AdiosAudi

My 2004 Audi A8L is nearing its lease-end on Saturday! Quite a relief, as the car has been sitting in the garage since August 2006.

Why?

I was driving along in the rain one day and the wipers stopped. Simply stopped. Switch wouldn't do anything. So I pulled over in the rain and checked the fuse, which was fine. Alas, now the wipers worked again. Cycling the fuse must have reset something.

No big deal, take it to the dealership (Naperville Audi at the time). They didn't see any "error codes", so "nothing is wrong".

A few months later, the same thing happened. Pull over, pull fuse, replace fuse, wipers work. Two weeks after that, I'm passing a semi-truck at highway speeds and the wipers stop. Visibility is instantly zero. I just about put the car in the ditch, but I managed to pull over safely and drive the car home without passing anyone.

This time, the vehicle goes to Napletons in Rockford, IL. Friendly folks, but find nothing wrong. On the next visit, the new Audi Service Manager says they "reset the wiper positions" but still couldn't find anything wrong.

He admits that he's not confident that it's fixed now, but disclaims all liability. The (generally useless) Audi Advocate does the same, over numerous phone calls.

"Yes, we believe you, but we can't fix it because we don't know what's wrong."

I suggested the swap out the wiper control module, switch, motors, etc., but Audi refuses.

For a father of two, this car is no longer safe to drive in the rain. Being out only car, we're forced to purchase a second vehicle. Audi's Service Manager at Napleton's promises to keep an eye open for TSBs.

I check in with him every $3,000 (that's every three months), only one call gets returned. Two weeks ago I ask him about the TSB, which he claims he was "checking every week for wiper issues", after I had to remind him who I was. Nothing new, of course. The car is towed in, because the battery has died in the meantime.

Two weeks ago Tuesday, I drove the car 20 miles. Twice during that time the wipers reset -- stopping in the middle of the windshield, then moving slowly back to "parking position", then starting up again. Clearly, the wipers still aren't working properly.

Throughout all this, no further word from Audi. Two calls to the "Advocate" don't get returned. You'd assume that a car which is clearly not safe to drive in the rain would elicit some sort of response... the only one I got from Napleton's Audi Manager was that while the car was garaged for safety reasons "it didn't rain every day of those last 17 months."

I'm out nearly $18,000 in lease payments, and close to $1,000 in insurance for a car I didn't drive.

After a 2000 A6 4.2, a 2002 A6 4.2 and this 2004 A8L, I'm done with the brand. I'm going to continue pursuing the legal routes available (BBB autoline, lawyers) to get Audi to refund my lease-payments, but I doubt this results in any response.

Now that the gripes are out of the way, the main reason for this post is this --

Should you be looking into buying a used A8L, and find a black 2004, VIN #WAUML44E34N014986, don't buy it.

Should you or a relative get killed while driving the above vehicle in the rain, SUE AUDI. They've been informed this car isn't safe, and there's a paper-trail confirming this.

Good Bye, Audi!

PS: Anyone need winter tires or rubber mats (grey) or a trank mat (black)?

D3AeighT

Since you parked it, why didn't you park it front of the dealership or near-by and make a huge "lemon-type" sign stating your dissatisfaction/issues.

I think gwelch got hers resolved:

https://forums.audiworld.com/a8d3/msgs/45798.phtml<ul><li><a href="http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers/lemonlaw.html">Illinois Lemon Law</a></li></ul>

AdiosAudi

Interesting... someone else with the same problem... yet nobody at Audi presumed to know about it. Seems they don't take safety nearly as serious as you'd hope.

I filed the lemon report with BBB autoline over a year ago. Haven't heard anything back. I assumed it's sitting with Audi. I haven't pursued it as much as I should have due to health issues. In my mind, a $75,000 car should just work. Rain or shine.

I also can't believe they wouldn't just pay a couple of hundred (parts cost to them) to replace the motor, control-unit, etc... because a wrongful death lawsuit is so much more expensive. Nevermind the publicity.

Isn't Mr. Welch a lawyer?

AdiosAudi

I think when I first filed with the BBB, I already read up on the Lemon Law, and it may not have been applicable, as the car was older than 12 months, had not been in the shop for more than 30 days, or more than three times for the same issue. It's only been in three times when they threw their hands in the air and said they couldn't fix it.

I do have the majority of the phone conversations with the the Audi Advocate and the Service Manager recorded. Aside from the ridiculous suggestion not to drive the car in the rain, the Audi Advocate insinuated that I had fabricated this problem in order to be combative.

I might just publish this stuff online until Audi responds... a new hit album, "The best of Diane and Gary".

Mikes2.7T

My 2004 A8L also had this problem with the wipers. I was lucky in that I could get them working again merely by turning the wipers off, then on again.

After two requests for my dealer to fix, I gave up. Their response the same you got (no codes were thrown, didn't happen for us).

My A8 was also leased and was turned in last June. Between the poor service I received from the dealer, and the ridiculous lease pricing for A8's and A6's, Audi lost another customer.

gwelch

instead of searching this forum. I had the exact same issue with my car, so have several other members on this forum. Someone up in Oregon (sorry I don't remember who it was) convinced their dealer to replace the wiper motor &amp; voila! problem fixed. So I marched into my service department, demanded the same ( I had taken it in at least a dozen times with this complaint) and they finally agreed to replace the motor. The wipers have worked flawlessly since then.

Good Luck!

p.s. No, I am not a lawyer, and I am certainly not a Mr... gave me a good laugh though =)

Mister Bally

It would have been back at the dealer with keys enclosed and a note from my lawyer who they could CONtact.

My 2004 (VIN under 700) never has given me wiper problems. 93,000 miles on the Odometer.

Too bad you are leaving Audi with a bitter taste.

khogz

From time to time mine will stop for a brief second or too and then jerkishly start back up again. It doesnt do it everytime, I think two or three times in the past 2 years.

bac2h

I'm interested in the trunk mat and winter tires...shoot me an email

AdiosAudi

Surprising that Audi hasn't caught on to that yet. Sounds like there's almost a "class" there now. Interesting. Someone's gonna get killed, and that's a serious issue.

When it first happened, I did search the forum -- I'm pretty sure I even posted a question here, but no response. This would have been late '04, early '05. This began happening after my A8 windshield cracked spontaneously and was replaced, and I had a bear of a time getting Audi to admit it was their problem.

As for Mr. Welch. I thought there was a related Randy here a while back and you guys had his'n hers A8s. Maybe it's my mind playing tricks on me.