Is it normal to get clonking from steering when manoeuvring?

[Nick_T]

Had my RS6 since May and noticed reasonably early on that when manoeuvring the car in the mornings leaving the house (car sat overnight) that I get a relatively loud clonking (not the best description but best I can come up with for now) from the steering.

This sensation occurs when on roughly half lock or more and reversing slowly. I initially thought it was the tyres getting stones stuck to them from my driveway and dropping them onto the tarmac road causing a sensation like running over / crushing individual stones, you can feel it through the steering as well as hear it. It doesn't happen or at least is not anywhere as noticeable once the car is warm (parking back in my drive for example after a drive).

Is this normal!? Could it be the Quattro system, or the tyres being dragged across the road due to the geo setup for example and the angle of the wheels when negotiating a tight parking space? Or should I be taking the car to Audi before the warranty expires?

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[Toffeebananas]

Mine does it. I assumed it was normal. I thought it was a combination of the large wheels and 4 wheel drive system causing it. My RS4 used todo it aswell. Although not quite as bad!

[RS6chris!]

It’s the tyres

It’s a trait of all 4wd cars I’ve had

Google Ackerman effect

[Iain]

happens on mine - noticeably worse when the tread is low on the tyres - I always thought was the diff, as it happened on my previous Rangey and X5's

[mdrs4_82]

Not heard this yet, but I'll keep an 'eye' out for it.

Interestingly, I was talking to a friend who has a E63S 4-matic thing and there is a known issue with driveshafts knocking on lock! Mercedes put it down to a characteristic of the car. Appalling if you ask me!

[Nick_T]

I thought as much, maybe the tread getting low now is making it more noticeable. Thanks for putting my mind at rest.

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[Ian_C]

Totally normal on a permanent quattro

[Dazman70]

Yes this is normal- it's a common phenomenon.I get it on mine. Ackerman effect. Used to happen on a Porsche I owned too. Nothing to worry about.

[wildbore]

If you only notice it in cold weather then It is simply what wide summer tyres do in cold weather - the colder it gets, the worse the effect. It is simply that the tyre rubber gets harder with the dropping temperature and cannot flex as it normally would so it "jumps" across the road surface as soon as the sheer forces build up arising from the different speeds between the inside of the tyre and the outside.

Happens on 2WD cars as much as 4WD - nothing to do with quattro - the diffs can easily absorb that much differential in the wheel speeds. As mentioned above, I had it on my Porsche, too, and we even get it on our little Fiat Abarth at this time of year. And that has a huge turning circle, bigger than the Audi, I think.

[superlightr]

Not heard this yet, but I'll keep an 'eye' out for it.

Interestingly, I was talking to a friend who has a E63S 4-matic thing and there is a known issue with driveshafts knocking on lock! Mercedes put it down to a characteristic of the car. Appalling if you ask me!

Yes have an E63 4matic+ and it does this - Crabbing in the cold normally on full lock in the cold.

[Joe1199]

I have a 2018 PE and it has made this loud bang when cold since day one. I took it back to Audi and they kept it overnight and then told me it was a completely normal.

I just try to avoid full lock in that first manoeuvre of the day as it does sound more aggressive than just the tyres skipping, but I do have it in writing from the dealer that it is nothing to worry about

[Nick_T]

I have a 2018 PE and it has made this loud bang when cold since day one. I took it back to Audi and they kept it overnight and then told me it was a completely normal.

I just try to avoid full lock in that first manoeuvre of the day as it does sound more aggressive than just the tyres skipping, but I do have it in writing from the dealer that it is nothing to worry about

It does sound more aggressive than tryes skipping, but then again I guess these are wide tyres and when cold are very firm. Never experienced this on my Subaru WRX or TVR or other cars, saying that the TVR had lots of other noises and rarely came out in the cold or went through parking manouvers very often.

Thanks for reassuring me that this is normal everyone, had one warranty claim so far for one of the Cats, that would have been pricey if it came out of my pocket! So want to catch anything that could be an issue before the warranty expires.

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