TheRebbie

It may be a different issue, but the description matches what I feel in my 2012 Avant. I'll report what I find out after I get a chance to bring it in.

snagitseven

Every Audi quattro I have owned has been very sensitive to wheel balance and tire or wheel defects. If a wheel is even slightly deformed or a tire is even a bit out of round, it can be very noticeable, especially at higher speeds.

While force balancing on a Hunter machine can eliminate vibrations, it can't compensate for out of round wheels or tires. The best way to check the wheel is to have the tech run out the wheel separately w/o the tire mounted and see if it can be balanced. When the tire is mounted, look for a slight "hop" as the tire spins on the balancer. If it's out of round, you'll see the tire surface "bounce" up and down indicating a faulty tire. Trust me, match balancing can't correct for an out of round wheel or tire - it will look good on the force measurement but won't solve the vibration.

I've hit many a pothole where I've had to take the wheel to a repair shop to have it straightened. It's usually not visible to the eye if it's just slightly bent. I've also had to replace tires under warranty because they developed a hop. I've found that almost all of my vibration issues over the years were due to either of these conditions and were able to be resolved by wheel repair or tire replacement. Again, balancing alone will not solve deformed wheels or tires.

My experience is the only time vibrations were due to the car itself was back in 2010 when Audi discovered the improperly designed bushings in the control arms of the 2009 and early 2010 B8's. These were corrected and replaced and all A4's manufactured since include the new arms.

dscline

I just picked up a 2011 Avant. I had read this thread before picking it up, so I tried to pay attention during my 1100 mile road trip home. I didn't notice any vibration.

CoffeeMonster

My 2011 Avant does have vibration at speed. It ranges from slightly noticeable to bothersome. This is my first Audi so I thought it was a characteristic of the car, but I've now driven two loaners (one sedan, one Avant, both A4) and neither had the vibration. Thanks to all for the good tips and info, much appreciated!! If/when I find the cause I'll post it.

TheRebbie

Is this something I can expect the dealer to try on its own? I've already had the wheels rebalanced, but that did't really do much with regard to the problem.

B8kmon

So over the weekend I tried playing with the tire pressure and found that one of the rear was slightly overinflated (4 psi over). After leveling all four tires out I saw about a 50% decrease in vibrations at 65-80mph. So it looks like having the tire pressure EXACTLY the same in all four tires helps quite a lot... Sure wish the dealership would have had enough brains to check that out during one of the three times I was there in the last two months.

snagitseven

Depends. A defective tire exhibiting a wobble or hop should be visible to the dealer when on the balancer and a replacement would be covered under the tire warranty. If a tire or wheel was obviously damaged due to a driving mishap, i.e. pothole, etc., dealer cooperation for coverage under warranty could be more challenging. A good dealer will work with you to try and find the cause and correct it. Others may not try so hard. That's when a call to AOA directly may be an option.

TheRebbie

I think I need to find time and just make an appointment with the dealer as a first step.

NJRoadFan

I should hopefully have the TSB done tomorrow. A test drive revealed that although much improved, the steering wheel vibration is still present at 65-75mph. New tires went on yesterday with road force balance and full four wheel alignment, so Audi doesn't have any excuses left to not install the control arms.

To those with MY2011 cars, what tires did your cars come with? Past data shows the OEM provided Pirelli P6 and the Goodyear Eagle LS2 tires (the latter of which my car had) are both generally lousy performers and have a shockingly high rate of manufacturing defects (tire out of round, unevenly sized sidewalls).

fauxtek

Pirelli Cinturato P7 245/40/18