# Audi 5000 scandal? What was it?



## muttwagon (Sep 21, 2000)

I've read there was some 5000 scandal that happened in the early 90s i believe. what was it? what happened? didnt 60 minutes do a story on it or something?


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## A4Jetta (Feb 16, 1999)

*Re: Audi 5000 scandal? What was it? (sk8vet)*

Basically was some idiots mistaken the brake pedal as gas pedal. On the other hand, 60 mins modified 5k's pedal placements in order to "make" the car accelerated by itself.


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## billzcat1 (Sep 10, 2001)

*Re: Audi 5000 scandal? What was it? (A4Jetta)*

It was known as "Unintended Accleration" and it was a big scam by 60 minutes because someone hit the gas instead of the brake pedal. All of a sudden, the cars accelerated by themselves, but only when 60 minutes was driving.







Of course, Audi's public relations department was never good at handling anything, and Audi also sued 60 Minutes and 60 Minutes made a public apology. Not that it mattered! The damage was already done.
There was never a problem with the cars, although Audi did change pedal placements a little. This scandal destroyed Audi's image in America and it took them some 8-10 years to recover. The A4 was possibly the most important car Audi has ever made in terms of the company's success in America. It brought them out of thier slump big time, and by this time, everyone had forgotten about the 60 Minutes fiasco.


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## 84cgtturbo (Apr 3, 2003)

*Re: Audi 5000 scandal? What was it? (billzcat1)*

Scam as it may have been, it worked out well for those of us who buy mid-80s Audis all day long for under $2K ! http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif








J.


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## billzcat1 (Sep 10, 2001)

*Re: Audi 5000 scandal? What was it? (84cgtturbo)*

Man I don't buy them all day long, I just make parts for them all day long!


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## Fahrvergnugen (May 1, 2002)

*Re: Audi 5000 scandal? What was it? (billzcat1)*

Actually, there was *some* merit to the problem... The relay that controlled the Idle Air Control Valve _could freak ou_ and open the IACV full, which would give the car unintended acceleration. We had this happen, once. However, once word got out, all sorts of people decided they would take advantage and scam Audi...
SO, I would recommend getting a new relay for that, and ignoring the crap you read about it...








David


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## billzcat1 (Sep 10, 2001)

*Re: Audi 5000 scandal? What was it? (fahrvegnugen)*

I've been on the quattro list for 5 years, and the majority of the list members own or have owned a 5000 turbo. It is the most commonly discussed car on the list, and I've NEVER heard of anything like this before. And it seems people gripe about the Unintended Acceleration thing about once every 2 weeks (still).
If you are considering buying an Audi, don't even think of worrying about UA. Even if the ISV opens fully - this only raises rpm to 1700. If this is causing unintended acceleration for you, then you are doing something very wrong....like driving.


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## Nrcabby (May 1, 2003)

*Re: Audi 5000 scandal? What was it? (billzcat1)*

My 200 actually did accelle by itself once







(scared the crap outta me) the arm that connects the cruise control (bellows?) to the throttle body fell off and got lodged on the side of the intake manifold holding the throttle about half way open.


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## Fahrvergnugen (May 1, 2002)

*Re: Audi 5000 scandal? What was it? (billzcat1)*


_Quote, originally posted by *billzcat1* »_
If you are considering buying an Audi, don't even think of worrying about UA. Even if the ISV opens fully - this only raises rpm to 1700. If this is causing unintended acceleration for you, then you are doing something very wrong....like driving.

This is wrong. We had this happen in the shop. It did raise the idle to at or near 3K. We found the fault to be the relay. Once replaced, it did not ever happen again. I would have responded sooner, but apparently I did mark the 'email me all replies' box.
Cheers,
David


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## alex97jazzblue (Oct 17, 2001)

*Re: Audi 5000 scandal? What was it? (Nrcabby)*

that same exact thing happened to me with the cruise control


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## erad (Aug 12, 2002)

Completely unrelated to Audi's, but to the UA topic. I had my buddy's GMC Jimmy for a day once, with big fat winter mats in it still on a summer day. I must have kicked the mat up and onto the gas pedal cause that sumbitch took off and I was panicking while hurling this truck over a bridge into a red light at an intersection.
I figured out it was the matt quickly enough thank god. Lucky thing he had leather seats...I left less of a mess behind after that incident for him to clean up.

















_Modified by erad at 1:51 AM 8-20-2004_


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## Peter Badore (Jun 17, 2002)

*Re: Audi 5000 scandal? What was it? (sk8vet)*

During the early 1990s I did a project for the First Auto Works in Changchun, PRC. We modified Chinese built Audi 100s to use a locally built Chrysler 2.2 turbo engine. I had six Audis in my evaluation fleet
for various purposes. One car was a US 5000 Turbo automatic completely stock and untouched from its original specification. On an early Sunday morning after a short drive and partial cool down upon
restarting, the 5000 Turbo drove itself away exhibiting the unintended acceleration characteristic that 60 Minutes made headlines with. Since the roads were empty I let the car go to see what would happen. The 5000 turbo reached a speed of about 30 mph and accelerated/drove itself for a period of about 1 minute before returning to normal idle. I always suspected the ISV but could never reproduce the problem again. One of my friends became the service engineering for VW/ Audi North America (Robert Knevels) and told me that that neither the US nor the German Audi service and design engineers assigned to the problem investigation could reproduce the unintended acceleration. But they did conclude that the Audi 5000 brake to accelerator pedal placement was closer than typical US designs. The brake pedal/transmission shift interlock concept was one of the solutions the industry adopted to reduce the problem of drivers pushing the wrong pedal in start up and some panic situations. Thanks for the insight.


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## helpmemycarisbroken (Aug 25, 2004)

*Re: Audi 5000 scandal? What was it? (Peter Badore)*

This is why you can hit the gear selector as hard as you want forward and go to nuetral.


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