2.0TDi 170 S-Line Quattro - Understeer/Vibration at low speed & full lock

[wizbongre]

Hi All,

I'm wondering if anyone can give me some advice before I go and harass my local friendly Audi service centre...

I've got an '07 2.0TDi 170 Quattro S-Line Special Edition Avant with the 18" RS4 style alloys. I've noticed a really weird issue with the drivetrain/steering when driving/turning at slow speeds and heavy lock. Say you are coming out of a side street onto a main road and so you go from a standstill and pull away in first gear, with relatively high lock to turn a 90 degree corner. The car feels like something is dragging or scrabbling. When negotiating small multi-storey car parks in first gear where the surface is wet and a bit slippy you can actually feel the car understeering, as if the rear wheels are driving the car forward quicker than the fronts are pulling it to the side.

The whole thing makes the car feel really horrible when parking or driving around town on small back roads. I've seen a few different posts about similar problems but not got an actual explanation for the problem I'm having. Obviously, when it went in for a service the wonderful technicians claimed no fault found... Can't believe the cheek of them at times as it's not even an intermittent fault or very easy to miss - it's the first thing anyone notices when they get in the car.

Any help/suggestions welcome :)

Gareth.

[auroan]

I had this on my old TFSI sline ... and to some extent my TDI. Think it's just down to steering geometry and I don't worry much about it.

[Dave M1]

Ive a 2004 sport quattro and it does the same

[diesel_dave]

This Problem Normally Happens On Quattros And Is Due To The Action Of The Center Differental Feeding Power To The Rear Wheels And Is Normal And Nothing To Worry About, It Can Also Feel Alot Worse When Parking Etc And Higher Power Versions.

[wizbongre]

Sorry for the delay in replying - been crackers busy and not had a chance to get back on!

Thanks for the replies. I'm glad I'm not alone but really can't believe Audi let a car out with this inherent feature!

I agree on the diff explanation as that's exactly how it feels. And parking the last few weeks on frosty/snowy ground has been horrible - I've never been scared of power understeer whilst maneuvering into a car parking spot before!!!

[Flakmunky]

Hi,

This sounds very similar to my symptoms on a non-Quattro car so it may not be Quattro related?

Mine is going in to get checked by Audi on Tuesday. I will report back.

Regards,

fM

[wizbongre]

Hi fM,

Thanks for the reply.

I raised it with Audi when it had it's first service a few months ago but they claimed not to be able to find the problem... Lying bu66ers! You can't miss it!

Unfortunately, due to work commitments, I've not been able to go and talk to them properly about it yet but will be doing very soon.

[Flakmunky]

Audi are replacing the steering rack and "a pipe" in early January under warranty. They expect it to take 2 days.

[sarahackett]

Same problem with mine. I am unsure why it has started to happen after owning it for 18 months. If it is a 'normal' thing for the car, why didn't I feel it when I did a test drive? If I had, I certainly wouldn't have bought it.

[lola]

I'm on my 3rd Audi A4 Quattro quite normal for this to happen on full lock, you would expect this to happen on most 4WD vehicles