desgnconcpts

CRAP!!!
I don't even have the new control arms and I have the same thing, buzz in the wheel. Wow, what an apt description -- I described it as a hum or high pulse vibration or buzz to the service mgr.

I am still waiting BTW for an answer -- talked to him, explained it all -- he was supposed to call the Audi factory rep and discuss. That was yesterday -- no call today -- I called late today and did not hear back.

But am hoping they will replace control arms and also wheels/tires -- it's got to be more than just control arms and you are proof of that.

dpcompt

i hate to admit it, but i am 58 years old. i have owned a lot of cars. bmw, audi, mercedes, porsches, and 3 ferraris. my '09 s-line tip had the steering wheel shimmy right out the dealer's lot. i bought the car from a dealer that i don't do a lot business with. i took my car to livermore audi and they said that there is a problem with the control arms on the new a4. just like as been said before, they checked the wheels and tires and replaced one of my "dunlop" tires. i have no shimmy , whatsoever. even with this improvement, audi has still agreed to replace the control arms. i have had bmw's that had the same problem and bmw would always blame it on the tires that they supplied on the new car. "go call mr. michelen". audi is handling situation with great integrity and they need to receive some credit for that. i get the impression that some of our owners are having "buyer's remorse" around the time that their first lease payment is due.

Cabal_san

Well too be honest, that's not what's going on, sir. I have been told there's no problems on the A4 with shimmy. I had the SM ride to show him the problem is verifible and reproducible. Took of all of 3 min of him driving too! Then finally the head tech stated that there was a known issue after all. But then they call back and say it's just the tires. They say bring it in at 5K service and they will road force balance the tires, maybe replace tires, Then, and only after then, do you get control arms if still problem. So I get to waste my time proving to them that I have a shimmie, which any chuckle-head on google can find out about this issue on A4/A5s. That's not integrity. That's what I would call minimizing risks.

I will say though, I'm going to wait as long as I can to get it fixed, in the hopes that I get new rubber out of them for my troubles. That's me minimizing my risks! Then they can put the new arms on.


Good day.

dpcompt

just to be clear, i do not work for audi or any audi dealers. i believe that audi has admitted that the bushings on their control arms were too stiff and they have offered a solution. what else can i say?

Cabal_san

No offense, but Audi has not taken full ownership of this issue. It's still a hassle at some dealers proving up your "case" that you have a problem.

Didn't mean to come off trite, but you might have a point. Audi might know of this issue. But Dealerships are still sticking there heads in the sand.

Once people start posting on here and other A4/A5 boards about how they go in the first time and they get the new arms, then thats when I would trhow out words like integrity. Or standing behind their products. However, The jury is still out.

matthewsjl

Being fair, that just means that your dealership isn't aware of the problem (and isn't that well up on the documentation from Audi). If balancing and then control arms are being changed in some cases, there should be a TSB in the system to explain the procedure on how to handle the customer complaint of "vibration".

Does anybody have access to a Bentley Repair CD with an active sub for the A4? TSBs and other info are available on there. Another interesting area to look at would be the EKTA - to see if there are any suspension differences.

I'm following this out of interest. I picked up a MY09 227XX VIN last Wednesday - it's an early MY09 Prestige w/18" five spokes.... however, I have the Audi Drive Select system - which I think changes the suspension setup somewhat (and the Drive Select is great by the way.....). It's rock solid for me.

John.

dpcompt

you're a tough nut to crack. if they have surly acknowledged the problem at my dealer, why isn't it happening eisewhere? from what i have seen, there are some really " crappy " dealers in other parts of the "us".

snagitseven

I agree with your assessment that Audi is responding appropriately to a real issue. However, if you read through the posts on this and other threads, I believe that another side to the issue is the dealer. Some have responded quickly and agreed to replace the control arms (as in your and my case) and others have either put the owner through various hand-wringing before doing so or have not been willing to follow the manufacturer process at all, refusing outright to replace the arms in some cases.

That said, Audi requires a force balance before a dealer can replace the arms which is not an unreasonable requirement especially since not all A4s have exhibited the vibration as posted by several folks and the balance will be covered under warranty. At first, Audi required more dealer performed gyrations but has since simplified the requirement.

Finally, while your tire replacement appears to have solved the problem in your case, others have reported new tires and force balancing to be a temporary fix only to have the vibration return immediately or some miles down the road. Replacing the control arms with the redesigned bushings appears to have solved the high speed steering wheel "shimmy" for almost all those reporting on the board (the "buzzing" thing is a new observation and may or may not have anything to do with the control arms). Even at that, there's no empirical evidence that replacing the control arms has permanently solved the problem long term - yet. We certainly hope so and time will tell.

While it's possible that there may be someone out there with buyer's remorse, this is a well documented problem and the majority of those reporting the vibration are simply trying to get it resolved.

BTW, I've got you beat by 3 more years. :-) .....not sure if I've got you outgunned on qty. of cars but I've owned 27 including a '53 Studebaker my dad bought for me from my uncle in 1965 for $50. I drove it for exactly one block from his house before coming to a complete stop with a seized engine. Dad got his $50 back.

audi40

Just took my car in for its 15k service - described the issue to the service tech and told him it was intermittent, but definitely there (referred to posts on this matter on Edmunds and various Audi forums). He wrote it up as "Steering vibration @ 60-80mph, check control arms". The service tech called me mid-afternoon and said they road tested and found no vibration, but asked if he could take my car home overnite (25 miles + each way) to give it a good road test. Went in the next AM and he told me that he did experience a very faint vibration on smooth services (said he had seen it much worse in other cars where steering wheel would visibly vibrate from side-to-side), and that he'd ordered the control arms. I've had the car for 2 days since the service and haven't noticed the vibration since them (in addition to the std 15k service, I also had them rotate tires) - it figures!!!

Audi S5 TC

It sounds like your dealer also improperly installed the new control arms on your B8 A4 Avant, Adam (you are the third person that this has happened to, BTW).

When you bring the car back in, this time make sure that they install the new control arms properly. If necessary, get some other things fixed, too. And, most of all stay on top of your dealer about all issues with your car 100%!