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View Full Version : A4 Avant - Do I have a suspension problem ?



John140
18-01-2008, 07:51 PM
My 10 month old A4 Avant TDI SE seems to have developed a rather strange front suspension charateristic. After having had the tracking checked twice 'at my own cost' the second wheel allignment place seemed to think that one of my lower suspension arm hydro-bushes may be faulty. The symptom I am speaking about is an exagerated tendency for the wheels to follow ruts or undulations in the road surface, ie the steering is 'snatchy' on some less than smooth roads. I've had a full front suspension geometry check which came up perfect, and the Audi dealer inspected all of the bushes and said there was nothing untoward. The Audi dealer for some reason pumped my tyres up to 41 PSI which I didn't realise at first, but this gave the feeling that I was being blown around a lot on the motorway.
I still dont think the car drives right, and was wondering if anyone knew of any known problems with the front suspension on these ? There are no clunks or noises from the suspension, just the twitchyness of the handling on rougher roads.
:confused:

Ben
18-01-2008, 07:56 PM
what car did you have before you got this one?

John140
18-01-2008, 08:03 PM
I had a B6 A4 Avant TDI 130

John140
18-01-2008, 08:09 PM
I had a B6 A4 Avant TDI 130

Ben
18-01-2008, 08:10 PM
oh right, so its more of a side ways move than a massive upgrade.

the ruts in the road issue.... are the roads inparticular used a lot by HGV's. as over time they put their own grooves in the surface and as your wheel track is narrower you won't be sat in the ruts. The ruts will cause you to move about.

This is why you often see the left hand lane of the motorway with newer tarmac.

John140
18-01-2008, 08:15 PM
oh right, so its more of a side ways move than a massive upgrade.


I suppose you could say that, the car ideally suits our needs for a given price, and I didn't want to keep my other car too long. I was considering an A6 Avant, but thought they are rather big, and needed a bigger engine than the 2.0 TDI which made them a bit pricey.

Anyway, what I am saying is that I dont think my car still drives the same way as when it was new after only 10 months and 12K miles.

Ben
18-01-2008, 08:26 PM
could it be over zealous speed sensitive steering being to sensitive i.e. its not getting heavy enough.

mellie
19-01-2008, 12:37 AM
Is it a quattro? I'm on my 2nd Audi quattro and find them more prone than F/RWD cars to follow the grooves made by HGV's.

Mellie,

John140
19-01-2008, 10:38 AM
Not a quattro..

John140
19-01-2008, 10:39 AM
could it be over zealous speed sensitive steering being to sensitive i.e. its not getting heavy enough.
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Is this configurable via the VaG interface then ?

nightmare101
07-03-2008, 04:37 PM
Hi there, this intrigued me as i have a similar problem with my A4. it's a 2000 registered A4 saloon 2.4 se, bought (admittedly much older than yours) last year with 100k on clock.

Recently i've developed 2 problems and one sounds similar, my car seems to dance around on rough surfaces (e.g. uk roads not lovely smooth european roads) and is borderline scary at motorway speed. The reason i'm posting is i feel like my suspension has turned jelly like, i had full geometry done and nothing showed up but at motorway speed and if the winds up i feel like she sails rather than drives!

New tyres, wheel alignments and geometry checks have told me nothing, i'm wondering if she's maybe lifting at the front or dropping at the back when at motorway speed ... e.g. the wind seems to get under me too :mad:

Also however i do have a knocking noise, seems to transmit through the accelerator pedal and floor pan when i hit a lump, speed hump or bump (but i think from reading other posts this may be an anti roll bar or suspension arm issue??).

Basically, heeeeelp! i can't afford to put new suspension on if the shocks aren't the cause. Don't know if the knocking over bumps is related or seperate but i know when i drive on the motorway in the wind it's scary and i don't like taking the family in it!

Any help appreciated, budget is tight and can't throw money at it... ps. not a mechanic, can you guess lol...

00161wj
07-03-2008, 08:41 PM
If its an s-line then it simply the charachteristics of the vehicle, they will tend to do this due to the slightly bigger wheels and stiffer suspension setup.

STAGMAN
09-03-2008, 12:35 AM
How worn are your front tyres? I had a similar problem and had to fight the steering as the car was all over the place on rough surfaces, the tyres were getting down to the limit. New tyres and all is fine.

adamss24
09-03-2008, 08:54 AM
Hi there, this intrigued me as i have a similar problem with my A4. it's a 2000 registered A4 saloon 2.4 se, bought (admittedly much older than yours) last year with 100k on clock.

Recently i've developed 2 problems and one sounds similar, my car seems to dance around on rough surfaces (e.g. uk roads not lovely smooth european roads) and is borderline scary at motorway speed. The reason i'm posting is i feel like my suspension has turned jelly like, i had full geometry done and nothing showed up but at motorway speed and if the winds up i feel like she sails rather than drives!

New tyres, wheel alignments and geometry checks have told me nothing, i'm wondering if she's maybe lifting at the front or dropping at the back when at motorway speed ... e.g. the wind seems to get under me too :mad:

Also however i do have a knocking noise, seems to transmit through the accelerator pedal and floor pan when i hit a lump, speed hump or bump (but i think from reading other posts this may be an anti roll bar or suspension arm issue??).

Basically, heeeeelp! i can't afford to put new suspension on if the shocks aren't the cause. Don't know if the knocking over bumps is related or seperate but i know when i drive on the motorway in the wind it's scary and i don't like taking the family in it!

Any help appreciated, budget is tight and can't throw money at it... ps. not a mechanic, can you guess lol...
Replace all 4 top suspension arms on the front on both sides and that should cure the wallowy ride ! Please use genuine Lemforder ones or Meyle as generic brands wont last long ! I would also check the front top suspension mounts as well- the bearings on top of the shock absorbers , they only cost £15 from Euro Car Parts and they are known to fail on high milleage cars...

ini
09-03-2008, 09:51 AM
In agreement with 00161wj, if you have a wider lower profile wheel & tyre than standard, the car will tramline and exagerate the 'feel' of bumps and ruts in the road.

Larger 'sportier' wheels also tend have a lower offset, which doesn't help.

John140
09-03-2008, 04:19 PM
How worn are your front tyres? I had a similar problem and had to fight the steering as the car was all over the place on rough surfaces, the tyres were getting down to the limit. New tyres and all is fine.
I hope this is it for me also, my Dunlop SP Sport Maxx are at the wear limit and will be replaced in the next week, so fingers crossed.