Hatto

Just purchased a new 2012 Q7 3.0 TDI but steering is out slightly and Audi don't appear to be able to fix. It's got 21" 295/35 tyres and I understand wheels will tend to follow the road but steering wheel wants to sit a few degrees left all the time. Natural road follow is not consistent for left camber and right camber which helps rule out the 'road follow' theory. If I hold steering wheel perfectly straight car veers right. Let go of wheel and it will always try to sit a few degrees left. Audi have examined and said vehicle alignment is correct. Any advice would be greatly appreciated by this frustrated owner!

feoseo

I'm having the exact same problem. Same set up... same tires... just over 3,000 miles on it and it has had this problem since day one.

I took it to the dealer last week. They did all the alignment checks. Found that two of the tires were "bad" and would not balance correctly. They replaced the tires under warranty. But the pulling to the right continues.

It's going back this week...

Hatto

Yeah mine has been like this since day one too. Audi now want me to test drive another Q7 to compare but its getting tedious. Audi techs have tested my car and said that "figures are within specifications". My argument is had I known specifications allowed for a steering wheel to not be centered and a car that always pulls left I wouldn't have purchased it. Please keep me updated on your progress!

Jhancott

I have a bald right tire - I questioned on last service and they didn't answer me - I've made an appt to have the alignment checked / it seems odd as only the right front passenger tire is completely bald - saw your comments and am wondering if it's related ? it is a 2011 model and I have 65M km on it now and warranty is soon up. appreciate any good advice ?thanks very much

feoseo

I wanted to follow up on this thread...

After the last time the dealer had the vehicle I reluctantly took it back with a "minor" pull to the right still happening. The dealer said everything was in alignment and that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle.

Several weeks later (this is not my daily driver) my wife and I headed off to Florida, from Atlanta, for the weekend. I figured that this would give me an opportunity to test the "pull" on a number of road conditions, not just the same five miles of I-85 that they test on.

I drove the entire 700+ miles counter steering the vehicle to the left. Ridiculous. This is a $75,000 car and one would think that for that kind of money it would travel in the direction that you point it... apparently this is not the case.

We returned back to Atlanta on October 8th and my 2012 Q7 S-line went to Gwinnett Audi, the dealer I purchased it from, and has been there ever since. They called and said it was "ready" some two weeks in. They replaced the other two tires (they had replaced two the first time it was in with this problem). They checked the alignment. Adjusted the caster. All sorts of things. Great... that should take care of it...

I picked it up and had to be at meeting so I didn't test drive it first. I was back in the shop a little over an hour later. I took the service writer out for a test drive to show him that it wasn't any better than when I left it with them. They took it back.

About a week later they called. I went for a test ride with the mechanic. Same results. But the mechanic stated that now he understood the problem better...

They called again last week. This time I made sure I had plenty of time and took the service manager on the test ride with me. I got all the comments:

"Road Crown"... Okay... what about this lane? Same thing... This lane? Same thing... Parking lot.... same thing.

"This is a high performance vehicle and will require more steering input"... Um... what? So they always require steering input to keep them traveling in a straight line? This is how a top of the line Audi is SUPPOSED to drive?

After a half-hour or so the service manager drives it and states that he "sees" what I'm referring to. He keeps the vehicle and they are going to go through it again.

So at this point a few things...

I am concerned about the long-term health of this vehicle. It has some 6,000 miles or so on it now. How is it going to handle at 60,000 miles?

What happens when I go to sell it and the potential buyer says "it pulls to the right"?

Am I going to wear tires out on one side or the other?

I can't even relax my grip on the steering wheel with this thing. It is in a constant state of counter steer. There is no way this can be how this vehicle should drive.

To the dealer's credit, they are not disputing the issue, they just don't seem to be able to rectify it. This is Gwinnett Audi in Duluth, Georgia. I've had a service loaner the entire time... an A8... so that's not an entirely bad thing.

But I'm at the point where it's getting a little old. I actually needed the Q7 over this past weekend and the A8 simply did not have the capabilities that I needed (which was why I didn't buy the A8 in the first place).

So that's where I am. I would love to hear of anyone else with this issue and what you did to get it fixed.

xpol767x

I have 2013 S-line TDI, and have same problem since day one.
Went to the dealer ( Lighthouse Point, FL ) few times, they even replaced all 4 tires with
top of the line Michelins "21, and still drifts to the right.
Great service at the dealership but problem not fixed.
Car has 3000 miles, paid 76000USD and they can not figure out the problem.
Any help???
Zibi

drcyrus3d

For those of you who took the car in more than 3 times with the same problem and got it back still having it, you should look into the Lemon Law for your state. It's time to get a 2013 on their expense!

I think the problem may be coming from the computer?! I am curious what software version you guys have on yours. I would suggest to to ask them to check the software on a 2011 and a 2012. If the version is the same and the 2011 doesn't pull, I would look into the transmission, maybe some of the components are worn out more on one side than the other. Components are made outside of Audi so some of these parts may be faulty.

Good luck and please update this post. I hope you guys will get this problem fixed on way or another.

rdutter

I purchased a 2013 model 2 weeks back and having the same problem.

Steering wheel becomes hard suddenly and the car pulls to the right. This has happened 4-5 times already. (200 KMS only).

I try and hold the steering with both hands all the time as the car pulls to the right when the steering becomes hard.

Will be contacting the dealer.

Hatto

Sorry to hear you guys have similar issues.

In a nutshell, Audi Australia just don't get it. Plenty of return trips to the dealer and they kept giving me the car back saying it was good. I'd drive it with the dealer service manager and he'd agree 'carefully' that it wasn't right. I was told on several occasions that 'Audi Technical' had confirmed my car was fine. Never met, saw or spoke to this mysterious 'Audi Technical' person that kept insisting my car was fine but I was assured it was. I did need to wait nearly 2 weeks to have him (the secret Audi Technical guy) check my car though because he needed to go on a skiing holiday.

More and more trips to the dealer while the people at Audi Australia did nothing except take up to 7 days to reply to my emails and confirm that they wouldn't replace, refund or basically perform the most basic customer service function. Audi Australia are an unmitigated disgrace.If potential Audi buyers in this country were aware of how little support they can expect if something goes wrong with their new car that isn't a straightforward fix, BMW and Mercedes Benz stocks would soar.

The dealer principal head mechanic recently spent some time with my car and improved it somewhat but it still isn't right. That he was able to improve it after 'Audi Technical' said it was fine says it all.

My advice, if you can afford a Porsche get a Cayenne, or a BMW, or a Merc .... even a Subaru or Ford would have been a better option!

feoseo

... same result.

I just got it back yesterday. It does exactly the same thing.

According to the dealer they weighted the vehicle with a full fuel load and weights in the driver's seat to simulate how I would actually drive it. They apparently then aligned it and adjusted the caster with the vehicle weighted like that (never mind that my wife and children normally ride with me... and I only have a "full" fuel load for a few miles...).

I went on a test drive with the service manager and the feel of the vehicle was the same as before.

Same story with me as well that the dealer had an Audi rep come in and look over then drive it.

I've owned this thing for 250 days... and it's been in the shop for 51 days... and it still isn't right.

Not what I would expect from Audi...