# 2013 allroad owners - steering issues



## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

Hi Folks, 

More and more allroad owners seem to have the same steering issue cropping up. It's the same one I described in my "Road Trip" thread. 

The problem is also showing up on 2013 A5/S5's. 

The big office at Audi USA is now aware of the problem... so I will let you know what I hear. 

The Audi USA folks are awesome so I go into all this with much optimistic!!!!


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## SoSuMi (May 14, 2004)

I wonder what's up with the steering issue. Hope this gets worked out soon. 

BTW, how are you liking the two liter EA888 engine in the 3800 lb allroad? I'm intrigued by this car and might go with a 2014 year model (if it is still offered). But what I really want is a little more factory juice under the hood. But then again, perhaps that is not an issue in real world usage.


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## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

I think anyone who jumps behind the wheel will be be more than surprised at big happenings that come from this little engine. The engine and transmission combo is fantastic.


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## DirtD1ver (Sep 23, 2012)

Hopefully it will be resolved by the time mine gets here in Feb, but I'm not holding my breath.


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## 16v (Aug 4, 1999)

Looking through the info packet I got with our car yesterday I can see the PS Control Unit was updated as part of campaign 48K4 on 10/4/12. I put about 200 highway miles on the car today and didn't seem to experience what you did on your road trip. 

It did, however, seem to wander in it's lane a bit more than I've noticed in my other cars  hmmm


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## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

After a VERY COLD night... I had to drive this morning. The steering was much "notchier" than its ever been. Called my dealership... they still don't have anything official from Audi and haven't had any 2013 A5/S5/Q5 drivers complaining.

That said...my problems didn't show up until I had 4300 miles on the clock and it seems to be the time people have problems... if they have problems.

On another note --- this thing is crazy-stupid-fun to drive in the snow!!!!


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## 16v (Aug 4, 1999)

TREGinginCO said:


> On another note --- this thing is crazy-stupid-fun to drive in the snow!!!!


waiting for some to fall out here!


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## spl1011 (Jul 4, 2012)

Today after work the steering was at its worst Ive ever felt it been. I called the dealership right away and almost swung by there so they could feel it for themselves but their techs would have left for the day before I got there.

This is ridiculous. The steering slop and notchy feeling are ruining this ~$50k car!

What adds to my frustration is that I just do not have time to deal with this at this time of year.

Im calling Audi USA tomorrow and going to really try getting to the dealer tomorrow or Friday. 

Do you recall the boats carrying our cars both had an issue while at port, just before departure. I do wonder if this issue is time related and perhaps there is a "bad batch" in the line.

I would be so happy to have this issue behind me...


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## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

spl1011 said:


> Today after work the steering was at its worst Ive ever felt it been. I called the dealership right away and almost swung by there so they could feel it for themselves but their techs would have left for the day before I got there.
> 
> This is ridiculous. The steering slop and notchy feeling are ruining this ~$50k car!
> 
> ...



The steering issue is becoming more and more prominent again with mine. We should have our dealerships get in touch with each other and see if we can get them to find a fix. I haven't heard from Audi --- so I'll send another email off.


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## 16v (Aug 4, 1999)

did another 200 mile round trip today with zero steering issues. 


hmm


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## spl1011 (Jul 4, 2012)

16v said:


> did another 200 mile round trip today with zero steering issues.
> 
> 
> hmm



How many miles do you have on the odometer? Mine was first noticed around 3500 miles and very slowly getting worse. Im at ~5400 now.

Consider yourself lucky i guess.


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## 16v (Aug 4, 1999)

~5100


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## spl1011 (Jul 4, 2012)

16v said:


> ~5100


When did you take delivery? Based on your other topic was it was earlier this month? If so, thats a lot of miles in less than one month!


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## 16v (Aug 4, 1999)

spl1011 said:


> When did you take delivery? Based on your other topic was it was earlier this month? If so, thats a lot of miles in less than one month!


it had some miles when we picked it up


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## spl1011 (Jul 4, 2012)

Do you happen to know the build date of the AR you picked up?

Tre and mine's allroads were built within days of each others if not on the same day.


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## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

spl1011 said:


> Do you happen to know the build date of the AR you picked up?
> 
> Tre and mine's allroads were built within days of each others if not on the same day.


My build date was July 9th.


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## 16v (Aug 4, 1999)

spl1011 said:


> Do you happen to know the build date of the AR you picked up?
> 
> Tre and mine's allroads were built within days of each others if not on the same day.



how does one decode the VIN to get that date?


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## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

I got that build date direct from Audi. The best you'll likely do is the tag on your door that gives the month and the year for a build date. You may want to check with your sales or service person to see if they could dig it out of Audi records.


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## 16v (Aug 4, 1999)

door jam sticker appears to show 04/12


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## spl1011 (Jul 4, 2012)

My door sticker is 7/12. I dont remember what the exact day was. I just remember being on the boat that left 2-3 days after TRE's. Both our boats had a small incident with wind blowing them out of their moorings in Bremerhaven, I believe.

I'm going back to the dealership on Wednesday after calling some other dealers in the country based on input from other forum members. If they refuse I will go to a different local dealership whom I called and talked to today - they said that a notchy steering feel is not normal, unlike what my original dealershop had stated.

It feels like at highways speeds (>~50) I no longer have power steering it gets so stiff, its very tough to execute a turn (like an on-ramp for example). My shoulders hurt after 2 hours of driving through the mountains. Notchiness is felt throughout wheel motion.


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## 16v (Aug 4, 1999)

that sounds crazy, have the service advisor and a tech take you along for a test drive


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## jim taugher (Dec 26, 2012)

*allroad steering*

hi folks
add me to the list of people experiencing the above steering issues with me 2013 allroad.

here is what my dealer wrote to me after keeping the car for a couple of days:

"Well. Here is the situation. It looks like It is operating normally. The A4 (loaner) you are in isn’t a fair comparison as it is calibrated slightly differently and is running on a different style tire. Myself, my tech, and Shaun my QC inspector all have spent a substantial amount of time driving your car back to back with a new Allroad on the lot, and both have the same feeling on initial turn-in. There are no TSB’s or other recommendations from Audi as it is not the same issue we have had with the S4’s/A4’s. The only thing I can really attribute it to is the size and style of tire. I am double checking all outlets, but at this point trying to make any mechanical changes will not do us any good."

so i have created a case with audiusa.
i will post here any developments


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## SoSuMi (May 14, 2004)

jim taugher said:


> ...The A4 (loaner) you are in isn’t a fair comparison as it is calibrated slightly differently and is running on a different style tire...


Yeah, in sense that the loaner is working correctly and your ride isn't. Any chance you can find establish the conditions that most pronounce your steering issues and then take a tech for a ride where you recreate those conditions?


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## spl1011 (Jul 4, 2012)

*Still not fixed...*

Yesterday I recieved my car after having the steering rack replaced due to notchy steering getting so bad it was unsafe.
I took it for a test drive before signing the paperwork and all seemed fine, including the 30 minute drive home.

Today I took it out to run some errands and between errands the notchiness cropped back up twice.
The second time it occured I was getting on a highway onramp and could feel the notchiness throughout the steering range. It was as bad as before the steering rack replacement.
I immediately got off to turn around at the next exit about 1 mile away where I stopped at a red light. I turned the car off and back on, got back on the road in the opposite direction to head home and the notchiness was gone.

It feels like every 4-6 starts the car starts in this notchy "mode". I cant figure it out.

I immediately called my dealer back (they were closed) and called AoA to let them know that my problem was still there.

The steering rack replacement was NOT my silver bullet.


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## 16v (Aug 4, 1999)

wow!


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## jim taugher (Dec 26, 2012)

*notchy steering*

just got off phone with audiusa. "at this time we believe your car is functioning fine and there are no further updates or recalls. that is not to say there wont be in the future".

handled himself poorly and with much postured legal-ease

i hold out little hope for this company that has begun to turn its back on the loyal customer.


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## jim taugher (Dec 26, 2012)

*contact name at audiusa*

i did not have any such luck with a decent audi rep.
can you share your contact with me.


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## SoSuMi (May 14, 2004)

jim taugher said:


> just got off phone with audiusa. "at this time we believe your car is functioning fine and there are no further updates or recalls. that is not to say there wont be in the future".
> 
> handled himself poorly and with much postured legal-ease
> 
> i hold out little hope for this company that has begun to turn its back on the loyal customer.


Well what they believe and what you know do not reflect well on AudiUSA. I find it hard to accept that they are not unaware of this issue and this certainly isn't like the legendary unintended acceleration issues of the distant past where retards managed to confuse the accelerator pedal for the brake pedal.

Audi needs to step up to the plate on this.


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## 16v (Aug 4, 1999)

I have a suggestion based on a scenario I had with a VW years back:

my '91 16V GTI had a terrible stutter problem that I took it in for a dozen times. The tech could never duplicate it so I finally suggested he take it for a weekend and just drive it and drive it. The dealer agreed so he strapped a VAG 1552 (I think) scan unit in the back seat and went out to log the issue. He finally got logged data showing the ECU was bad. 

my point being, perhaps those that are experiencing this issue could hand their car over to the dealer for further investigation/duplication of the issue that would allow them to dump the ECU data ASAP


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## spl1011 (Jul 4, 2012)

*update...*

Here is an update as to what is going on with my notchy steering allroad cluster-f....

Audi replaced my steering rack and I got the car back on 12/28 (dealer paperwork said 27th??) and the steering felt fine, acceptable. The next day (12/29) the pronounced notchy, detent-like steering feel came back twice.
On the 29th I called both the dealer and AoA to let them know that the car is notchy again and my issue is not resolved. AoA promptly sent the service manager an e-mail.
At least once a day the notchiness would occur requiring me to pull over, stop the car and restart it again.
On 1/2 it happened twice, first start of the day and start after work. From 1/3 to 1/5 - no problems. Notchiness was back on 1/7. Subtle notchiness today and now my car is back in the shop.

I sent the car back first thing on 12/31 because the alignment was way off. There I told them the problem came back and my alignment and steering wheel angle was crooked. They fixed the pulling (alignment) but never fixed my cocked steering wheel.
While waiting for the alignment, the SM called to ensure me he was monitoring the activities with the car and after a ~15 min discussion describing the symptoms, observations, evaluations, etc... he said he would forward the details of my conversation to the technical assistance rep.

Not only is my steering wheel STILL crooked, but the grunts over at my dealership put a nice gouge in the leather steering wheel. I didnt notice it when I took the car back until the next day when it was light out. They denied it saying the alignment machine goes around the steering wheel. I rolled my eyes - all I could do.

So I called the SM and left a message letting him know Im disatisfied with the alignment. The next day the SM calls back and scheduled for me to drop off my car today (1/7) because the TSM (Technical Service Manager/Engineer dude?) was coming into town and wanted to check out my car and they ordered a new steering rack to be installed.
I was shocked, in fact both the SM and I were kinda surprised, that they wanted ANOTHER steering rack installed and not replace, say, a sensor, or control module, or SOMETHING OTHER than the steering rack with less than 300 miles on it.
The SM said that the TSM had not heard of the notchy feeling coming back after a rack replacement and that I could have possibly recieved another FAULTY RACK.
Details are that they are keeping my car overnight and are instructed to not start it without the TSM plugged into my car looking at his diagnostic tools for faults or anything out of the ordinary.

If you are experiencing the problem, feel like you have the problem, call your dealers SM and call AoA and LET THEM KNOW!!!

There have only been ~3000 allroads sold in 2012. The new 2013's with electric steering are only a fraction of the 138,000 Audi's sold last year. We NEED to be heard, especially if we were sold a defective product and this could be a safety issue.

BTW... the a4 loaner with 400 miles I was given this time also has subtle notchy steering feel - reminds me of my car when it had 2500 miles (im at 7k now). After driving it for 5 miles I know its destined for the same fate...


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## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

Thanks for the update. I'm waiting to see what happens with your car before I head to my dealership and ratchet up my efforts. I really hope this fixes the problem and I'm glad to see your SM and Audi taking this seriously enough to get on it.

And... this new steering system is making it across the product line... and as you've read... the issue is showing up in A5's / Q5's and even A6's ----- so it's probably something Audi would want to get nipped in the bud.


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## spl1011 (Jul 4, 2012)

*update...*

Heres a quick update, but there is not much to report.

Dropped the car off on Monday. Got a call on Tuesday afternoon from the lady at the front desk letting me know that both the TSM and some other specialist plugged in my car in the morning, drove it around and couldnt duplicate the fault or find anything wrong using their diagnostic tool.
Not surprised there. They only put 18 miles on the car.
So the other reason for the call was to tell me that they pretty much forgot to order the new steering rack and it would be another week before they get the part to put it in.

Im on the fence on whether I want to let University put in another rack since I had two botched alignments from them with one resulting in damage to my steering wheel that they denied doing.
At this point I don't feel comfortable with them touching my car. Sad that now I have to take a picture of everything and inspect everything before signing any acceptance paperwork.

Im going to call the SM today to talk about putting some more miles on the current rack to see if the problem gets worse. If it does then I will take their offer of putting in the new rack.


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## Ixomeneus (Nov 27, 2011)

Hmm...

Curse of the allroad nameplate or something. 

I wonder if there's a self-study out there for this car like the old ones. Honestly, the notchiness sounds like some sort of a pressure regulator/module for the steering rack. If someone's good with electronics, maybe you could probe around with a multimeter and test some resistances with any data for tolerances on ElsaWin.


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## jim taugher (Dec 26, 2012)

3600mi for me and the bad days are getting worse.


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## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

A guy on another forum is at the beginning of a test run with a new allroad and says he's experiencing the same issue. 

He said he's doing a "lock to lock" steering wheel turn when he first starts up the test car and that seems to help a lot. 

I've tried this for two days now and I'll be damned.... it does appear to work on significantly minimizing (almost completely disappearing) the notchiness. 

That said... we shouldn't have to turn the steering wheel lock to lock every time we start the car.... but until a fix is found... this is making the car much more liveable.


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## fast pug (Jun 20, 2002)

I plan on pulling the trigger on a wagon purchase in the next couple months. While I am strongly considering the allroad, these steering rack issues make me highly reluctant to buy in to an allroad at this point.  Replacing steering racks on a routine basis is madness. :facepalm:

I do want to thank TREGinginCO for both his patience and for bringing light to this issue. :thumbup: 

Hopefully Audi can get this sorted for all of you soon.


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## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

fast pug said:


> I plan on pulling the trigger on a wagon purchase in the next couple months. While I am strongly considering the allroad, these steering rack issues make me highly reluctant to buy in to an allroad at this point.  Replacing steering racks on a routine basis is madness. :facepalm:
> 
> I do want to thank TREGinginCO for both his patience and for bringing light to this issue. :thumbup:
> 
> Hopefully Audi can get this sorted for all of you soon.


 If you are thinking about buying an allroad --- I wouldn't sweat the steering issue. The system.. overall... is much less complicated than the old hydraulic systems. I'm also confident that Audi will either find the problem... or it was a bad run of parts that is/was being weeded out.


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## spl1011 (Jul 4, 2012)

*As much as I love...*

As much as I love my AR at the end of the day, today I can not recommend an allroad to anyone given these early setbacks I am experiencing right now.


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## KK Moto (Jun 7, 2009)

I love the allroad (I've had no steering issues however). It is a swiss army knife of a vehicle. Very multi-faceted. Luxury, ruggedness, good looks, build quality, frugality, novelty, and performance (yes, that too - surprised even me!) 

If you don't need to tow a (medium to big) boat it is senseless to grab a luxo-barge SUV/ CUV/ SAV/ BlahUV....


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## ProjectA3 (Aug 12, 2005)

I have logged 2,300 miles on mine since Dec 10th and haven't had any issues.

I cannot get over how smooth and comfortable this car is.
I've also been logging my MPG in an iphone app since my first fill-up and have averaged 25.05mpg and right around 350-370 miles per tank religiously on each tank.

I would HIGHLY recommend this car to anyone looking for a luxury type wagon.


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## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

Well folks ---- here we go.

I got the call today from my dealership to bring my allroad to get the steering issue fixed.

It appears the streering rack will be replaced, but Audi is also asking for a bunch of other things to be checked on it ---- with a list of tests to be conducted.

It appears Audi is trying to track down VIN ranges and model lines. The information is being collected as Audi puts together information for "future action."

Dropping my allroad off on Saturday. Will be cruising around in a loaner 'til they get 'er done!

I know this is going to get fixed!!!! :beer:


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## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

UPDATE:

The steering rack on my allroad is going to be replaced. The part is on order and will take a couple of weeks.

IMPORTANT TO KNOW: There is a new and updated part number of the steering rack. Before any work is done... make sure your service department is installing the new/updated part and not using a rack with the previous part number.

My service department says it doesn't know what was changed, but says anytime a part has an updated number.... some sort of a change took place.


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## TigerinColorado (Jul 16, 2007)

Bummer to hear of these odd steering issues. 

Hope to see a full solution stat. opcorn:


Just noticed over the weekend that the CO dealer on Broadway had close to a dozen Allroads on the lot!  

The friendly gal inside said it was one of their top sellers locally. eace:


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## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

Colorado is one of Audi's best markets!!!!


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## Travis Grundke (May 26, 1999)

I may be late to the party here, but in one of the German forums I follow I came across this posting in reference to the electromechanical steering issues:

http://www.audi4ever.com/v2/blog/de...lektromechanischen-Lenkung-im-Audi/index.html

Google Translate will be your friend, but the long and short of it is: this is a known problem and Audi is indeed working on it. Whether or not this has filtered down through all of our friendly local dealerships is another story, but it is clearly a problem they are aware of.


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## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

Here's the Google Translation!

For those owners of Audi, which determines a problem with their electro-mechanical steering like it here in this thread >> CLICK ME


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## spl1011 (Jul 4, 2012)

that was a great post, travis, thank you so much!

This just affirms my wait-and-see approach. Not letting my dealership replace the steering rack again without a 100% fix found and confirmed. I pushed my next appt out to March 4. Current installed rack p/n 8K1-423-055-AC. http://www.audizine.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=69679&title=2013-allroad-steering-rack&cat=500

Until then, I will be doing lock-to-lock turns and restarts.
Im also getting the ball rolling with my states lemon-law.


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## ProjectA3 (Aug 12, 2005)

I brought mine in for the steering issue, and it looks like they've ordered a new steering column.


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## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

My new steering rack has arrived ---- car heads into the shop on Saturday. Will have it back next week.

I really hope this is the fix... because I love my allroad.


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## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

UPDATE:

Got my allroad back today with the new steering rack --- night and day difference.

Don't have the old part number.. but here is the new one:
8K1-423-055-AC

The steering feels like it did when I bought it. I hope it's fixed for the long term... but for now I'm pumped

Dan... This looks like the same part number that didn't work for you... So I'm hoping yours is a fluke. Also hoping Audi gets your AR fixed.


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## TexasTea (Feb 27, 2013)

I made an account after reading this, just so I can add my $.02 to this conversation. I have a 2013 S4 and have just about 4,500 on the odometer. Took it in for the same notchy steering issue, which was incredibly bad when I took it in this morning. Getting a new steering rack (with the new part number), and picking it up this evening. I'll definitely post back here soon to give an update and make sure that the problem is solved. If it appears again on this rack, I'll be reconsidering my lease on the car...


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## TexasTea (Feb 27, 2013)

UPDATE:

Picked it up last night, and everything seems to be good so far. There is no notchyness in the steering wheel at all right now, so it seems that the new part number rack might be the magic touch. Of course, only some time will tell if this is the full fix, but for the time being it drives like it's brand new again!


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## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

TexasTea said:


> UPDATE:
> 
> Picked it up last night, and everything seems to be good so far. There is no notchyness in the steering wheel at all right now, so it seems that the new part number rack might be the magic touch. Of course, only some time will tell if this is the full fix, but for the time being it drives like it's brand new again!


Did you have your work done at Prestige? They were talking about an S4 coming in with the same problem.... when I picked up my AR


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## TexasTea (Feb 27, 2013)

TREGinginCO said:


> Did you have your work done at Prestige? They were talking about an S4 coming in with the same problem.... when I picked up my AR


Yes! I did, and they did a pretty good job. The car feels good so far, haven't noticed any issues. Hoping it solves the problem permanently.


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## TREGinginCO (Jan 4, 2004)

TexasTea said:


> Yes! I did, and they did a pretty good job. The car feels good so far, haven't noticed any issues. Hoping it solves the problem permanently.



:thumbup:


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