Don't know if its been done, but has AudiWorld ever done an open letter to Audi of America......

[JogJog]

about the 1.8T timing belt issue? Going back through the archives this seems to be a major and pervasive problem. I just recently visited the Dealer here in Austin,Texas/Roger Beasley Audi and I told them about the AudiForums suggesting TB and part replacement at 60k. I was kinda laughed at and told you guys are a bunch of amatuers who think they know everything. And yet I've learned far more on here than in my Bentley CD and Haynes manual combined. I told them the current mileage which was only 83k+ and was told to bring it back at 90k. I had originally gone to ask them to look up the VIN to see if the update had been performed, but I was told only under warranty work is it kept in their service records (nationwide I was guessing). Here it is only 200 miles later and it seems my tensioner failed. I've been kicking myself for not just leaving it there.
I know that GM had the same problem with the Cadillac Cateras and due to public outcry started doing the work free of charge for cars under 100k and reimbursement for any labor done before hand, I know because I had a 98 Catera before my last A4 and had everything done free of charge. This Forum has the power to change things and I'm wondering if it would be to much to ask the AudiForums and AudiWorld, to let us voice our opinion on what needs to be done?

-John Ginnings

[qfrog@work]

1. not informed properly (importance/consequences)
2. too cheap
3. just dont care / too lazy

if you werent informed then you have a reason to be pissy.

if you are too cheap then you shouldnt be drivinig an audi, period.

if you dont care or are too lazy then you earned the catastrophic failure that you caused.

The only people that have a reason to be upset are those that had theirs blow up at a really early mileage like 50K. By this forum's general consensus 60K is the right time to do that service on a 1.8T.

Dont like dealer labor rates... buy your own tools and do it yourself, there are enough nice people on here that will teach you how and have taken the time to write it up for you... doesnt get much easier than that. Or find a shop that does a good job of convincing you that they have a clue as to what they are doing.

[RKA]

The vast majority of us are either in school or in other chosen professions. This is a hobby for us. Despite that, we learn by sharing our collective experiences on these forums. Imagine 1,000 people sharing their knowledge and keeping it archived for others to read over. It's pretty amazing what it amounts to. It was on these forums that we first learned Audi had coilpack issues on their 2001 1.8T engines. This was 2 FULL YEARS before Audi issued a voluntary recall!! It was also on these forums than a frustrated B6-er started compiling coilpack failure information. This failure archive was eventually cited in a Boston Globe article that eventually forced Audi & VW's hand to issue the recall (I think).

The long and short of this is that your service manager is an idiot for believing that if you haven't taken an Audi/VW training class, you don't know sh!t. Furthermore, if you dig around, somebody is compiling information on timing belt failures. I hope the information in that compilation is eventually made public, but right now, it's hard for even us to find. Add your data to the compilation, and email the owner. See what you can contribute to making the information more visible/accessible. Keep your receipts for the repair. I do think, someday, that Audi will end up making restitution for this one.

[JogJog]

[ModifiedA4]

90% of those failures happen between 60-100k miles. easily.

[JogJog]

[JogJog]