These are problems:

From the S4 board over at AudiWorld:

After 120 miles----

3 days after getting my S4, started fighting with the clutch in the lower gears and then lost everything below 3rd. You can guess which problem I uncovered.

Had it towed to the dealer and looked pretty sad when I told them that I had the "reverse/tranny" problem. She looked like a deer in headlights and said "these cars don't have any recalls!" I had the TSB with me, but she wanted nothing to do with that.

2 hours later, Service Advisor called me back and told me "it's the clutch. We ordered a new one. It's backordered and might be 3-4 weeks. Furthermore, it's Audi's policy that we only replace one clutch under warranty. We've found it's typically the driver's fault and not the actual clutch"

Needless to say, I went from sad to pissed off. This was MY FAULT???? I immediately called AofA and now have an open record with them. They spoke to (educated?) the dealer, and it's been just over 1 week. 4 parts have been ordered and there actually is a back-order situation on at least one of them. I'll be patient for a little, but I have indeed familiarized myself with my state's lemon laws. I have not asked for anything from AofA yet, but if it comes time for my next payment, I will expect them to handle it.

Good news is that the weather is horrible right now and I don't have to take the S4 out in it. The 1999 A4 1.8T loaner is weak, but fine in this crap.

The "broken" car is sweet. I struggled with color combos but got Black with the Alcantara Silver. Looks great! And for 2 days, I was very impressed...

 

so what is your point, we have the 6spd manuals poping out of gear in first, some have been rebuilt/replace already also.

Also, we have the AT with the vibrations that drive us nuts at 1500 rpm.

We have tires that vibrate all the time

We have check engine lights!

all cars have issues, but it does not make me feel any better.

 

This is a $52K car with 120 miles on it, and not the first.

The 6spd manuals arent popping out of 1st: gears 1-3 and R fail completely. AofA tries to get away with replacing only one clutch.

You have check engine lights, they have dropped valves

The only thing I can say about the tires....get the performance rubber.

My point is, stop whining about your first year car issues!

 

Ok, so we have all had it, but yes, the TL 6spds had problems and were poping out of 1st gear, don't believe me, just ask the 6spd owners. AND 120 miles, one guy didnt even get to leave the dealers lot!

Acura knew of the problem before the cars left the factory, and tried to sort them out, but missed a few.

One clutch, acura doesnt give any. I dont care about the price of the S4. A car is a car and should work correctly. does that mean if I buy a Kia I should get square tires, rattles, and water leaks, no

Regarding the tires, for the AT drivers, no HPT option was offered, so they were STUCK with the crappy BS tires.

Look, I am not looking to get into a pi$$ing contest, but you were the one to start this.

 

Pissing, who's pissing? I'm not mad...

Acura is making an attempt before the cars get to the consumers, Audi of America idn't doing much at all after they get there.

 

LED I've been cruising these sites for mths. I seen only 2 instances of tranny problems (over 15 k cars sold already!) The tires although written to death affect very few people (don't hold your breath about acura giving you new ones since the tires are warranted by firestone!!!!). The seat memory issue was predominantly caused because people with 6 speeds didn't read the manual (the seat will only move when the tranny is in neutral AND the emergency brake is on). So I can safely say that ISB is making a very good point!

 

I agree. People who hate Hondas come here all the time and make a big deal about how crappy the transmission is and everything. My 2002 TLS has been fine for the last 31 months and I've had no problems except the sunroof squeak, which the dealer promptly fixed. I know about a dozen other people with 2nd gens who've had no problems. Goes to show that the forums can often be a place of exaggeration and undeserved criticism. Don't believe the hype and always do your best to conduct independent and unbiased research. This is a great thread and thanks "lsb" for putting "things in perspective."

 

I only wish we could trade cars, I was a very happy owner before the TL. I do not like to bash cars, I enjoy them there is nothing more than driving a car that I would like to do (ok, there is one thing) but you guys havent figured it out, people really do have problems.

Don't brush it under the carpet, crap doesnt happen, when it comes to cars, it is engineered, tested, and retested again.

Wake up and smell the coffee, some people are having problems.

You are fortunate not to have one of the cars with problems, I would gladly trade keys with any without issues.

Love the car, hate the issues.

 

You know what, Honda/Acura makes some great cars. What I think is the issue here is when something goes seriously wrong, such as multiple transmission failures (one transmission lasted 22,000 miles, the next 3000-4000 miles, and then the next only 1800 miles or so), and Acura deals the situation poorly. That is where the disgruntled consumers come alive ... the treatment that the consumer receives from Acura when, through the fault of Acura, the value (both monetarily and consumer satisfaction) of the car is significantly lowered.

 

The A4 1.8Q was high on my list for a long time. I started looking at the various sites and saw the coil pack failures, tranny issues, and other problems. I now have a TL that is great and has NO major issues. I got the 6MT and HPT and missed all the vibration and gear poping problems. Maybe I am lucky, but I think that most folks have had a good experience. I feel bad for the few that have had problems, and hope Acura will correct them. If my two minor problems are not corrected, you may hear a different tune from me next time. So for now

 

I totally agree with vtechbrain, i can't see any serious problems with Acura.
I own a 2003 TL-S with 30K, and no tranny problems and also 04 TL 6 speed manaul with no gear issues.
So, i highly doubt the exaggerated number of tranny failure and manual grear issue. (One of them would have hit me)

 

I had read where (from a gvt site) where the tranny problem was 2% for all cars it was installed. That means 98% will not have a problem. However, 2% failure rate is HUGE in the industry. So, just because you are in the 98% does not mean that there is not a HUGE problem.

Me, I am happy with my 6MT except for the crack in the windshild (which it seems I am the only one to have it).