AUDIQSS

I had a 2004 S4 Cab, a 2010 S5 Cab, and now drive a 2011 S5 Cab and what you describe is definitely NOT normal. If the steering wheel "nearly vibrated out of his hand" I would have left the car with them, demanded a loaner, and told them to call when they can demonstrate that the car is fixed. It definitely is broken now!!! Have them take you for a test drive to show it is fixed BEFORE you officially pick it up when they do call.

Dgrant69

That doesn't sound normal to me either. I haven't had that experience with my S5 Cabriolet. I have only 900 miles.

perryvax

I have a 2015 S5 Cabriolet, now with 600 miles on the odometer. The first time I drove the car at highway speed (after the deal was done) I noticed not only a vibration which I thought was tire-related from the rear, but the same "unsettled" feeling over any bumps at any speed. It is like one bump causes multiple oscillations in the suspension. Again, hard to describe and sometimes subtle but other times much more noticeable. The tires were road-force balanced, apparently with some difficulty, and this did not improve the situation. There is a distinct vibration through the steering wheel around 70 mph, and the aforementioned "shimmy" or "oscillation" over bumps. The dealer had the car for a week; they consulted a regional guru for Audi who flew in and spent the day with my car, ultimately finding nothing. They loosened the control arms, settled the car, and re-torqued them, they temporarily swapped tires/wheels, and they compared my car with a 2014 S5 cab driven by one of the sales staff. Night and day, but then my car not only has the adaptive suspension with the sport diff, but also a strange option code designating a lightweight steering rack. No one knew what that code was, and no one had ever seen it. I will try to get the option code from our service department. I think I am dealing with a wheel/tire issue at high speeds, but the "unsettled" feeling (and I also have a firmly planted, very smooth S6) is something probably unique to a Cabriolet. I am very unhappy with this car, and intend to try to get out of the deal unless they can fix the high-speed vibration. I think I can live with the other problem as related to the different stiffness of a convertible. Anyone have any other insights?

markbridge

I have a 2013 S5 Cab with just a little over 4K on it. I have never noticed any vibration. None.

Could there be a service bulletin on the problem? Seems odd there are two guys here experiencing the same problem and Audi is not aware of it.

djnuge

I wanted some feedback from other cabriolet owners. Let me give you some background information.

When the RS5 cabriolet was first available from 2013 through 2015, I was not really in the market for that type of a car. So I never got to test drive it brand new from the dealership to see how it rides and feels. The first test drive I had was a little over 7 months ago in a 2015 with approximately 78,000 miles. When I test drove that particular car, I noticed that as I was accelerating, there was a shaking feeling in the front suspension. It wasn't there all the time and I would notice it more on rough roads and usually when travelling over 30mph. This was the first time in all my years of driving that I had experienced this type of feeling. It was also the first time that I had driven a convertible. The car was at a used car dealership and of course the salesman had no idea what I was talking about or didn't have an explanation. I just assumed that because of high mileage, the car had some suspension problems or because it was a cabriolet (no solid roof so less support) this problem/characteristic was specific to a convertible.

I purchased my 2014 RS5 Cab (14k miles) sight unseen from Wisconsin. So I never got the test drive it before I actually purchased it. But it has that same shaking that I felt in the previous car that I test drove. At least the problem/characteristic is consistent but I'm wondering what the shaking is from. I don't think it's a strut issue but I'm wondering what other part could be causing this problem. I did some more research and it looks like what I am experiencing is called "cowl shake". I had a Porsche Boxter convertible in the past but did not have this much of a pronounced cowl shake. A little annoying but I guess it comes with the territory. I know the manufacturer installed extra bracing for the Cabs. But I am wondering if anyone has installed any additional bracing to help with this issue.