DRC Recall in US/Canada

[^Qwerty^]

the pressure is actually 16 bar to 12 bar (235 to 176 psi) afaik
I'm sure there is a natural variation with air/fuid temp too...

and it's the springs that carry the load, the dampers dampen the spring oscillation...

does anyone know the spec?
I know 12 bar is the NO GO low limit
I thought they were initially charged to 14 bar...but I've heard 16 too

PSi or BAR, it would make very little difference to calculations.

[aidanjaye]

imo Audi could have saved themselves a lot of grief...
just put in a system like the tire pressure monitoring
even if it is only interally accessed via vagcom...

log pressure over time...say ever 500 miles or something...
if it's a nice gradual decrease, normal leakage (anybody ever see a tire that didn't need air once in a while?)
just charge it back up...
if there is a disjoint step, then rapid decrease, something 'broke'
or if it leaks in 5k miles, vs 35k miles, the seals/bushings are shot

"just charge it back up???" - at 160 quid a time. Audi dealers would love that...not sure about the paying customers.

[ArthurPE]

niether do BMW e46 M3 customers when charged for a mechanical valve adjustment every 20k miles, it's far more expensive...
I bought the tools and learned how ($800 to $1200 a pop)

or brakes for a GTR $9k (as soon as 20k miles!)

or the price of tires on any of these cars....

those customers will get Civics...

chances are it would never need charged...but if it does, it's cheaper than a full set of conventional shocks which are wear/tear items with a project lifespan of anywhere from 25k miles to 50k miles...

you never get something for nothing...

imo Audi could have saved themselves a lot of grief...
just put in a system like the tire pressure monitoring
even if it is only interally accessed via vagcom...

log pressure over time...say ever 500 miles or something...
if it's a nice gradual decrease, normal leakage (anybody ever see a tire that didn't need air once in a while?)
just charge it back up...
if there is a disjoint step, then rapid decrease, something 'broke'
or if it leaks in 5k miles, vs 35k miles, the seals/bushings are shot

"just charge it back up???" - at 160 quid a time. Audi dealers would love that...not sure about the paying customers.

[PetrolDave]

niether do BMW e46 M3 customers when charged for a mechanical valve adjustment every 20k miles, it's far more expensive...
I bought the tools and learned how ($800 to $1200 a pop)

or brakes for a GTR $9k (as soon as 20k miles!)

or the price of tires on any of these cars....

those customers will get Civics...

chances are it would never need charged...but if it does, it's cheaper than a full set of conventional shocks which are wear/tear items with a project lifespan of anywhere from 25k miles to 50k miles...

you never get something for nothing...

How true!

Audi RS models are never going to be as cheap to maintain as a "normal" car.

Given that the shocks on my wifes car needed replacing at 25k miles, I'm not at all unhappy that Audi have replaced mine at 44k miles.

[Sims]

niether do BMW e46 M3 customers when charged for a mechanical valve adjustment every 20k miles, it's far more expensive...
I bought the tools and learned how ($800 to $1200 a pop)

or brakes for a GTR $9k (as soon as 20k miles!)

or the price of tires on any of these cars....

those customers will get Civics...

chances are it would never need charged...but if it does, it's cheaper than a full set of conventional shocks which are wear/tear items with a project lifespan of anywhere from 25k miles to 50k miles...

you never get something for nothing...

How true!

Audi RS models are never going to be as cheap to maintain as a "normal" car.

Given that the shocks on my wifes car needed replacing at 25k miles, I'm not at all unhappy that Audi have replaced mine at 44k miles.

With respect, we are not talking wear & tear. It's failure often at very low mileage. Check out this thread.

http://www.rs246.com/index.php?name=PNp ... ic&t=70803

[PetrolDave]

With respect, we are not talking wear & tear. It's failure often at very low mileage. Check out this thread.

http://www.rs246.com/index.php?name=PNp ... ic&t=70803

As if I hadn't read that thread already...

Sims, your insults (implied or actual) are tiresome.

[Sims]

With respect, we are not talking wear & tear. It's failure often at very low mileage. Check out this thread.

http://www.rs246.com/index.php?name=PNp ... ic&t=70803

As if I hadn't read that thread already...

Sims, your insults (implied or actual) are tiresome.

PD, your post mentions your wife's car, your car at 44k and the clear implication is that its a wear and tear. It's not.

If the shocks on your car were not leaking, Audi would not have replaced them. As an engineer you should know that.

[PetrolDave]

It took 44k miles for my shocks to leak - and Audi UK paid - but it only took 25k miles for the shocks on my wifes car to leak - did Skoda UK pay? No I did...

So it seems to me that Audi UK are offering very good warranty coverage on parts that most (all?) other manufacturers regard as wear & tear items.

We should applaud Audi UK for taking positive action in an area that most car manufacturers would simply shrug and walk away from.

We should also acknowledge that Audi AG have (OK slower than they should have done) redesigned the shocks into the current Gen 3 version.

We RS4 owners are receiving MUCH better attention to the issues we raise than the vast majority of car owners ever will.

Let's be happy for that, instead of always "throwing stones".

[Sims]

It took 44k miles for my shocks to leak - and Audi UK paid - but it only took 25k miles for the shocks on my wifes car to leak - did Skoda UK pay? No I did...

So it seems to me that Audi UK are offering very good warranty coverage on parts that most (all?) other manufacturers regard as wear & tear items.

We should applaud Audi UK for taking positive action in an area that most car manufacturers would simply shrug and walk away from.

We should also acknowledge that Audi AG have (OK slower than they should have done) redesigned the shocks into the current Gen 3 version.

We RS4 owners are receiving MUCH better attention to the issues we raise than the vast majority of car owners ever will.

Let's be happy for that, instead of always "throwing stones".

Audi have done well and I have said that, many times on this thread. You should read my posts without any prejudice

You did well because there was failure on the DRC of a significant number of other cars. If the DRC had not failed on any car, you would have had to pay. Consider yourself lucky.

Is the suspension system on your wife's car as sophisticated as the RS4? And lets's face it's a different price point & cost to remedy.

The DRC situation is embarrassing for Audi (as it would be for any other manufacturer) and they are dealing with it to remedy problems. People like yourself enjoy betterment as a result. Good for you.

[Steve_C]

Dave, I'm guessing you're a glass half full man?

What is the typical life of a shock? Having never had to replace shocks on a car I'm wondering what is the reason for the wear and tear? My local Audi garage said it is speed bumps and the like which, living in the sticks, I don't see many of.

[Steve_C]

Have many people had issues with the replacement RS4 shocks or have Audi now cured the problem?
What is the difference between the original and replacement shocks?

[P_G]

It could be a number of contributing factors and those you mention are some. And there are no set rules on the life of the shocks either, some have failed after a few thousand miles and months of ownership, some like Dave last nearly 4 years and 40+K miles.

There was one case of Gen3 failure partly reported on here but as to why IIRC that was never ascertained. The redesign is of the boot covering the shock and a modified / strenghtened strut as well, again IIRC.

[Steve_C]

Thanks P_G - a fountain of knowledge!

[PetrolDave]

People like yourself enjoy betterment as a result. Good for you.

I was one of those that wrote personally to Jeremy Hicks to raise this issue, so I'm not "enjoying" betterment - I fought for it!

I would appreciate it if you read my posts without prejudice too

[PetrolDave]

Having never had to replace shocks on a car I'm wondering what is the reason for the wear and tear?

Wow, I'm surprised.

Until I could afford to buy new cars I'm pretty certain I had to replace at least one pair of the shocks on every second hand car I've owned. The RS4 is the first new car that I've owned for more than 3 years, so having to have replacement shocks comes as no surprise to me.

And that was in the days before speed bumps, so they're not the only factor but they are an important one. The shocks take large sudden loads every time you drive over a pothole (very common on UK roads), a raised bridge expansion gap (there's some horrible ones of those on the M27), or similar raised or sunken "feature" on the road. No mechanical system that is affordable can take those loads for ever, so eventually the shock absorbers on every car will need replacement - even on a 1 €1m+ Bugatti Veyron.