4-months of Troubleshooting Ended

[Ryan_T]

If anybody even cared anymore, my car's been making a weird grinding noise from the front left for as long as I can remember. It was mild at first, and I mistook it for road noise or normal suspension noise. Eventually it bothered me so much that I took it in. Audi confirmed it's not normal, and we set to work. It's a 2009 A4 Premium Quattro with Drive Select.

First they replaced my shock absorber. Then my strut mount. Then my control arms. Then my wheel bearings. Then the other control arms. And none of this worked. Audi Canada got involved, and their super-tech recommended everything to be replaced AGAIN - and they expedited parts from Germany to ensure it's all brand new and the latest revision. I sensed my service guys weren't happy about this, but they did it anyway. No change in the noise.

Thus far, it's been 4 months since PFAFF Audi and I started working on this. So now they suspect it's the electronic dynamic ride control (ADS) may be causing it, since we've ruled out everything mechanical. So my tech started working on tracing a possible electronic issue with the control modules. This apparently involved somewhere in the neighbourhood of 4 control modules and 12 sensors, if not more.

Eventually the problem was traced to the control module on my front left. They fixed the module, and after 4 months, and for the very first time since Delivery, my car is noise free. This is not something obvious at all, and there was NO way to suspect the electronics before the mechanicals were ruled out. Price of the digital age and the advancement in computers in our cars. On the other hand, it shows how amazing Audi's engineering is. The fact that a control module caused this sort of problem is proof that ADS is not some silly feature that's cheaply or easily engineered. The reason an electronic module caused this issue is because my shock absorber's response is controlled several times per second by the module.

This defect that was revealed to be unlikely to happen again. It most likely occurred in my car because it was a very early 2009 model which was also a showroom demo model, meaning it was the first of the first batches to be produced. I've been in one other B8 with ADS, a 2010, and it doesn't have this problem. And Audi Canada's national tech reported that he has NEVER seen this before anywhere. I believed them, because as an electrical engineer, this is the sort of mistake that can't happen again once they got the bugs ironed out of the production process.

Many thanks to Dan Nguyen and Stephen Werner at Pfaff Audi for giving me an exemplary level of service. They were very friendly, reasonable and patient with me. I couldn't be happier with the result.



Cliffs:
- Car made noise
- Everything replaced twice in front left suspension
- Problem caused by defective Dynamic Ride control module
- PFAFF Audi in Vaughan is awesome

[droppyale]

Glad to hear the issue was resolved! I'm sure it's like a big weight has been lifted off your shoulders... I couldn't imagine having an issue like that on my mind for 4 months...

[Blake P]

What a hassle, but I bet you are thrilled to finally have it fixed. Congrats!

[Calbee]

good to know everythings fine again ryan. now post some pics of your car! i remember you had some gunmetal v718s on there that i really wanted to see :O

[piotrowr]

You say they "On the other hand, it shows how amazing Audi's engineering is." is a stretch. You wrote about this a few months back if I recall so for them to take this long is unacceptable but that's just my opinion. Oh and don't get your hopes up, my sunroof issue was supposedly resolved and subsided only to reoccur about 4 weeks later, was "unlikely to happen" again. I hope it's the fixed but be cautious.

[Ryan_T]

You say they "On the other hand, it shows how amazing Audi's engineering is." is a stretch. You wrote about this a few months back if I recall so for them to take this long is unacceptable but that's just my opinion. Oh and don't get your hopes up, my sunroof issue was supposedly resolved and subsided only to reoccur about 4 weeks later, was "unlikely to happen" again. I hope it's the fixed but be cautious.

Crossing my fingers for now. I almost didn't believe it when they told me they finally nailed it. I understand what you mean about it taking too long, but as a service tech (albeit for something entirely different), I can understand the complexity of what they had to deal with. If it were purely mechanical, this would've been resolved a long time ago. But the ADS electronics, being such a new system, added an entirely new dimension to the problem.

good to know everythings fine again ryan. now post some pics of your car! i remember you had some gunmetal v718s on there that i really wanted to see :O

Will do, as soon as I get some stuff back on the car.

[s0leful0ne]

Impressive. Good to hear that you can enjoy your car now.

[MiracleWhips]

Persistence!

[c99]

"Eventually the problem was traced to the control module on my front left." Can you explain which control module, do you mean control module for front left shock absorber? Why you write ADS, what the Audi Drive Select has to do with it, do you mean DRC ?

[Ryan_T]

The control module I'm referring to is the Drive Select module (of many) controlling the adjustable shock/damper on my front left. The defect caused it to behave opposite of what it's designed for. So whenever my car hit a bump, it loosened instead of stiffened. So the noise, i suspect, is from the entire wheel/tire/arms ramming some other components due to uncontrolled/undampened motion.

If I understand them correctly...

[cory_can]

I'm glad you got it handled properly but this was precisely why I didn't hit the ADS box on the order sheet......just too much going on under there that can have strange and expensive issues down the road.

Have fun in Waterloo!!!

[dieatomic]

Glad to hear it got resolved. I had a simmilar issue with my rear suspension... kept making noise like something was loose. Everything was replaced by the dealer free of charge but the noise was still there. One day when it was dark I noticed that my driver side rear light was not as bright as the passanger side so I pop the cover off and guess what... the plastic light bulb housing that holds the bulbs and snaps into the tail light assemly was not snapped in and was kinda loose. i snap it back in, take the car for a drive over some bumpy roads and the noise is gone!!!

[belzebutt]

Many thanks to Dan Nguyen and Stephen Werner at Pfaff Audi for giving me an exemplary level of service. They were very friendly, reasonable and patient with me. I couldn't be happier with the result.

Sounds like you're the one who's been reasonable and patient.