# Another contributing factor to the sour taste in my mouth ..



## TTotal (Aug 12, 2002)

Those nice folk at Audi

I have just had to send this ..........

Roof wearing problems Audi TT Roadster reg no JS 52 WOW

Following my conversation with Sharon Fish in Customer services, I presented my car to the Warranty Coordinator at Southampton Audi who are my nearest Audi dealer, for his inspection and subsequent report on the badly worn roof fabric and closing mechanism sockets on the windscreen top edge.

My car is 2 years and 5 months old and the roof currently looks like it is 10 years old.

There are many wear marks on the outside fabric areas, caused by the material rubbing against itself, there are very bad wear marks in the sockets on the top of the windscreen where the roof pins slot in. It is obvious to anyone that this is not correct.

Colin Mackinnon tells me on the phone just now that the response from Audi UK (after seeing photographs) is that this is a wear problem and not a manufacturing problem and so therefore any repairs or rectification are to be carried out at my cost...

I am absolutely livid about this - are you telling me that a Â£30,000 quality car is expected to wear like this naturally and that you take no responsibility?

There are many thousands of much convertible cheaper cars out there, all looking as they should at this sort of mileage - still in new condition.

The owner of this car is Bank of Scotland ( I have a 4 year PCP plan ) and I am contacting their agents to see what they have to say about this.

I am a TT fanatic and spend far too much time cleaning and polishing the car that I worship. I have always cleaned my TT by hand and given particular attention to the roof.

Being a member of the TTOC and also the ********.Co I have access to an amazing amount of information about the car, I have personally inspected hundreds of TTR roofs and can CONFIRM that many have the "Boomerang " mark on the middle top section of the roof. So please dont tell me that I am the only one. ( If in fact I was the only one then there is definitely a problem!)

I am sending this to you in the hope that you can have a second thought about how you may be able to sort this out.

I am happy to drive my TT to your office in Milton Keynes for your personal inspection or maybe an inspection of one of your experts there.


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## vlastan (May 6, 2002)

Excessive use I guess. Don't forget that you open and close it all the time and you go topless even when it is very cold outside.

I guess some owners of Roadsters they hardly open the top. The fact that the car is still so new, doesn't matter as you have used the roof so much in your last 1000 days of ownership.

I guess you have to challenge Audi on how long they expect this part to last. How many times is is designed to be operated before it deteriorates.


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## digimeisTTer (Apr 27, 2004)

TTotal said:


> Colin Mackinnon tells me on the phone just now that the response from Audi UK (after seeing photographs) is that this is a wear problem and not a manufacturing problem and so therefore any repairs or rectification are to be carried out at my cost...


That sounds familiar, had the same response on my seat initially.

I don't blame you for being pissed John, stick to your guns as i know you will, but V made an interesting point - ask them what they regard as the life expectency - surely it should be for the life of the car - if not then it is a manufacturing/design fault


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## vlastan (May 6, 2002)

digimeisTTer said:


> TTotal said:
> 
> 
> > Colin Mackinnon tells me on the phone just now that the response from Audi UK (after seeing photographs) is that this is a wear problem and not a manufacturing problem and so therefore any repairs or rectification are to be carried out at my cost...
> ...


Certainly NOT. The hood is wears and needs replacement every few years. Depending on usage I have heard that they can last about 5-7 years. But if you use it a lot, it won't last as long.


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## mike_bailey (May 7, 2002)

My TT's nearly 5 years old and the roof looks crap and has done for a couple of years (the roof socket area looks okay though).

I've got a couple of bottles of Renovo sitting on the window ledge in front of me, just wish it'd stop raining outside for a day or two.

I posted this up quite a while ago and it was suggested that I use Johnson's baby shampoo (or oil?) on the roof - tried it but didn't make a difference.


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## TTotal (Aug 12, 2002)

Thanks guys 

Andy

I shall fight until the bitter end as ou did, fingers crossed something may happen - if not for me , at least for others with this problem.

Nick
Since when are you the expert of everything?

Mike
My mate owns Renovo and has said that it will not restore the "bald patches"(obviously as it is just a dye and condioner ) The wear is caused by abrasion .I also have (bought) some Renovo stuff but waiting until the 3 years is up.

I am really really angry as I have spent loads of time taking great care of by little car  Audi cannot just walk away from these fault issues.

The Sale of Goods act says "Fit for the purpose", well this is not.


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## teucer2000 (May 14, 2002)

> There are many thousands of much convertible cheaper cars out there, all looking as they should at this sort of mileage - still in new condition.


My MR2 is three years old and the roof looks like new....I'd expect a car cost twice as much to have a better quality roof.


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## TTotal (Aug 12, 2002)

Thanks mate, in no way did I mean to say that your or any other cars were less quality because they were cheaper BTW


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## The Silver Surfer (May 14, 2002)

Sorry to hear this news John. 

Surely the whole point of having a Roadster is to use it with the roof down at every opportunity. If, in less than three years, the roof is looking considerably worn, then clearly there is a problem with the manufacture/quality of the roof. This is supposed to be a 'quality' car FFS. :evil: Where in Audi's literature does it say that the roof will prematurely wear out if you use it regularly???

Here's hoping Audi see sense.

Good luck.


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## dj c225 (Nov 3, 2004)

This shouldn't happen, my neighbour had a Z3 and always used his roof and has had no problems at all, looks new.

He recently acquired a Porsche 993 cab, 1995 model, roof looks new and is original.

Not on, write to Audi and write again if they don't do anything.

Good luck.


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## Widget (May 7, 2002)

digimeisTTer said:


> but V made an interesting point


For once :roll:



TTotal said:


> Nick
> Since when are you the expert of everything?


I thought he always has been :wink:

Good luck with this John [smiley=thumbsup.gif]


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## TTotal (Aug 12, 2002)

Latest

Audi Customer Services suggesting "Independant " engineer surveys the car...

What say you? :?


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## thejepster (Mar 29, 2005)

Could you try it when there is another (perhaps one older and one newer) TTR next to yours? :? That way there will be a reference point for him to compare against?

My 2001 TTR has the 'boomerang', and a couple of very small marks, but nothing more than that I'm afraid... my 8yo Saab had a little scuffing but nothing from repetitive use, and I had the roof down whenever it wasn't raining... :roll:


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## vlastan (May 6, 2002)

TTotal said:


> Latest
> 
> Audi Customer Services suggesting "Independant " engineer surveys the car...
> 
> What say you? :?


Why not? This is how digimeister resolved his excessive worn out seat issue.


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## Dont I Recognise You (Oct 10, 2003)

independant gets my vote 

which is topical for today


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## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

How well do A4 cabs fair with their roof?

I think having to replace the roof on almost any modern car, regardless of price, after only a few years of use sounds ridiculous. I'm sure even classic cars only require a change after many more years of use.

Where's the extensive testing that Audi harps on about? I would have thought they had a machine that opened and closed the roof thousands of times during development to replicate many years of hard use to ensure it would cope.

Keep on at them. I think they are trying it on. They will cave in after a while.


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## TTotal (Aug 12, 2002)

Letter from CS today.

Blah blah blah etc.... all wear and tear etc

Plus

It may be due to the fact that the automatic car washing machines that you use contain strong chemicals !

They obviously have not got a clue about me 

Me the guy that would sleep with his TTR if he could.

Me the guy that brings his wheels inside the house to clean and polish them.

Me the bloke that has his car featured on the Swissol advert at the top of this page ( a lot of the time).

I am getting an independant engineer now and intend to keep going until either they do something or I break under the strain.

PLUS...how the hell can a car wash machine damage metal pins in the mechanism?


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## Love_iTT (Aug 18, 2002)

I'm with you TTotaly on this John. My hood has the same wear marks as yours (on the fabric) and has done for ages, unlike you though I had just accepted it as part of the 'deal' on TTR's. I'm not happy with the situation at all, the car looks fine apart from when the hood is up and all the marks show so if there is anything I can do to help the situation then let me know.

As regards car washes, mine has never been through one and I doubt if yours has either, these wear marks are caused by roof material rubbing and taking the knap off - nothing more, nothing less.

If this is caused by frequent use of the hood as Vlastan has suggested then maybe Audi should have put a warning sticker by the handle stating that:

*WARNING*
*FREQUENT USE OF THIS HOOD
WILL RESULT IN PREMATURE
WEAR OF THE FABRIC AND WILL
RESULT IN UNSIGHTLY MARKS*

Maybe if I had seen something like that then I would have bought a coupe :roll:

The problem Audi have is if they own up to this as beeing a fault in the design then they are going to have to fork out a lot of money for new hoods - can you honestly see them doing that given their past record? I don't thinks so but I would love to be proved wrong.

Graham


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## TTotal (Aug 12, 2002)

Hiya buddy,



> The problem Audi have is if they own up to this as beeing a fault in the design then they are going to have to fork out a lot of money for new hoods - can you honestly see them doing that given their past record? I don't thinks so but I would love to be proved wrong.


Exactly the words used by "Honest John" from the Telegraph when I emailed him about this .

The thing is, all of the TTR owners with this problem are past the warranty stage.

Mine is expiring in October so I need to get this sorted by then and how I dont know.

The wear is caused by :-

The fabric rubbing against itself

This is caused by :-

Poor design
Vibration of the car
The low profile of the tyres 
The road surfaces in my area

Who knows and its obviously in Audis best interest to blame me for taking little or no care of my beloved car.


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## MikeES (Jul 10, 2002)

Incidentally, I had a Z3 2.8 a few years ago that I bought second hand at 4 years old and after a couple of owners.

I noticed that the hood was starting to wear, in fact fray would be a better description.

I went to my local dealer and asked for help and I got a new hood gratis under BMW Good Will.

I still go there with the new Beemer and they are ace. It's often the dealer as much as the manufacturer. However all my Audi expereinces have been sh1te !

Mike


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