Audi A4 steering problems

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2017 A4 Audi Allroad- while making turns at low speeds with the steering wheel, the vehicle makes cracking, popping and vibration noises. The noise was inspected and reproduced, confirmed on 1/4/2023 by Audi Fletcher Jones, Costa Mesa, California and advised to replace engine mounts, and both front upper control arms, total repair bill $3240.27. After vehicle repairs the steering noises and vibration returned again with no warning lamps, or messages. The vehicle was dropped off at Audi Fletcher Jones, Costa Mesa, CA on 11/28/2023. Audi Fletcher Jones now states it is due to possible defective steering rack and quoted $4,237.9 for repairs on 12/27/2023. Possible safety risk to myself and others if there is an Audi Manufacture defect within the steering rack which can cause loss of steering. Steering rack failure should not be occurring on a vehicle with mileage - only 46,742 miles. NHSTA please investigate Audi of America for possible manufacture defects of engine mounts, control arms, and steering racks. My vehicle is available for inspection upon request.

NHTSA complaint #11562212 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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They have a design defect which allows water to get into the cabin via the moon roof. They also have an electrical motherboard under the drivers feet (comfort control module) that shorts out when it gets wet (which is easy when the rain comes in from the faulty moon roof). Now I cannot un/lock my doors, operate my windows open/closed, etc. And I believe it has negatively effected my ability for brake lights to function properly. This is a widespread issue, not just on mine. They were even class action sued for the same issue with a different year model (and settled out of court, but I was not an owner of the other car year). Please help. Thank you.

NHTSA complaint #11532413 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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We live in Montana where it gets very cold on a regular basis while driving our Audi the steering wheel ceased to function and would not allow us to control the vehicle this occurred three times. A warning on the dash came up that said steering malfunction stopped vehicle but it was very scary and intimidating to know that your steering wheel could quit at any time we got stranded and took it to a dealer and they said that the steering rack computer had failed and could not get the part for at least a month since they had so many of these vehicles having the exact same issue in the United States the dealership stated that the other three dealers locally to them all were waiting on the same exact part for the same problem they charge us $6,000 to repair it I would think that if so many of the same vehicles are having the same problems that there's no parts available in the country that it should be a recall and the manufacturer should be responsible for the issue what can we do?

NHTSA complaint #11506847 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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The power steering on my A4 went out randomly with only 52k miles on the odometer. Thankfully it went out while the car was parked, but if it went out while I was driving it could've caused an accident. I towed it to a shop to diagnose the issue and they confirmed that the power steering rack went bad. While doing research I found that Audi extended the warranty on the steering racks for 2013-2016 model year A4s. The part number for the 2016 steering rack is shared with the 2017 steering rack as well, which means audi should've included the 2017 model year with that extended warranty.

NHTSA complaint #11478654 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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Ok before my previous incident it must’ve been 2 weeks ago that my car just sped up and broke on it’s on on a 65 mile road it’s to the point that I’m very hesitant to drive the car but it’s my only means of commute it’s just a total safety problem and I don’t feel safe one bit

NHTSA complaint #11457549 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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August of 2021. It was raining out and I drove through a puddle and my electric steering shut down. This has been a known defect for at least 10 years with Audi and NHTSA has done NOTHING about it.

NHTSA complaint #11442785 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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Car is feeling jerky and shaky at the steering wheel when driving or sitting still. Very common problem on these cars. Will probably need new steering rack. This issue needs to become a recall. Very frustrating.

NHTSA complaint #11439794 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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2013 Audi A4 with a 2.0 turbo engine approximately 62.5K miles and up to date with all services. I was driving on the highway at highway speeds when the engine suddenly started to misfire with a partial loss of power making the car difficult to steer. At that time the check engine light was not illuminated. I was able to get off the highway and drive home about 2 miles away from when the misfires first occurred. The police did not get involved as I was able to return home. The following week the car was towed to my mechanic where it was diagnosed that cylinder 3 had a problem. At that time the check engine light illuminated. He recommended that I tow my car to the Audi dealership as they have better availability of parts. The dealer took apart the engine and diagnosed a broken piston ring which destroyed many other parts of the engine. The engine had to be replaced with a new one from the factory. Audi should be held accountable for catastrophic engine failures that may result in injury to others due to poor engine design.

NHTSA complaint #11436916 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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I have current issue with my Audi A4 steering rack where im driving it randomly it pull up one side or the other i have looked up that issues with the Audi A4 and alot of people are having steering rack failed where there’s space in the steering where it causes play and possible clicking noise and uneven drive Alot of people have that issues with the electrical steering and for some reason audi never recalled it even tho it’s happening rn to alot of people including me

NHTSA complaint #11431904 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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I bought the car recently and drove it on the freeway, on the way back home I noticed a shaking/Vibration coming from the right side of the vehicle. It made the car very hard to control and staying in one lane was almost impossible. It swerves left to right uncontrollably at random times. I haven't taken it in to any dealership or manufacturer to check it out for me, also there's no warning lights on the dashboard at all. And I believe the owner I bought it from knew of this issue but didn't let me know so I'm really just as in the Blind as well. I don't know what else to do because I can't keep driving the car with uncontrollable force and putting kids in danger or anybody else's.

NHTSA complaint #11426196 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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Rubber boot around the electronic steering rack wore out after only 30k miles. This has caused no warning lights, and very dangerous behaviour from the steering mechanisms. To include the steering wheel locking up mid turn, and the steering wheel "stuttering" due to the electronic motor failing.

NHTSA complaint #11423011 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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Steering wheel doesn’t want stay center. Kicks left or right, in a kind of ‘notchy’ way. Almost feels like it wants to click from side to side and won’t stay centered. Vehicle was recently aligned and utilizes all OEM parts.

NHTSA complaint #11421222 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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THE STEERING LOCKS UP OUT OF NO WERE WHILE DRIVING MAKING IT SEEM LIKE POWER STEERING FAILURE AND GIVES YOU A STUCK THEN LET GO FEELING. I'M A MECHANIC AND HAVE COME TO FIND OUT THE STEERING UNIVERSAL JOINTS SEIZED AND RUSTED BAD MAKING IT WELL NOT STEER SMOOTH IT'S VERY DANGEROUS AND A CAR ONLY 6 YEARS OLD WITH 80000 MILE SHOULD NOT HAVE AN ISSUE LIKE THAT BUT IT'S VERY VERY COMMON AFTER RESEARCH

NHTSA complaint #11403177 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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WHILE IN A TURNING MOTION THRU A WATER PUDDLE, THE STEERING DEFECTIVE WARNING LIGHT CAME UP ON THE DASH AND THE STEERING WAS VERY STIFF AT SLOW SPEED. ERROR WAS ANALYZED AS A DEFECTIVE ELECTRIC STEERING RACK AND PINION. ONE YEAR AGO THIS SAME PROBLEM AROSE AND IT WAS CORRECTED WITH A USED RACK, BECAUSE A NEW ONE COULD NOT BE FOUND, SUCH IS THE CASE AT THE CURRENT TIME, ONLY USED RACKS ARE AVAILABLE, WHICH DID NOT WORK OUT WELL THE FIRST TIME AND THE LEAD TIME ON A NEW RACK IS 3 MONTHS. I SUBMITTED A COMPLAINT NUMBER: 11300855 ON THE SAME EXACT PROBLEM A YEAR AGO. I FEEL AUDI NEEDS TO ADDRESS THIS SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH THE RACK P/N 8K1 423 055BA OR ANY OTHER THAT FIT THIS DESCRIPTION. THE INTERNET HAS PLENTY OF AUDI FORUMS ABOUT THIS MOISTURE PROBLEM, SINCE THE RACK IS CONDUCIVE TO WEATHER RELATED CONDITIONS THAT SHORT OUT CONTROL MODULE, LEAVING THE RACK WITH NO ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST. THE MODULE IS INTEGRATED INTO THE RACK WITH NO WAY TO JUST REPLACE JUST THAT PART, LEAVING YOU WITH A $3000.00 BILL.

NHTSA complaint #11399524 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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STEERING WHEEL RANDOMLY LOCKED WHILE THE CAR WAS IN MOTION. THE CAR WAS ALMOST INOPERABLE. IT WAS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND IS ALSO A SAFETY HAZARD. THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL COMPLAINTS, BUT NO RECALL FROM AUDI. IT NEEDS TO ADDRESSED AND FIXED. LIVES ARE AT RISK.

NHTSA complaint #11396136 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 AUDI A4. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE CHECK ENGINE AND LOW OIL PRESSURE WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC, WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH NEEDING THE ENGINE COILS AND SPARK PLUGS TO BE REPLACED. WHILE DRIVING AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED THE SAME SYMPTOMS AS BEFORE WITH THE ADDITION OF LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND POWER BRAKES. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE STEERING WHEEL WAS DIFFICULT TO TURN AND DIFFICULT FOR THE BRAKE PEDAL TO BE DEPRESSED. THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO RESTART VEHICLE AND THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 138,000

NHTSA complaint #11385745 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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WHILE DRIVING, ON OR OFF THE HIGHWAY STEERING STIFFENS MAKING IT HARD OR IMPOSSIBLE TO MAKE TURNS. IT IS A SCARY SITUATION, WHICH FORCED ME TO PULL OVER ON THE HIGHWAY ONCE- I WAS NOT ABLE TO SWITCH LANES DUE TO THE HARDNESS OF THE STEERING WHEEL. THIS OCCURS RANDOMLY, AT ANYTIME OR SPEED, EVEN AT SLOW SPEEDS WHILE DRIVING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. IT OCCURS TO EITHER SIDE, SOMETIMES ONE SIDE OF THE WHEEL OR BOTH SIDES.

NHTSA complaint #11362244 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

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VEHICLE ALL OF A SUDDEN HAD A WARNING LIGHT WITH THE STEERING WHILE DRIVING AND WHEEL STOPPED TURNING. THIS WAS VERY DANGEROUS DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION EVENTUALLY STARTED TURNING BACK AFTER I STOPPED THE CAR AND PUT ON HAZARDS AND KEPT PLAYING WITH STEERING BUT WAS STILL VERY DIFFICULT TO STEER. HAD TO TOW VEHICLE TO AUDI AND TOOK A WEEK AND A FEW DAYS WITH THE CAR. NOW AFTER I GOT IT FOR ONLY A FEW DAYS MY OIL SENSOR HAS GONE BAD AFTER I ASKED THEM TO CHECK EVERYTHING. I FIND THIS VERY STRANGE

NHTSA complaint #11362097 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.