SavantInAvant

Hi everyone,

Sorry in advance for the long post, and thank you for taking the time to read this! I recently bought a 2024 RS6 Performance and I'm experiencing a frustrating steering issue that I'd appreciate some advice on.

Right off the lot, the steering was misaligned, leaning to the left, so I took it to an Audi service center. They adjusted the alignment, which improved it somewhat, but it still leaned left. I then brought the car to one of the independent shops, where they installed an AWE exhaust and perfectly aligned the steering using a Hunter machine (these guys are the best in the biz, they nailed the alignment perfectly). The car drove well for about two hours, but then the steering issues returned.

Currently, the steering's pivot point—where the turning force for left and right should feel balanced—is slightly off, about 1 degree to the left of being centered. This makes turning to the right feel heavier and more direct, whereas to the left it's slightly lighter. It's god-awful to drive in the canyons or anything with twisty roads as the balance is off. I've owned several high-performance cars before, but this is the first time I've encountered such a persistent steering issue. Others have driven the car and said "it's fine" but compared to other RS6s I've driven it's not dialed in at all.

Here's approximately where the car steering force feels similar going left and right (pivot point).





Here's what I've noticed:

1. When the road is sloped to the right, the steering feels perfect.
2. After making a sharp right turn, the steering sometimes briefly feels nearly perfect before it starts to lean again.
3. The issue is especially noticeable at slow speeds.
4. Sometimes the steering just randomly feels ok for like 10 minutes and then goes back to being awful.
5. There is no consistency on steering feel at all.

I also had this weird thing happen where the car the car steering went like this. Then I turned the car off, the car must have done some reset, and the steering was perfect for an hour or so (was so happy...) before going back to bad.

I'm assuming this isn't an alignment issue, but instead something with either the steering rack, suspension, rear wheel steering, or tie-rods ().

Any ideas or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated!!!

STALKIN RS4

Could be your tires for sure.

RIGPIG

I have a 2021 C8 and last year the rear steering ECU went out and caused a whole cascade of errors because so many of the computers are tied together. The car still drove but the 4WS, suspension sensors, differentials, and more were disabled all because the rear steering ECU went out. I see in your picture that the steering symbol is lit so there must be a code to look up for that I have to think. So much of the car is based on ECUs and they are interconnected such that maybe there is a sensor off that's causing the main steering ECU to be out of calibration or cause it to misalign. We replaced the "rear axle" steering gear and all has been normal since. Parts, labor, including alignment, $4550
You sound pretty knowledgeable so i don't think I can make any suggestion you wouldn't have alreay tried, but the electronics on these can be trouble, and hard to troubleshoot.

RIGPIG

yeah, need to run closer to spec, 48 psi

SavantInAvant

Thanks guys for the feedback. It’s driving better more often (so strange) now, but still not dialed in. Taking it to the dealer tomorrow to see if they can figure it out. So many electronics in these cars that can go wrong. Pros and cons I guess of these beasts.

If they come to a notable conclusion I’ll be sure to update here!

NotAGarageQueen

Good luck and please update when you know more.