2001 Audi S4 Electrical System Problems

Instrument cluster that shows safety information doesn't work so don't know what's issue with car

I JUST HAPPENED TO LOOK UP RECALLS AND SAW THE COMPLAINTS ON THE AUDI S4 2001. I NOTICED MY CAR WASN'T THE ONLY ONE WHERE THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER HAS LOST PIXELS AND ENDS UP UNREADABLE FOR ALL WARNINGS AND MANUFACTURER PROGRAMMED SAFETY WARNINGS. IT HAS BEEN LIKE THIS FOR YEARS AND DID ASK MY DEALER HOW MUCH IT WOULD COST TO FIX IT AND IT WAS INSANE. IT IS A REAL SAFETY ISSUE. AUDI SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR FIXING IT. I DIDN'T REALIZE OTHER AUDI'S WERE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE. MAYBE IF MORE PEOPLE COMPLAIN, AUDI WILL BE FORCED TO FIX IT.

I OWN A 2001 AUDI S4. THE CENTER DISPLAY ON THE GAUGE CLUSTER IS FAILING DUE TO MISSING PIXELS. THE CENTER DISPLAY NORMALLY DISPLAYS CRITICAL SAFETY INFORMATION REGARDING FAILING ENGINE AND BODY COMPONENTS. IT IS ALWAYS MISSING PIXELS, AND IS NEVER CLEAR ENOUGH TO READ PROPERLY. RECENTLY, I DEVELOPED AN OIL LEAK AND THE CENTER DISPLAY WASN'T CLEAR ENOUGH TO SEE THE LOW OIL WARNING LIGHT. AS A RESULT I WAS STRANDED IN SUB-ZERO TEMPERATURES WITHOUT TRANSPORTATION. I AM CURRENTLY REPAIRING THE ENGINE FAR BEYOND WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN NECESSARY, HAD THE CENTER DISPLAY BEEN WORKING CORRECTLY. I HAVE NOT YET REPAIRED THE DISPLAY, BECAUSE THE DEALER IS ASKING $1000 FOR REPLACEMENT. I KNOW IT A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR, AND DUE TO THE AGE, IS REACHING A VERY HIGH PERCENTAGE OF FAILURE. I DON'T THINK THAT FAILING SAFETY EQUIPMENT SHOULD BE A ROUTINE MAINTENANCE ITEM FOR ANYONE, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT IS A HIGH DOLLAR ITEM. *TR

1) THERE IS NO TRIGGERING EVENT LEADING UP TO THE FAILURE. IT JUST APPEARS OVER TIME. 2) THE LCD SCREEN IN THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER HAS LINES OF PIXELS THAT DO NOT LIGHT UP. THIS IS CONSTANT, WITH MORE LINES OF PIXELS GOING OUT AND PERMANENTLY STAYING OUT OVER TIME. AS A CONSEQUENCE, IMPORTANT WARNING MESSAGES ARE NOT DISPLAYED OR READABLE; SUCH AS WORN OUT BRAKE PADS, FUEL LOW WARNING, WASHER FLUID LOW WARNING, ETC. IF THESE WARNINGS ARE NOT DISPLAYED, THE VEHICLE MAY RUN OUT OF GAS WITHOUT WARNING AND STALL WHILE OPERATING, OR BRAKES MAY WEAR DOWN TO THE POINT OF LOSING EFFECTIVENESS WITHOUT WARNING, OR BE LEFT WITHOUT WASHER FLUID WITHOUT WARNING. *TR

INFORMATION DISPLAY ON INSTRUMENT CLUSTER IS FAILING; PIXELS NO LONGER OPERATE RENDERING THE DISPLAY USELESS. DISPLAY IS USED TO INFORM THE DRIVER OF VITAL SAFETY INFORMATION BUT WITH FAILED DISPLAY THE IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION CANNOT BE READ! *TR

1. PURCHASED A 2001 S4 2. THE AUTO CHECK SYSTEM IN THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER DOES NOT WORK ESPECIALLY WHEN WARM. CRITICAL SAFETY INFORMATION IS NO LONGER DISPLAYED. 3. WAS QUOTED OBSCENE AMOUNTS BY AUDI DEALERS TO REPLACE ENTIRE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER. *TR

I BOTH OWN A 2001 AUDI A4 AND 2001 AUDI S4.. ON BOTH THE RED LCD INSTRUMENT CLUSTER SCREEN HAS FAILED TO THE POINT WHERE NOTHING ON THAT SCREEN IS LEGIBLE. THE SCREEN IS DESIGNED TO SHOW MILEAGE, SPEED WARNING, RUN TIME AND OTHER FUNCTIONS. THE PIXELS HAVE CEASED TO FUNCTION TO THE POINT BEYOND RECOGNITION. I SHARE THIS PROBLEM WITH A VERY LARGE GROUP OF AUDI OWNERS OF THE SAME AND/OR SIMILAR MODEL. THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE EXPANDS INTERNATIONALLY AND AUDI CLEARLY KNOWS THAT THIS IS A PRONE TO FAILURE PART. *TR

DEAD PIXELS IN INSTRUMENT WARNING DISPLAY. *TR

THE B5 (2000-2002) AUDI S4, LCDS ON GAUGE CLUSTER WHICH DISPLAY VALUABLE SAFETY INFORMATION, IS FAULTY ON EVERY S4 I'VE EVER SEEN. EVERYONE ON EVERY FORUM I FREQUENT, THEY ALL HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. THIS IS A PROBLEM AND NEEDS TO BE RECALLED. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 AUDI S4. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED, THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO SEE THE ENTIRE INSTRUMENT PANEL DISPLAY. WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE INSTRUMENT PANEL EVENTUALLY APPEARED IN FULL VIEW. THE FAILURE LATER RECURRED. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 83,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 78,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 AUDI S4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE PIXELS ON THE INSTRUMENTAL PANEL FAILED, WHICH PREVENTS HIM FROM READING THE AUTO CHECK SYSTEM. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 7,200.

INFORMATION DISPLAY ON INSTRUMENT CLUSTER IS FAILING; PIXELS NO LONGER OPERATE RENDERING THE DISPLAY USELESS. DISPLAY IS USED TO INFORM THE DRIVER OF VITAL SAFETY INFORMATION BUT WITH FAILED DISPLAY THE IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION CANNOT BE READ! *TR

(1) DRIVING MY VEHICLE (2) CENTER DASH DIGITAL DISPLAY FAILURE, MISSING AND FADED PIXELS (3) NONE, DISPLAY SHOWS INCOMPLETE INFORMATION ABOUT VEHICLE WARNINGS. *TR

THE LED CENTER DISPLAY IN THE DASHBOARD CLUSTER IS FAILING ON MY 2001 AUDI S4. THE CLUSTER WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY BY THE DEALER, BUT IS FAILING AGAIN. THE CENTER DISPLAY IS USED TO SHOW IMPORTANT SAFETY MESSAGES SUCH AS DANGEROUSLY LOW OIL LEVELS, BRAKE PADS NEEDING REPLACEMENT, ETC. AUDI WILL ONLY REPLACE THESE FOR FREE UNDER WARRANTY AND CHARGES AN ARM AND A LEG TO REPLACE OUT OF WARRANTY. APPARENTLY THE CENTER DISPLAY IS NOT SEPARATELY REPLACEABLE AND THE WHOLE GAUGE CLUSTER NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. THIS ALSO WAS AN ISSUE ON MY 1998 AUDI A4, BUILT ON THE SAME 'B5' PLATFORM AS MY CURRENT S4. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE ON MANY MODEL YEARS THAT AUDI OF AMERICA IS CHOOSING TO IGNORE AND HOPE THAT IT WILL GO AWAY AS THESE CARS AGE. UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S ONLY GETTING WORSE AS MORE AND MORE CLUSTERS GO BAD. *TR

THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER ON MY 2001 AUDI S4 NO LONGER FUNCTIONS PROPERLY, WHICH MEANS I CANNOT READ VITAL SAFETY INFORMATION. *JB

CLUSTER DISPLAY FAILURE. *TR

MISSING PIXELS IN THE CENTER DASH CLUSTER DISPLAY. THE DISPLAY SEEMS TO BE DEGRADING OVER TIME. OVER TIME I WILL NO LONGER BE ABLE TO SEE USEFUL INFORMATION ON THE DISPLAY. *JB

INSTRUMENT CLUSTER HAS LOST PIXELS AND ENDS UP UNREADABLE FOR ALL WARNINGS AND MANUFACTURER PROGRAMMED SAFETY WARNINGS. *TR

MY VEHICLES INSTRUMENT CLUSTER DOES NOT WORK! IT IS CLEARLY STATED IN THE USER MANUAL THAT IT SHOULD BE REPLACED BECAUSE IT IS FOR MY CONVENIENCE AND SAFETY TO PREVENT CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE TO MY VEHICLE DUE TO CERTAIN MALFUNCTIONS. I WOULD SAY THAT 90% OF AUDI OWNERS I KNOW, CONSTANTLY COMPLAIN ABOUT THEIR INSTRUMENT CLUSTERS EITHER FADING OR GOING COMPLETELY OUT. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS. I CANT EVEN SEE VITAL FUNCTIONS THAT MY CAR IS TELLING ME, I HEAR BEEPS SIGNALING SOMETHING IS WRONG, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS AND HAVE TO CONSTANTLY GO TO THE SHOP TO HAVE A DIAGNOSTIC SCAN ON MY CAR SINCE NOT EVEN THE SHOP CAN JUST LOOK AT IT AND TELL ME WHAT IS WRONG. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN ONGOING SINCE MID JULY AND BELL AUDI IN RAHWAY WANTS TO CHANGE ME $800.00 TO FIX SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE RECALLED DUE TO SAFETY. *TR

CLUSTER LED LIGHTING FAILURE.. PIXELS ARE EITHER DIMMED OR NOT WORKING CORRECTLY LEAVING DIFFICULTY TO SEE THE SPEED OF VEHICLE. *TR