CK

Unlike the posts below, I won't be as quick to suggest driver error. Although your replay of the situation suggests that you were a bit close, no one responding to this thread was beside you when it happened.

The wet-braking delay is a problem on my car. Perhaps some (or most) others do not have the misfortune of experiencing this, but the problem is consistent and often frightening in mine. Yes, the brakes grab hard when conditions are right. But I consistently experience a 1-2 second delay when driving on the highway in rainy conditions.

The 3 second rule is generally accepted as a safe distance between you and your car. In bad weather the distance should be even greater. But eliminating a 1-2 second margin of safety due to wet-braking delay is unacceptable. Before the Audi, I never experienced the problem. And the list of fine cars that I have driven include a shi*tbox Plymouth Valiant, beater Volvo, Saab, Honda, Nissan, and some SUV's.

Without assigning blame to the driver, weather, traffic, etc., we could ask if the accident could have been prevented if the wet-braking problem did not exist. The only answer is 'maybe.' With a 28k+ car, the odds should be tilted in the drivers favor; not away.

Having paid 33k+ for mine, I sympathize with HP.

-Charlie

MarkG

He may have been following too close but you could change the scenerio and say a deer or a kid was crossing the street. The brake delay in the rain is a safty issue. It's worse because sometimes the brakes grab and other times they don't. It's not exactly a confidence builder and could lead to something much worse than a damaged front end. From the varied posts here, nobody should apply their experiences with their own breaks to his situation.

Mark (98.5 2.8 QMS)

nubS4

Can't blame brakes if you were 1) too close and 2) not watching. :-(

RI A4

Hello again and thanks for all the quick replies. But I do think most of you are missing the point. Admittedly, I probably was too close(although more than a car length), I was glancing away at the exact time, and I had no visibility through the truck for warning. However, those are the unfortuntate circumstances that put me into the situation and I'd be willing to bet the majority of us have been there before. In any case, it should have been the breaks on my "performance" sedan that pulled me out either without an accident or with a much less severe one. That is why I have them and in this situation they failed me.

It's obvious from the replies that not all A4's are affected by this problem and those that have felt it sympathize with the the terrorizing 1-2 seconds between when you hit the breaks and when they grab. I assure you that if everyone could experience this just once they would have a different opinion.

Bill S

Regardless of other factors, such as following distance, if the wet braking delay contributed to the accident then for your own sake and for everyone else on the roads I suggest you do the following:

1) File a complaint with the federal asfety agency NHTSA, using the on-line compaint form (link below) or, better yet, by phone (1-888-327-4236). Make it clear that the wet braking delay directly contributed to a high-speed highway accident.

2) Send a letter, certified if possible, to your dealer's service manager, to the President of Audi of America, and to your insurance company explaining that the well-known A4 wet braking defect directly contributed to a highway accident and that you have reported the incident to NHTSA. You may also want to send a copy of this letter to the Consumer Reports automobile director and make sure Audi of America knows you did it. In this letter, I would mention this on-line forum as evidence that the wet braking problem is well-known and that by ignoring it Audi has made itself responsible for injuries or deaths that may result.


Don't let criticisms of your driving distract you from Audi's responsibility to give you a car that begins to stop as soon as you hit the brakes. Even if you did follow too closely, obviously the car should stop when you brake and thereby avoid or reduce the severity of a crash.

By the way, my car does the same thing. My palms sweat while driving on the highway in wet conditions. Let's get on this problem aggressively before one of us gets severely injured or killed.<ul><li><a href="http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/oscripts/IVOQ/VOQ/voq1.cfm">NHTSA on-line complaint form</a></li></ul>

GT

I believe most of the people who thinks it's solely your fault have never experienced the wet braking problem. It is pretty damn scary... the car literally does not slow down at all for about the first 1-2 seconds that you're on the brakes... what's even worse is that sometimes, the car will even pull sharply to the right or left because, as some people had pointed out earlier on this forum, one of the brake pads will grab before the other. This is completely unacceptable on any type of car, let alone a $30k sports sedan. It's very unfortunate that a car which is supposed to perform very well in the rain (with Quattro) is so greatly hampered because of the wet braking problem. I pretty much hate driving my A4 whenever it's raining hard out....

CP

I installed these about a month ago and the discs still need to dry off to brake properly. When it's raining out, I pretend I'm a NASCAR driver about to make a pitstop. I drag the brakes every so often to keep them dry. This partially helps the issue but the fact is that proper shielding is required to alleviate this problem. ****-poor engineering but a fact that we all have to live with. Other than this, I'm very pleased with the performance of my car. I had it in very deep snow, doing all kinds of slides this winter and there was no problem with the brakes. Well, the e-brake worked alright. I just make sure to leave enough room to slow down when it's wet out.
Cy...97 1.8TQMS, APR, Neuspeed, Mintex, ATE, BFG VR4, K&N, PIAA, Clears, Alpine, FAQs, H&R/Bilstein soon...

Marshall Penniford

75MPH and your leaving anything less than 50 feet. That is ridiculous. Who the hell cares if someone cuts in in front of you. Let them be the idiot. Not you. In the rain I would let that 50ft go much further. Hell, you shouldn't be going 75 in the rain in traffic at all (simply because of the speeds that most other US drivers are going).

Then, you take your eyes off the road!!! That will get you killed. One more second of looking away and you may not have been able to write this post. I'm glad that you are ok. Be thankful for that.

Now, about this wet braking issue. I've never experienced it on any of the 7 audis that I've driven (2 of them a4's). ALL cars don't brake as well in the rain, and when the rotors get wet they have to dry some... especially if you have been highyway driving without braking fro some time. Again, this happens with all cars!!!! For you physics majors, 1-2 second delays of no brakes... give me a brake (lol) you would be part of the guys bumper in front of you. More like fractions of a second I would guess. This sounds like un-intended acceleration.

Maybe the reason we notice a "braking problem" is that well drive so damn fast! I know I do...

Glad to see you're ok! Drive safely guys, but take responsibility for your actions, which includes knowing the limitations of your car!

Flame away...

Marshall Penniford

and I still have a hard time with the two second thing - that is 176ft at 60mph. Unlikely.

However, I do believe you that something unique is going on with your/others A4 - what is the suspected cause? It is not happening on all of them.

Mike D.

If my memory is correct, I remember in driver's ed that for every 10mph your going, you should be a car's length behind the one in front of you. So for 50mph, you should 5 cars back, 70-75, you should be 7-7.5 car lengths back. Now most people don't practice this and I really don't either... but you should leave at least a good 2 car lengths between you and the other driver... I usually try to practice this.

Glad to hear your okay and keep that last accident in mind next time your behind someone going 70+