Mobilehavoc

So recently I've noticed that only at very slow speed (usually when parking) when I turn the steering wheel from left to right or vice versa, at some point in the middle the steering wheel vibrates and there's a noise like the tires rubbing on the ground.

This seems to happen at very very low speed since when I get to anything more than 5mph it doesn't happen. Driving at high speeds is smooth as butter and turning when driving is fine as far as I can tell.

I have no clue why this is but it almost feels like the tires have so much traction/tread that turning them at low speeds is rubbing them and causing this?!?

Again it seems to be almost in the middle of going from one direction to the other. I was going to take it into the dealer but it drives and works perfectly except this weird thing.

Mobilehavoc

So the plot thickens, I just took her for a drive to do some analysis/tests. As I suspected at driving speed (5-10mph onwards) there is no shudder or noise and at high speeds (60-80mph onwards) there is nothing that I can tell.

It does shudder when the car is standing still and the transmission is in D. Less when I'm pushing on the brakes and more often when I'm not pushing any pedals (gas or brake) to let the car coast at idle.

It does NOT have the shudder/shake when turning lock-to-lock with the transmission in Park. This confuses the hell out of me. If it's a bad wheel balance or tire, wouldn't it happen no matter what the transmission is in?

In normal driving I don't even notice it. I always notice it only when parking in my garage or somewhere else where I'm not applying any gas but turning.

Almost seems to be isolated to when turning without applying any throttle. I just had the tires rotated 300 miles ago (for 5k service) and this might have been there before that but I don't remember it as much.

I'm planning to keep driving for now. Any thoughts if this warrants going to the dealer or any ideas what it could be?

BMWBig6

Sounds kind of like Quattro "crab-walking." A lot of C6 A6 owners experience this and claim that replacing their transmission and diff fluids corrects this. But honestly, every B8 A4 I have driven does this from day 1 at parking lot speeds under certain conditions. Not sure if something is actually "wrong" but it's certainly an odd sensation. It does feel like the tires are kind of scrubbing (as if at the end of the steering stops and understeering or something).

Mobilehavoc

Thanks. I also get the impression this is just one of the Quattro things. You're right, it doesn't happen every single time either. I'm going to ignore it for now, if it really bothers me in a few months I'll take it in. Not worth the hassle of going to dealer and wasting time there.

Art234

Could it be somehow related to low pressure in the Power Steering system? I would think in Drive, with the RPMs at their absolute lowest, it might not get enough pressure to provide enough boost to the steering system.

Ironically I have a rental car now on my trip to California and it has what appears to be a bad PS pump.....

Hope that helps.

Mobilehavoc

But then why does it not have any problems in P? RPMs are same as in D.

Also the steering boost is fine, I can turn the car easily at low speeds, just at a certain range of the turn (only a small portion) it does this weird shudder.

snagitseven

I also get this every once in awhile. I think I've noticed it more often when on grainy surfaces like dirt or gravel but not always. While I've never experienced this in my other Audis, I don't think it's a big deal so I'm not too concerned.

Jay 4R

Mine does this when turning the wheels when I'm pretty much stationary... but I've only noticed this in the garage. I thought it was a friction/tire squeaking/rubbing thing from my epoxy garage floor.

It's a 2-car garage with a 1.5-car opening... so to fit two vehicles in there, I have to do a bit of low speed forward and backwards adjustments, shimmying the car over. It's ONLY then that I notice it.

Seems normal to me.

bimmerguy2006

I have definitely felt this, and i have confirmed it only happens on uneven surfaces like gravel/rock/poured textured concrete(fake rock).

snagitseven

Exactly the same here. So we all have it and it's "normal" or all of our A4's have a design defect. I prefer to believe it's the former. Obviously.