Very concerned about steering issue just came up. Love the car so far. While about 20 miles into my trip today, the steering felt strange, almost as if I had a flat tire. Then I realized that the wheel was turning on "notches", not smoothly. Straight wheel was on a notch, left or right were on notches, and nothing in between was able to hold. So I was on the highway and on curves I had to steer from notch to notch instead of a smooth steering transition as would have been normal. I called the dealer from the road since I was very anxious at this point going over a bridge and doing 50 mph in traffic. Meanwhile after about 10 minutes like this, the steering reverted back to normal.
When I spoke with the maintenance dept at Audi and explained what just happened, they said they never heard of this type of problem. Now I'm really concerned because we all know after they look at my car, they are going to say they couldn't find anything wrong. Then what do I do? So I booked the car for service and we will see what happens. Good grief. I hope my trip home is better than this morning's trip.
Update from Mar 9, 2015: Problem resolved by Dealer. Had to replace steering electronics, under warrantee. Kept car for a few days and had to consult Audi Engineering Dept to come up with the solution. Have not had the problem since. If you need additional info, feel free to comment and I will look at the service paperwork received from the dealer.
Update from Apr 13, 2015: I received a response from an ANGELA M who had similar/exact same problems. The dealer replaced steering shaft, column housing and realignment and stated there was a computer issue with steering. The computer software was updated twice. I also was told this before they took the car in for repairs. Angela's car was good for about a year and now has the same problems again. The car is at the dealer now and they tell her it drives fine. Of course this problem doesnt happen all the time so when they test drive it, they are not necessarily going to witness the problem. But there is a safety issue that they better find or be subject to bigger problems later on god forbid there is trouble on the road. As it turns out, the steering is no longer a mechanically connected device. Its more like an airplane steering which works on magnetism and there is a redundancy system that checks and corrects as needed. That was the stiffness we were feeling, where the magnet grabs at certain spots (to put it simply) which make us think the steering is sticking or locking up. But not repairing this would be a problem if the redundant system also fails or who knows what. Lets say, if this was happening on the 747 you were flying in, would you want the airline to be sure to repair the steering, or say it seems fine? Time for a new car, or Jet?
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Very concerned about steering issue just came up. Love the car so far. While about 20 miles into my trip today, the steering felt strange, almost as if I had a flat tire. Then I realized that the wheel was turning on "notches", not smoothly. Straight wheel was on a notch, left or right were on notches, and nothing in between was able to hold. So I was on the highway and on curves I had to steer from notch to notch instead of a smooth steering transition as would have been normal. I called the dealer from the road since I was very anxious at this point going over a bridge and doing 50 mph in traffic. Meanwhile after about 10 minutes like this, the steering reverted back to normal.
When I spoke with the maintenance dept at Audi and explained what just happened, they said they never heard of this type of problem. Now I'm really concerned because we all know after they look at my car, they are going to say they couldn't find anything wrong. Then what do I do? So I booked the car for service and we will see what happens. Good grief. I hope my trip home is better than this morning's trip.
Update from Mar 9, 2015: Problem resolved by Dealer. Had to replace steering electronics, under warrantee. Kept car for a few days and had to consult Audi Engineering Dept to come up with the solution. Have not had the problem since. If you need additional info, feel free to comment and I will look at the service paperwork received from the dealer.
Update from Apr 13, 2015: I received a response from an ANGELA M who had similar/exact same problems. The dealer replaced steering shaft, column housing and realignment and stated there was a computer issue with steering. The computer software was updated twice. I also was told this before they took the car in for repairs. Angela's car was good for about a year and now has the same problems again. The car is at the dealer now and they tell her it drives fine. Of course this problem doesnt happen all the time so when they test drive it, they are not necessarily going to witness the problem. But there is a safety issue that they better find or be subject to bigger problems later on god forbid there is trouble on the road. As it turns out, the steering is no longer a mechanically connected device. Its more like an airplane steering which works on magnetism and there is a redundancy system that checks and corrects as needed. That was the stiffness we were feeling, where the magnet grabs at certain spots (to put it simply) which make us think the steering is sticking or locking up. But not repairing this would be a problem if the redundant system also fails or who knows what. Lets say, if this was happening on the 747 you were flying in, would you want the airline to be sure to repair the steering, or say it seems fine? Time for a new car, or Jet?
- Stephen P., Melville, NY, US