We've had the 2009 Audi S5 in our test fleet for about 2 months now. And every other person to drive it has come to me with concerns about the steering feel. I've heard ten different descriptions, each detailing how the steering system in our Audi is approaching failure.
- "What's up with the steering wheel? It shudders until you turn the wheel, then drives like a normal car."
- "Right around 45 mph the wheel starts to shimmy. You might wanna check it out."
- "It starts to shake up until about 80 mph. But if you just power through then its fine."
- "Feels like our Enclave did just before the power steering took a dump."
- "You're all crazy. It drives just like our A4 Avant. This must be normal."
Let's see what the dealer has to say about this.
Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager @ 3,500 miles
indy_mistert says:
10:47 AM, 06/ 8/09
that bites - I posted this in the "not enough guts" thread... seems like this could be a common problem:
Anyway, I've heard a few complaints about vibrations, which does alarm me - IL bloggers, please keep a lookout for this:
http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/audi/125648-audi-s5-a5-owners-do-you-have-any-vibration-issues.html
indy_mistert says:
10:51 AM, 06/ 8/09
that bites... I posted this back in the "not enough guts" thread - seems like this could be a common problem:
Anyway, I've heard a few complaints about vibrations, which does alarm me - IL bloggers, please keep a lookout for this:
http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/audi/125648-audi-s5-a5-owners-do-you-have-any-vibration-issues.html
ctpax says:
11:00 AM, 06/ 8/09
come on Audi, are you serious?! Get your quality control going already!
indy_mistert says:
11:18 AM, 06/ 8/09
sorry about the duplicate post - for a little while the site / my pc was acting up
1speedbike says:
12:37 PM, 06/ 8/09
"- "You're all crazy. It drives just like our A4 Avant. This must be normal.""
lol
firstwagon says:
12:54 PM, 06/ 8/09
So which genius thought it was a good idea to power through 80 mph when he noticed a steering problem?
zoomzoom22 says:
02:09 PM, 06/ 8/09
It's a beefed up VW....what do you guys expect?
esoterica says:
02:27 PM, 06/ 8/09
Fail, regardless of whether the dealer determines it to be a defect or not.
ocramida says:
04:12 PM, 06/ 8/09
It may have steering problems but I've also never been a fan of the current Audi steeering wheel design. The center hub is boring and fitting of an economy car. By comparison VW has a much nicer wheel design.
cwc1 says:
06:07 PM, 06/ 8/09
^I never have liked Audi's current steering wheel hub either. I think it's supposed to match the shape of the Audi grille, but it just looks awkward.
seppoboy says:
05:17 AM, 06/ 9/09
Audi's biggest weak spot has always been the steering systems. Someone in my family had 1980's Audi 5000 front wheel drive that had nice tight, precise steering. I later had a 5000 S quattro that never steered well, had a lot of lane wander and poor on-center feel and directional control. Eventually it got worse and required a replacement steering rack, which improved the situation for a while until that rack began to loosen up.
Then I put a lot of miles on my 1997 A4 quattro 2.8, it was a fine car to drive, but the steering was too light and lacking in on-center caster effect.
While visiting the Colorado Rockies I met some Audi engineers doing high-altitude testing on a fleet of cars, and chatted with them about my A4. I told them the car handled well but the steering was not satisfactory, even my GM rental car had tighter steering and better road feel. They shrugged and said something to the effect of "what's the big deal, it handles well doesn't it? Our customers don't care about steering feel, BMW is there for those who do".
So apparently great steering is not an engineering priority for Audi. It's funny, because some VW models manage to achieve a greater confidence and road feel than their premium brand affiliates.
For a while I had a 1997 BWM 328i sport package as well as the A4, and there was no comparison in terms of steering feel, straight-line tracking, and just plain confidence. While the A4's rack never broke, something about the slop in the system just felt fragile. The BMW was tight and secure and felt sturdy.
Audi, engineer better steering systems if you want to compete in the premium class.
stingray454 says:
08:38 AM, 06/ 9/09
Could it be something simple like an out of balance tire? I've had an out of balance front tire cause symptoms in the steering wheel like that.
ocramida says:
11:27 AM, 06/ 9/09
???
Funny I thought Audi's brand differentiator was Quattro not vague steering feel. What a cop out from an engineer no less. Good point about hte out of balance tires. I just replaced my Mazda MS3's tires and the steering felt vague at high speeds. Turned out the tech didn't balance the right front tire. Now the car handles like it's on rails.:-)