Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||||
| 0601 | 01/27/2006 | 10019108 | Vehicle shudders when accelerating at 10 to 50% throttle from a stationary position, sometimes with fluctuating engine speed. *tt | 02/13/2006 | |
| 370402 | 10/20/2005 | 370504 | 10011573 | Transmission shudders prior to coming to a stop. *tc | 01/27/2005 |
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||||
| 370710 | 06/22/2007 | 370711 | 10022453 | Mil on, and/or multitronic transmission in emergency running mode (dtc p0706 or p1793 in tcm). *kb | 08/15/2007 |
| 380704 | 05/30/2007 | 10021953 | Vehicle will not move in any gear. *kb | 06/27/2007 | |
| 0526 | 11/16/2005 | 10018221 | Authorization requirements for automatic transmissions. *tt | 12/19/2005 | |
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - CONTROL MODULE (TCM, PCM) | |||||
| 0310 | 10/02/2003 | 10004526 | Update programming (flashing) transmission control module (tcm). 2002 cabriolet included. *tt | 12/17/2003 | |
| 0309 | 09/29/2003 | 10003934 | Update programming (flashing) transmission control module (tcm). *tt | 11/07/2003 | |
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL) | |||||
| TSB-38-09-01 | 06/15/2009 | 10032412 | Audi: vehicle will not move in any gear. atf pump border bushing may fail and cause a loss of oil pressure. the atf pump is incorporated in the valve body. the pump is not a serviceable part. improved atf pump incorporated in the valve | 03/17/2010 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 09/08/2012 | 111140 | 1 | |
| The car had started to have the prnd flash, but it kept running good. on saturday i drove around 20 miles and parked on a small angled road i turned the car off. when i turned it on again i put it on reverse which didn't engage and started to go down almost crashing into a wall. i had to get out and push the car. *tr | |||
| 09/08/2012 | 111140 | ||
| The car had started to have the prnd flash, but it kept running good. on saturday i drove around 20 miles and parked on a small angled road i turned the car off. when i turned it on again i put it on reverse which didn't engage and started to go down almost crashing into a wall. i had to get out and push the car. | |||
| 04/06/2011 | 90000 | ||
| The car probably has faulty tcu, because transmission would sometimes jerk if going from complete stop and pressing gas pedal (even lightly). the car at first wouldn't go, then all of the sudden and unexpectedly would accelerate. i believe this is common in audi, and they should fix that. | |||
| 03/18/2007 | 64000 | 6 | 01/18/2003 |
| In february 2007, my 2003 a4 | |||
| 06/01/2005 | 52000 | 10 | 04/01/2003 |
| The vehicle is an audi a4 3.0 (non-quattro). i have experienced on multiple occassions the following...... when the car is started and the car is placed in reverse, the vehicle begins to buck violently. if i was parallel parked, i would have hit the car in front of me and in back of me or possibly a person. i know for sure there are other people that have experienced this same dangerous problem as i have seen it on audi message boards. this problem has been happening for quite some time now. no one seems to know what to do since the situation is hard to repeat at will. | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 02/06/2011 | 120000 | ||
| 2003 audi a4 tcm failure almost led to a serious accident. was backing out of a driveway on a semi-busy road in winter park, fl when the transmission control module gave out on my 2003 audi a4 cvt transmission. the car lost all power and just would rev. but not move in reverse. i had to quickly throw it in drive and head into oncoming traffic until being able to get inot the proper lane. after driving home, i noticed that this is random and there is no logic to when it occurs. the problem is an intermittent electrical tcm problem in which signal 'drops' for a short period of time. i did a search online about theis issue with the 2003 cvt transmission from auid and the tcm shorting out while driving is a very common issue. i see this as a safety issue and definaltely hold the auto manufacturuer at fault. audi has recalled these tcm's for their a6 and a8 line that year which uses many of the same components. why has the 2003 a4 cvt not been recalled then. it has the same issues. tcm failure and faults due to improper electrical connections and clutch pack failure becuase the transmission cannot handle the power or weight of the car. that is why from 2005 and on the cvt comes with 7 clutch plates. bottom line is that if this issue is not addressed in the 2003 audi a4 cvt and you do not recall this year and version tcm (and maybe even the tranny itself) people will die in accidents that were no fault of their own. i am headed to the audi website and any others who will take my complaint about this issue. i see it up there with a stuck accelerator. if you cant control speeding up or slowing down and the problem is faulty electrical thus happening intermitently how can you stay in control of your vehicle? | |||
| 01/17/2010 | 140500 | 1 | |
| Audi-a4-sedan-cvt transmission. slipping gear while vehicle is moving and beginning drive from stoplight. safety concern for family. history of a problem and no recall by audi. how can there be no recall. | |||
| 07/01/2007 | 65000 | 1 | |
| I purchased the vehicle in september 2002. in october 2003, the transmission suffered a massive failure and required a complete replacement under warranty. around july 2007 the check engine light came on and the prnd indicator on the dashboard started flashing. champion audi in pompano beach, florida diagnosed the problem as a defective transmission control module (tcm). despite my demands, the audi dealer refused to fix the defective part, and wanted to charge me upwards of $2500 to replace the tcm. my independent (and aaa approved) repair facility recently confirmed the tcm requires replacement. bottom line: the transmission could fail, again, at any time. the transmission has been a problem from the beginning and audi needs to step up to the plate and replace the tcm at no charge. my research indicates that tcm failure is a common problem on audis. audi is aware of these issues yet refuses to do the right thing. *tr | |||
| 12/01/2008 | 71000 | 1 | |
| I have had numerous problems with my a4. first, my headlight shorted out and cost over $600 because it fried all the electrical wires and i had to get a new headlamp setting and wires. even after replacing the computer has a lightbulb signal light that it is not sending the correct ampage. the power steering leaks continuously and makes noises also. the check engine light has came on and the motor is running very bumpy like almost like it is mis-firing or something. and last but not least, the transmission is not running correctly. when i put it into reverse it stalls and will not go. i put it in to neutral, then reverse again and it slowly catches sometimes. now the check engine light is flashing and i have had my car sitting for a few days after all this suddenly appeared. i am saving money to try to get this fixed. i am afraid that the engine will stall or i wont be able to turn due to the steering and crash so it is inoperable at this time. *tr | |||
| 09/06/2008 | 72300 | 1 | |
| Hello a recall notice came in for my 03' audi a4 for etc sensor.(70k miles) took the car into dealer got it fixed. a week later or so check engine light came on and car was dead in its tracks. according to the dealer and two mechanics shops, its the transmission. dealer price on transmission was 7,558.00 total. owe my goodness...... car is worth about that. since then i have been trying to locate a used or a rebuild transmission but their is not much of a difference in price because the transmission is so hard to fix and parts are very expensive that no one wants to deal with the car at all. not to mention the difficulty that requires to replace this type of transmission for my vehicle model. special tools and programming. called nearby states with no luck finding a rebuild transmission. also audi does not make them anymore, making them even harder to find. i have been searching on the internet for the past 3 weeks trying to find some information on this type of vehicle and the transmission problem and i came across the same story from many audi a4 owners. this is not a driver problem but a design flaw. transmission is not fixed because i can't afford 7.5k for a new one that will give out in about 50k again. this is not right and something should be done about this. when the car started to shake tremendously in the middle of turning onto a ramp to enter the highway i could of cause an accident easily. through out blogs and website advice, their are countless number of people with the same problem. the transmission seems to give out right about 50-85k miles. i hope you can help. *tr | |||
| 07/13/2008 | 102000 | 1 | |
| Engine box floods after driving through long distances in heavy rain. results in car that will not run at all (needed to be towed) diagnosis is that the engine box floods from insufficient drainage from the cowl which then shorts out the engine control module and transmission control module (basically the car's computer center) this is the second time this problem has occurred (both after driving through difficult rain storms) the first time this happened was in october of 2005, and it took nearly 6 weeks to diagnose and repair. repair was done by authorized audi dealer that originally sold me the car. the final bill was nearly $5000. they insisted it was a fluke and had me make an insurance claim to cover the repairs as flood damage. i made a formal complaint to audi at that time since it is clearly a design flaw. (someone the dealer acknowledged to me that they had witnessed this before, each time telling the customer to go through their insurance to cover the cost). here i am less than 3 years later and the same exact thing happened this weekend. i drove through an intense rainstorm and i have a flooded engine box. the bill is once again going to exceed $4000, not to mention the amount of time that i will need to rent a car (again) to conduct my business. i sell real estate and depend on my vehicle. once again i phoned audi customer care and lodged another formal complaint with this issue and they refuse to acknowledge this design flaw. i am currently seeking legal council in order to recoup these costs. i have both complaints which are exactly the same filed with audi. i do not have the first set of parts, but i can certainly keep the ones that have recently failed. at this point i do not have a car, i am waiting to see if my insurance company will again pay for this claim. i truly believe this is something that audi needs to take care of and acknowledge the flaw. *tr | |||
| 06/19/2008 | 75000 | 1 | |
| At a stoplight yesterday, the cvt transmission suddenly failed. when i pressed the accelerator, the vehicle would only very slowly lurch forward with a great deal of grinding noise. i was barely able to limp out of the flow of traffic and then had it towed to my shop. my mechanic today told me the cvt (continuously variable transmission) failed and needs replacement. new, the part alone is $7,500, with another $1,000+ in labor. my 2003 a4 has been meticulously maintained since new and only has 75,000 miles. i have found considerable traffic online regarding major problems with audi cvt - but very little on your site. this is s a major design problem that consumers should be made aware of. *tr | |||
| 04/15/2008 | 48500 | 1 | |
| The vehicle sometimes does not go into reverse and jumps forward when applying brakes. the p r n d lights flash on the dashboard. the dealer says it needs a transmission control module (tcm). *tr | |||
| 12/08/2005 | 1 | 02/16/2003 | |
| 2003 audi a4 with defective fuel pump. consumer states that manufacturer told her that her vehicle was not affected because her vin was not included in the recall. she stated her vehicle was manufactured within the designated time. *kb the consumer had other mechanical problems with the vehicle such as: faulty ignition coils, transmission and a radiator replacement. the battery was replaced due to the vehicle not starting, the valve and cam seals were leaking oil. the vehicle also had an oil sludge problem. the consumer was unable to lock and unlock the doors at times. the dealer replaced a loose connection. *jb | |||
| 03/18/2007 | 64000 | 6 | 01/18/2003 |
| In february 2007, my 2003 a4 | |||
| 10/23/2007 | 55000 | 1 | 06/17/2003 |
| My vehicle is an audi a4 3.0. i originally purchased in 6/2003. on multiple occasions, when i have put the car in reverse the car begins to buck/shake violently for several seconds until i press on the brake put the car back into park. i have taken it to the audi dealership to address this problem on several occasions while it was under warranty and they were unable to diagnose the problem. most recently, at the beginning of this year. however, last week as i was returning home, smoke began to come out of the engine. i brought it to audi service and i was told today that my transmission was leaking and was dripping onto my catalytic converter which was the cause for the smoke. however, i am now no longer covered by my warranty. it seems like the cvt transmission on this car is prone for failure after 50,000. they want to take out my transmission and either replace/repair it (if possible). i contacted audi customer care and they contacted audi service. they are currently in discussion with regards to the coverage for the repairs. they should have found the problem a while ago when i brought it in several times before. *tr | |||
| 11/15/2005 | 44000 | 2 | 02/03/2003 |
| On november 14th my a4 1.8 stalled, was towed to the dealer, a coil was replaced...when i drove the car home it would thump and jerk up around 60 mph. i returned it to the dealer who stated that it could again be another coil but were not permitted to replace all the coils the day before because manufacturer wouldn't pay for anything more than the faulty coil...even though they figured more might fail...well, it turns out it was the throttle - they reset it and i picked up the car and started driving home when it thumped and jerked again...turned around and returned it to the dealer...this all happened on the 15th...it is now the 18th and after working with their engineers, they fear they may now need to replace the entire transmission...i am just glad that i have a loaner car and that i have 5k more miles on my warranty...i think i am going to by the extended since this is 3 huge problems in 5 weeks time! *jb | |||
| 11/10/2003 | 7500 | 4 | 02/25/2003 |
| My 2003 audi a4 3.0 with cvt transmission, purchased new 2/2004, has 8000 miles on it. during the past 2 weeks (the past 500 miles) i have noted the following problem 4 different times: upon pressing the accelerator while at a complete stop, the transmission seems not to engage and the vehicle does not move. unfortunately, during 3 of those occasions, my vehicle was on a downward incline and i was attempting to make a right turn into a street with traffic. i therefore coasted into traffic but was unable to accelerate; i was very lucky not to have been hit by the traffic coming from my left. after waiting a few long seconds, the transmission would eventually seem to engage, and i would be on my way. *la | |||
| POWER TRAIN - CLUTCH ASSEMBLY | |||
| 06/01/2009 | 74886 | 1 | |
| Purchased vehicle april 2009 (carfax was clean) replaced ignition coil 2x by september 2009 replaced clutch, rack and pinion, and computer module in oct 2009 currently catalytic converter is malfunctioning i have not been able to drive this vehicle in a consistent operating condition for more than 2 weeks at a time. i have spent almost $5,000 in car repairs to date. *tr | |||
| 10/23/2006 | 38000 | 1 | 10/30/2002 |
| Clutch failure on 2003 audi a-4 5-spd manual transmission w. 39,000 miles. car purchased new, driven by experienced manual transmission driver. *nm | |||
| 12/27/2005 | 1 | ||
| At 54000 miles, 4,000 miles beyond the warranty, my 2003 audi a4 1.8t's clutch simply disintegrated. audi declared it a wear and tear item and would not offer any assistance other than a sympathetic ear. to have a car i purchased costing well over $30,000 have such a problem happen it unreasonable as far as i am concerned and the callousness of audi has forever lost them a loyal customer. every chance i get to let others know my experience with this brand i take. do you think audi even cares? repair was well over $1500 out of my pocket. *nm | |||
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION | |||
| 04/24/2008 | 87000 | 1 | |
| The coil pack on the vehicle was damaged (shaking upon acceleration). after researching the internet, i found that 2001, 2002 and beginning of 2003 audi a4s has been recalled for this part. when i called audi america, they said my vin number was not included in this recall. the dealership replaced the coil pack at a cost of over $500. *tr | |||
| 11/24/2006 | 30000 | 5 | 07/10/2004 |
| Audi a4 2003, the clutch failed at 30,000 miles, but audi refused to fix the problem until it was completely undrivable. i had to pay out of pocket because it was categorized as wear and tear, thus not covered by audi's least. the electrical system and the fuel pump also failed and needed to be replaced. the jack broke while changing a flat tire and i was told that this had happened to other audi owners, but still had to pay the damage to the plastic siding out of pocket. *jb | |||
| 08/01/2006 | 83000 | 1 | 04/15/2003 |
| Windshield wiper transmission seizing while in use with no warning. wiper motor and transmission replaced at 83000 miles. vehicle is three years old. *jb | |||