Faults:

Very high oil consumption.

Light bulbs can only be changed by the garage (there are no instructions in the handbook).

General Comments:

The Continuously Variable transmission (CVT) is really smooth; the smoothest ride of any car I have owned whether on the motorway or stop-start driving in town.

The car is well made and reliable (one breakdown in 60,000 miles).

However, having said all that I have never had any other car that needed oil adding between services. The Audi needs oil every one to two weeks. You need to keep a can in the boot for long journeys; that can get messy when it leaks! The oil problem is so bad that I would never buy another Audi until they fix the problem.

Faults:

My husband and I finally purchased our “dream” vehicle, a 2002 Audi A4. This car is beautiful to look at with an exceptional interior and comfortable ride. The problem is that after 55,000 miles, the transmission is defective and Audi will not back its product. Two Audi service centers have checked the vehicle with the same conclusion….the transmission is faulty. The transmission in these vehicles cannot be fixed, but require replacement. The quoted cost from one dealer is between $10,000 and $13,000. Dealer number two quoted a price of $7,800 to take care of the problem. The Audi representative stated the company warranty is up to 50,000 miles. We are extremely disappointed in the lack of backing from Audi. We believed that quality was associated with the Audi product. We are disappointed to state this is not the case. Please be warned that Audi’s CVT Transmissions are defective and unfortunately, the company will not back its product. How regrettable!

Faults:

Check engine light at 42,000 miles (coolant sensor replaced).

Front left turn signal light bulb replaced at 36,000 miles.

Occasional drop-out in front right upper passenger radio speaker. (Turn the volume up to resolve.)

Replaced front driver fog light. This was almost certainly a rock hit.

General Comments:

Excellent acceleration and handling.

Very quiet plush interior, very solid. Incredibly comfortable for long drives.

Gas mileage could be better (20mpg average in mixed street/highway driving) and the car wants a bit more torque.

My right leg rubs against the center column.

Typical German lack of cup-holders.

My wife keeps stealing the car from me so I rarely get to drive it myself. ;-)

Buy it on the Audi Pre-Owned Certified program! It's cheap and the Audi warranty on Pre-Owned cars is better than their warranty on new cars!

Faults:

Since buying it basically new at the dealer the biggest problem has been the driver side window. It has an auto up and down feature. For some reason when the glass gets to the top it comes down again, but only about 2 inches. I had the dealer work on it and they replaced the switch. It worked OK, but now is back again. It still has the warranty to 50,000 miles. I may have them check it again for this problem. The warranty is really good. I pay nothing when I go to the dealer. That's it.

General Comments:

Since owning a 1986 Coupe GT (5speed)

I've been a pretty loyal Audi owner.

I first buy a an A4 1.8T (sport package) on ebay. The buying experience was OK. After that one for a few months the lack of real power was really a pain to drive (I live in Denver, CO average 5500 ft above sea level). In june 2003 I traded it for an A4 3.0 automatic. The acceleration I felt was much better, smoother for me at least. Now I'm finding the V6 to be a little slow as well. I now think it accelerates like a cheap rental, high RPM's and little torque (I need a V8). Again here at altitude I usually have to "floor it" to get around a slower driver. This car like most Audi's I've driven doesn't do well from start, but really shines from say 45mph up thru around 90 mph. I have the automatic transmission and that may not help. That's a whole other story, I hate this transmission. It can be jerky and sluggish. There is also a small delay between pressing the accelerator and the car actually starting to move. Maybe it has an electronic throttle?.

Maybe I need a V8 A6...