Steering feel 2015 vs servotronic

[Biker]

im on my third B8, I got my first one an s-line in June 2008 and added servotronic steering as an option. My 2012 black edition came I think, with servotronic as standard.

So now I have a 2015 A4, and overall the steering is not as good, really rather twitchy around the straight ahead, to the extend my passenger said she could tell a difference on the motorway, is this a trait of the later model versus servotronic or am I needing wheel alignment or a software update?

Ta

 

[Dippy]

Well mines an S5 but its a 2015 and I find the steering fine. Although I think the steering tech changed at some point, your description does sound as if something is not right with it.

 

[ub7rm]

What tyres are on it? I've found that Continentlal sport contacts are very snatchy / prone to tramlining. Were it not for the fact that I put winter tyres on and can see instantly the difference that tyres make to the handling I would be complaining that my car wasn't set up properly (its great on the winter tyres!)

Though to be fair to the Conti's they are very good on motorways - but if the surface gets twitchy so do they.

 

[Biker]

What tyres are on it? I've found that Continentlal sport contacts are very snatchy / prone to tramlining. Were it not for the fact that I put winter tyres on and can see instantly the difference that tyres make to the handling I would be complaining that my car wasn't set up properly (its great on the winter tyres!)

Though to be fair to the Conti's they are very good on motorways - but if the surface gets twitchy so do they.

Yes they are contis, was a brand new set but added 3k miles, I think it could just be a trait of the steering but could be worth a geometry check, I really liked the servotronic it was mega light at low speed.

Absolutely love the car and the spec so only a minor complaint, black edition plus in misano red with sat navigation, my fifth Audi A4

 

[xpoweruk]

I believe it is a software characteristic of the later steering DSR
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/533535-2013-Steering-Issues-VAG-COM-Fix?highlight=48k8

An explanation of the "Driver Steering Recommendation" from Wikipedia:

Driver Steering Recommendation (DSR) is a feature of the Electronic Stabilisation Program (ESP) system on several recent Volkswagen Group car models, including the SEAT León Mk2 (Typ 1P), Volkswagen Golf Plus, and Volkswagen Scirocco. The system is supplied by Continental Automotive Systems.
Sensors detect when the car is starting to skid and the steering's electronic control unit (ECU) provides a prompt to the driver to correct the problem by making the steering wheel move slightly. Since most drivers find the idea of a car steering itself troubling, VW Group stresses that the robotic nudge is merely a suggestion, which the driver is free to override.

Sounds like it could be the cause of the problem...

As posted in the "Steering Issues Thread" and "VAG COM Security Codes" threads, I wanted to start a new thread on the Steering issues in an attempt to track the success of various VAG COM Adjustments.

I finally got the chance to "deselect" the box indicated by Tomasz in my "VAG COM Security Codes" thread. The box is under 44-electric steering assist module > coding > long coding > byte 0 > bit 4 (uncheck box for "Driver Steering Recommendation"). I did this last week and have since put well over 100 miles of highway driving on the car with NO steering issues AT ALL! Not even the faintest "hint" of crappy slippy steering. Overall, in EVERY MODE the steering is MUCH MUCH more reliable feeling and consistent! I'm starting to believe that this may in fact be a solid band-aid fix for "the slip" issue many of us have ben experiencing. Before I made this adjustment my steering had been HORRIBLE lately! In fact the worst it had ever been! And since this adjustment my steering has been utterly flawless in every way!

I HIGHLY recommend any of you who have VAG COM make this adjustment and put some miles on your car, then report back. I sincerely hope the rest of you have as good an experience as I have with this adjustment! Now I won't be 100% on board with this being the "end all fix" until I have put many many more miles on my car with it, but so far, I am VERY HAPPY with how the steering is behaving on my car with it!

This "fix" is for "the slip" issue where there is a noticable "slip" across 12 O'Clock in the steering wheel (mostly occurs at highway speeds, others have described this issue as a notch or point of resistance or detent at 12 O'Clock). To my knowledge this DOES NOT fix the "MMI wheel nothciness at all steering angles and speeds" issue (that was fixed for me with the new steering rack).

Please report back any findings any of you have in this thread while making this adjustment.

CREDIT TO TOMASZ FOR BEING THE FIRST PERSON TO GIVE THIS A TRY! I AM JUST REPORTING MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES WITH THIS.

 

[Biker]

I think you could have nailed it there xpower. It's a twitchiness at 12 o'clock that's hard to correct, almost like the steering is not linear, like dropping either side of a pivot.

How come not many others have noticed this ? ! I guess if I hadn't had maybe the best part of 6 years driving on servotronic B8's then maybe I wouldn't of.

 

[xpoweruk]

Reading on the US boards,it doesn't seem to affect/bother some PPL for some reason.
Thankfully it seems the fix is easy enough

 

[SilvioD]

It bothers me alright. To the point I tried to sell the car back to the dealer within a week of buying it. It too was on Conti Sports which thanks to some forum advice I changed for Michelin's with made a huge improvement. The car has all the software updates applied. I think Audi dropped those massive 19" 245/35 onto the car without tweaking suspension or steering dynamics.