2012 A6 Avant Steering Rack replacement - help please

[Jonawal]

Hi - advice needed - i had a steering warning light come up on my 2012 a6 avant 66,000 miles - steering system fault you can continue driving - tool it to Vasstech in Rugby who fan a diagnosis using VAS6160A and found a fault with the steering rack control unit - requires renewal of the steering rack and coding - ive been told i have to have an audi one and it will cost £2,200 including labour - ouch !

Its a hell of a cost ! any advise on cheaper ways round it ? is it worth getting a second opinion on the fault - however i assume the diagnostics are what they are - ive had a couple of other quotes and think its a fair price for the work - cant believe this has gone after only 66k miles though.

advice please - any other options

thank you

[Crasher]

The rack on the 4G has been a pain, revised 7 times between 2012 and 2015 and is now £1897.94 for the heavily revised and improved non dynamic version under Pr-Q7Z, part number 4G2 423 055 BD. Two companies offer recons but not in the latest revised version or with the improved heat insulation to protect it and personally I won't do it, I find dead customers not good business and don't take chances on safety. Yes the unit has to be coded it and even may need a software update when installed using ODIS. It is not too bad a job to do compared to the 4F, about 4 hours at most if all the fasteners come out clean (which MUST be replaced). Some of the customers we have done this for have reported much nicer steering than before, more responsive and less vague around the dead ahead.