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Help! Second Set of Dunlops and My S5 Still Vibrates..

2K views 14 replies 12 participants last post by  Rab88 
#1 ·
Have an S5 with 1200 miles on it... Traded my 2007 997TT for the car, and absolutely love the S5!! Thus I am not bashing the car, just looking for some info from all the other S5 owners.

I picked up my car and drove off the dealer lot.. Upon leaving, I noticed the steering wheel start to Shimmy at speeds between 60-65. It was quite prevelant. Thus I immediately brought the car back to the dealer and left the car for their review. Upon review they stated all four Dunlops were defective as they had excessive roadforce and could not be balanced properly. As such they replaced all four tires with new Dunlops. At this time every time I get into the car especially when the car has sat for more than 4 hours, the steering wheel shimmys until the tires warm up after 10 miles and then dissapates. However it really never goes completely away.. By deduction I must assume that this is a tire issue and not a vehicle issue, as the shimmy dissapates. Please also note that when changing lanes or going around any kind of bank turn where the wheels change any type of direction, the shimmy is also felt.. It is very reminiscent of the early Porsche Cayennes where they too had this issue, but was actually vehicle related.

I have contacted Audi N.A. and they are investigating. I was told by the dealer that their demo model has the same issue as well... At this point I am arguing with Audi, as they want me to bring it back to the dealer I purchased it from, which is 2 hours away, because the local dealer states that the selling dealer already has history on the car and should continue dealing with it... Typical of Audi dealers who you did not buy the car from.

At this point I am looking for any feedback from anyone who may have the same issue or had the issue and was able to resolve it with their dealer.

Thank you in advance for your time and feedback...
 
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#2 ·
Have the dealer mount the wheel/ tire assmebly on their balance machine and spin it. Visually check for tire or rim runout. I have seen rims that were mismachined. They will balance but never run smooth because they are going around like a cam lobe.
 
#3 ·
Dir218,

Seems your experience of some Audi dealers in the US is the same as mine in the UK - if they didn't sell you the car, then they treat you very differently to if they did!

Sounds like a problem with the tyres as you say it dissipates. If it's still there after the first change, then suggest a change of tyre manufacturer (at Audi's expense, clearly!) I'd ask them to put Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetrics on (they're new and apparently pretty good) or maybe some Pirelli P-Zeros or Bridgestones.

Best advice is to start writing down each time you contact Audi, and also a record of exactly the problems you have with dates and symptoms etc. This way you build up a history should you ever get to the unfortunate point of considering rejecting the car and asking for a replacement.

Good luck!
 
#5 ·
Andrew,

Any chance of combining this thread with the identical one in the A5 General Q&A forum?

Exactly the reason for needing Mods on the site...

Good post though as it will be interesting to see if others have similar problems with the Dunlop tyres. For what it's worth, I doubt I'll stick with the Dunlops once they're worn out after about a year or so, and will probably change to Goodyears, Michelins, Pirellis or Continentals as a compete set. Not decided yet, but the Eagle F1 Asymmetrics seem to be pretty good (Autocar magazine liked them anyway...)
 
#6 ·
Are the new Dunlops the GTs or not since others have had sound issues with the Dunlop Maxx (not GTs). I have 1500 miles on my s5 about 1000 on the Dunlops and 500 on the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S and no real difference between the two and certainly no vibration problems up to 120mph at least.
 
#7 ·
Chances of a second set of tires being faulty?.. very slim. There may well be a balance issue in the running gear. I heard that it is possible to get wheels balanced on the vehicle in some places... perhaps it's worth asking Audi to try this for you to help pinpoint the problem... However, it is Audi who should be trying to solve the problem!!

Just another thought... as an outside chance, it could also be a warped brake disc... although this is less likely to be speed dependent (although the running gear also has resonant frequencies). does it change when you brake or does gentle brake pressure outside the resonant frequency cause the vibration?
 
#8 ·
It was exactly the same on a demo S5 car I drove in Stockholm Sweden. I also mentioned it to the sales person and it was a known thing.

It must be related to the tires and ask to have them changed to another brand.
 
#9 ·
I wonder how common or widespread this problem is, especially among people who don't post on here - is this going to be the S5's skeleton in the closet? :eek:
 
#10 ·
I haven't heard of it here, or on other forums. However, I know that Audi has had some recent warranty issues on alloy wheel rims being porous and cracking - has to do with their OEM manufacturer/supplier . This was the case for many Q7s....

I have had 9 audis in the past 10 years, never a problem.....
 
#11 ·
You know I think this is similar to the problem with my car although it seemed to become less evident through the steering as the miles went up (maybe the tyres wore into shape??). I descriped a whine from the tyres on an earlier thread which thinking back did transfer into the steering very slightly in the early days. Although following damage to one of the tyres I replaced the Maxx with the newer GT versions which has slightly improved things, its still not perfect, I was just putting it down to a characteristic of the car and as the tyres/steering wheel sometimes do that shimmy thing when you go round a corner at low speeds on smooth surfaces I put that down to the Quattro system, Now not so sure ????!!
 
#12 ·
Thank you all for your replies... Some good information here. At this point I am waiting on Audi. With regards to the placement of the tire on the rim... The dealers use Hunter GP700 machines which tell the installer where to place the tire on the rim. Thus I can only assume that if they did this properly, it can not be an install problem. It is either Tire related, or as stated above possible a faulty camshaft, or another car related item...

I will keep you all posted. The postitive in all of this, is that the car as a whole is just fantastic. If I had to pick one thing to complain about, it would have to be the clutch.... I have been driving manual cars my whole life (41 cars) and this is the most sensitive clutch I have ever had...

Thanks again for all your posts... Enjoy your cars!!!
 
#13 ·
You know I thought the same a little shimmy at certain speeds. Not huge mind you but enough to make you notice. Then I notice it comes and goes
at those speeds like it's in the drivetrain. I do have snow tires and different
wheels on and still have the same results. So I don't think it's a tire issue
my hope is it goes away with some more miles.
 
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