My wife was driving our 2000 Audi Tt on the freeway. The engine suddenly stopped. My wife was able to roll to the side of the road avoiding a collision. The car was towed to the local Audi dealer. The dealer informed us that the timing belt had broken, and as a result some engine damage had occurred. The dealer quoted us about $4300 for the repairs to the engine. Audi recommends that the timing belt be replaced at 105,000 miles. My car only has 78,388 miles on it. Had I known that the timing belt would not last to 105,000 miles I would have replaced it avoiding engine damage and a possible safety hazard. To date Audi has not offered any help regarding this problem. In researching the various Audi web sites, I have found that many Audi Tt owners have had the same situation happen to them. I am hopeful that Audi will offer to fix the problem, and inform all Tt owners of the potential for timing belt premature failure. Your assistance in this matter would be appreciated. Sincerely, joe peters.

- Oak Park, CA, USA

2000 Audi Tt quattro coupe. Timing belt failed at 83918 miles. (stripped timing belt). Failure occurred while driving up little cottonwood canyon in Utah about 1 mile from the entrance to the canyon. The car lost power abruptly and due to small shoulder on the road, we were unable to immediately pull off almost causing an accident with the cars following up the canyon. We immediately turned on hazard lights as car no longer had forward momentum and proceeded to back slowly down the canyon to a section of road that had a wider shoulder where we pulled off. Audi recommends that the timing belt be replaced at 90,000 miles. My car had 83918. Due to the timing belt failure, the valves in the engine were bent, and the cylinder head was scored and needed to be replaced. Total cost was $3464.82. To correct the damage a new head, valves, tensioners, and timing belt was installed by the Audi dealer. Vehicle was not covered under any warranty, or service bulletin. As I have read through internet forums, this seems not to be an isolated incident.

- Herriman, UT, USA

Reason for service call: No heat diagnosis by Audi dealer: Internal short in A/C control head estimate of cost to replace the A/C control head- $900 I denied authorization for the $900 repair. When the car was returned to me, the climate control system would only deliver heat and at a very high temperature. There was no adjustment of temperature nor could the system be shut down. Even when the climate control system controls were set in an off position, heat continued to trickle through the vents. The customer service representative suggested that this problem was an example of erratic activity expected from a short in the A/C control head and said I would have to bear the cost of another service call: $106 to shut off the heat or shut down the entire climate control system (as I requested). I arranged to meet with the service manager and service foreman the following day. Climate control was checked via the scan tool and had multiple faults recorded for flap motors. Attempt to set basic settings of motors was unsuccessful; all motors recorded faults. Service foreman concluded that the climate control head was faulty. I consulted with the foreman on options to shut off heat to the cabin and agreed to his suggestion to remove the temp flap control motor and set flap in cool position. Motor and attached parts have been stowed by owner for possible reinstallation at a later date. Service manager and I made a gentleman's agreement to split the cost of the additional repair. My portion was $53.56. 2000 Audi Tt had a 3 year warranty. Due to early release of vehicle, I took delivery of car in July 1999. The warranty for the 2001 model was extended to 4 years.

- Paradise Valley, AZ, USA