My 2004 Audi A8L is nearing its lease-end on Saturday! Quite a relief, as the car has been sitting in the garage since August 2006.

Why?

I was driving along in the rain one day and the wipers stopped. Simply stopped. Switch wouldn't do anything. So I pulled over in the rain and checked the fuse, which was fine. Alas, now the wipers worked again. Cycling the fuse must have reset something.

No big deal, take it to the dealership (Naperville Audi at the time). They didn't see any "error codes", so "nothing is wrong".

A few months later, the same thing happened. Pull over, pull fuse, replace fuse, wipers work. Two weeks after that, I'm passing a semi-truck at highway speeds and the wipers stop. Visibility is instantly zero. I just about put the car in the ditch, but I managed to pull over safely and drive the car home without passing anyone.

This time, the vehicle goes to Napletons in Rockford, IL. Friendly folks, but find nothing wrong. On the next visit, the new Audi Service Manager says they "reset the wiper positions" but still couldn't find anything wrong.

He admits that he's not confident that it's fixed now, but disclaims all liability. The (generally useless) Audi Advocate does the same, over numerous phone calls.

"Yes, we believe you, but we can't fix it because we don't know what's wrong."

I suggested the swap out the wiper control module, switch, motors, etc., but Audi refuses.

For a father of two, this car is no longer safe to drive in the rain. Being out only car, we're forced to purchase a second vehicle. Audi's Service Manager at Napleton's promises to keep an eye open for TSBs.

I check in with him every $3,000 (that's every three months), only one call gets returned. Two weeks ago I ask him about the TSB, which he claims he was "checking every week for wiper issues", after I had to remind him who I was. Nothing new, of course. The car is towed in, because the battery has died in the meantime.

Two weeks ago Tuesday, I drove the car 20 miles. Twice during that time the wipers reset -- stopping in the middle of the windshield, then moving slowly back to "parking position", then starting up again. Clearly, the wipers still aren't working properly.

Throughout all this, no further word from Audi. Two calls to the "Advocate" don't get returned. You'd assume that a car which is clearly not safe to drive in the rain would elicit some sort of response... the only one I got from Napleton's Audi Manager was that while the car was garaged for safety reasons "it didn't rain every day of those last 17 months."

I'm out nearly $18,000 in lease payments, and close to $1,000 in insurance for a car I didn't drive.

After a 2000 A6 4.2, a 2002 A6 4.2 and this 2004 A8L, I'm done with the brand. I'm going to continue pursuing the legal routes available (BBB autoline, lawyers) to get Audi to refund my lease-payments, but I doubt this results in any response.

Now that the gripes are out of the way, the main reason for this post is this --

Should you be looking into buying a used A8L, and find a black 2004, VIN #WAUML44E34N014986, don't buy it.

Should you or a relative get killed while driving the above vehicle in the rain, SUE AUDI. They've been informed this car isn't safe, and there's a paper-trail confirming this.

Good Bye, Audi!

PS: Anyone need winter tires or rubber mats (grey) or a trank mat (black)?

 

hire car/lease car? did they maintain it or was it down to you surly there was a policy for maintenance weather it was to your expense or there's?

 

Damn! That Sux!!
You would think that wiper problems would have had a simple solution.
Thanks for the warning for anyone looking to purchase in the future!!

 

Sucks for you, there almost are no problems with the wiper systems in the A8, so i think you got a bad apple or a "lemon" you might say.

Well if audi isn't your cup of tea, i hope you have better luck with BMW or crap *** Mercedes...[:'(]

 

Ive replace a couple wiper motors with control modulefor problems similar to yours. Every once in a while a steering column electronics module will take a dump as well. Theres also a central electronics module involved in turning on the wipers, along with the switch. So you can see why they cant just replace everything. Its like 2 grand in parts alone. In any case, if i had your concern with your description i would have replaced the wiper motor with control module. Its one piece. Pulling the fuse probably reset the module and made it work again. Sounds like you may have just taken it to the wrong dealers(not blaming you in any way thou. All dealers should be able to repair all cars). Some dealers either dont see the number of cars to become familiar with higher end cars or techs with the skills to repair them. As described earlier, a switch, three control modules, and a motor are all required to make your wipers turn on. Truth in engineering.

 

^^^^^^In conjunction with what he just said, i would estimate that 70% of audi techs accross the US doesn't know what they are doing. Trust me i've gone to school with a lot of these guys, they aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer, but that goes for other high end dealers.
I could have found out the problem to your car quite easily as dankhound could have as well.

 

48 months/50,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty from Audi North America. Dealer just threw his hands in the air and said they couldn't reproduce it. The "Audi Advocate" service (that's Audi NA's term for "we pretend to care") disclaimed all liability for wiper-related accidents, but said the problem doesn't exist, because the dealer can't reproduce it. In essence, they called me a liar.

After posting this same message on AudiWorld, a dozen people came forward with the SAME ISSUE. In fact, Audi DE redesigned the wiper-motor in 2004 (!!) to address this specific problem. There's no excuse for Audi NA not knowing about it, and there are fully responsible for any injury or death occuring because of failing wiper motors.

 

they can be difficult to diagnose but a qualified tech should be able to stress test the wiper motor with simple electronic tools and find out when the voltage peeks which would short it out, personally I would agree with auditech79 and just replace the part ( im into all parts of the auto industry electrics/engine/body/a little auto tranny/wheels/breaks/exhaust ) problem with the new guys is they never worked on the older cars and probably never will so we end up with lost technical people for do it all like the engineer

 

Dang, you're clueless.

1. You say there are "almost [...] no problems with the wiper systems in the A8". If you had half a clue, you'd understand that there should be NO problems AT ALL. Wipers are a major piece of safety equipment, like headlights, brakes and steering. If they fail in bad weather (as mine did), you're SOL and driving blind.

You are also wrong. The wiper-motor problems are well known in the AudiWorld community, and presumably to Audi NA as well, because a number of people were able to "convince" their dealers to replace the motor... and their problems were solved.

2. I didn't say Audi isn't my cup of tea. I had a 2000 A6 4.2, a 2002 A6 4.2 and then the 2004 A8L. I love the cars, love the technology, love driving them... heck, the A8 looked good even under a thin layer of dust in my garage. What turned me off to the brand was how cavalier Audi was treating my safety. They didn't take my complaint seriously (and a failing wiper at 75mpg is SERIOUS), and suggested next time it fails I shouldn't touch the fuses and take it straight to the dealership -- so not only didn't they care how risky it is to drive in the rain with failing wipers, they encouraged me to drive without wipers (or be stranded somewhere!) so they can do their job.

That said, I've driven BMWs in the late 80s and early 90s. They were pretty good then, but they've fallen behind technologically during the 90s. When I looked into well-built cars in the late 90s, a rear-wheel drive status-symbol just couldn't compete with the cutting edge technology of the new A6.

Mercedes was just turning the corner on the quality issues of the 90s when they got in bed with Chrysler. I doubt I'd ever want one -- the test drives always left me luke-warm.

So if you're looking for sporty quality, you're pretty much stuck with Audi or Porsche. If Audi admits to their part in the wiper-problem and refunds my lease-payments, I'd be glad to get on the waiting list for a W12 equipped A8. The only issue for me would be that the same incompetent dealer is servicing both Audis and Porsches in this area, and a 150 mile round-trip for a free oil-change isn't really efficient.

Kinda like being stuck between a rock and hard place. For the time being, I got a cheap (but safe) van so we can haul the family around. I'll postpone my next purchasing decision 'till summer...

 

My 1972 Super 90 Variant did the same thing, that's when I went and bought a bottle of rain-x.
http://www.wikihow.com/Apply-Rain-X-...ield-Treatment

The rain x really did save my life back in the day. The wipers seemed to love to stop working while I was passing tractor trailers on the interstate..

It's sad to hear the long tradition of US Volkswagen dealers has now infected Audi. -Edit to say 'some' audi dealers- I used to live in atlanta and it seemed the quality of dealership treatment varied widely. I used to drive quite a ways past the dealer that was two miles from my house to get to the dealer I had faith in.