dougnash

We tested the '13 X3 335xi before we bought the Q5. My wife simply hated the way it looked, and neither of us were impressed with the interior.

From a performance and steering standpoint:
It felt sporty and fast. But our 3.0T feels every bit as fast, sporty, and actually much more secure. The steering on the X3 was nice, but NOTHING like the older BMW models I've driven over the years. There's no argument that the "AUTO" setting in ADS for our Q is light. But I don't feel it's actually all that less "direct" feeling than the X3. But in "DYNAMIC" I think the steering feels better in the Q than in the BMW. In fact, I need to customize the Individual mode so that I can have the Dynamic steering, but with the Auto throttle and suspension settings. Perfect blend for my driving style.

ErnestHouse

THe X1 is hydraulic steering not electronic:
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...1_first_drive/

antirich

Wow, so much for 'knowledgeable' sales staff ;-)

No wonder it steered so responsively.

idale

They're knowledgeable... about how to try and get people to buy cars. Since when do people care about specific, accurate information on a prospective vehicle?

ds2199

Fair enough. Let me restate.

I took the vehicle into the dealer to deal with said steering issue. The dealer claims to have replaced the steering rack (I can neither confirm nor deny). After "replacement" by the dealer, the steering issue is no longer there.

It is possible that they did something else to fix the issue. I am not a detective and frankly don't care how they fixed it. Maybe they used "magic", or they may have replaced half the car. I don't really care.

What I can say is this. The issue is gone. It is not a placebo effect. I drove 3 different vehicles back to back to back. Two of them had the issue and one did not. It is very easy to notice when the steering is working proplerly.

nemteanu

LOL, objection you honor! How do you know that they didn't just switch you license plate with another Q5. Are you positive that it's the same one you drove in there?

haha.

dsackman

I am very glad that it worked out and that the issues is resolved, but what scares me somewhat is that you drove other cars and two out of three had the issue. Hope it does not happen to me and after 2,000 miles fortunately no issue (touch wood).


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ds2199

One of those three cars was mine. But I agree. There has to be an issue with some of the initial factory steering racks. The fact that there are issues on the Allroads as well leads me to believe that they may have produced a defective (or at least something that has the propensity to be deffective) steering rack.

I think I read somewhere that it may be a new part number, but I did not verify.

Time will tell. I am less worried about it now that they have a way to "fix" the problem. But I am still concerned that it could happen again.

dsackman

A bit off-topic, but I would imagine that Audi will know which parts (batch#'s, etc.) are installed in which cars (VIN's). Should they not be in a position to voluntarily recall and fix all the defective areas?

I am in the process of having a wheel bearing replaced (at 2,000 miles) - again something that had quite a few occurrences. Certainly Audi in their manufacturing process should keep track of all the parts and recall and fix the problematic areas pro-actively?

I must say I am a little disappointed...



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shireguy

just curious on this wheel bearing issue on a new car, I assume your talking about the MY13 here. how did they come to diagnosis it was a wheel bearing ? My car having only done 3,000kms has a horrible sound from the front drivers, hollowing sound, but audi reckons its not a bearing issue....


Did you get the same sound from your wheels ?