Two problems related to brake disc have been reported for the 1997 Audi A4. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Disc brakes are not adequately shielded from water while driving in the rain or snow, resulting in no braking effort for approximately the first two seconds of brake application. The brakes are fine in dry weather, but always catch me by surprise in the wet, when you step on the pedal nothing happens until the water is shed from the brake discs. Nlm.
The A4, unlike all other cars I've ever owned, does not have 'splash shields' inboard of the front disc brake rotors. In the rain, this causes a quite alarming period, when the brakes are initially applied, of sheer terror, because the car is not stopping! this has been made a mandatory recall all across europe, and there, insurance companies won't cover you if you rear-end someone and don't have the shields on. I see no reason why Audi won't also carry this to the us, until they get sued when someone gets killed because of it. Switching to gas-slotted brake rotors helps this situation, but does not eliminate it. Thanks, and I hope this gets taken care of before I hit someone! OH, every single person with an A4 that I know has the same problem.