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Audi TT Problems and Solutions
I bought my 2000 TT two months ago and have had it in the shop for two weeks--all within the last three weeks actually. Three weeks ago I needed a new ignition coil. One week ago the water pump needed to be replaced. Neither problem was serious, but one left me stranded far from home and both have taken the car out of my hands for long stretches. Despite the beautiful design and impressive performance, I do not recommend this car. In fact, I want to tell as many people as possible to avoid the car.
Lladnar
Lladnar
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1) Gas leak - turned out seal went on fuel lead from plastic tank. Lucky car did not go boom.
2) Mirrors shakin like grandma w/too much caffeine.
3) Unlock car, get in, car turns over but does not start. Realize dash lights not on. Call towing, in the meantime disconnect neg battery cable (with borrowed wrench). Seems everything resets and off we go.
4) 10 days later #3 happens again.
5) Same day as #4, driving on interstate @about 85. Flash car in front of me, split second everything shuts down and powers back up. What the ...? Hour later roll down window, happens again.
Get home, click lock on key and .... nothing. Click unlock, nothing. Open door, not only no dash lights, overhead lights out too. Complete system shut down. Oh well, decide I'll get it towed in the morning. Need to lock car, do it manually for first time with key in door. Forgot something inside, unlock door, open and viola! All lights come on! System back up!
Took it to the dealer today. Nothing recorded on car's computer. They can't/won't do anything.
This car's problems remind me of my old Opel GT.
Oh well, part of a sports car charm. An expensive sports car.
The car has been in service 16 TIMES- 11 times for the same problem! In August the car was leaking gas-took 3 times to get that fixed, then when I am stopped the rpms will go from about 6-12 and the car will feel like it was going to stall. Service told me the cause was everything imaginable but it never got fixed so I continued to bring it back in to try to get it fixed. Service finally told me about the coil problems and I thought that finally the car would be fixed-- well after the coils were replaced the car has been in 3 times. Just got it back today after the main computer, which was already replaced, was reprogrammed! I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Still love the car--just wonder how many more times it is going to go in for service???
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Share your vehicle reviews
My questions are: I
Is this a good/ok price?
Is this a reliable car?
What surprises can I expect?
Can anybody tell me what Audit did to get the output from 180 hp to 225 hp for the new cars? Just freer flowing exhaust )two tail pipes and other chip for engine management (higher rpm, and torque curve in a higher range)?
Would any of you about there buy this car? It has all the options, Xenon, heated seats, disc changer, etc.
Please advise! Thanks a million for all your friendly help out there!
2001 TT convertible, base ball inside, black outside... big engine, the whole bit.
The fuel guage has NEVER worked. If it wasn't for the digital count down, I wouldn't know when to put in gas...
51k miles: NEW engine. Now, I'm happy they gave me a new engine for $50, since it was under warranty, but they had the car for 4 months to do it... why in the heck would I need a new engine? Audi service says "we don't know".
56k miles: Blowing smoke and back fireing like crazy. Audi service says "can't find anything wrong".
57k miles: Oil light (looks like a genie lamp) comes on, flashes. Audi servce says "needs oil". Needs oil? How could a brand new engine need oil in 6k miles?
57.5k miles: Temp light on and blinking. Audi service says "bone dry. no coolent at all, no leaks , no cracks... no idea where the coolent went, but it's bone dry".
... ok...
58k miles: Oil light flashing again. Audi service says "no oil" this time. Where's the oil? Audi says: "don't know. bone dry, just like the damned coolent. No leaks, no puddles under the car... just all the oil is missing".
First nice day in northing east, I put the top down, hit the button for my glass wind screen to come up, nothing happens. Audi service says "it's broke, needs a $1500 part, not covered under warranty". So, I bought a big time expensive option, and it's not covered when it brakes. I ask Audi, well, how did it break, it's been down all winter? Standard Audi answer "I don't know".
Don't even get me started about the tires...
Now I can't get my glove box open.
Marcib: to answer your question re; burning oil. I smell it and see it too. These cars suck.
purchased new 2002 180 hp coupe June 02
first week fuel leaked out. In shop 20 some days replaced cracked fuel tank, and fuel lines
engine coils cracked first winter (before the coils were recalled so more time in shop)
electric problems began within first year. Hard to start, battery replaced twice. Service engine light came on and dealer just turned it off. Final electric repair was over a year ago (after a third letter to the manufacturer to repurchase my car) and it has been running since. I do not believe the instrument cluster was replaced in the last repair but I need to check my paperwork tonight since there is so much info in this forum about that. Currently it takes 3-4 times and a lot of revving to turn the car over when starting and the window movement is erratic. This AM I took it in to repair a tire and I'm told by my rear brakes are completely worn and would not pass inspection. I have less than 20,000 miles on the car and have never had problems with brakes (so I know it's not my driving habbits).
I've only seen one post about brakes from Aceduce57. Did your brakes wear down? What was the outcome? Anyone else out there with brakes that wore out fast? It's all so unbelievable for a car so pricey. But I think this forum has been extremely helpful and I'm going to persist in getting the car repurchased. What a painful procedure!
Thanks for any input, Debbie
2002 TT roadster fwd with 37,000 mi last month .. there have been a few minor problems that I resolved with dealer with relative ease. Judging from some of these posts, I feel really lucky so far. That being said, a curious thing I wanted to bring to you more experienced owners that I noticed the other day was a half inch mashed section just along edge of one of my wheels with a small crack down
the inside of the spoke. I haven't hit any curbs or potholes and cannot figure out where this came from... or even, if it is safe to be driving on ?? Anyone have any ideas or info on such an occurance? Could it be from driving on rough roads?? I am still getting acquainted with this car and have been driving very carefully! any info is greatly appreciated, thx! gina
The new rotors are drilled. Are drilled rotors factory standard?
The brakes are making a "ticking" noise at all speeds and a "whirling" noise
(like a turbo winding down) once the speed is down to about 30 up to a complete stop.
I guess my point is...don't purchase a TT if you're not prepared to treat it the way you should treat any sports car...with care and with a thick wallet.
I have also had to have the power steering arm replaced and the CD player. Still have a slight hesitation and noise when trying to accelerate sharply from the light. Other than that no other real issues. Thank God... Still wish I would have bought the Vette, though this car is an eye catcher, if that is what you want. I drive autobahns in Germany so I'm looking to get from one place to another quickly, in style and in comfort. Think the defects are purely from the cheap Hungarian labor and lack of quality control by Audi. I have almost 70,000 miles and it is 30 months old.
I have recently had a few problems with the car being unresponsive - the diagnostics has produced a 9 pg error report!! - big problems with the injectors and engine manifold. It appears there is a problem with the settings and the garage are waiting for a new CD to set the car after replacing part. There is obviously a problem here so those luckily enough to have a 3.2 V6 DSG watch out at 30,000 miles.
I was surprised to read all the problems that some people have had with there 225's. Before my 3.2 V6 DSG I had a 225 1999 model that went back to Germany following the inital bad press and was made up to a 2000 spec - sold the car at 60,0000miles + and had no problems.
I agree the TT's are hungrey on tyres well I suppose it depends whether you drive the TT how it's meant to be - well thats my excuse and sticking to it. Anyway if you want something that sticks like glue in all weathers gives and wonderful quiet then Pirelli P Zero's it has to be and believe me I have had more tyres on my TT's then my credit cards would like. The P Zeros are soft so you do get through them fairly quickly under 20,000 miles however are well worth it yeah!
I'm posting this so to let others know the problems I've run across with my TT.
Before getting into too much detail, I still like my car! Its 5 years old and people
still ask me if its new.
I currently have just under 80K miles and I do ~85% of my driving on freeways. I
do not drive my car hard anymore (but used to for the first 20K or so).
List of problems in no particular order (mostly as I remembered them):
1) If you let the car sit in the garage/driveway for more than 48 hours, you need
to turn the key twice in the ignition to get it to start
2) Battery failed - was replaced under warranty. Apparently this is a very expensive
battery because it is filled with gel or something in order to survive the amount of
engine vibrations it experiences. Had to be special ordered because there were
none available where I lived.
3) The auto up/down feature of the window when you open/close the door stopped
working for a while. Eventually it started working again... Never root caused. But
I have a hunch as to why. The trunk hatch has two feet which mate with two
cavities in the car body. My son (without my knowledge) dumped part of a nilla
wafer in one of those cavities one day. I didn't notice it because the trunk was
closing just fine. The day I found the bits of cookie and removed them was the
day the windows started working again... Weird huh?
4) Fuel gauge reads more than 1/4 full when car is empty... Apparently this is a
very common problem and requires the entire instrument cluster to be replaced.
Oh well, guess I'll be living with this one. At least the distance till empty reading
is accurate on the trip computer.
5) At around 45K mi, the temp gauge starts reading high. Used to point exactly
vertical during operation. Now its typical position is halfway between vertical and
the next mark to the right. Also, when first purchased, the max the temp gauge
ever reached was one mark to the right of vertical (under extreme heavy driving).
Now, with regular freeway driving, the temp will get as high as the 2nd to the
right of vertical. When this happens, the AC cuts out (I expect that this is a safety
feature).
6) 20K miles on OEM tires (and how expensive are they!?!? oh my!). Next set of
tires (non-OEM) actually lasted 55K so am happy about that.
7) Burns oil at about 1qt ever 5K to 8K miles. Before 50K miles, the car didn't
burn any oil at all.
8) When you turn the car on, sometimes the tachometer pegs itself all the way
to the left (further left than when the car is off). It then corrects after 2 to 3
seconds.
9) One horizontal line of trip computer display no longer works. Entire top left of
trip computer display fades to black when temperature outside is hot.
10) Check engine light came on twice. First for something called a crossover
valve failure, the second time I think it was the mass air flow sensor. Both under
warranty and replaced without question.
11) Windshield breaks easily when hit by a rock thrown up by cars in front. Have
now had the windshield replaced 3 times. The first time, they had to special order
it from Europe. The windshield alone cost over $1000, not including labor. The
last windshield cost about $500 including labor so prices are going down.
12) Headlight power washer nozzles popped out (each headlight has a pop-up
power washer with two nozzles on it. Each washer has lost one nozzle. Dealer says
they must replace entire pop-up device instead of just the nozzle itself... Seems
costly, I am living with this one). Plus, parts have to be special ordered.
13) Shocks and brakes needed to be special ordered... Do you sense a theme
about replacements yet... Can I repeat... Needs to be special ordered.
14) Felt linings on handles on back of rear seats fell off.
15) Little compartment where the first aid kit is opens on its own for no particular
reason. I just reach back and close it. A few thousand miles later, it will open up
again.
16) In parking lots, they have those concrete bumpers so you don't drive too far
forward... There was one that had a piece of metal sticking a couple of inches up
out of it. Well, drove over the piece of metal no problem going forward, but when
reversed back, it pulled on the front bumper just a little bit (no damage to bumper).
Underneath the car is a large plastic plate covering the entire engine area. This
plate fell out a few days later but was still partially attached so it dragged on the
ground for a while. I was able to put it back on myself.
17) So far, only one flat tire.
18) There are two low oil displays... One for when you should add oil, another for
"stop driving now!". The more severe one just came on one day. I shut the car off
and checked the oil, it was a bit low but not that low (see oil burning note above).
Turned the car back on and the light did not come back on.
to my mind.
I did forget too mention one other problem. There is now a slight whistling of air
through the drivers side window when it is fully up. When going through car
washes, a slight mist of water gets into the car through that window. This is new
within the last 5K miles.
My wife and I are planning on buying a minivan soon and I have to make a
decision about which car to trade in. Either the very-reliable-but-bland-looking
Honda Accord with ~130K miles or the somewhat-problematic-but-very-cool-looking
Audi TT with ~80K miles. Choices choices. I am having a very hard time
deciding. If I trade in the Audi, I think I'll regret it later on. Then again, if only I were
able to look 40K miles into the future!
according to my local Audi dealer there is no problem with the airbags, its just a fault on a electronic unit called a ECU ( i think thats what he called it ! ) . anyway to replace this unit just to turn the light out on the dash is either £250 or £560 depending on which one the car has fitted ! HELP !
I think I have a similar problem to you. I'm a UK owner of an early TT and find the car is extremely hesitant when it's cold and ticks over a bit lumpy for a few minutes. It also 'lurches' along slightly. This is only for the first mile and then as soon as is warms up things are fine. Audi delaer can't find out what is wrong, computer readings are fine. Have even left it with them for a cold start and they still can't trace it. Have had a new air mass meter and now a coolant temperature sensor all to no avail. Have you any more news on what your problem is?
Regards
Jason Harris
Thanks,
Chris
For the tires that went 55K miles, I was using Goodyear Eagle RS-A. But... They had a lower speed rating than the OEM tires and I wasn't using the stock size (225/45R17) that came with the car (and unfortunately, I don't remember the size anymore). I didn't notice any performance difference other than that the Goodyears were noisier on the road (and my speedometer wasn't totally accurate which may be a problem considering your prior tickets
Hope this helps,
-Jon
bad cluster, replaced twice (extended warranty)
faulty radio, replaced (extended warranty)
wrong fuel guage reading, fixed (extended waranty)
peeling upholstery, fixed (not covered by warranty)
burnt out headlight fixed (not covered by warranty)
Things I still have but not fixed:
rattling with interior moulding on rear window
side view mirror that does not heat up (not covered by extended warranty)
I have a "popping sound" too that's coming from underneath the car somewhere as I switch from first to second gear. Any ideas what this could be? I took to the dealership, but they had no idea. Thanks.
according to my local Audi dealer there is no problem with the airbags, THANKS :confuse:
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks!!
David G.
My reason for visiting the forum is that I am currently having an overheating problem. My excellent repair shop has gone down the trouble resolution path replacing the sensor that activates the cooling fans and putting in a new thermostat. He was about to replace the water pump, when I started overheating and called on the owner who I have known for 15+ years. He worked on it and found hydrocarbons in the antifreeze. Looks like a had gasket or cracked head.
Anyone else have this type of experience with their TT. If so, did you have a similar problem.
Anyone with those problems?
Thanks!
I'm trying to make a decision here regarding the RACK system for my 2001 TT Roadster. I wondered if ANYONE out there has used the EXPENSIVE - $1000.00 trunk rack that Audi sells? It's nice looking, good for luggage and skis. But the Audi dealer here in Portland has only sold 1 or 2 since the Roadster came out!!! So, no real history or advice as to how well it works. I'm not worried about permanency on my car, just something nice looking and functional to haul my [non-permissible content removed] and my skis to the mountain!
Thank you!!
~ maree
rob
Thanks,
Chintan Talati
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