What could cause this weird noise?

[R2x]

Mrs R2x has a 2020 Audi Q5 which it sitting on about 1600 miles.

On a few occasions over the past week, I’ve noticed a groaning noise from the steering wheel along with a light vibration when I’m turning. This happens at low and high speeds and also when stationary.

An AA mechanic friend suggested the steering motor may be on the way out, but he couldn’t be sure and suggested we put it into Audi. I’m always wary of dropping a car in for an intermittent fault though, and if it’s something simple I can likely fix it myself. However I don’t know where to start due to the intermittent nature.

Does this type of issue sound familiar to anyone? Any thoughts/guidance appreciated.

[steve2]

It’s a brand new car, get it back to the dealer to look at under warranty, do not touch it yourself as You could void the warranty

[R2x]

That was plan A, but they can’t take in in for a couple of weeks. It would be a massive pain to be one car down for the next two weeks while it’s parked up awaiting a workshop slot, hence my “fix it myself” thought...

[GreenV8S]

PAS makes it easy to do, but it's still bad practice to turn the wheel while stationary. So it would be good practice for you to drive around the problem in the meantime.

[E-bmw]

Is it "full electric" or "electro hydraulic" power steering?

If it is the latter check the fluid level.

Anything else & you won't be able to fix & worse could invalidate your warranty if there is evidence that you try to & make matter worse, so you will need to take the above advice & drive sensibly (round the issue) to make sure things don't get worse until it can be seen to by the correct people.

[croissant]

It could just be the tyres on the road surface. I've had this on occasion in various cars when the roads are slightly damp and tyres quite new.

Does it do it all the time?

[R2x]

Thanks all for the comments and guidance. I’ll make sure it’s driven gently for a couple of weeks until fixed.

@e-bmw I understood it to be full electric, which to my simple mind meant i could maybe sort it myself...

@crossaint it doesn’t do it all the time. For example, I parked the car up and while doing so it was making the noises. I started the car back up again 30 mins later, and no noise. This makes me think it’s not the road surface

[GreenV8S]

R2x said:

I started the car back up again 30 mins later, and no noise.

It's possible there is some other factor at work, such as tyre temperature, accounting for this difference. It may still simply be the tyres gripping and slipping intermittently, as others suggested. Either way, it's bad practice to scrub the tyres while stationary.

[R2x]

Update on how this progressed:

I managed to get the car into Audi sooner than expected. We described the issue and provided them with 2 videos of the noise.

They have said that when test driving, they cannot recreate the noise and so cannot do anything about it, even with videos of the noise in action.

After some research, I have found an Audi service bulletin which covers “insufficient lubrication of the intermediate steering shaft”. The bulletin even includes an audio file, which sounds just like the noise on my Q5.

So, next step is to refer it to Audi UK as a complaint.

Failing that, I’m back to DIY, and will need to loosen the steering column and use some of the recommended Lube (part number supplied on the Audi service bulletin) and see if this sorts the issue. While not the end of the world, it’s still unacceptable that it may come to this on a car of this age/mileage.

To be continued...

[tapkaJohnD]

R2x,
Is that wise? Above you were advised above about fiddling. I've heard (apochraphal) of BMW voiding warranty when a windscreen washer was not filled with BMW windscreen washer fluid!
John

[Louis Balfour]

R2x said:

Update on how this progressed:

I managed to get the car into Audi sooner than expected. We described the issue and provided them with 2 videos of the noise.

They have said that when test driving, they cannot recreate the noise and so cannot do anything about it, even with videos of the noise in action.

After some research, I have found an Audi service bulletin which covers “insufficient lubrication of the intermediate steering shaft”. The bulletin even includes an audio file, which sounds just like the noise on my Q5.

So, next step is to refer it to Audi UK as a complaint.

Failing that, I’m back to DIY, and will need to loosen the steering column and use some of the recommended Lube (part number supplied on the Audi service bulletin) and see if this sorts the issue. While not the end of the world, it’s still unacceptable that it may come to this on a car of this age/mileage.

To be continued...

We used to have an Audi. That was our experience of the service too. We don't have an Audi anymore.

[warch]

My wife's Nissan Qashqai had an issue with creaky steering caused by a bush in the steering column. I know they are completely different cars but it might be something like this. It was much more noticeably in cold damp weather for some reason.