1998 Audi A4 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

AFTER DRIVING IN RAIN, FOOT WILL SINK ON BRAKE PEDAL AS IF HYDRAULIC FLUID IS GONE AND STOPPING FORCE IS GONE UNTIL RE-APPLYING FOOT TO BRAKE PEDAL 2ND-3RD TIME. *AK

THE WET BRAKING IS HORRIBLE ON THIS CAR. IF YOU ARE DRIVING IN THE RAIN, IT TAKES 2 SECONDS FOR THE ROTORS TO DRY OUT. I HAVE ALWAYS HAD CARS WITH 4 WHEEL DISCS AND HAVE NEVER SEEN A CAR THAT LOSES ITS BRAKES SO EASILY. THE CAR BRAKES *GREAT* IN THE DRY AND WHEN THE ROADS ARE WET, BUT WHEN IT IS RAINING ENOUGH TO WET THE ROTORS, ALL DRIVERS WITH THE STOCK PADS NEED TO BE EXTREMEMLY CAREFUL. I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS PART OF THE PROBLEM, BUT THERE IS NO SPASH SHIELD BEHIND THE ROTOR. I DON'T WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE OF THIS AND FELT LIKE I SHOULD REPORT IT. I DO KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT JUST HAPPENING TO ME, BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT THE DEALER WANTS US TO THINK. I HAVE HEARD THAT CHANGING THE PADS TO AN AFTERMARKET HELPS, BUT I FEEL AUDI SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT. *AK

BRAKES HESITATE WHEN CONSUMER APPLIES BRAKES & THE PEDAL GOES ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR. BRAKES WILL NOT WORK IN THE COLD WEATHER. *AK

AUDI OF AMERICA HAS LAUNCHED A RECALL CAMPAIGN, LABELLED KU, FOR ITS DEFECTIVE BRAKES. I RECEIVED A FORMAL NOTIFICATION ON OCTOBER 10, 1999. HOEVER, SINCE THEN I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO HAVE THIS RECALL PERFORMED AT ANY AUDI DEALER. SINCE THE RECALL REPRESENTS A SERIOUS DEFECT AND POTENTIAL HAZARD, I SEEK THE NHTSA'S INVOLVEMENT TO HAVE THE RECALL PERFORMED ON MY VEHICLE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. *AK

RECALL 99V131000 CONCERNING BRAKE BOOSTER FAILURE. DEALER HAS NO PARTS SINCE SEPTEMBER, 1999. *AK

IN HEAVY RAIN OR AFTER WASHING CAR BRAKES DO NOT WORK FOR ABOUT 1-2 SECONDS AFTER APPLICATION. IT IS VERY SCARY AND DANGEROUS IMO.

BRAKES DO NOT "GRAB" IN THE WET/RAIN. THERE APPEARS TO BE A ONE TO TWO SECOND DELAY BETWEEN STEPPING ON THE BRAKES AND THE CAR SLOWING DONE. I HAVE NOTICED THIS SAME DELAY, IN DRY WEATHER, AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS OF 50-60 MPH.

PROBLEM IS MAJOR BRAKING DELAY IN RAIN (WORSE WITH HEAVY RAIN). WHEN PUSH ON PEDAL, GET NO BRAKING ACTION FOR 1-3 SECONDS, THEN BRAKES ACT NORMAL. PEDAL FEELS FIRM/NORMAL. SEEMS LIKE THERE IS WATER SHEETING ON THE ROTORS; BRAKES HAVE TO WIPE WATER OFF BEFORE GET ANY BRAKING. THIS IS THE ABSOLUTE WORST CASE OF THIS PHENOMENA I HAVE FELT IN 30 YEARS, 750,000 MILES OF DRIVING. DEALER INFORMED AT ROUTINE SERVICE, COULD FIND NOTHING WRONG.

BRAKES DO NOT WORK IN WET CONDITIONS!

RECALL 99V131000; BRAKE BOOSTER RECALL. DEALER NEEDS TO INSTALL A VACUUM BY-PASS SYSTEM SO THE BRAKING SYSTEM WONT MALFUNCTION. DEALER WON'T SET AN APPOINTMENT UNTIL APRIL 2000, AND VEHICLE IS EXPERIENCING BRAKING PROBLEMS WHICH MAY RESULT IN A CRASH. DEALER CONTACTED, FRAY AUDI, GREENWICH, CT 203-661-1800. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

BRAKES FAILED TO WORK ON HIGHWAY OFF-RAMP DURING HEAVY RAIN. DEPRESSED PEDAL, BUT ALMOST NO BRAKING FORCE. HAD TO VEER BACK INTO INTERSTATE TRAFFIC, ALMOST CAUSING MAJOR CRASH. THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE TO ME, ALWAYS IN WET WEATHER. PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT. USUALLY BRAKES ARE OK IN WET, BUT NOW AND THEN ALMOST COMPLETE FAILURE FOR NO APPARENT REASON, ALWAYS IN WET. BRAKES RETURN AFTER BRIEF APPLICATION. I BELIEVE BRAKES ARE GETTING WET SOMEHOW AND FAILING TO OPERATE UNTIL THEY WARM UP AND DRY OFF, BUT THIS IS JUST A THEORY. THE FAILURES ARE INFREQUENT BUT VERY DRAMATIC AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. OTHER AUDI A4 OWNERS HAVE EXPERIENCED EXACT SAME PROBLEM. DEALERS HAVE NO SOLUTION. PLEASE HELP! THANKS.

RECALL 99V131000, BRAKE BOOSTER: RECALL, WHICH DEALER FRED LAVERY AUDI PORSCHE, 34602 WOODWARD AVENUE, BIRMINGHAM, MI PHONE # 2486455930, CLAIMED HAD NO PARTS AVAILABLE SINCE OCTOBER.COLD SEASON IS COMING UP WHICH COULD CAUSE THE BRAKE BOOSTER TO MALFUNCTION AND CAUSE A CRASH. *AK

MY AUDI HAS WONDERFUL BRAKES IN DRY ROAD CONDITIONS. HOWEVER INITIAL BRAKING IN WET CONDITIONS RESULTS IN A FEW SECONDS OF DIMINISHED BRAKING CAPACITY WHICH ALMOST RESULTED IN AN ACCIDENT. THIS SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN REPORTED BY MANY A4 OWNERS AS INTERNET FORUMS LIKE WWW.A4.ORG HAVE MANY COMPLAINTS SIMILAR TO THIS. PLEASE DO NOT CONFUSE MY OBSERVATION WITH REDUCED BRAKING PERFORMANCE IN WET WEATHER, FOR THIS IS OBVIOUS. THIS CONDITION IS RATHER UNIQUE TO THE AUDI, AS MY WIFE'S '98 HONDA ACCORD V-6 EX DOES NOT EXHIBIT THIS CHARACTERISTIC GIVEN SIMILAR ROAD CONDITIONS. MY AUDI DEALER DID NOT INDICATE THAT MY A4 WAS PART OF ANY BRAKING RECALL CAMPAIGN.

BRAKES DO NOT RESPOND PROPERLY FOR 10-15 FEET WHEN IT IS RAINING, THE WATER THAT GETS ON THE BRAKES EFFECTS THEIR GRIPPING EFFICIENCY. IT'S VERY BAD. *MJS

BRAKES DO NOT APPEAR TO WORK AT ALL FOR 1-2 SECONDS AFTER APPLICATION. THEN THEY WORK WITH REDUCED EFFICIENCY AND FINALLY (AFTER HEATING UP) WORK NORMALLY. IF ONE SIDE DRIES MORE QUICKLY ON APPLYING BRAKES, CAR PULLS SIDE-TO-SIDE LIGHTLY BUT NOTICABLY. I MUST APPLY MY BRAKES REGULARLY TO DRY THEM WHEN IT RAINS AND HAVE IRRITATED DRIVERS BEHIND ME WHO BELIEVE I AM "PLAYING GAMES" WITH THEM. *MJS

DURING OR AFTER RAINING, INITIAL BRAKING HAS NO RESPONSE FOR ABOUT 1 - 2 SECONDS. THEN THE BRAKES SLOWLY BUILD UP FRICTION TO ENGAGE STOPPING POWER. I REALIZE THAT WET ROADS CAUSE SOME BRAKE PERFORMANCE LOSS, BUT THIS EXCEEDS THE NORM. THERE ARE ALSO MANY OTHER A4 OWNER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SAME PROBLEM ON THE A4.ORG FORUMS.

THE BRAKE PEDAL WOULD GO TO THE FLOOR WITH VERY LITTLE BRAKING. YOU COULD PUMP-UP THE PEDAL, BUT IF YOU APPLIED STEADY PRESSURE IT WOULD GO TO THE FLOOR. AT A LIGHT, IF YOU KEPT THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IN DRIVE, THE PDEAL WOULD GO TO TOWARDS THE FLOOR UNTIL THE CAR STARTED TO MOVE FORWARD AT IDLE. THE DEALER COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM HAS NOT REOCCURRED. *AK

BRAKE PERFORMANCE POOR WHEN WET. UNSAFE IN A PANIC STOP

THE BRAKES ON MY CAR ARE VERY SUSPECT IN RAIN OR SNOW CONDITIONS. I DREAD A PANIC STOP. I MUST PRE-APPLY BRAKE PRESSURE IN PLENTY OF TIME TO BE ABLE TO STOP WHEN I NEED TO WHEN IT IS WET OUTSIDE. I DON'T MEAN AFTER DRIVING THROUGH A PUDDLE. I'M TALKING JUST GENERAL WET ROAD CONDITIONS.

ABS SYSTEM WAS UNABLE TO STOP THE CAR FOR 30 FEET, WHILE I KEPT PRESSING THE BRAKES, AS REQUIRED, AND FELT THE VIBRATION. SEVEN FEET BEFORE I WAS ABOUT TO HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME, I RE-APPLIED THE BRAKES ( REMOVED MY FOOT AND BRAKED AGAIN) AND THEN THE CAR STOPPED WITHIN INCHES FROM THE REAR OF THE CAR AHEAD OF ME. ROAD CONDITIONS WERE SLIPPERY. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THAT THIS AUDI A-4 MODEL DOES NOT STOP AT ALL WHEN BRAKES ARE APPLIED CONSISTENTLY, AS REQUIRES UNDER THE ABS SYSTEM