Off to dealers to get my steering checked.....

OutLore

OutLore

VOIP Dude
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Off this afternoon to let them look at my steering locking up problem - and to check the EGR valve.....

Will let you know the results.....
 
ha!! just booked mine in today, going to Hatfield audi (near to work so its easier) - they're going to look at exactly the same things, and the seat creak!!! Let me know how yours goes /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
im close to booking mine in as its got worse, i did a fast manuver at slow speed the other day and the steering was as if it wasnt power asisted /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
audi upgrades
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im close to booking mine in as its got worse, i did a fast manuver at slow speed the other day and the steering was as if it wasnt power asisted /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

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Yup,mine 'locked up' as I tried to enter my driveway quite quickly the other night.

(cue comments about changing my driving to suit the steering now... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif)

Mine is getting checked over tomorrow,so let's all keep each other advised as to the various dealers' responses.
 
must admit I had 4 women in my car the other night (one was the wife unfortunately) and when I tried to turn he wheel from stationary ot was reet hard.

Would suggest that the motor/pump isn't up to it.
 
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must admit I had 4 women in my car the other night (one was the wife unfortunately) and when I tried to turn he wheel from stationary ot was reet hard.

Would suggest that the motor/pump isn't up to it.

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I'd be reet hard with four women in the car. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/froggie_red.gif
 
Not if you saw my wife you wouldn't /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
mmmm Mine went Hard on me when i Carried out a Fast Right Hand Turn Manouver the other day, NEarly ripped my arm off /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I cant find a pattern to this - Going Hard problem, it seems slightly random too me.
 
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mmmm Mine went Hard on me when i Carried out a Fast Right Hand Turn Manouver the other day, NEarly ripped my arm off /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I cant find a pattern to this - Going Hard problem, it seems slightly random too me.

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This would horrify glove-wearing,hand-signalling 'advanced' drivers,but I often just use the palm of my hand to 'whirl' the wheel round at low speed,or when parking.

The 'stiffening' has caused me to lose grip of the wheel on several occasions.

My fault for not holding onto the wheel correctly ?

Perhaps,but it's doesn't excuse the fault.
 
Sorry chaps... didn't make it in the end.... got to rebook /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
Well,scratch my dealer as one that is unwilling/unable to see the problem.

They've just been on the phone and they claim they couldn't get it to do it at all,not once.

Something else to file under 'foible' rather than 'fault',evidently.
 
Whats the problem you guys have bin experiencing? My steering is very heavy and sometimes very unresponsive. Is this the same problem?

I drove a Vectra last week and for a bigger heavier car the steering was very light and responsive (not that I'm bigging the car up cos it was rubbish). It just made me wonder when I swapped back into my A3 that it made me realise that my clutch and accelerator and steering wheel in the A3 are all quite heavy and hard! Any ideas, have a got a problem??
 
its a problem, at low speed ie 3 mph when turning left or right you start to turn the steering wheel 1/2 a turn is light and normal and then it goes heavy as if the Power Sterring has Turned off, its anoying in the Car parks and im surprised it hasnt caught people out ?
 
Any further news from those who have been to their dealers with this? Mine has been playing up a little over the past month, but I put it down to my exuberant driving style.

This morning I felt the steering was heavier just driving around town that normal. When I came to park and wanted to turn the steering quickly to get into a tight spot, there was no assistance at all. It assisted a little after getting into the space, but nothing like it used to.

It's a bit of a coincidence that so many of us are experiencing this at the same time. It's certainly no a "characteristic" as it behaved nothing like this for the previous 28 months.
 
Mine is now booked in for mid March (earliest I can do, rather than dealer) for lumpy assistance and left turn creaking issues. They have had a few in the past apparently (I have also already had the rack replaced on my previous A3 3.2 for the assistance problem) and some have been cured by a new rack, others apparently exactly the same and they have tried again.

All I can say is that when I got the car new, the steering was a revelation in terms of no lumpiness or creaking at all (foolishly thought I would be lucky with this one) and it has then developed to its current level from about 2k miles to current 4.5k.

Will let you know how I get on.
 
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its a problem, at low speed ie 3 mph when turning left or right you start to turn the steering wheel 1/2 a turn is light and normal and then it goes heavy as if the Power Sterring has Turned off, its anoying in the Car parks and im surprised it hasnt caught people out ?

[/ QUOTE ]

My mate borrowed my A3 the other saturday to go and pick his misses up (I was chaging the headlight on his golf - major pain as the bumpber has to come off) and he commented at how light the steering was at parking speeds...

I'm sure mines going to start playing up now I have mentioned this though.

J.
 
Mines booked in for Friday. The probelm on my car is perfectly repeatable, so I'll be surprised if the dealer says they cannot find anything. If they simply attempt a 3 point turn they'll experience it, everytime. It's been quite embarrassing at times.
 
mine's now in on the 6th March and they've been asked to look at it too, will update when they say something!
 
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Mines booked in for Friday. The probelm on my car is perfectly repeatable, so I'll be surprised if the dealer says they cannot find anything. If they simply attempt a 3 point turn they'll experience it, everytime. It's been quite embarrassing at times.

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Same here,so I suspect my dealer didn't even bother checking it.
Just fobbed me off with an "they all do that sir".

I simply cannot be bothered 'fighting' with the dealer about it any more.

It'd be simpler if it just failed altogether.
 
That can be arranged, where do you live /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
I decided I'd had enough last night,after a three point turn in the car park became a series of 'light-heavy-light-heavy-light-heavy' jerks.

It's booked in for the 20/3 (first date they can collect from me).

I've become quite friendly with the geezer they send out on collections,due to the fact he's hardly ever away from here...,so I'll demonstrate what it does to him and he can relay it to the 'mechanics'.
 
Perhaps you could rent out the spare room to him?
 
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Perhaps you could rent out the spare room to him?

[/ QUOTE ]

People here assume he's one of the staff.

His 'visibility' is quite handy though.

Every time he's here,the MD goes "your car going in AGAIN?"

I just sigh and go "yeah...'fraid so"

I'm just waiting for him to say "maybe we should get rid of it".

"oh go on then...." /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/groovy.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yes.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/woohoo.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jump.gif

Tenner says he doesn't though. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsdown.gif
 
To be honest, ive not had the strength to sort out the power steering problem, it also gets on my nerves while doing 3 point turns, Exactly the same as bowfer.

Dealer has Just now moved, so maybe ill pop in and see them at teh same time with my list of faults.
 
Car was checked over by the dealer on Friday. Surprise surprise, "We can't find anything wrong with it, sir". Someone else took the car in (parents are borrowing the car), so I couldn't demonstrate the undeniable. They've adjusted the electronics, or something, so I'll see whether it makes any difference the next time I drive it - next weekend. But if it plays up again, it's straight to the dealers and I'll acost one of the techs.
 
They MUST have this problem in all the time ??? It seems to be a very common fault along with the Rattling Rear Shocks !
 
I think they do have this problem all the time.

However,they know they can't fix it without major hassle and expense,so they'd rather indirectly insult our intelligence,indirectly call us liars or simply usher us away with a condescending;

"Oh sir....sir,sir,sir.....they ALL do that sir.....really sir...sir should be a bit more knowledgable about the intricacies of electric steering sir...run along,there's a good little mug"

Picture Stephen Fry with an Audi badge,then you'll get my drift.
 
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Stephen Fry with an Audi badge

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I'd pay to see that! Maybe we should club together and get him to pop over to Milton Keynes and satirise their *****. Remember "Compact and bijou"?
 
Ok, just got a call from Whetstone Audi who are looking at mine

EGR valve - they all do that sir
Lumpy power steering - Not reproducable sir, we've tried it in various places and cannot reproduce
noisy power steering - not reproducable sir

Get this though - I said that I found their comments unacceptable and pushed them, they admit Audi UK have issued a bulletin over this. So I said "I'm complaining about a fault that is exactly the same as in your bulletin from audi yet you won't replace the faulty part?" they say they HAVE to see the fault themselves before they can get a warrantly payment from Audi UK.

I just asked them to put this in writing to me so that I can raise with audi UK, will wait and see what they deliver when they bring the car back.

Sadly I am fuming at this utter BS.
 
What was the EGR valve problem Matt?

Did they sort out your probs with the Drivers Seat Creaking and the Fuel flap sticking as I have those?
 
AM still waiting for the car to be returned but they said they'd fixed the seat and the fuel flap though.
 
I just cant understand these dealers, they know there are problems witht eh power steering, but when a customer has the problem they say it dosent do it when they test it !!!

Ok Fair dues, it may not produce the fault everytime but its a random fault.
 
I understand their reluctance to accept fault in something unless they have shown that it does exist.

Put yourself in the shoes of Audi UK and one of it's internal auditors. They visit your dealership to see whether the claims you have made are bona fide. How are you going to prove that unless you either experience it yourself, or can show it through telemetry, that there was a fault? And who's to say you haven't been put up by Audi UK go with with a fictitional fault to see what the dealership does.

I don't know whether the car was just cold, the symptoms too subtle, or the technician too mamby-pamby with his/her efforts to notice. I'll have a play this weekend and see when it starts to play up, and then I'm off to the dealer to demonstrate.
 
Karcsi, I do agree in a way, but the thing I bring it back to is why would someone bother with repeated complaints, giving up their car on more than one occasion (which is not fun!) if there wasn't a fault?! I'm not making it up for fun, but the dealer seems to think so, this is the part that is wrong in my book
 
I understand your frustration. There must be a point where they should say, it's unreasonable to go on with the saga. But they must also weigh up the chances that it is something "characteristic" and replacing the steering will make little or no difference to our experience.

Best thing to do is to work out exactly when it does happen so you can repeat it at the dealers, and then they can experience it as well. I thought mine was playing up all the time, but came a cropper. Hopefully I can go in early Saturday and show them it happening it.

I think it is possibly a software problem rather than mechnical - perhaps one of the sensors - so I doubt they would have to swop the whole steering mechanism.

I hate technology: it's guaranteed to go wrong when you most need it; work perfectly when you do not.
 
Just had a call from Audi, they're going to replace the steering rack, apparently they have come round and have agreement from Audi HQ. Will update when it happens /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
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