Somebody at 60 Minutes should have gone to jail for the hatchet job they did on Audi.

@ryoamora8655

7 жыл бұрын

Some of that blame mainly lies with Consumer Reports, too.

@JDMHaze

3 жыл бұрын

Ryo Amora Don't even get me started on consumer reports after what they did to Suzuki

My god...., poor Audi...., One of the best car makes!, love the 5000

@ryoamora8655

7 жыл бұрын

The 4000 was another good Audi, much better than the crap they make nowadays.

@E92TilInfinity

6 жыл бұрын

Ryo Amora what crap? Most cars are leading in their class

@sostrucking

5 жыл бұрын

I had one and it was great. Even in a foot of snow.

60 minutes rigged a car to accelerate with an air operated actuator to make it look like they had captured an actual even.

Because of the 60 Minutes report, sales of Audi cars in America decreased from around 70,000 a year to around 12,000. It would be years before Audi's sales recovered.

A tragedy. A complete pack of lies that almost sent a company into bankruptcy. An NO ONE was held accountable. They did the same to GM trucks in the 90's. Sickening.

we had these audis in the uk, how come we never had this problem?

@carfan5824

4 жыл бұрын

mrspivvy because some of them are stupid

Bought a red ‘84 5000s in 1987. Saw it on a Mazda used car lot. Looked like new. Had about 40,000 miles. If I recall correctly, paid $4500. Great car.

The problem of the Audi 5000 was that it was way too good and way too affordable,affordable enough to scare the whole import market in America,sold like hotcakes until "somebody" decided to start a ridiculous smear campaign against it,i remember very well that story and my money always was on Toyota

@nigahiga6400

8 жыл бұрын

+peter455sd Well said. The 5000 never had a problem outside of the US. I've never heard of any SUA scare in China, where the Audi 5000 platform lived a long, successful life, sold as an Audi 100 and in the form of a rebadge by HongQi. It's disgusting what 60 Minutes did and even more so that people actually believed that the throttle would stick and the brakes fail at exactly the same time. Both Audi and Toyota were blamed for a non-existent problem. Toyota vehicles made in that time period were perceived to have an SUA problem, but magically after a few years nobody seems to bat an eye. If there truly was a problem with the design of the car, the level of scrutiny would have caught it. The problem with the Toyota recall was when some drivers panicked, they hit the brake several times which depletes the vacuum based assist. Very few people know truly how a brake pedal feels when there's no power assist so they erroneously believe the brakes failed when in reality they work fine, they just need a large amount of force. Power outputs have increased since the 80s but tests have shown that even with a V8 Mustang the brakes will overpower the engine.

@xXYannuschXx

8 жыл бұрын

+peter455sd The US car market always tries to destroy the European or Asian however it can. Just look at what happened when Toyota had the Airbag problem which wasn't their fault: They tried to sue Toyota to death. Or VW with the exhaust gas scandal: they now try to sue VW to death. But if it is a American company: they do NOTHING. GM has a very dangerous problem with the ignition key, which supposedly already killed 7 people. GM workers already confirmed this issue a DECADE AGO and they still do NOTHING!

@peter455sd

8 жыл бұрын

This is not true,American companies and models were being crucified by the media along the years,some cars were labeled as dangerous for no reason,these I believe are groups of crooks trying to make a buck,some cases are real others don't,this one with the Audi was stupid

@LCM1956

6 жыл бұрын

Consumer reports did the same thing to the Suzuki when their Samurai started threatening the American market. Samurai's were priced at a deal, relatively fuel efficient, simple to work on and awesome all around and were selling like crazy. Consumer reports spends a whole day and multiple drivers trying to get the car to roll or "lift" during an obstacle avoidance test. When they couldn't they tried other tricks like increasing the speed and deflating the tires until it finally "did". The report destroyed the sales of the Samurai. Suzuki sued and somehow got a hold of video filmed of the tests showing the tomfoolery and the editors cheering when they had finally forced the Samurai up on two wheels. Suzuki won the lawsuit and produced a promotional video like this (it's on youtube) but their sales numbers never recovered. In 1978 ABC 20/20 did a similar thing to Ford, using footage that used an incendiary device to pretend in an accident their full size cars and some trucks would ignite. They used footage from 10 years earlier, lol. Also in 1980 CBS 60 minutes did the same thing to Jeep, using a robot using super human forces and weights hidden in the wheel wells to make a Jeep CJ roll over in an evasive maneuver. And in 1992 NBC dateline used hidden rockets, an over-filled tank, and a loose gas cap to make GM cars start on fire after an accident. None of these key elements they mentioned to their audience. The latter ones were all done to win Emmy's and get views, just like Ralph Nader and his book "Unsafe at any speed" which he lied about cars in essentially to promote himself.

The idle stabilizer module was the real issue. I replaced mine and eventually ended up rebuilding it with a larger transistor and heatsink because the original one was undersized and was prone to overheating and shorting out. The Audi 5000 employed a secondary throttle bypass system which was electronically controlled. The purpose was to maintain idle speeds at varying loads (AC on/off, etc). It also was used to raise the idle speed when the engine was cold. If the module shorted out, the engine speed would increase to about 2000rpms if in neutral. If in gear, it would definitely start the car moving. Not really a big deal, and very easy to overpower with the brakes. However, this behavior freaked out a small percentage of drivers and they stomped the gas pedal instead of the brake. The rest is history. The media acted like a bunch of piranha fish and went absolutely nuts.

@evanfinch4987

Жыл бұрын

bosch idle control motors were/are in millions of fuel injected cars--i've had them fail in old porsches/saabs/etc and never drove through a wall. a vacuum line popping off can have same effect. head back to audiworld where you guys can conjure up some more "original" theories

@user-bg2ly6dg7m

7 ай бұрын

Don't fall for their brain washing tactics. It was all a lie by some crooked fraudster trying to get money.

I love it when unintended acceleration is reduced

The Audi 5000 was a beautful car !

Never had any problem with my Audi. I had a 1983 5000S with a 5-speed manual, and then I went to a 1985 with the automatic. The 85 had the safety lock mechanism installed. Fun car to drive.

i think its pretty awesome that they got bobby unser for the test. he set a record on pikes peak in an audi s1 in 86, Walter Rohrl got the record back in '87 driving a 600hp audi s1. I don't know if toyota could learn anything from this, times have really changed.

For us buyers it was pure heaven got mine 89 5000cs for under $3k. Zero issues purchased 128k in 1995 totaled 175k awesome car!

I remember watching the 60 minutes episode, 1st run. I remember being flabbergasted when they showed the accelerator depressing itself on it's own. How is that possible? There is no mechanism that could possibly cause that to happen! It's like the Chevy S10 exposing when on side impacts. It turned out the news organization (60 minutes?) planted explosives to get the result they wanted for the story.

@JDMHaze

2 жыл бұрын

yes, I'll see your S 10 example and I'll raise you, remember when consumer reports sabotage Suzuki and repeatedly tested it to force a rollover? And called it basically a death trap

@User-cb4jm

Жыл бұрын

It is possible. Before cars had electronic throttle control, the cruise control system used a servo to depress the accelerator so that it pulls on the throttle cable. This was an issue in late 80s and early 90s Fords, where the cruise control gets power even at idle. Search up "Dateline NBC Sudden Acceleration Investigation", all 4 segments are on KZread. I have reason to believe that is legitimate, as those people have taken the car back to the dealer and secret memos have been sent around asking to check for a short circuit. Though with the Audi its clearly people not being used to the close pedal placement unlike 80s American cars and the fact cars from the era didn't have a shift interlock which would require your foot be on the brake. Plus the high idle speed might mean the car creeping forward might take someone by surprise. But all clearly user error unlike the Ford cruise controls.

Problem in seat not car

The 5000 is a great car and is my daily driver. Lets see a 1987 American car do that ..RUST free and still looking good.

Actually the problem did exist , I did automotive repair for about 38 years , I had an Audi 5000 on the rack working on it , and as I started a cold engine while the transmission is in neutral , then moved forward to work under the hood , the wheels took off accelerating on their own , luckily it was off the ground otherwise I would have been crushed , what I saw is the metal rod transmission kick down pulling the accelerator down then letting go , that event took the engine up to about 2000 RPMs , it by itself is not a problem except it will create enough confusion that someone could easily step on the accelerator instead of the brakes .

Living chiefly in Germany i remember this and was perplexed that it only ever apparently happened in the USA... no where else in the world. Was there something in the export models to the US at the time was my thinking back then. It was so odd.

This "problem" is probably a part of the reason my mom was so adamant about me keeping my foot on the brake during ignition when I was learning to drive. Her and dad were in their 20's during the time this was all going on. 🤔

Once back in high school, a friend and I took his dads Chevy truck out for the sort of fun that stupid teenage boys like to have. It was relatively new, C20 (I think), Silverado trim; a pretty nice truck. At a stoplight, my friend pushed the brake pedal to the floor and then did the same with the accelerator. The truck groaned deeply and leaned forward with all its might, but that was all it did. Though equipped with a 350 V8 and some 275 lbft of torque (much of it right off the line), the brakes were ultimately stronger than the motor, so while the truck shuddered in noisy protest, it didn’t actually move forward. And that’s the case in all cars really. The idea that the complaining parties were standing on the brake in there Audi, in some cases with both feet (they claim), I don’t buy. And I think at this point, nobody does.

demonstrated it at 40 mph whereas people only started to understand what is going on at 80+ running at full throttle.

You can almost hear the weary sound of facepalm in Bobby Unser's voice as he's explaining how the engine can not overcome the brakes. As an aside, it's interesting to know the genesis of the automatic shift-lock. In the UK we occasionally have these events and the common factors are that the car is always automatic, the driver is always elderly, and afterwards the driver claims that the engine started racing whilst the authorities can find no defects that would cause this.

I've never owned or driven an Audi, but I have driven plenty of cars with automatic transmission, and I've always thought this story was full of bullshit. I've never had a car with automatic transmission accelerate suddenly on me, without my knowledge or intent. In a car with automatic transmission, there are usually two pedals: the accelerator to the right, and the brake pedal to the left. Both are usually used with the right foot. If things work like they should, one should be able to place one foot on the brake, usually the right foot, while moving the transmission lever from *"Park"* to any moving gear, *"Reverse,"* *"Drive,"* etc. The car shouldn't move if the brake pedal is pressed.

100% driver error! And shoddy journalism by 60 minutes.

@JDMHaze

2 жыл бұрын

this was absolutely unethical, and it's not their first offense, this is why people hate auto journalist, consumers reports pulled this crap on Suzuki

wow look how much the driver's seat wiggles and moves when he gets in!

I bought a beautiful '78 5000 in "79, nice interior with the Inline 5 and auto trans. I bought it in Ohio and while it wasn't a rocket on level ground but it would run about 80 mph comfortably. I relocated to AZ and discovered it wouldn't go up hill worth a damn and about 5,000 ft. elevation there was no motor to be found and I was relegated to the curb lane or actually the shoulder as I reached 6,000 ft. All this is to indicate the nonsense of the whole unintended acceleration scam. There's a special place in hell waiting for most lawyers. My 78 didn't accelerate intentionally or unintentionally, over 6000 ft. the gas peddle merely kept it from rolling backwards . Fortunately my lovely deserving wife got it in our divorce settlement. I bought a Ford F150 with a V8 auto that went up hill and down hill all day long at any altitude.

The only credibility lost here was that of the American driver and the 60 minutes crew who did the story.

@mrspivvy Their loss. the audi 100/5000 was one of the best big saloons of the '80s. leagues ahead of a lot of other manufacturers. plenty of space, stable handling, loads of grunt from the 2.2 5 cylinder and decent economy. ,akes me wonder if the whole thing was a fantasy concocted for underworked lawyers in the land of the lawsuit

@compu85 Pretty much. My current car is a 1990 audi coupe quattro 20 valve with hydroboost brakes and a failing pressure accumulator, they always work better with more revs. Don't know about the tandem part, my car has one pump that runs both the steering and the brakes.

I have an ‘87 5000 Turbo and my idle stabilizer valve is working fine..HOWEVER it has “failed” and effects the idle..in a way it fluctuates up and down but does NOT rev the engine to a point where the the car is driving itself lol. 60min is a joke. Oh and my brakes are functioning as well.

Let's be honest.American drivers who claimed it happened to them could not humble themselves to admit they made a mistake but instead were feeding into this fear frenzy as we have seen on 60 Minutes.

Audi can say all they want that this wasn't a problem that they could identify but I lived it and hit six cars in a Cub Foods (no longer in business/75th & Main St., Downers Grove, IL on FrIday, 10/24/1986 at @ 4:45 p.m.) parking lot. Audi put me through hell in dealing with my situation. I was a seasoned Audi driver and didn't fit their premise that it was a new Audi driver or an occasional driver of the car. I was the principal driver and had just begun to pick up the pieces of my life after having lost my husband a year and a half (5/6/1985) before my accident. My car was towed to an Audi dealer in Aurora (no longer an Audi Dealer/Norb Kornak Oldsmobile,2175 E. New York Ave., Aurora, IL) where it sat for @ 3 months as I wouldn't let them repair it until it was inspected by someone from Audi. It was finally inspected on 1/9/1987 by Daniel Anderson of Linconshire .advising me that the car was inspected that day but it's hard to believe that they could have properly tested it as it no longer had the brake reservoir on the car. In my lawyers office I gave a deposition that was to be used in the law suit by the Ohio couple who lost their son due to their Audi having unintended acceleration and killing him. My insurance company sued Audi but were not successful in their lawsuit. I had their recall notice on the date of the accident and had an appointment for it prior to my accident but was told it couldn't be done for weeks before my accident. I went to Cub Foods to get food for company I was having to celebrate my mother's birthday with family and because of the misty rainy night I looked for a parking spot close to the stores doors, I saw one that was about three spaces from the aisle and was only available because their were carts blocking it, I put my car in Park, turned the ignition off and removed the carts . I proceeded to start my car and for some odd reason put my seat belt on, took my 1985 Audi 5000S out of park and into drive when it took off on it's own,, hitting the first car in front of me, crossing the drive aisle into the next set of cars and was coming out of those two aisles when I had the presence of mind to turn the ignition off all the while that I had two feet on the brake and was the only way that I had stopped it. It infuriates me to be so maligned by Audi and making us the victims of their problem and telling me I don't know how to drive and had to have my foot on the accelerator which was not the case. I wish I had never had this happen and never had to live with this. Audi put me through hell and I resent their old regime to this day and I am still only an Audi owner because of the $4000 rebate they gave me as I couldn't stand to drive that vehicle after it was repaired. Audi today is a different company and I still drive the Audi A6 vehicle which eventually replaced the Audi 5000S and will never forgive their regime in germany for the attitude they displayed to me the VICTIM OF THEIR UNINTENDED ACCELERATION I LIVED. I have a file that is at least 6 inches thick along with notes, dates and times of who I spoke with during my ordeal with them. I just had to put my situation on line due to the way Audi treated it's loyal customers back then.

@scruffynorseman

Жыл бұрын

They didn't really say there was no problem, just that the nhtsb and Audi couldn't reproduce the problem.

Audi is best I don’t believe what ever people say

Good 'ol Mike Wallace..

Brainwashing consumers? This was a made up story about Audi. For what though?

@alexlevy322

5 жыл бұрын

It was because Audi let sales for mid sized sedans. So Ford wanted to make a big impact and capture the market in this segment. They teamed up with CBS TV to do a hatchet job on Audi to ensure that their Ford Taurus car introduction would take Audi's place. This is what happened. Phuk Ford and Phuk CBS. We mechanics know this was all a setup by Ford !

Audi was innocent. Turns out it was a lie. I had one for 8 years it was my first car. My car never did this at all.

Yeah but come on its a Throtle Cable not a motor that moves the throttle some thing in the engine needs to be pulling it

@mevande you mean american consumers, that is

Land of the lawyers, home of the litigious 😊

What about correcting the shitty software on all modern cars?

You mean educate? Oh the irony..

There must have just been a lot of women drivers of Audis

Conclusion, consumers are stupid! They don't know how to drive.

In this case it only applies to useless drivers really.

@JDMHaze

2 жыл бұрын

It applies to morons and every person they spoke to was just as stupid as the last

what is really scary about this car is the read drum brakes locking up with the parking brake system that Volkswagen Uses

I believe the problem was in the transmission kickdown . if I remember correctly there was a solid piece of metal transmission kickdown bar connecting the transmission to the throttle on the 4000 and 5000 . I had a vehicle lift it up on the Hoist in neutral and I was looking at it while the transmission kickdown pulled back the accelerator revving up the engine. I think the problem is two parts one part is the mechanical and the other part the driver being surprised . the problem is definitely in the transmission kickdown.

@donkmeister

3 жыл бұрын

That is interesting, but whilst the carb and kickdown mechanism on the early cars were indeed connected in a way that would allow a person under the car to manipulate the kickdown mech to open the throttle, I'm not aware of a failure mode that would cause the gearbox to drive the kickdown mech in this way. How do you think the gearbox would drive the kickdown mech in reverse? Moving on from that, not all of the "unintended acceleration" cars had this kickdown mechanism. Cars from 1984 onwards had a different linkage that simply does not allow the kickdown mechanism to be used to manipulate the throttle. All that is moot, because it wouldn't deactivate the brakes. As Mr Indy driver shows, even the most powerful model in the range has brakes significantly more powerful than the engine.

THIS APPLIES TO AUTOMATIC CARS ONLY

Manual STICK is the only way to drive. All my VW GTI STICK, same with the two Audi, STICK. Driver in control!

@vinceh8468

2 жыл бұрын

Very true. I drive older vehicles (because they are more fun) and I have experienced instances of stuck accelerator or sudden revving and a simple press of the clutch pedal takes care of it.

Yes it's true. The people that purchased those cars had no clue why the pedals were so close to each other. It's called heel-toe downshifting, and people that drive Ford Mustangs have no idea what it is. lol

This is a typical sellout. 1, the turbo makes little torque down low. 2, people were BACKING over their children ... notice no test in reverse. Reverse has a much higher gear ratio, brakes wont hold reverse... try it in your own car sometime. 3, after shift from park was installed, it still happened. That is why he laid it off on people starting the car in neutral. Do you know anyone that does that? I dont. 4, the cruise control actuator was operated by 12volts, NOT engine vacuum like others.

@rdargenio

4 жыл бұрын

paradisemace1 Sorry, reverse or forward gear, if brakes are applied, the car doesn’t move. You’re dead wrong.

@paradisemace1

4 жыл бұрын

@@rdargenio I've been a tech for 40 years. So I am old, but not dead...or wrong, for that matter.

@rdargenio

4 жыл бұрын

paradisemace1 I don’t care what you do or did for a living. Show me the video of a car that will move with the gas and brake applied. You can’t. Porsche 911 Turbos and Corvettes can’t do it. The Audi 5000 had a measly 100 hp. By the way, reverse has a lower gear ratio, not higher, which equates to more torque.

@paradisemace1

4 жыл бұрын

@@rdargenio so your saying having a lower gear ratio 3to1 provides more torque than a higher one 4to1?

It's not an unintended acceleration. It's just Audi!

Audi... unreliable since... and will always be