aspaceheater

I've been lurking on this board for a while and reading up on all the RS4 information.

I'm looking at a used RS4. Fantastic car.

It seems a lot of people have had problems with the DRC system failing. I have a few questions.

1. On the test drive, I was on a particularly poorly leveled side street. On this street the car felt like it was pitching back and forth i.e. front-end up, back-end up, and back and forth. This only happened on this one road, as soon as I turned onto another road, the motion disappeared. I should have gone back to drive the road in my current car to see if I had the same problem, unfortunately, I didn't think about it then. (I was having too much fun in the RS4). My feeling (and the feeling of my friend that went with me) was that the motion was most likely due to the combination of the poor road and the stiff suspension, but not indicative of a problem with the DRC or suspension in general. Any thoughts?

2. Given the wide number of DRC problems, has anyone gotten a dealer to cover the repair under warranty? I spoke with Audi customer service, and they said that the shock absorbers are not covered, but the DRC central valve could be, but without a part number, they couldn't say for certain. They also said if the shocks failed because of a problem with another system, the entire replacement could be covered. I know the customer service people can only say what they have in their materials, so I thought I'd ask here.

3. If the DRC system fails, and it's replaced (OEM or aftermarket), I read it will cost between 2k and 4k to fix. But after it's done, how does the ride compare to original?

Sorry for all the questions, I just want to be prepared. For all I know the car sold between yesterday and today.

Thanks

Fluffhead

I don't know of anyone who didn't have the issues covered under warranty, so you shouldn't have a problem there. But, I would guess that after a set period of time passes Audi will no longer warranty the parts.

If you go with a STaSIS suspension when replacing the DRC the ride quality for everyday driving will not change much. The DRC might have the slight edge there, but just slightly.

I don't know what happened on that road your referring too, but if the rest of the test drive was fine I would guess it was the road and not the DRC.

RS4saloondrivr

couple weeks. The road that I take to work has a curve in it with a dip in the road half way through the curve. About two weeks ago I noticed when I hit that point in the road that my car seems to have a little more movement than it used to. I've also noticed that the car seems to pitch up a little more when I accelerate. My alignment is good, the tires are wearing evenly and there doesn't seem to be anything loose, I just have a little more movement in the car than I had before. If I had never driven the car before I might not have even noticed but it is definitely different than it was before. I take it in for my 15K service next Monday and will have them look at it. I think it's the DRC acting up but I've looked at the shocks and don't see any oil leaks and haven't noticed any clunking noises that others with DRC problems have mentioned. I think I may be looking at some Ohlin SL's in the near future.

Vijay

Agreed. Not "a lot" of people have had DRC problems

NorthshoreRS4

At 30k miles, and not a single problem, nor do I know of any problems with anyone's DRC on the RS4. It has been an unbelievably reliable car.

That said, I/m about to go with Stasis SL and the Euro Steering wheel.

Nicht ein A4

due to DRC problems. That said, it was fixed and the car is fine now. I have had it for one week, and it is an amazing vehicle. It is truly a four door supercar. I haven't made it through break in yet (but I am close) and still getting used to the car. Much different than anything I have previously driven. I am a prior B7S4 driver and this car is another level.

ski35off

I've had both fronts and just recently one rear shock replaced since they were leaking. All were covered under warranty.

Interestingly, when a shock is replaced the central valve between the corners (i.e. R/R and L/F shocks are coupled) has to be replaced as well since the central valve is prefilled at the factory with hydraulic fluid. The dealer currently has no way to fill the system, although Audi is working on a new tool to do this. Every time the system pressure is checked, the pressure drops a bit so the technicians need to be careful about not checking too often.

Kind of funny but my technician was recommending going with an aftermarket system - STaSIS/Ohlins anyone?

aspaceheater

Thanks for the information!

I've called the dealer back and put a deposit down on the car.

It's quite the step up from my current cars. Hopefully, it will continue to impress me for a long time to come.

It's a 2007 with about 30k miles on it. I think I got a good deal on it, so if it does need some stuff fixed on it, it should still be a good deal.

Phantom Black, Black interior, PP-S.

I hope to post some more when I actually get the car.