RHODEEHO

Hi all, quick background. Had '13 S6 with 8500 mi, totaled in head-on collision last Fall (other drive at fault). Now in '14 S6. Now have about 3k miles on 2014 and noticing steering is overly responsive and sloppy especially at freeway speeds. Honestly feels a little unwieldy and unsafe at 70 mph and above. I have winter tires on now. Called service advisor to discuss, no recalls for my car and no other 2014 S6 being serviced by the dealer. Anyone else notice this? Ideas on fix?

Deazy

How different did it feel with summer tires on? I definitely feel some tire squirm with my soft winter tires.

RHODEEHO

great question! I got the car in the midst of the polar vortex so delivery with winter tires on the car. I would attribute the loose steering to the tires, but excessive responsiveness seems pronounced on the passenger side (merging right, turning right).
IMO, the S6 should be able to compensate for change in tires without compromising steering quality this dramatically.

I thought it was worth asking as I recall a lot of opinions and complaints about a change to steering in 2013 models following a recall/service bulletin. It was so bad that some S6 owners refused the update. I don't know how many S6 owners have had both a '13 and a '14, so it's possible my experience is somewhat unique.

ccap

Mine is bugging me too. My car drifts all the time on the highway. Can't seem to keep it straight. I have snows on but never thought it would drive this way because of it.

I'm also getting loud sounds from the front end or steering system area when I slow down or take turns. Not sure what that is

Vijay

The S6 defintely has what one could describe as "luxury" steering. However, in dynamic mode it is reasonable, IMO. Tires make a huge difference and winter tires definitely give the car a bit of a squirmier overall feel.

I took delivery of my car in December and I had Dunlop WInter Sports mounted before taking delivery. I have aftermarket wheels with 265/35/20 Michelin Pilot Super Sport waiting to go on in the spring and I anticipate it will make a huge difference.

turbonator

My steering feel got much lighter in my 2013 after the dealer installed a software update. I'm assuming the 2014's are coming with this updated sw.

DD1546

My Michelin Alpin 4 winter tires are also performance tires, V rated. They feel much like my summer P Zeros and track perfectly straight, so its not a generic winter tire problem. Check your alignment?

gatorguy7

The wandering and lack of 'on center' feel is one of the steering TSB fixes. Not sure if you have something else going on since you have that sound as well.

snagitseven

I had the steering update done on my 2013 A6 and I would say it improved the wandering considerably but not completely. Another fix the update addresses is a "notchiness" in the steering wheel at speed that some have reported. There have been complaints after the update the the steering in Dynamic mode has an overly reduced effort (that doesn't bother me as I prefer a lighter effort anyway). I believe Audi's electric steering design is still not all the way there yet and they are applying software adjustments to try and resolve the issues (which, by the way, seem to be more prevalent in colder temps). I believe most, if not all, MY2014 C7s should already have had the updated software from the factory.

RHODEEHO

Just got home from a weekend of driving my 2014 S6 about 70 miles each way two days in a row. I'm the OP for this thread. S6 now has OEM tires/wheels on and weather is ~50-70 degrees. This is the first time I've driven a considerable distance since summer tires were put on about 3 weeks ago.

After about 20 miles, I began to notice a pronounced veering that was followed by a jerky feel to steering wheel and what I'll describe as "stickiness" to tires on whatever side I was merging. Car drives completely fine in straight line or hard turn, but upon lane merge @ highway speed it is a big problem. In fact, it felt unsafe to drive at normal highway speed. I had to reduce speed to <60 mph to feel in control of the car. The issue was still there but def less pronounced.

Very very concerned. Clearly not tire related since original tires/wheels are now on car. Calling Service & AOA tomorrow first thing.

Anyway, thought I'd put this out there in case anyone else noticed the same or similar issue.