• March 2006 - I visit Zumbach Audi for the 5k service. At around 3500 miles, I started experiencing strange noises and the steering wheel started to feel strange. I reported this to the dealer when I called to schedule the service appointment. I also informed them of an issue I was having with my Xenon headlight system - the lights on the S4 turn in the direction you are headed, so if you start turning left, the lights will pitch left.  The lights would get stuck in a random position and also at times shut off and/or flicker randomly. The dealer finds no issue with the steering, although the noise was very loud - they did mention the tested it, which cannot be true, otherwise they would have noticed the noise. The did perform a TB for the lights - TB94090597. At this time the cars mileage was 4904. No loaner was given to me - not even a rental.  An insult for spending 60 grand on a car.
  • September 2006- Xenon light issue still present, suspension steering noises still present, and have gotten worse.  I vist Legend Audi and inform them of all the issues. Nothing was done for the Xenon lights. I informed them of the suspension and steering issues again, this time around they found leaks in the power steering system and replaced a leaky hose and two leaky seals, and topped of the power steering fluid. The also replaced the Front R/R subframe according to the service records. There was also a loose mounting bolt which the tightened and added loc-tite to.  No loaner given to me, they provided me with an old Ford Taurus. At this point the car had about 12,000 miles.
  • December 2006 - Another visit to Zumbach Audi. I informed the of the Steering/suspension problems AGAIN - what do I see on the invoice? No explanation - just NO WORK PERFORMED. They did howerver notice that my power steering pump was faulty and replaced it.  At this point I called up Legend Audi to schedule my next appointment.  I asked them why I am having all these problems, and the service technician on the phone mentioned that they get these issues with the S4s all the time, because the suspension is aluminum and very delicated.  I mentioned this to the general manager of Legend Audi, and asked why there is no recall if this is happening to several S4s and he stated that I am making up a story and his workers would never say something like that. My sunfroof started acting wierd at this point.
  • January 2007- Another visit to the depths of hell, AKA Legend Audi.  I inform them of the steering problems yet AGAIN.  At this point I had opened up cases with Audi of America and let them know of the situation.  They didnt have much to say, but mentioned the wanted to send out an engineer from corporate so that he can verify the issues. I guess they did not believe me, or their own workers at the dealerships.  The engineer was there this time, I showed him all the previous paperwork, gave him a detailed typed explanation, as well as a verbal explanation of what happened.  He was saying that the S4 is a solid car, and he thinks there is nothing wrong with my car.  He offered to take the car home with him so he can drive it and really get a feel of what is going on. This never happened.  I get a hyuandai instead of a loaner.   There was a recall on the engines computer that covered a performance decrease, I had noticed the performance drop a bit actually, especially when accelerating. Nothing done for the lights again.    At this point my sunroof would not close and I had to try and avoide taking the car out in the rain.  What a hassle.  My subwoofer was also distorting, so I told them about this too. My air-conditioning system was making wierd sounds, as if the vents were opening and closing on their own. This is random and it would last for about 20-30 seconds. Definitely not normal.  Here is something interesting - I was driving and something fell out of the engine bay.  I had reported this noise to the dealer, and they found no issue. Turns out someone had forgetten a tool in the engine bay and it fell out after a while. Trying to make another appointment, but the dealer always seems to be busy and they give me one that is one month ahead. I had to cancel it because I had a business trip and it conflicted.  They were VERY difficult to work with as far as getting an appointment is concerned, among other things.
  • April 2007 - Another visit to Satans Lair, aka Legend Audi.  I inform them of all the issues, informed Audi corporate of the issues, informed the engineer directly, and now I am back at the dealer.  They bring another engineer to re-verify the issues.  We go for a test drive with both engineers and they both HEARD and CONFIRMED all the noises/problems.  They mentioned they knew what the issue was because another S4 came in with the same issue and they were working on it at the time.  So now the did some work.  They replaced the clock spring, the replaced a DEFECTIVE sway bar linkage and they replaced it.  They  checked the lights and found no problem, this was getting very frustrating at this point.   The car had reached 20,000 miles at this point. Another Taurus instead of a loaner.  Oh, and remember the sunroof issue? I was driving and a piece of the guide fell on my head. How crazy is that? Not to mention the lights are still having issues and turning off on me at night. At this time I am working with an attorney to try and put more pressure on them since nothing was happening.
  • June 2007 - Back to the torture chamber, Legend Audi.  This time around, I just went there, the engineer from corporate was there again, I gave him a HUGE list of problems, in fact he told me he could not add anymore because the computer was only able to input only 9 problems. Since an attorney was on this at this point, this was their "last chance" to try and fix the problems.  They kept the car for 5 weeks!! FIVE WEEKS! This time they did give me a loaner, but not even an  Audi, they gave me a Jetta.  Not to my suprise, I drive off the lot, and the service light was not reset. I went back and they had to reset it.  I drive down a few blocks where the streets where much quieter, and guess what - the noises are all there. According to the service records, they changed a gas shock, fixed the sunroof, replaced 4 defective speakers, a fuel pump, and a bearing. The also finally fixed the xenon light issues by replacing a light and ingitor unit.  At this time, Audi of America still does not want to buy the car back, give me another car, or provide any meaningful compensation.  They now state that the car is having all these issues because I am driving it in an abusive manner, I drive it fast, and I drive it in ways it was not intended to be driven.  This is now the biggest insult of all.  One of the reasons I paid a lot of money for this car is because of the warranty, in which they are not honoring, and last I checked, the S4 is no performance slouch.  As far as me abusing the car, that is absurd. I even took it in for extra oil changes. Audi is offering me $1000, $500 of which are attorney's fees.  So if I take this offer, which I quote "Audi of America is being generous and we are going way out of our way for the client" I get $500. 
  • August 2007 - Audi still will not do anything further.  My car is still having problems.