The 1st generation Audi TT, a two-door sports car that came in both 2+2 coupe and roadster models, ran from 1998 to 2006, and was nominated for the North American Car of the Year in 2000. Sharing a design platform with Audi’s A4, the TT became and remains a sports car of choice among car enthusiasts. Owners of 1st generation TT’s often report the pixels on their instrument cluster burning out prematurely.
The TT’s dashboard contains a center LCD screen snuggled up between the speed dials, RPM meters, and gas gauges. This screen shows incredibly important information pertaining to the current operating status of the vehicle, and it also displays any error messages. Many owners report that the pixels in this screen begin to fail over time, becoming dimmer and then blacking out completely. Some say that the outside temperature affects the operation, and that the warmer it is the worse the problem becomes.
There is a chance that the A/C lines sprang a leak and are causing a stream of vapor to fog up the inside of the instrument cluster. This would help explain why the warmer weather causes greater pixel failure. The most likely solution, sadly enough, is that the entire instrument cluster needs to be replaced due to complete malfunction of the LCD display. This job takes an incredible amount of electrical, automotive, and mechanical knowledge as well as an almost infinite reserve of patience.
Ignoring the fading pixels can lead to some serious situations. When the lights go out, any further sensor malfunction will not get transmitted to you via the LCD display, and you will remain blind to some potentially dangerous developments in your TT’s system. To be safe, we highly recommend that you take the TT to an independent German import repair expert who can adequately diagnose and fix whatever the problem may be.
Search for a local, independent Audi repair shop with Audi mechanics that have dealer-level expertise at a fraction of the expense.