Don't get me wrong, I really like my car, but there must have been some engineer dropouts designing my B5 A4.

Since there is a thread boasting the cool things about the Audi, let's start a list of thing Audi could have done better...

1. High on my list is the rear coolant flange. It should have been made of aluminum at least. After two years of trying different things the only way I was able to get it to stop leaking was to install a fatter o-ring and loosen the bolts between the metal pipe and the coolant flange. After 1.5 days it still isn't leaking. So far so good.

2. Pinch bolt for upper control arms. I've eliminated this problem in the future now by using liberal amounts of anti-sieze. Damn lucky next owner

3. Drink holder under the armrest... what were they thinking??!!

4. Cat and downpipe bolted together in a place that's nearly impossible to reattach by yourself. I had to weld the nuts to the cat so I could piece them back together after replacing my clutch... which leads to ...

5. Heavy flywheel that can not be resurfaced (can only be sanded down).

6. Clutch cylinder and brake cylinder use the same resivor.... lose one and you lose the other.

7. The armrest from hell. It's easy to remove the top padded part, but getting the rest of it off was a major PITA.

I had a busy weekend, installed "new to me" front control arms/ swaybar links-updated and a new TRE. In the past year I've replace the t-belt/waterpump, clutch/pressure plate/bearing, all four wheel bearing, both TREs, nearly ever small coolant hose and o-rings, headlight switch, and repaired the cruise control.I'm sure I still have lots to look forward to (like axles and oilseals) since the carnow has over 212,000 miles on it.I'm slowly turning back the years though...

Anyone want toadd to my list?

 

If i really thought about it i could add a million items. One thing comes to mind thou. Not built to be repaired.
1. Plastic and metal expand and contract at different rates. Every third grader knows that.
2. Tie rods coulda used some anti seize at the factory too.
3. Better than above 1200 dollars of electronics ie radio and ac control head, or on the newer cars next to the 800 dollar mmi controls.
4. At least they fixed that in the later cars.
5. It can be resurfaced, it just requires special equipment. Heavy flywheels are good for standing still starts. They just arent rev happy. The dual mass is a great design for comfort, it is a luxury car after all, however its not best suited for performance aplications.
6. Rarely happens.
7. Center console on most all cars is a pain to get out.

 

besides the common problems you run into, the only thing that baffles me right now are the cup holders and a factory boost gauge would of been nice, but that doesn't fall under defect. another thing that doesn't fall under defect but should of came stock, is more power (boost) or better yet, a k04 stock, especially for those with 1.8t from 96-00.

99A4NOW, is yours a 4 or 6 cylinder?

 

I wouldn't call them defects but "what the fvck were they thinking" designs.

Fuel filter location wtf?-They fixed it in the b6 though.

steering rack location-this is what happens when you borrow designs from vw. Took them four generations to put in lower where its more accessible.

Retarded nemo passenger side mirrors-I think it was some kind of a joke, which I didn't get.

Precat sensors location on the 30v-wtf?

190hp out of a V6-C'mon

Theres more but I can't remember right now.

 

Dont forget having to jack up the engine to access the front bolts of the oil pan.

I like the drink holder that spills coffee into the climate controls so that they stick.

 

Hahaha.. yes sticky buttons!

OMG this list of my problems.. is endless... Im thinking of a switch.. even though my car is SICK... oy!

 

You think that's bad, my last car was a 1996 stratus.

2.5L v6 pushing a whopping 140 hp stock. i don't miss it.

 

The only thing that bothers me is that if something spills in the cupholder you get sticky buttons... ughhhhhh

 

I dont know why you guys are saying all of this.. I think that the b5 was actually engineered very nicely. The interior takes apart by removing like 8 bolts, I dont know what he was talking about the armrest... must not be too bright.. The cupholders.. If audi stuck a bunch of cupholders out on the open then it wouldnt look nearly as good, and you shouldnt be drinking stuff in an audi anyways.. The car is pretty small and thats why the engine bay is so tight so I wouldnt be mad about that because I dont wanna drive a huge *** car. Factory boost guage?..did you ever see a boost guage in any car from the factory? There ARE a couple things that could have been made better but every car has its flaws, and most cars have ALOT more of them.

 

- my side mirrors turning brown
- door moldings
- location for the remote keyless receiver(poor range)
- DIS display fading
-weak front control arms/tie rod ends
- cruise control(CC) module

i didnt get the car when it was new. i got it used, but i wonder if these were reported as RECALLS since these were common problems.it would have been nice to not have to fix these ourselves.

btw, i still love my car