The car is great, but I have a few questions after reading the manual and talking to the dealer.

1. I posted this the first day I got the car, but I can't believe how long it takes for the rear defroster to work. I spoke to the dealer who has an A4, and he said that his is exactly the same. He usually has to leave it on for about ten minutes, and even then it doesn't really start defrosting until he is well on his way to work. Every car I ever had defrosted the windows in seconds, whether it had ice, dew, etc. I find this unacceptable and dangerous. Any comments?

2. On the Y2K models, apparently the heated side mirrors work like the ones on the 99.5's. This morning it got below 40 degrees here, and the driver's mirror seemed a little warm, but it took a long time for it to get that way. I know there has been alot of stuff in the archives on this, but most of it is for pre 1999.5 mirrors that stayed on all the time. My question basically is, does this stay on all the time under 40 degrees, even when the car is off, or is it on all the time regardless of whether the car is on or off. My dealer has a 1998, and he says his stay on all the time (winter, spring, summer or fall). He didn't say if it was on when the car was off as well. Again, I know you have all ranted and raved about this, but this is ridiculous. They should absolutely have the side heated mirrors tied into the rear defroster. The funny thing is I read the review by Dan Jedlick on Carpoint, and he said the rear defroster defrosts very quickly and thoroughly. I wonder if he got an abberation!

3. Do any of you find the seat cushions too short? I am only 5'5", and I find with even adjusting the thigh support in the power seats, there is not as much support as I am used to.

Other than these little niggling things, I cannot think of one thing that I don't like about the car. It really is great!

Bonnie
Silver/Onyx 2.8 QTX

I have a 99.5 and the rear defroster also takes longer than my previous Honda. But it doesn't take 10 minutes for it to work, more like up to 5 minutes.

As for the heated side mirrors, not sure at what temp it's suppose to come on, but I know it was on two days ago when it was 43F outside. It didn't take long to get warm, maybe a minute or so and I could really feel it when I touched the mirror. Same for the passenger side. It doesn't stay on all the time, it turns off when you turn the car off. On a cold morning, you should see your mirrors fogged/frosted up, then start to clear up when you turn your car on.

HTH,
Mark
99.5 1.8T qms

For what it's worth, I never noticed that the rear defroster was unusually slow. In fact I seem to remember it doing quite a good job within a couple of minutes - and I've had the car in upstate NY, parked outside, for two winters now. My previous car was a Honda.

Tom
'98 1.8TQMS Silver/Ecru

Bonnie, i must admit, i'm not really "up" on how well the defroster works. My car usually goes from garage to garage.

But, seats, thats another story. I am all of 5'2" and it took awhile to find a comfortable position. The first thing i do (on a new car) is push the seat back until my left foot (i'm a left foot braker) rests ever so lightly on the pedal. then (don't laugh) i add a couple of rubber spacers to the gas pedal, because it's always too far away. Then i start to ratchet the seatback back to where i feel more pressure on the top of my back, than the bottom of my back. As you go back with the seatback, you'll feel more of the seat under your thighs. My seat is manual, but, on yours raise the front of the seat just a tiny bit and then adjust the seatback. After all of this is done, adjust the steering wheel. My wheel is all the way down. You'll find that the more you move the seatback back, the lower your driving position will be. I prefer a low driving position, because if feel like i'm sitting IN the car. I tried the manual seat in it's highest height position and felt like i was sitting on top of the car. I have the seat in the middle height position. It really takes awhile to "find" that sweet spot. Finding a comfortable driving position is the first thing i do when purchasing a new car. If you're not comfortable, you're not going to enjoy the car-no matter what kind of car it is.

It's slow today, sorry for the longy............


Al
99.5 1.8tqtsc

On frost and fog, my rear defrost works within a few minutes to disperse or at least melt away the frost. Dew is a little more difficult and it tries to get rid of it. It works a lot better than any other car I have driven. To get rid of dew, I would suggest a good coat of Rain-X. Drive a little while and it is all history.
I personally love the heated mirrors. They have dispersed heavy dew within 2 minutes of startup at around 40 degrees.
I don't know if I am an exception. For Audi's sake I hope not.
Later,
Greg 99.5 A4 2.8QMS

I thought race car drivers use both feet (left for brake, right for gas) when driving automatics, because of the faster reflexes.

driving course, and he specifically said that left-foot braking is no good. (I don't remember the guy's name offhand, but he was famous, I think)

might remember what he said...

The TSB from Audi reads, and I quote:


With the ignition key switched ON, the
thermo-switch allows current flow to the mirror
heating element when outside ambient
temperatures are less than 59_F (15_C) ¶
10_F (3_C) and stops current flow when
outside ambient temperatures are above
77_F (25_C) ¶ 10_F (3_C).

Does this mean, as it seems to, that the mirrors begin heating at 58 degrees F, and will stay heated if the temperature rises until it reaches 77 degrees F? The outside temp got to about 55 degrees last night and the mirror glass was only barely warm.

Marty

99.5 2.8 Avant Casablance/Ecru/Blue

I'm going to finish it. Let me finish.

To clear things up, I brake with my left foot on my tip Audi. I brake right with my 5 speed civic. I learned this habit from my bro-in-law, Mark, who was a NYC cab driver at the time. At that time, the West Side Highway was in one of it's major construction phases (when is it not) and traffic was unbearable. So i started putting my left foot on the brake and haven't changed since. Everyday, before i get into my car (it's a mental thing) i make a quick note to myself-to remember which car i'm driving. My twin brother is a "goofy footer", also. I'm done............


Al
99.5 1.8tqtsc