Hello all,

I just bought a used 1997 Audi A4 with 200,000 miles on it. The tires are in good shape. The transmission was rebuilt "around 12,000 miles ago." The car runs great! The only problem I, an untrained driver, can see is that my ABS and BREAK dashboard lights stay on. The previous owner says they come on periodically but everything is fine. Should I take my Audi to a dealership and have them switch off the lights or fix the problem?

Also, the car has 200,000 miles on it and I need it to last another 2 years. What maintenance or parts do I need serviced as of now to make sure I can crank another 50,000 miles (TOPS) out of this car?

Thanks a lot for your wisdom.

 

Do you have any kind of maintenence sheet on it? Timing belt is a must, but if he recently did that too then your good.

 

Your ABS control module is bad. All that means is you dont have ABS functionality, and you get to stare at those pretty lights on the dash. You can get the module rebuilt for about $250. Just change the oil on time, dont neglect changing all the other fluids, and remember, a clean car is a happy car. .... (My car is pissed.)

 

#1 find a local shop that does euro cars and stay away from the dealer - get your timing belt changed with all the usual stuff( unless it was done in the last 70k miles) - tensioners and water pump. should cost about $700-800. Other than that, should be fine - keep giving it premium and doing full synthetic oil changes. ABS light might just be a bad sensor - don't worry until it starts to blink - if it really bug you have a tech figure out what the problem is. if you want to be able to see what the problem is purchase a vag-com from ross-tech.com and hook-up a laptop to your car. it might be expensive but will be worth it in the end.

 

ABS light accompanied by the BRAKE light at the same time on a car with that many miles is definately the abs module. Im willing to bet my left nut on it.

 

haha

ok you have to go check now to see if hes wrong

 

All he has to do is go slam on the brakes and feel/hear for the ABS to kick in. Im betting his wheels will lock right up. Be careful doing this, of course. Would be easier to do on wet pavement on an open/deserted/safe road. Or he could get the ecu scanned for fault codes, but thats not as much fun.