David deForrest

A further update is in order:

My defective 2004 Audi A8 L(emon) has now been out-of-service since it
disappeared into the shop at Prestige Imports (Miami, FL) on 7/17/03. A
total of two weeks!

I am now informed that the dealer has finally obtained missing repair parts
and intends to turn the car back over to me tomorrow after a road test.

So far, in 8 weeks of leasing and paying for this vehicle, I have not had
one full week (or even three consecutive days) without some failure or
other. I am, therefore, pretty skeptical about having "all" my "concerns"
(read factory-defects) "cured."

I will report further equipment failures on my defective 2004 Audi A8
L(emon) as they occur. Other owners of defective 2004 Audi A8 L(emon)s,
please reply on or off group. I am interested in exchanging information
about Audi of America's policies with regard to owners denied the reasonable
use of their vehicles due to excessive downtime and parts availability.

David deForrest

Forgive me. No one is as bored with this saga as I am.

I always assumed it would only be of interest to someone either stuck with
one of these dogs or to someone about to blunder into the swamp and purchase
one. To anyone without direct involvement with a defective 2004 Audi A8
L(emon) it's just another story about dumb jerk who got a lemon from Audi.

"daytripper" <day_trippr@REMOVEyahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1ihbiv4lhatfgjjfio302lssuugfqggagp@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 28 Jul 2003 20:40:42 -0400, "David deForrest"
<buybeach@buybeach.com>
> wrote:
>
> >A further update is in order:
>
> <yawn>
>
> Is this movie playing again??

Paul

Hey - that's exactly what this group is for. Please continue with the
updates David. Your taking the trouble to share the problems you are
experiencing is much appreciated (by some at least!)


"daytripper" <day_trippr@REMOVEyahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1ihbiv4lhatfgjjfio302lssuugfqggagp@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 28 Jul 2003 20:40:42 -0400, "David deForrest"
<buybeach@buybeach.com>
> wrote:
>
> >A further update is in order:
>
> <yawn>
>
> Is this movie playing again??

zenith red

Much appreciated? For the competition maybe. However, I think it is of
interest from a technical point of view for as long as we realize lemons are
exceptions that confirm the rule: under normal conditions most cars should
be hassle free. Otherwise we wouldn't be talking about lemons, but a failed
concept. None of us would enjoy going through David's bitter experience, and
I can understand his anger towards this whole incident, but it won't prevent
me from ordering an A8 4.2 SWB (EU version) in a few months, when most
"immaturity" bugs are fixed. And it's not just about it being the sexiest
sedan currently available...

John


"Paul" <newsgroups1_5@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:6vwVa.1069$2u.657063@newsfep1-win.server.ntli.net...
> Hey - that's exactly what this group is for. Please continue with the
> updates David. Your taking the trouble to share the problems you are
> experiencing is much appreciated (by some at least!)

daytripper

Don't be a nitwit - nobody has asked him to cease, and it serves the general
good to document this saga.

But it doesn't serve anyone to constantly generate new threads to do it. It
won't score any extra points with anyone, it'll just **** people off and our
poor victim will indeed lose support over time.

Pick one thread and stick to it...

On Tue, 29 Jul 2003 16:36:42 +0100, "Paul" <newsgroups1_5@hotmail.com> wrote:

>Hey - that's exactly what this group is for. Please continue with the
>updates David. Your taking the trouble to share the problems you are
>experiencing is much appreciated (by some at least!)
>
>
>"daytripper" <day_trippr@REMOVEyahoo.com> wrote in message
>news:1ihbiv4lhatfgjjfio302lssuugfqggagp@4ax.com.. .
>> On Mon, 28 Jul 2003 20:40:42 -0400, "David deForrest"
><buybeach@buybeach.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >A further update is in order:
>>
>> <yawn>
>>
>> Is this movie playing again??
>

Inger Skramstad Jørstad

"David deForrest" <buybeach@buybeach.com> skrev i melding
news:HejVa.5711$R43.272@fe01.atl2.webusenet.com...
> My defective 2004 Audi A8 L(emon) has now been out-of-service since it


Here in my country, a so-called "lemon" is commonly referred to as a
"mandagsbil" or "Monday car" ( = made on a Monday). This is because
supposedly not all auto workers are quite up to it after a weekend, after
two days of leisure and partying, or that they are generally feeling down on
Mondays after a nice weekend. Therefore they do not perform at their best on
Mondays, and easily make a few "Monday cars" with some faults. This is also
called "the Monday disease" or "blue Monday" ("blåmandag"), meaning "the day
after the night before", or "hangover day", a very bad day
indeed................ So, a "lemon" is therefore a "Monday car". We do not
use the term "lemon" ("sitron") at all about cars or other faulty products.
And BTW, absolutely all auto manufacturers make "lemons" once in a while,
you know, absolutely all of them. Well, maybe not the Japanese ones, but
still...............If you are unlucky, you may occasionaly buy one,
happens. And again, BTW, maybe some of you still remember the old smash hit
from the 80s from the Irish "punk" or "new wave" rock group the Boomtown
Rats, with (Sir) Bob Geldof (also known at least here in Europe from Band
Aid) as their lead singer? The Boomtown Rats did not like Mondays, either
(the song was supposedly based on a true story, probably from the US?). Oh
well, if not, never mind.................. But never ever buy a car or
anything else for that matter made on a Monday, just to be on the safe
side.......... Better to be safe than sorry.................. Have you all
checked your own cars?? That might just be the cause of all your
worries..........

zenith red

192 miles... how did they manage to justify such an "excursion"? If you keep
experiencing unresolved problems, just complain to Audi AG in Germany and
stick to it until you get a satisfactory solution. On a more prosaic note,
what's the car's color?

John


"David deForrest" <buybeach@buybeach.com> wrote in message
newsWUVa.422$GN6.27@fe01.atl2.webusenet.com...
> The following update should be of interest only to persons who are
thinking
> of purchasing one of these vehicles or who have some kind of ongoing
problem
> with Audi. Anyone who is bored with this topic (I am, for one, but
> unfortunately am "stuck" so far) please just stop reading.
>
[...]
>
> As dropped off, tank full, 531 miles.
>
> As returned, tank empty (the out-of-gas light came on within a block of
the
> dealership) and 723 miles. That's a heck of a test drive. 192 miles!
>
[...]

Wolfgang Pawlinetz

Hi David,

> 7/29/03: 5:40 PM
>
> Picked up my 2004 Audi A8 L(emon) this afternoon at Prestige Motors
> afternoon of 7/29/03.
>
> As dropped off, tank full, 531 miles.
>
> As returned, tank empty (the out-of-gas light came on within a block of the
> dealership) and 723 miles. That's a heck of a test drive. 192 miles!

Yes. And again it seems that Audi is suffering from it's biggest
drawback: Dealerships.

Reading your posts i can understand your frustration.

> I had the car's headlights set on "automatic" mode. It was daylight, around
> 5:40 PM. I parked the car, set the parking brake and turned of the ignition
> and withdrew the key. When I opened the driver's door the "headlights-on"
> warning tone sounded (although there was no indication on the dashboard
> relating to headlights and they did not, in fact, actually appear to be on.

I would not worry in this case. As long as the headlights are not on
this sound just tells you you have left the switch to "on" or "auto".
Same thing by design in my A6.

> I closed the door and the alarm stopped. I opened the door again, the alarm
> sounded.

As it should.

> I re-started the car and turned it off and opened the driver's door. The
> alarm came on.

As it should.

> I switched the headlight control to off, no change.

Oh, so you mean the headlights were "OFF" and the alarm sounded?

> I put it back on
> "Automatic", no change.

I would not be surprised about that as Auto is a possible "ON".

What exactly does the owners manual state? What is the default behaviour
in detail?

Is it not behaving like it should according to the manual or is it not
behaving according to what you would expect it to do?

Btw. I would anyway not have the headlights on auto all the time. But
that's my 2 cents.

Wolfgang

Liam

Ahhh there lies your problem

Audi 2004 must be a pre-release version or Beta and you may need to install
a service pack soon

Liam

"David deForrest" <buybeach@buybeach.com> wrote in message
news:HejVa.5711$R43.272@fe01.atl2.webusenet.com...
> A further update is in order:
>
> My defective 2004 Audi A8 L(emon) has now been out-of-service since it
> disappeared into the shop at Prestige Imports (Miami, FL) on 7/17/03. A
> total of two weeks!
>
> I am now informed that the dealer has finally obtained missing repair
parts
> and intends to turn the car back over to me tomorrow after a road test.
>
> So far, in 8 weeks of leasing and paying for this vehicle, I have not had
> one full week (or even three consecutive days) without some failure or
> other. I am, therefore, pretty skeptical about having "all" my "concerns"
> (read factory-defects) "cured."
>
> I will report further equipment failures on my defective 2004 Audi A8
> L(emon) as they occur. Other owners of defective 2004 Audi A8 L(emon)s,
> please reply on or off group. I am interested in exchanging information
> about Audi of America's policies with regard to owners denied the
reasonable
> use of their vehicles due to excessive downtime and parts availability.
>
>
>
>
>

Robert La Ferla

zenith red wrote:

> On a more prosaic note, what's the car's color?

It would be funny if he says "yellow"... I also appreciate the thread.
I like to know about these kinds of problems. He should complain to
the regional Audi distributor, the US headquarters and NHTSA
(http://www.nhtsa.gov)