wish76

Sorry for re-posting, but thought this was important enough to warrant "top of page". One of the Brits was kind enough to send me a copy of his letter. Drop me an e-mail if you'd like a copy.

Jenner

<ul><li><a href="http://www.jlosee.com/images/RS4/PDF/DRC%20Letter.pdf">DRC Letter PDF</a></li></ul>

bruised rs4

Wish, you're a hero!

Mickf29

Here is the form letter all the UK guys and gals who had DRC problems sent to Audi UK to get this action, extended warranty.Are you guys up for using some modified version of this to get Audi USA to take action? Anyone know the Audi US contact we shoudl address this to? I will modify this for our continent, and post up here in a bit.

Dear Sir
Re Audi B7 RS4 Reg No
I purchased the above car new from xyz Audi on dd/mm/yy. On dd/mm/yy with 1234 miles on the odometer my car was fitted with two new front shock absorbers after it developed a knocking sound from the front suspension and the shock absorber failure was attributed to the DRC valve system.
A group of fellow enthusiasts and I recently conducted a poll on a well known Audi RS public forum, a copy of which I enclose, where we asked how many owners have had shock absorbers replaced. To our surprise ab out of yz contributors have had their shock absorbers replaced, this means that ??% of cars have experienced failure. This of course does not take into account other RS4 owners who do not subscribe to the forum but from conversations that I have had from my supplying dealer it is very apparent that this is a common problem with the RS4 and RS6. I would like to protect myself against expense out of warranty and protection against potential loss in residual value due to faulty parts and the public's perception of the reliability of these cars. I would therefore kindly request firm answers in writing to the following questions:
1) Are all shock absorbers being fitted now updated versions from the original that eliminate the leaking problem and any associated DRC problems?
2) What date were the updated parts, if any, made available to UK dealers?
3) Do replacement shock absorbers carry the Audi 3 year 60000 mile warranty from the time they were fitted?
4) If the replacement shock absorbers are not updated versions that eliminate the problem do Audi think this is reasonable given such a high level of failures?
5) Are Audi confident that these shock absorbers are being fitted correctly by the dealers? There seems to be conflicting reports that all four shock absorbers should be replaced, just the faulty absorber or the faulty absorber and the absorber on the opposing side of the same axle. Please would you advise as to what Audi's technical guidance is on this matter?
6) What is the exact problem that causes failures in so many RS4's and RS6's fitted with the DRC system?
7) What is the exact procedure for fitting shock absorbers when a leak occurs? Again there have been conflicting dealer opinions with regard to the need for specialists re pressurising equipment and that many dealers do not possess the correct tools leading to incorrect fitting and almost instant failure.
Could you advise if my dealer has the correct tools needed to fit new absorbers and re pressurise the DRC system and if they had it when my shock absorbers were replaced on dd/mm/yy?
9) Do Audi think a recall would have been more appropriate given the seriousness of where the faults are occurring?
I understand that the DRC was fitted to the previous generation RS6 and this car experienced very similar failures. I visited the RS6 section of the same public forum mentioned above where 70% of owners have suffered failures of the same system! I also enclose a copy of their survey so you have some back up documentation. I am extremely concerned with regard to quality issues as apart from problems with the shock absorbers and the DRC system on my car I have had the following issues:
1) List....
2)

In addition to the above points and assuming that the replacement parts fitted when a shock absorber leaks and DRC fails are not improvements I would kindly ask for written confirmation from Audi that the replacement parts fitted will be covered by the manufacturer's 3year 60000 mile warranty from the date that the part was fitted and an assurance from Audi that should a part become available that eradicates the faults and problems associated with the current generation DRC system and shock absorbers that it will be fitted free of charge to my car as soon as it becomes available.
Yours Faithfully

Mickf29

Lets run a poll on our forums, also reference the UK forums as well. See if we can get the same action. If you have any feedback on the form letter below le tme know, i will modify it. We can then start a thread for the Poll and Letter. Does AudiWorld forum support sticky?

Dear Sir,
Re Audi B7 RS4 Reg No

I purchased the above car new from xyz Audi on dd/mm/yy. On dd/mm/yy with 1234 miles on the odometer my car was fitted with two new front shock absorbers after it developed a knocking sound from the front suspension and the shock absorber failure was attributed to the DRC valve system.
A group of fellow enthusiasts and I recently conducted a poll on a well known Audi RS public forum, a copy of which I enclose, where we asked how many owners have had shock absorbers replaced. To our surprise ab out of yz contributors have had their shock absorbers replaced, this means that ??% of cars have experienced failure. I have also included results from the UK where they ran a poll as well. This of course does not take into account other RS4 owners who do not subscribe to the forum but from conversations that I have had from my supplying dealer it is very apparent that this is a common problem with the RS4 and RS6. I would like to protect myself against expense out of warranty and protection against potential loss in residual value due to faulty parts and the public's perception of the reliability of these cars. I would therefore kindly request firm answers in writing to the following questions:
1) Are all shock absorbers being fitted now updated versions from the original that eliminate the leaking problem and any associated DRC problems?
2) What date were the updated parts, if any, made available to North American dealers?
3) Do replacement shock absorbers carry the Audi 4 year 48000 mile warranty from the time they were fitted?
4) If the replacement shock absorbers are not updated versions that eliminate the problem do Audi think this is reasonable given such a high level of failures?
5) Are Audi confident that these shock absorbers are being fitted correctly by the dealers? There seems to be conflicting reports that all four shock absorbers should be replaced, just the faulty absorber or the faulty absorber and the absorber on the opposing side of the same axle. Please would you advise as to what Audi's technical guidance is on this matter?
6) What is the exact problem that causes failures in so many RS4's and RS6's fitted with the DRC system?
7) What is the exact procedure for fitting shock absorbers when a leak occurs? Again there have been conflicting dealer opinions with regard to the need for specialists re-pressurizing equipment and that many dealers do not possess the correct tools leading to incorrect fitting and almost instant failure.
Could you advise if my dealer has the correct tools needed to fit new absorbers and re pressurize the DRC system and if they had it when my shock absorbers were replaced on dd/mm/yy?
9) Do Audi think a recall would have been more appropriate given the seriousness of where the faults are occurring?
I understand that the DRC was fitted to the previous generation RS6 and this car experienced very similar failures. I visited the RS6 section of the same public forum mentioned above where 70% of owners have suffered failures of the same system! I also enclose a copy of their survey so you have some back up documentation. I am extremely concerned with regard to quality issues as apart from problems with the shock absorbers and the DRC system on my car I have had the following issues:
1) List....
2)

In addition to the above points and assuming that the replacement parts fitted when a shock absorber leaks and DRC fails are not improvements I would kindly ask for written confirmation from Audi that the replacement parts fitted will be covered by the manufacturer's 4year 48000 mile warranty from the date that the part was fitted and an assurance from Audi that should a part become available that eradicates the faults and problems associated with the current generation DRC system and shock absorbers that it will be fitted free of charge to my car as soon as it becomes available.

Recently Audi UK has directed that the warranty be extended on the DRC system to 5 years and 75k miles. This was authorized by:

Director Audi UK

Jeremy Hicks
Audi UK
Yeomans Drive
Blakelands
Milton Keynes
MK14 5AN

North American Audi owners are interested in a simialr resolution here, as well as guarantees that from the point they are available all defective DRC systems brought to an Audi dealer are replaced with newly engineered systems that eliminate the leaks, bottoming of struts, dangerous situation when driving due to system instability.

Sincerely,

nugent

so, how does handling feel different with DRC failure/problems?

Mickf29

it is floaty, and clunks. Mine havent failed fully yet, just leaking a small amount on the garage floor.

JonRS4

Thanks for this, wish and Jenner.