2003 Audi Cabriolet

Routine

Owners filed 5 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the structure. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Structure2
000
Steering › Hydraulic Power Assist System1
000
Power Train › Automatic Transmission1
000
Fuel System, Gasoline › Delivery1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Structure
Filed May 23, 201250,000 milesMI

I PURCHASED AN AUDI BECAUSE I THOUGHT I WAS BUYING QUALITY. I HAVE A BROKEN HING ON MY GLOVE BOX THAT RARELY IS USED (EST $450), OIL LEAK FROM A CAM SHAFT CHAIN ADJUSTER SEAL (EST $517), BROKEN TRUNK BIN (EST $675), AND NOW A RADIO THAT DOESN'T WORK AND AUDI WANTS ($1,900) SO I CAN GET RADIO RECEPTION. I AM SHOCKED THESE ITEMS HAVE ALREADY WORN OUT ON A CAR THAT HAS ONLY 50,500 MILES AND IS ONLY USED FOR PLEASURE. *TT

Power Train › Automatic Transmission
Filed Jan 11, 201165,000 miles00

I HAVE A 2003 AUDI A4 CABRIOLET 3.0 WITH CVS TRANSMISSION. I HAVE REPLACED ONE TRANSMISSION AT A COST OF OVER 7,500 DOLLARS. THE CAR ONLY HAD 65,000 MILES ON IT AND HAD ALWAYS BEEN MAINTAINED BY AUDI DEALERSHIP IN TORONTO , CANADA. THE DEALER TRIED TO GET OUT OF PAYING FOR THE REPAIR AND AFTER SEVERAL ARGUMENTS ONLY PARTIALLY COVERED THE COSTS. THE CAR NOW HAS 110,000 MILES ON IT AND AGAIN I AM EXPERIENCING TRANSMISSION ISSUES. THE PRND LIGHTS FLASH BACK AND FORTH AND THE TRANSMISSION IS WINING AND SHAKY AT CERTAIN SPEEDS. OBVIOUSLY AUDI HAS DONE A POOR JOB OF DESIGNING THIS TRANSMISSION AND REPAIR COSTS ARE RIDICULOUS. I HAVE ALSO HAD SEVERAL ELECTRICAL ISSUES WITH DASH BOARD LIGHTS , BRAKE LIGHTS BURNING OUT REGULARLY AND POWER STEERING PUMP REPLACED. MY ADVICE. DON'T BUT AN AUDI UNLESS YOU PLAN ON SELLING IT BEFORE THE WARRANTY IS UP AND IF YOU LIKE SARCASTIC TREATMENT AT DEALERSHIP LEVEL THEN THESE CARS ARE FOR YOU. *TR

Structure
Filed Jul 16, 201029,000 milesNY

2003 AUDI A4 CABRIO. VERY LOW MILEAGE, LOW USE. REAR WINDOW DELAMINATES FROM CANVAS ROOF, RAIN WATER COMES IN & SHORTS ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. *TR

Fuel System, Gasoline › Delivery
Filed May 6, 2006NJ

WHEN THIS CARS GAS TANK GOES BELOW A HALF TANK, THE GAS CHAMBER DOES NOT ALLOW GAS TO FLOW INTO THE TANK. FOR SOME REASON,THE GAS PUMP RELEASES OR WORSE THE FUEL OVERFLOWS. THE SAFETY OR RISK HERE IS THAT ONE CAN GET STRANDED, BE IN A STRANGE TOWN, FAR FROM HOME LATE AT NIGHT, WITHOUT THE ABILITY TO FILL THE TANK. I HAVE REPORTED THIS PROBLEM TO MY LOCAL DEALER ON MANY OCCASIONS BUT WITHOUT ANY RESOLUTION. *JB

Steering › Hydraulic Power Assist System
Filed Nov 13, 2003250 milesCA

2003 AUDI A4 CABRIOLET STEERING WAS EXTREMELY NOISY FROM DATE OF PURCHASE ON. GRADUALLY GOT WORSE. STEERING COLUMN WAS REPLACED BY AUDI SERVICE 3 TIMES TO NO AVAIL. AT ONE POINT, A TOTAL FAILURE OF THE POWER STEERING CAUSED DANGEROUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. AUDI MECHANICS AND DEALER ADMITTED TO FAULTY POWER STEERING IN SOME A4 CABRIOLET MODELS BUT WILL NOT OFFICIALLY ACKNOWLEDGE. AFTER ALMOST 4 MONTHS I'M STILL WAITING FOR A REPLACEMENT CAR. *LA

5 of 5 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1996
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
2003 — this page5000Routine
20001000Routine
19981000Routine
19972100Routine
19968200Routine
19953300Routine
19942201Fatalities reported
19930100Routine

Compare every Cabriolet year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.