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.

**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

Originally Posted by golfmk5gttdi

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 ?