What's gone wrong? What hasn't!
A2 1.4 petrol – 23,000 miles, purchased new November 2001
• Repeated engine management system warnings since new - the first within a couple of weeks of purchase. On one of these occasions the engine stalled causing the power steering and then the servo brakes to fail whilst my daughter (at the time a learner driver) was driving down a steep hill! Luckily a major accident was avoided. No fault found by dealer.
• 11/03/05 Fault logged for central convenience control unit, required new unit 17770 miles – Cost £327.22
• 30/11/05 Failure of EGR sensor at 19917 miles - Cost £262.45
• Three weeks later 21/12/05 failure of lambda probe at 19989 miles – Cost £350.96
• An oil level that is impossible to check because of the design of the dipstick. Audi Dealer could not get a reading either, so within the first year of ownership the whole dipstick assembly was changed on this car to try and improve matters – it didn’t and it is still not possible to check the oil level. Dealer advised us to keep a careful eye on the low oil warning light!
• Headlights that fill up with condensation in cold weather and still continue to do so after dealer attention.
• Alloy wheels that have corroded under the surface lacquer despite being religiously looked after and never having been kerbed. For this Audi UK finally (and reluctantly) contributed £200 in Audi vouchers as a ‘goodwill gesture’.
• The rear (drum) brakes make a grinding noise first thing in the morning - dealer unable to fix this.
• A door speaker failed. My car has only two speakers anyway and the sound quality has never been great
• The plastic skin peeled off the handbrake lever requiring it to be replaced, twice.
• The side indicator light housings have clips that have broken causing the indicator to fall out.
• The rear number plate light assembly had to be replaced as the fixing screws had pulled through the plastic.
• Various creaks, groans and buzzing noises in the cabin.
• Poor torque from the 1.4 petrol engine that sounds more like a diesel than many diesels.
• Finally - 26.07.06 - mileage 21824 - anti roll bar sleeve had to be replaced - £370
Strangely, despite its appalling reliability record my wife still quite likes it!