Defective 2004 AudiA8 L(emon)

A further update is in order:

My defective 2004 Audi A8 L(emon) has now been out-of-service since it disappeared into the shop at Prestige Imports (Miami, FL) on 7/17/03. A total of two weeks!

I am now informed that the dealer has finally obtained missing repair parts and intends to turn the car back over to me tomorrow after a road test.

So far, in 8 weeks of leasing and paying for this vehicle, I have not had one full week (or even three consecutive days) without some failure or other. I am, therefore, pretty skeptical about having "all" my "concerns" (read factory-defects) "cured."

I will report further equipment failures on my defective 2004 Audi A8 L(emon) as they occur. Other owners of defective 2004 Audi A8 L(emon)s, please reply on or off group. I am interested in exchanging information about Audi of America's policies with regard to owners denied the reasonable use of their vehicles due to excessive downtime and parts availability.

Reply to
David deForrest
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Forgive me. No one is as bored with this saga as I am.

I always assumed it would only be of interest to someone either stuck with one of these dogs or to someone about to blunder into the swamp and purchase one. To anyone without direct involvement with a defective 2004 Audi A8 L(emon) it's just another story about dumb jerk who got a lemon from Audi.

Reply to
David deForrest

Hey - that's exactly what this group is for. Please continue with the updates David. Your taking the trouble to share the problems you are experiencing is much appreciated (by some at least!)

Reply to
Paul

Much appreciated? For the competition maybe. However, I think it is of interest from a technical point of view for as long as we realize lemons are exceptions that confirm the rule: under normal conditions most cars should be hassle free. Otherwise we wouldn't be talking about lemons, but a failed concept. None of us would enjoy going through David's bitter experience, and I can understand his anger towards this whole incident, but it won't prevent me from ordering an A8 4.2 SWB (EU version) in a few months, when most "immaturity" bugs are fixed. And it's not just about it being the sexiest sedan currently available...

John

Reply to
zenith red

Don't be a nitwit - nobody has asked him to cease, and it serves the general good to document this saga.

But it doesn't serve anyone to constantly generate new threads to do it. It won't score any extra points with anyone, it'll just piss people off and our poor victim will indeed lose support over time.

Pick >Hey - that's exactly what this group is for. Please continue with the

Reply to
daytripper

"David deForrest" skrev i melding news:HejVa.5711$ snipped-for-privacy@fe01.atl.webusenet.com... > My defective 2004 Audi A8 L(emon) has now been out-of-service since it

Here in my country, a so-called "lemon" is commonly referred to as a "mandagsbil" or "Monday car" ( = made on a Monday). This is because supposedly not all auto workers are quite up to it after a weekend, after two days of leisure and partying, or that they are generally feeling down on Mondays after a nice weekend. Therefore they do not perform at their best on Mondays, and easily make a few "Monday cars" with some faults. This is also called "the Monday disease" or "blue Monday" ("blåmandag"), meaning "the day after the night before", or "hangover day", a very bad day indeed................ So, a "lemon" is therefore a "Monday car". We do not use the term "lemon" ("sitron") at all about cars or other faulty products. And BTW, absolutely all auto manufacturers make "lemons" once in a while, you know, absolutely all of them. Well, maybe not the Japanese ones, but still...............If you are unlucky, you may occasionaly buy one, shit happens. And again, BTW, maybe some of you still remember the old smash hit from the 80s from the Irish "punk" or "new wave" rock group the Boomtown Rats, with (Sir) Bob Geldof (also known at least here in Europe from Band Aid) as their lead singer? The Boomtown Rats did not like Mondays, either (the song was supposedly based on a true story, probably from the US?). Oh well, if not, never mind.................. But never ever buy a car or anything else for that matter made on a Monday, just to be on the safe side.......... Better to be safe than sorry.................. Have you all checked your own cars?? That might just be the cause of all your worries..........

Reply to
Inger Skramstad Jørstad
192 miles... how did they manage to justify such an "excursion"? If you keep experiencing unresolved problems, just complain to Audi AG in Germany and stick to it until you get a satisfactory solution. On a more prosaic note, what's the car's color?

John

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Reply to
zenith red

Hi David,

Yes. And again it seems that Audi is suffering from it's biggest drawback: Dealerships.

Reading your posts i can understand your frustration.

I would not worry in this case. As long as the headlights are not on this sound just tells you you have left the switch to "on" or "auto". Same thing by design in my A6.

As it should.

As it should.

Oh, so you mean the headlights were "OFF" and the alarm sounded?

I would not be surprised about that as Auto is a possible "ON".

What exactly does the owners manual state? What is the default behaviour in detail?

Is it not behaving like it should according to the manual or is it not behaving according to what you would expect it to do?

Btw. I would anyway not have the headlights on auto all the time. But that's my 2 cents.

Wolfgang

Reply to
Wolfgang Pawlinetz

Ahhh there lies your problem

Audi 2004 must be a pre-release version or Beta and you may need to install a service pack soon :-)

Liam

Reply to
Liam

It would be funny if he says "yellow"... I also appreciate the thread. I like to know about these kinds of problems. He should complain to the regional Audi distributor, the US headquarters and NHTSA

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Reply to
Robert La Ferla

Let's hope he never sees the "blue screen of death"...

Reply to
Robert La Ferla

(Snipped facts of headlight sensor failures.)

It sounds to me like you have *one* problem with this car and it's questionable in my mind whether it would even satisfy your state's (or any state's) 'Lemon Law' requirements. I know it wouldn't here. I find myself wondering why you let a perfectly serviceable vehicle sit in a dealership while waiting for parts. Can you not drive it only during the day? If you must drive it at night, can the dealer not set the lights in a 'failure mode' that won't glare into oncoming drivers' eyes? Did you even ask? Failing that, I'd probably have slapped a couple strips of strategically-placed duct tape (The Handyman's Friend) on the lenses to block the offending rays while allowing sufficient light to drive at night. At least that way, you can explain your tale of woe to many more others, as they ask.

I'd certainly ask what the hell they were doing. Headlights and adjustment sensors could be tested sitting in the shop (well, with a little bouncing on the bumpers ...).

You know, if a problem can't be reproduced, it's damn hard to analyze how it's happening. Think about it.

Sorry to sound unsympathetic, but non-adjusting headlights that have to be manually turned off ain't exactly the end of the world. There are still people in the world who do that stuff manually!

-- C.R. Krieger (The Jag's lights work ...)

Reply to
C.R. Krieger

lol, you don't seriously expect him to drive a 2004 A8L with duct tape on his lights, do you?? :)

Reply to
Dave

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