jackfrost

We bought our Q7 approximately one month ago and it has now spend half of its life in the shop with the following problem. The steering wheel wobbles or oscilates at speeds between 100kms an hour to 120kms an hour. Three wheel balancing including 2 road force wheel balancing was completed by the dealership. The dealer replaced all four Goodyear tires last week with 4 new ones. I picked up the vehicle last Friday and I drove it all weekend and it still vibrates so it is going back in on Monday morning and frankly I don't want this thing back until the issue is fully fixed.Obviously the tires may not be the issue and supposedly the wheels are fine. What could be causing the steering wheel to wobble like that? We love the features, comfort, and the looks of the Q7 but a $75,000 vehicle should not be driving like that. I mean we got this thing for highway cruising and it's not performing the way it should be very disappointing. I have a feeling this is not going to get fixed any time soon. We have 34 lease payments left and I cannot put up with this for the next 3yrs.If they can't fix it what can I do? I know I will be cursing this vehicle everytime I drive it, actually I don't even want to drive it anymore. What can I do to get out of this vehicle and into another Q7? Any insight would help.

Q7_taxi

or give the set you have more time to settle in. I have the 20" Continentals and I started out with vibrations at about the same speeds, but it went away after a couple thousand miles -- I have ~12k miles now.

With tires this large, a couple of grams at the tread edge will have a magnified effect vs. smaller tires.

Not sure if the tires were newly-developed for Audi, but that could be another factor. When Michelin first came out with PilotSport 2's in 19"/wider fitments (this was for my M3), a bunch of us with the first batch on the market experienced similar balancing issues -- took 2 sets of tires and 3 tries at roadforce balancing to eliminate it. Later buyers didn't have any issues.

Good luck and hang in there!

Take a nice long road trip and vary your speeds...faster! For me, the vibration went away above 80mph, LOL.

Rocky-in-Connecticut

The aggressive suspensions in high end SUV's are part of the problem in that they transmit much more road feel than the typical American whaleboat SUV., The tires have been critical in these complaints of wobbling. Any balance problems with the wheel or tires WILL be felt in a VW or Audi steering wheel, unlike a Ford SUV.

frankly, part of the solution may be that some people are simply not meant to be able to put up with typical foibles of an SUV. I have known some people who bought a high end SUV that didn't realize some of the problems involved in them, and they were happier in a sedan or Avant. Make sure you get some kind of printout of the Road Force balance to make sure your wheels themselves are in spec. Sometimes a tech will try and work around a bad wheel. If you neeed a new wheel it is likely you will have to pay for it due to curb damage, etc.

Jusforfun

why not ask them to transfer a whole set off a car that you test and find OK.
Then you will know for sure, especially if yours then put on another car and problem is there.

If you can establish where the problem is.. then you can solve it. After all that balancing if it is tyres then insist on a replacement set.

jackfrost

Great idea I was going to mention that to the service manager tomorrow morning.I'm not a mechanic but that is one thing I would have done to rule the wheels and tires out. If they take another set of wheels off another Q7 and that works o.k then obviously the problem is solved but if it still vibrates than obviously we have more than a wheel and tire issue I'm hoping that the wheel and tire swap works we'll see what happens I'll keep you posted. Thanks

Sachsi

I felt the same vibration during an early test drive and that was more severe than any steering column vibration I've ever experienced (including that of the french clunker I drove fresh out of college). From a brand new Audi that was quite disappointing.

On the other hand Audis have pretty solid drivetrains and the cause is likely to be just an out-of-balance wheel. It could be that the OEM tires are not that great.
Have any of you experienced other tire problems? If yes, please describe your problem and provide the tire size.

Our new Q will be here in a few weeks and I'm wondering if I should have them keep the OEMs and put something else on when it arrives.

T.I.A.

996CAB

Off the topic but similar experience....

I had the exact wheel wobbling problems at same speeds 100KM/H in my daily driver and tried wheel balancing, suspension re-alignment, tyre air pressure changes etc - problem could not be solved. The problem was more apparent when braking from high speeds...so we had the brake pads and discs changed yet problem was still there.

As a last result, I changed ALL 4 tyres for a new set, no particular brand was targeted. I just asked for the tyres to be changed

Guess what?....yep you guessed it...PROBLEM SOLVED!

Paul3.2A4avant

Something about the Goodyear tires and my allroad were not compatible. Dealer would road force balance them and a day later the steering wheel wobble would be back. I was convinced that they would "flat spot" overnight. Finally switched to a Pirelli summer tire & Nokian winter tire. No more wobble. You need to have the dealer try a different brand of tires. I had to balance the 20" Contis on our Q7 once, since my dealer's Hunter machine is apparently more precise than the factory's balancing equipment.

der Scherzkeks

Re: it's the tires. If Road Force doesn't work, try Michelins...

MarkItZero

and since we put Toyo S/Ts on it it has stopped. I do notice it on the Q7 as well but am just waiting for the tires to wear down and will put the same Toyos on it and hope it lessens the problem.

Agreed, some people are really sensitive about it whereas others don't notice it (or just don't care).