Q8 Steering
 

Has anyone been having issues with their Q8 steering? I had mine in for a re-alignment because the car would veer right if the wheel was kept straight, so I was constantly holding the steering wheel to the left. The alignment seemed to help, but the steering still feels extremely loose and sloppy, even in Dynamic mode.

I also still have to hold the wheel to the left a majority of the time. Not sure if it's just the camber of the roads or an actual steering issue.

Yep, my wife's Q8 was having the exact issue. Took it in this week for an alignment. I haven't driven it yet but she said the problem is better.

All main roads have a slight slope to the right for drainage. Due to the size of the wheels, the Q8 is more sensitive to such a slope and often pulls slightly to the right.
Before you go to the dealer for re-alignment check the behavior of the car in a perfectly flat, empty parking lot, or when you see a long stretch of empty road make sure it is safe and take the opposite lane and check if it still veers to the right or starts slightly to the left.
If the car still veers to the right during this test, you will definitely need re-alignment.

So there seems to be a bit of a common issue with this. My 2021 SQ8 was drifting/veering to the right when I took delivery. The dealer was pretty awesome about it and immediately took it in the next day. They ended up having it for about a month trying different things to fix the issue and involving Audi. The first thing they noticed was that the caster on the right side was significantly lower than on the left (Audi doesn’t give a spec for caster really — so on the alignment readout it shows as greyed-out so a tech may not notice what’s going on as you won’t see a red box around it if it’s out). Audi instructed them to replace a lower control arm and realign. That brought it closer but it was still drifting right (you could tell because it would veer significantly right with a right-sided road crown but only slightly drift left with a left-sided crown).

Eventually a tech rep visited and after he drove it he told them to replace the steering rack (he detected some “notchiness” to it and thought it might be slightly sticky off center to the right which was contributing to the problem). They did and thought it was much better and I picked it up.

I agreed, it WAS better but still doesn’t feel “planted” or balanced. It still tends to head to the right with any road crown in that direction but only slightly drifts left with a left crown. So they looked at the alignment again and it appears I have kind of a stack-up issue. The right caster is about 0.3 degrees less than the left (0.5 is the max difference allowed) AND the right front camber is about 0.4 degrees less negative than the left front. Both are “in spec” by themselves but when you have them both in a configuration that will cause a force to the right, they add together, creating the issue.

The next step is the dealer is going to attempt (at Audi’s direction) to shift the front subframe slightly to at least even up the camber difference. If that isn’t “adding” to the caster difference in terms of lateral force it hopefully will plant things a bit better.

I was also told (and have seen) that some of the Q8s with air suspension and SQ/RSQ8s haven’t had the air suspension perfectly calibrated for ride height. It only takes a 7-10mm difference in ride height side-to-side or diagonally to create up to 0.3 or 0.4 degrees in camber offset which can cause a pull or drift. So ride height measurements should always be done before checking alignment on these. Additionally, those with rear steering need to have that centered on the alignment rack before checking alignment.

Is there any way to firm up the steering? It still feels extremely loose even in Dynamic.

My 19 Q8 has always tracked straight and the steering responsive--recognizing its is a 5K lb SUV, not a go cart :)

My 2018 SQ5 had the same issue, they did an alignment and just pretended like it was fixed. My 2020 SQ8 seems to be near straight but it does seem maybe a degree off. Not super impressed with quality for the last 2 vehicles. My 2016 SQ5 was perfect tho.

YES! I have a 2020 Q8-Prestige with the same issues! Told it was "normal". Had it aligned twice :-(. It will "exit" all on it's own when hands off the wheel on the freeway. Very annoying. Needs constant correction and "tugs" 24/7 in any mode. Any fixes???

I would have your tires inspected. Or have a performance alignment shop take a look. I had brand new tires installed on my previous car and the car kept pulling right. Took it to a performance alignment shop and they told me I had defective tire as it had a radial tire pull. I had to fight the tire shop for awhile to prove it was defective but in the end, that's what it was.

This is a problem of many Q8s with rear steering wheels. Unfortunately, as far as I know it can't be improved. You can ask the dealer to check the alignment, but this may not solve this problem. Every road tends to slope to the right (about 2 degrees) and some Q8s wit the rear steering wheels react by pulling to the right.
Try on an empty flat square or, if possible, drive a short distance in the opposite lane of the road. If the car pulls to the left in the opposite lane or goes straight on a flat surface, it means that the alignment is OK.