They should get rid of thermometer in the next A4 -- I can tell what temperature it is by the sound of my car.

Hot outside: car will let you know by squeaking when the window goes down.
Normal outside: the rest of your car shuts up so you can actually hear your brakes squeak.
Cold outside: stick shift squeaks as you put it into first.

Although I love my car, I am absolutely appalled by all the noises the thing makes. When you throw $30K down on a German car, it really shouldn't have these minor but extremely annoying flaws.

Anyway, does anyone have a solution for the squeaking stick shift? Can Audi fix it with a little lube or am I screwed? Any advice is appreciated.

I do hate to see the cooler weather coming, because with my A4 it signals the onslaught of minor squeaks/chirps/rattles that drive me nuts (I'm <b>really</b> anal about these noises). Plus just this morning in 50 degree temps, I noticed the dreaded wind-noise from my driver's side window near the B-pillar...a sure sign that temps are dropping (it's been totally quiet since early spring). I'm planning on working on the door problem myself courtesy of a fellow A4 owner who posted about adjusting the top portion of the door for a tighter seal. I just haven't gotten around to working on it yet.

<A HREF="Mailto:andy_hedin@hotmail.com">Andy Hedin</A>
'97 A4 1.8Tqms, Garrett 1.0 Bar, ABT Filter, APR/Borla Exhaust, Euro Headlights, more...

do you think that the $50K Mercedes, BMWs, and Lexus don't have ANY squeaks, NOT SO?!

the same for my new Avant, with but 3700 miles on the odometer. With the recent cooling of ambient temperatures, I have begun to notice dashboard squeeks, and wind noise from the b-pillar.

Steve W. (in MD)
99.5 Avant 1.8TQM, sports pkg/sports seats
growing ire at noises

In my experience, I have never seen a Lexus or Mercedes squeak that much (that is not to say that they don't). Also, I had an Explorer before and even though random parts of that car would fall off at will, it never made any strange noises.

I know some people seem to have problems with brake sqealing because they are too careful with the brakes when they first get the car. Apparently, the surface of the rotors don't set properly if you never brake hard in the first few hundred miles. I think the A4 drivers manual goes over the whole process.

Also, I believe there have been posts on A4.org from people who said they took their car out for some spirited driving (and hard braking) and their sqealing problem went away. You might give it a shot. If nothing else, it would be fun.

- Rog

...but it will be back again. Switching brake pads is a permanent fix. I think Mintex pads do the trick.