1998 Audi A4 Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors) Problems

“My heater recently quit blowing hot air. The vehicle has 75k000 miles and is less than 5 years old. I am told it is the heater core. This seems odd as a heater core should never go bad over a 5 year period. The labor is 14 hours or about $1,200. Then, I was made aware than the Audi dealer stocks heater cores. This seems even more odd as it should not be happening enough for the dealer to want to stock the part. I have had other things go wrong on the car and they almost never stock the part. This leads me to believe that this happens and awful lot. …”

“Upon starting vehicle the ignition gets stuck in the crank position. Whenever this happens windshield wipers stop working. Vehicle had not been repaired because the vehicle was not on recall 00v317000.”

“The contact owns a 1998 Audi A4. The contact stated that the windshield wipers failed three times within three years. The dealer stated that the windshield wiper motor failed. The wipers were repaired; however, the motor failed again in 2007 and 2008. The motor was replaced each time at the cost of $496. The failure and current mileages were less than 98,000.”

“In march 2003, the oil warning light came on. Dealer diagnosed a faulty sensor that was replaced for $300. In june 2003, the oil warning light again came on. This time it was diagnosed as a faulty oil pump that was replaced at $900. In september 2003 the engine overheated. Diagnosis: faulty thermostat and sensor. Replacement cost $750. Also, washer fluid container cracked and hand brake lever handle cracked (at different times) -- both made of cheap qualtiy plastic.”

“Pumps are made of hard brittle plastic which fails in heat/cold engine bay. Cracks in the pump body allow the washer fluid to drain (suddenly) leaving no ability to clear the windshield of bugs/salt. Dealer reports that this is a very common problem and keeps a ready supply of replacements on hand. However cost ($60) of parts and difficulty of access (1hr disassembly/reassembly, $80+) makes this an expensive failure. I believe a price concession should be offered for out-of-warranty failures at less than reasonable life failures.”