Problems with 1998 Audi A4 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

In heavy rain conditions, brakes become unresponsive for appx 1-2 seconds, regardless of pedal pressure. i have been driving for 18 years and can attest that this is not a case of normal 'reduced effectiveness' associated with wet conditions. in certain conditions, the car will travel for 20-50 feet without any noticeable brake effectiveness. yes, i do pump my brakes frequently under these conditions to clear excess water from the pads/rotors.

Since i have owned th car, i have experienced a delay or a lack of braking ability when driving in the rain. i have had a few near accidents when i had to brake suddenly and i had no response. luckily i had quatrro and room to move. normal driving is o.k. only becauise i know of the problem and give myself time to stop. this should not be the case. i need the brakes to work properly every time and under all conditions. my 87 maxima has beeter brakes now than the audi. this needs to be solved or i will have to consider selling my vehicle for a safer bmw especially since children are on the way. not a safe vehicle for them. i hope you can remedy. *ak

In wet conditions (rain or slush), brakes intermittently fail to respond for several seconds, then grab normally. been this way since i took delivery of car. this is not normal wet weather braking force reduction. more like no brakes at all for a few seconds. i believe the brakes are getting wet internally due to lack of proper shields, but dry themselves off after a few seconds of application, which would explain the several second delay followed by normal braking. the dealer has inspected all braking system components twice for me and found nothing unusual. lots of other audi a4 owners complain about the same problem. no other car i have ever owned or driven has behaved like this in wet weather. especially at highway speeds the braking delay is extremely dangerous, paticularly since it is intermittent. you just never know when the car will decide not to stop when you need it to! the only way i have found to deal with the problem is to apply the brakes every ten or fifteen seconds to k eep them dry. but that, too, is dangerous, since following traffic goes bananas seeing my brake lights come on all the time for no apparent reason. i have complained to audi of america, which claims they know nothing about this problem and have not had other complaints about it. they are lying, because i know other a4 drivers who have also complained bitterly to audi of america and their dealers about this problem. please help us! *ak

In wet weather the brakes need to be applied much harder otherwise no slowing occurs. *ak

During wet weather, the brakes takes several seconds to catch after the pedal is depressed. this has caused many near accidents since this behavior is not normal nor expected. dry weather braking is just fine. i am very concerned about this problem and have contacted audi of america and my dealer. they do not have a solution for the problem yet. i need help!!

When traveling at speed of 50 mph or greater in very heavy rain, there is an initial delay while braking (0.5 sec-1 sec) when brakes don't have an effect. pushed the pedal and nothing happened for the initial delay. then, abruptly the car brakes. also, there is a lack of splash shields on the front rotors on the model year 98 (model year 2000 has it). the rotors have water on them and it takes a while for that to be evacuated. *ak

Brakes ineffective for 1-2 seconds during heavy rain

Everytime it rains the brakes seems to have a .5 sec to 1 second delay before it works. audi please recall this brake system as it might cause accidents. *ak

The wet braking is horrible on this car. if you are driving in the rain, it takes 2 seconds for the rotors to dry out. i have always had cars with 4 wheel discs and have never seen a car that loses its brakes so easily. the car brakes *great* in the dry and when the roads are wet, but when it is raining enough to wet the rotors, all drivers with the stock pads need to be extrememly careful. i don't know if this is part of the problem, but there is no spash shield behind the rotor. i don't want to be involved in an accident because of this and felt like i should report it. i do know that this is not just happening to me, but that is not what the dealer wants us to think. i have heard that changing the pads to an aftermarket helps, but i feel audi should do something about this before someone gets hurt. *ak

Traveling at highway speed, weather was raining/snowing, when i attempted to apply the brakes to exit the highway, the brakes did not slow the car as they should. i pumped the brakes several times and was able to slow the car for the exit ramp. this has occurred on several occasions prior and since, all during wet conditions. on the 1/22/00 incident, i was on my way to the dealer to have a scheduled service completed and mentioned the problem to the service writer. he acknowledged that there is a problem with wet braking in my model however audi has not authorized any repairs. he did have the pads removed and cleaned along with the rotors. this has not solved the problem.

Brakes hesitate when consumer applies brakes & the pedal goes all the way to the floor. brakes will not work in the cold weather. *ak

There is a 2 sec. delay for brake response when wet. much worse than any other vehicle i have driven. this will cause accidents. vehicle will not stop in published distance when brakes are wet. new brake pad material is required . there are already many other reports of this same problem in your data base.

In heavy rain or after washing car brakes do not work for about 1-2 seconds after application. it is very scary and dangerous imo.

Brakes do not "grab" in the wet/rain. there appears to be a one to two second delay between stepping on the brakes and the car slowing done. i have noticed this same delay, in dry weather, at highway speeds of 50-60 mph.

Recall 99v131000; brake booster recall. dealer needs to install a vacuum by-pass system so the braking system wont malfunction. dealer won't set an appointment until april 2000, and vehicle is experiencing braking problems which may result in a crash. dealer contacted, fray audi, greenwich, ct 203-661-1800. please provide further information. *ak

Brakes failed to work on highway off-ramp during heavy rain. depressed pedal, but almost no braking force. had to veer back into interstate traffic, almost causing major crash. this has happened before to me, always in wet weather. problem is intermittent. usually brakes are ok in wet, but now and then almost complete failure for no apparent reason, always in wet. brakes return after brief application. i believe brakes are getting wet somehow and failing to operate until they warm up and dry off, but this is just a theory. the failures are infrequent but very dramatic and extremely dangerous. other audi a4 owners have experienced exact same problem. dealers have no solution. please help! thanks.

Recalls 99v248 000/tie rod & 99v131 001/brake booster; both mamufacturer's recalls could not be honored because dealer had no parts. but informed consumer that parts would be available on oct 15, 1999. asking nhtsa help in this matter. *ak

On june 17, 1999 i simultaneously lost control of both the steering wheel and the brakes. the weheel was locked and the brakes would not pump. the trip instrument panel showed the battery sign and the warning "check". the car came to a stop uphill, and resumed normal (?) operation after i turned on the engine again.*ak

Vehicle experienced steering wheel and brake lock up. mjs

Audi of america has launched a recall campaign, labelled ku, for its defective brakes. i received a formal notification on october 10, 1999. hoever, since then i have been unable to have this recall performed at any audi dealer. since the recall represents a serious defect and potential hazard, i seek the nhtsa's involvement to have the recall performed on my vehicle as soon as possible. *ak

My audi has wonderful brakes in dry road conditions. however initial braking in wet conditions results in a few seconds of diminished braking capacity which almost resulted in an accident. this seems to have been reported by many a4 owners as internet forums like www.a4.org have many complaints similar to this. please do not confuse my observation with reduced braking performance in wet weather, for this is obvious. this condition is rather unique to the audi, as my wife's '98 honda accord v-6 ex does not exhibit this characteristic given similar road conditions. my audi dealer did not indicate that my a4 was part of any braking recall campaign.

Brakes do not respond properly for 10-15 feet when it is raining, the water that gets on the brakes effects their gripping efficiency. it's very bad. *mjs

Wet braking performance greatly diminished due to wet rotors, requires higher brake effort and stopping time/distance. *ak

Abs system was unable to stop the car for 30 feet, while i kept pressing the brakes, as required, and felt the vibration. seven feet before i was about to hit the car in front of me, i re-applied the brakes ( removed my foot and braked again) and then the car stopped within inches from the rear of the car ahead of me. road conditions were slippery. this is the second time that this audi a-4 model does not stop at all when brakes are applied consistently, as requires under the abs system

The brake pedal would go to the floor with very little braking. you could pump-up the pedal, but if you applied steady pressure it would go to the floor. at a light, if you kept the automatic transmission in drive, the pdeal would go to towards the floor until the car started to move forward at idle. the dealer could not duplicate the problem. the problem has not reoccurred. *ak

In snow and sometimes rain and when going over railroad tracks the brakes do not respond and you feel like you have absolutley no brakes. *ak

While drivingthe abs braking systm which is activated malfunctioned, having no braking ability, and causing a frontal impact. the driver's and passenger's airbags did deploy but not all the way. also, seatbelt tensioner malfunctioned, which did not hold properly the occupant, and occupant sustained a broken bone. please provide further information. *ak

Brakes noisey and showing excessive wear.

Problem is major braking delay in rain (worse with heavy rain). when push on pedal, get no braking action for 1-3 seconds, then brakes act normal. pedal feels firm/normal. seems like there is water sheeting on the rotors; brakes have to wipe water off before get any braking. this is the absolute worst case of this phenomena i have felt in 30 years, 750,000 miles of driving. dealer informed at routine service, could find nothing wrong.

After driving in rain, foot will sink on brake pedal as if hydraulic fluid is gone and stopping force is gone until re-applying foot to brake pedal 2nd-3rd time. *ak

When applying brakes after driving for extended distance, brakes fail on first applying, but return to normal if pumped. *yh

When braking,brakes would grind and squeek excessively and revealed premature wear.

Brakes do not work in wet conditions!

Terrible wet braking performance, the first 1 or 2 pedal applications in the rain cause no slowing down. the pedal needs to be pumped to dry the rotor. i went through several brake pad compounds with no improvement. of all the audis that i owned, the a4 brakes are the worst. hell, these brakes are the worst of all the cars that i owned! *nlm