MFT

Hello all,

I purchased my dream car (08 RS4 with 92k km's) in December. It was essentially a one-owner car with good/regular maintenance habits from what I could get of the service records, though I could not find out if the DRC recall had been done. For me, the car has been solid so far and I've loved every minute of ownership.

However, this past week I noticed that the left rear seemed to be sitting a bit lower and the front right was raised a bit compared to the RR and LF.

I have not had what I understand to be the usual signs of DRC failure (clunking from suspension), but typically when you see what appears to be sagging you think of blown shocks. Does this seem like DRC failure?

I do have an extended warranty through Audi, but it seems very hit/miss about whether they consider DRC a warrantable item (vs. just a wear item).

Thanks in advance!

DrCondor

This is from memory (I am @ 108,000 miles) so, for what it may be worth:

Check for excessive leakage of the shock units, or have dealer techs evaluate leakage.

My recollection is that when they did my (covered) replacement, they referenced each individual shock part number against an Audi audi list of known-to-be-faulty/known-to-have-been-upgraded shocks. If this still is the ruling procedure, they may replace them free. Good dealers tend to be creative.

But note that failure generally seems to be accompanied by what a friend refers to as 'golf clubs rolling around in the trunk'.

In any case a droopy corner should be evaluated for any (other) possible suspension issues.

G35Dalf

I believe the DRC update is revision B... there a thread somewhere on the exact revisions for front and rear. I'll see if I can find it.

And not a great pic but... here's the TSB on it.

EDIT: found it..
Part numbers are 8E0-412-019-B, 8E0-412-020-B, 8E0-512-019-E, 8E0-512-020-E for the sedan (not the cabrio), so revision B for the fronts and revision E for the backs.

MFT

Thanks G35Dalf, that is useful information. I pulled 3 out of 4 wheels off today and took a look at all the suspension elements and no evidence of any leaking from the shocks or anything else amiss. I also checked the part number of the front shocks and it appears that at least the FL is Rev. B (label on FR was too worn to read).

So, not sure what the issue may be. Someone on another forum pointed out that it is the springs that typically determine ride height but, again, these appeared to be in good shape as well.

Not sure what to do next...

Reggie

you are right on this. Weeping of oil on the shock was not considered a failure but drops and the obvious sags and banging were.

ELEVENS

When my DRC blew a hose due to faulty workmanship about a year after my DRC recall, obviously my suspension lost all pressure. It clunked like a ****, was bouncier than a well endowed stripper, but it didn't sag one bit. So just another data point. When all the online shade-tree mechanics fail, time to take it into the stealer.

MFT

Thanks all, that's helpful. Someone on another forum mentioned having the same problem and that it was caused by about ~ 1/2 inch of the spring breaking off. So, perhaps a portion of the RL spring has broken at the top.

For reference, I measured the distance from ground to the bottom of the fender for all four wheels and they are as follows:

FL: 26.75 inches
FR: 27 inches
RL: 26.25 inches
RR: 27 inches

I understand that the front wheels should be higher than the rears and they should usually be 27 front and ~26.5 rear?

Guess it's time to take it into the dealer...hopefully something covered by the warranty, but not holding out much hope on that front.

DrCondor

Going in with the right attitude can help...be polite, but along the lines of: 'since this is a known fault, I was hoping Audi would help me out on this...'

I realize that I am very fortunate in having a service department who works especially hard for folks who care about their cars, but I know that dealing with reasonable customers can sometimes open doors. It has for me, even beyond warranty.

MFT

Well, I've booked an appointment with my local Audi dealer where I bought my extended warranty, so we'll see what they uncover.

Thanks for the help, and I'll be sure to come back and update the thread with the findings...

seanm9281

AUDI RS4 B7 2007

Can Any advise would be appreciated.

As we all are aware DRC systems fail..

Previously running standard OEM DRC system dampers with H&R lowered spring that are at most 5 years old.
I had clunking, knocking suspension sound appear from rear of car and rear passenger side had noticeable drop in height. Audi diagnosed that this was due to a leaking rear left shock that clearly showed fluid leakage on driveway and visible ride height drop due to this. To add to this had slow leak causing clunking noise from rear right of car.

Just replace DRC system with Bilstein B8 sprint damper all round which fitted as a perfect OEM replacement with no issues as I did not want to go to the extent of coil overs. DRC system was disconnected bilstein dampers fitted and they that were fitted with current H&R lowering springs.
RESULT – All clunking, knocking noises have now gone and car once again drives great.
PROBLEM – The rear left corner that had lost a lot of DRC fluid even after new shocks being fitted has not returned to an equal ride height as other rear side.
I would always assume a spring would return to its natural ride height after the short term of extra compression that it has endured due to this being the main DRC shock that had lost nearly all its fluid and ride height.
Can anyone advise,,,please??
Am I now looking at replacing my H&R springs even though there are no visible damage to the springs and prior to DRC leakage I had equal ride height at both rear wheels but the ride height is around 1.5cm lower on rear left of car than the rear right hand side.