Quattro

mhr1972

mhr1972

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Having problem with traction on my S3-2002 plate. Have P-Zeros fitted but still in wet the wheels spin and now in the snow have to leave at home as she gets stuck on the slightest incline. On checking on ice/snow to see if Quattro is working only front wheels spin. Have checked fuses all seem fine. Are other S3/Quattro owners getting this same lack of traction or is it just me. My S2 pictured use to work a treat, loved the snow. But S3 a real disappointment? and i feel it should'nt be. Any advice or response welcomed!
 
sounds like your's isnt working, cause ive been all over in mine today in snow up to 8 inches deep and its plouded through it no probs.
 
I just saw your photos, mine is same, red with silver mirrors but cream alacantra interior. The incline you have pictured your car on. mine would still be there waiting for a push??
 
have you got vagcom? or a member local might beable to sort you out and plug your car in and see if theres any errors coming up on the haldex side of things, have you tried going anywhere with the ESP button off?
 
Son-in-law has one and used it to try and turn Airbag light off couple of weeks ago. Car was showing no faults. Nor could it turn the bag light out either. Have turned the ESP off as recommended. This does work and restricts spin when on. I take it, even being electronic 4x4 all four wheels should be spinning, when i'm sat on level in the snow and floor it? Thanks
 
yer all mine spin in the snow on level ground
 
S90GAV said:
sounds like your's isnt working, cause ive been all over in mine today in snow up to 8 inches deep and its plouded through it no probs.
Click to expand...

Same here today :sm4:
The quattro did his work splendidly :kissmyrings:
 
Oh dear. Shall talk to my friendly dealer or maybe, I'm not completely mechanically stupid, even though have been driving a 2wd S3 for 16 months! Is there any tell-tell signs underneath that i can check? Thanks
 
P-Zeros don't have a very good tread pattern for snow IIRC, I had a set with the 18" RSTT wheels I bought and they were fine in the dry but rain (and snow) they were worse than useless...

Haldex should be kicking in especially in the snow so if yours isn't then you have a problem.

You won't get '4 wheels spinning' mind you but you should get traction from the rear at least... (no LSD's in the S3).

Haldex doesn't work if the handbrake light is on (handbrake up a couple of notches), have you checked the right fuse? Its a 5 amp one (no. 31 IIRC).

Quattro on haldex cars is a bit different to permenant Quattro so may feel different to what you are used too...

If the rears aren't spinning at all when you floor it and VAGCOM is showing no faults (I assume you have let it do a scan) then the prob maybe more serious.

<tuffty/>
 
That's a long time to be drivng your car if your haldex isn't working, what's the car feel like in the wet, do you get much front end spin then ??

You shouldn't be finding slight inclines a problem at all...
 
Car is 66k full dearler history and has always spun its wheels. Thought it was the tyres the dealer had put on so changed to P-Zeros. She still spins in the wet, thought it was all four wheels but maybe just fronts. My S2 and S6 had 300bhp(5-pot) and never spun even in wet. They did have nose heavy understeer in the wet, but never a spin. Did check fuse 31, before i posted this thread.
 
You would have to be very aggressive to get your wheels to spin in the wet and even then it would only be for a split second, definately sounds like you have a haldex issue.
 
i had the same problem, couldnt stop my fronts spinning in the wet.
The precharge pump on the haldex unit was broken. it wont show up as a fault on vagcom tho.
It is the cylindrical shaped pump on the haldex unit and it has a black plastic tube which houses electrical connections.In the first instance jack the car up and check if the electrical connections are pushed together.
The pumps are £350+vat from the stealers and an absolute pain to get second hand. there are tonnes of diffs/ haldex units on ebay but no one seems to want to break the pumps.
I had a chat with a guy called rob at TSR performance the other day, they do a lot of 1.8t conversions to mk2's etc and so have a lot of unused diffs and haldex units. so if you wanted to give it a try you could try and source a pump from ebay or alternativly try. www.tsr-performance.com.
You will also need to replace the oil at the same time.
Sorry its a bit long winded, but i hope it helps, good luck.
 
Thankyou very much barters3. I shall check in the morning.
 
To update. I cannot find the precharge pump on Haldex. Shall search for this, must be a diagram on net? The haldex/haldex side of gearbox did have oil on it, or very small oil droplets. Engine level seems fine. Therefore could be coming from Haldex or gearbox.
Did axle stand the whole car up and put in first gear. All four wheels spin. But i can stop each wheel with very little pressure. Once rear wheels have been stopped they take a few moments to start again. Have checked history, had an Audi Haldex service done 3k before i bought the car and has done 10k with me. Have car booked into a specialist in a week for service, but would prefer to find fault before this.

Shall check levels on drive train?
 
Sorry my mistake. looking in wrong place for Haldex(fool) back not front of drive train. Shall start again. The front still leaking though.
 
Sounds like you're onto something.

Mine is awesome in the snow, very impressed with the traction.

Very supprised you've not picked up on this sooner. Good luck with it. An S3's not an S3 without its quattro!
 
i got a full rear setup sittin in the garage rear diff, new driveshafts, bottom arms tie bars heldex pump etc if ure strugling to find the parts
 
Found the eathing strap to rear diff broken. have replaced and car seems different. Need to drive more to be able to know. Could the fact that the rear diffs not earther caused problems??
 
I think I have this problem too. I'm disappointed with the S3 in the snow, I seem to have no traction at all, 4 tyres on about 1000 miles ago too so that's not an issue. When I boot it in first in the wet I get loads of wheelspin and the only way to stop it is to come off the accelerator. I had the car on VAGCOM a few month back and it showed up no faults. I don't know what to do :(
 
lee111s said:
I think I have this problem too. I'm disappointed with the S3 in the snow, I seem to have no traction at all, 4 tyres on about 1000 miles ago too so that's not an issue. When I boot it in first in the wet I get loads of wheelspin and the only way to stop it is to come off the accelerator. I had the car on VAGCOM a few month back and it showed up no faults. I don't know what to do :(
Click to expand...

i cannot get mine to wheel spin at all in the wet, just grips and grips
 
Don't forget tyre choice here... Quattro or not, if you have sports tyres that have a tread pattern more suited to dry or wet conditions, don't expect them to have any grip in snow... only block pattern tyres will have any form of 'grip', anything will vary from some to worse than useless...

The tyres I have on at the moment are Yokohama Ice Guard IG721's and are pretty good in mud, snow and ice..

yokohama_ig721_lg.jpg


<tuffty/>
 
My Uni Royal RainSports are super in rain/mud/snow :)
 
The Quattro is back!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was the earthing strap on the rear diff. I cannot believe it. This is a dearler service car and must have been like this for years. What a difference. Thankyou all to your advice and suggestions. Those who look under yours regular, check the old strap?!
 
A S3 will wheel spin on compacted snow thats turned to ice wont it?
 
You serious, how can something so simple cause so much trouble.

Where abouts is the earthing strap located?
 
JS1500 said:
Are yours RainSport 2s?
If so, I was thinking of getting the same, heard very good things about them. Even in 'summer' it rains enough here to warrant them!
Supposedly they're great in the dry too...?
Click to expand...

Yer rainsport2's they have been a great tire all round for me
 
A quattro won't wheelspin on anything, regardless of tyre choice or ice or snow. That's the whole point of it. If it's working properly it won't allow the wheels to spin more than a split second. If no wheel has any grip then the car simply won't move.
 
mhr1972 said:
The Quattro is back!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was the earthing strap on the rear diff. I cannot believe it. This is a dearler service car and must have been like this for years. What a difference. Thankyou all to your advice and suggestions. Those who look under yours regular, check the old strap?!
Click to expand...

Mine's fine but I'd like to know where the earthing strap is for future reference. Can you describe where it is & what it looks like? Any pics?
 
AndyMac said:
A quattro won't wheelspin on anything, regardless of tyre choice or ice or snow. That's the whole point of it. If it's working properly it won't allow the wheels to spin more than a split second. If no wheel has any grip then the car simply won't move.
Click to expand...


no the ESP wont allow the wheels to spin if it feels it slipping, turn off the ESP and you have spinning quattro. if you have ESP audi tell you in the manual to turn it off in snow and ice otherwise should you come to a steep hill and you need to give it some juice to get up it the ESP will kick in at the slightest spin and you'll slide back down the hill.
 
audi upgrades
Yup tried my S3 on a hill with ESP on and she went nowhere switched it off and it was like there was no snow on the road It just set off. :)
 
Are so mine could be fine because i dont have switchable ESP.
 
AndyMac said:
A quattro won't wheelspin on anything, regardless of tyre choice or ice or snow. That's the whole point of it. If it's working properly it won't allow the wheels to spin more than a split second. If no wheel has any grip then the car simply won't move.
Click to expand...


It is easy to spin all 4 wheels on snow or ice is you want to...
 
MMM this is a good interesting thread.
Ok in snow if i put my foot down I wheel spin also in the wet it does it.
If i apply the gass slowly it grips and grips??
I have wondered about my Haldex a few times if its working properly etc.
Sometimes I think it is sometimes I don't.
Vag com shows no faults anywhere.
I have heard a Haldex service could sort it?
Help very appreciated.
 
I had a heavily corroaded earthing srap on my haldex but it didn't cause any issues. I got it changed when I had my last service in september. The part is only about £3 and takes a few mins to fit apparently.
 
Westle said:
I had a heavily corroaded earthing srap on my haldex but it didn't cause any issues. I got it changed when I had my last service in september. The part is only about £3 and takes a few mins to fit apparently.
Click to expand...

£3 sounds good lol so you reckon that may do the trick? spent plenty on her. Just had to change 2 split hoses on turbo and have ordered Blue silicone air intake hose and DV relocation kit onto cold side.
 
When mine goes in for a service im going to check that.
 
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