OUT BRAKE PADS, FUEL LOW WARNING, WASHER FLUID LOW WARNING, ETC. IF THESE WARNINGS ARE NOT DISPLAYED, THE VEHICLE MAY RUN OUT OF GAS WITHOUT WARNING AND STALL WHILE OPERATING, OR BRAKES MAY WEAR DOWN TO THE POINT OF LOSING EFFECTIVENESS WITHOUT WARNING, OR BE LEFT WITHOUT WASHER FLUID WITHOUT WARNING. 3) ENTIRE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER WAS REPLACED WITH NEW BY AUDI DEALERSHIP UNDER CPO WARRANTY. FAILED PART WAS KEPT BY AUDI. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 AUDI A4. HE HEARD A HUMMING SOUND COMING FROM THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE CAMSHAFT TENSIONER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. HE ALSO STATED THAT THE POWER CIRCUIT FAILED DUE TO A LEAK ON THE ROOF. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 42,140.

TL*- THE CONTACT HAS A 2001 AUDI A4 AND STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 55 MPH, HE STARTED SMELLING AN ODOR COMING FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT OF THE VEHICLE. HE PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND NOTICE THAT THERE WAS SMOKE COMING FROM UNDERNEATH THE SEAT, SECONDS AFTER THE CONTACT GOT OUT OF THE VEHICLE THE AIR BAG DEPLOYED WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT THE VEHICLE HAD A SHORT IN THE ELECTRICAL WIRING. CONTACT CAN PROVIDE COPY OF INVOICE REPAIR IF NEEDED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGE WERE BOTH 200,000 MILES.

I OWN A 2001 AUDI A4 AVANT 1.8T THAT I TOOK DELIVERY IN AUGUST 2000. LATE LAST YEAR, AUGUST-OCTOBER 2003, I NOTICED THAT THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER'S CENTER LCD DISPLAY STARTED TO FADE ON THE TOP PART. LATER ON I FIGURED OUT THAT IT WOULD HAPPEN AFTER THE CAR HAS BEEN UNDER THE HEAT OF THE SUN FOR A WHILE. I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING BECAUSE I FIGURED IT'S JUST MY CAR AND I'VE ALREADY GONE THROUGH MY WARRANTY PERIOD (4 YEARS/50,000MILES) AS MY CAR ALREADY HAVE 70K MILES ON IT. THEN I STARTED HEARING FROM FELLOW AUDI OWNERS THAT I MET THAT IT'S HAPPENING TO THEIR CARS TOO. ONE HAS A 2001 AUDI A4 SEDAN WITH 30K MILES AND THE OTHER WITH A 2001 S4 SEDAN, BOTH REPLACED UNDER THE WARRANTY. ANOTHER IS A 2002 AUDI TT, BUT HE'S LUCKED OUT BECAUSE HE HAS MORE THAN 50K MILES TOO (OUT OF...

THE CONSUMER WAS EXITING THE FREEWAY WHEN THE IGNITION COIL FAILED. THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF POWER. SCC *JB