AoA DRC Letter to RS6 Owners

[JCT2033]

I contacted my local Audi dealer for a separate issue over the weekend before I received the letter.

Firs of all, the head of the mechanics told me that there is only a limited number of the recharging tools for the central valve in the states.

Secondly, they are currently working on a RS4’s DRC system which requires the replacement of all four shocks. When the parts department put in the struts order, AoA called them and cancel the order. Instead, AoA told them that the struts will be shipped to them without the need of placing an order.

The dealer speculated that if a DRC requires a strut replacement, AoA will send the updated parts to dealer. If the DRC is currently working fine, then the vehicle will be serviced at a later date perhaps during the coming summer.

[DHall1]

http://rs6.com/forum/showthread.php?p=155258#post155258

And here is a copy of what the dealers have got.

[DuckWingDuck]

well, see, that's the question right? Your existing DRC is known to be flawed, it may or may not go bad. The new DRC? Well, that may or may not work in the long run too!

[SAF]

As I said above, if there's no time limit on getting this upgrade, and it is implemented as one upgrade per vehicle, available whenever you want it, I won't be taking in my working DRC until it fails. Why put yourself on a closed ended 12/12 warranty before you have to?

Hell, my shocks seems to be fine after the third system replacement and so far all is good. Why mess with it? If it lasts eight months or five more years, I'll use it until it pops, knowing there is a new system waiting to be installed.

[snoopra]

Here's another question for Qisha, are the top rubber mounts and associated installation parts included in this service action? No sense in replacing the shocks and not the rubber mounts, IMHO.

[Hy Octane]

As I said above, if there's no time limit on getting this upgrade, and it is implemented as one upgrade per vehicle, available whenever you want it, I won't be taking in my working DRC until it fails. Why put yourself on a closed ended 12/12 warranty before you have to?

Hell, my shocks seems to be fine after the third system replacement and so far all is good. Why mess with it? If it lasts eight months or five more years, I'll use it until it pops, knowing there is a new system waiting to be installed.

2 reasons I can think of.

Firstly, if the first round of new shocks runs out of stock afetr all these fixes and yours decides to fail, you might get caught inbetween shipments..
Secondly, implementing the upgrade even if you dont need it yet removes the impending disaster that will occur with the defective units and restores confidence in your car so you dont have this on your mind as a 'can fail any day now' and can get on with enjoying the car..

I'm going to let my local tech do a few others first and when hes got it down pat, I'll have mine doen.. if the existing DRC co-operates that is..

[DHall1]

Hy Octane,

Hey, a quick question. I was talking with Greg this morning about his car and mine going soft after our Mulholland run.

I know its not scientific but here goes anyways.

1. If you take each corner of the car and push down on the quarter panel/next to the taillight and fender/next to the headlight. How much deflection do you get on each corner? I weigh about 190lbs and just using some arm strength seems to deflect each corner very easily. I dont think there is much compression or rebound damping in each corner. I just feel the spring rate in each corner. Should the rears deflect an inch without much effort?

I walk over to our E55 and its much stiffer.

I am not happy right now.

2 reasons I can think of.

Firstly, if the first round of new shocks runs out of stock afetr all these fixes and yours decides to fail, you might get caught inbetween shipments..
Secondly, implementing the upgrade even if you dont need it yet removes the impending disaster that will occur with the defective units and restores confidence in your car so you dont have this on your mind as a 'can fail any day now' and can get on with enjoying the car..

I'm going to let my local tech do a few others first and when hes got it down pat, I'll have mine doen.. if the existing DRC co-operates that is..

[Hy Octane]

Dave..
This is the grayest of gray areas as far as DRC goes..
When new, my DRC was extremely firm.. I loved it. You could push down on the front fender and it wouldnt budge at all. I weigh 220 or so.. Around turns it was perfectly flat.. very bumpy ride but thats what I expected from an RS..Cant have a bouncy car on the Nurburgring ya know.. It even surprised me when some started getting Hotchkiss sway bars fitted as mine didnt need them cause it didnt sway or dive or squat at all.. It was like a go kart.. I loved it. My brother followed me in his BMW and commented that there was absolutely 'zero rebound' when I went over bumps.
When it failed and came back from its repair, it was like a cadillac.. I tried several times to redo it but the problem seemed to be that none of the techs (I even had the US top tech, the guy who teaches others, Steve Shoup flown out here by AoA to redo it, but it still bounced) really knew how this car was supposed to ride when in proper order.. So, to this day, I am still unable to find anyone here in the USA who actually knows how firm the ride should be on thees cars when fixed properly..
As we see from Qishas posts, the improper repair techniques employed here by untrained USA techs with makeshift repair kits resulted in the systems being underpressurized and this excess travel in the struts is what seems to have exascerbated the failures.. In other words, the struts are not supposed to have very much vertical travel over bumps which is the way mine was new.. Improper repairs caused too much vertical travel (ride way too soft) which in turn leads to early failure again.which explains why most failures occur in the front first...so...wash, rinse and repeat..
I have to believe that the suspension is meant to be rock solid as mine was new. Several reviews fro 2003 mention the extremely stiff ride and how the DRC keeps the car flat around corners (and these were corners at race speed, not 35mph around town stuff). After all, if Audi had wanted to get this mediocre performance we have now, they didnt need to put this expensive unique system on this car to achieve this result. They could have had the same bouncy ride with $25 monroe shocks. So, we have to assume that the DRC was intended to perform at a much higher level than our repairs have yielded...
So, no. Your car shouldnt move at all when leaned on and it surely shouldnt bounce up and down when driven over rough surfaces..Compare it to an RS4 that hasnt failed. Extremely firm.
Trying to get someone to fix them who knows this has been fruitless.
From what I understand, the new repair kit will address this problem so its a pass/fail thing with no inbetween.. All this could have been sorted sooner had Gmbh just sent one of their techs here to show the rest the proper way these cars should perform.
One of the risks we take when purchasing a one year specialty exotic car with low production numbers..

[DHall1]

Thanks for the detailed response. I have the exact same feeling on the status of my current setup.

My only concern....or should I say one of my concerns. Is this.

If you read the service bulletin as it stands. Audi will

1. Replace 4 struts with updated units.
2. Replace 2 central valves.

Of key note. The "new" special tool is not yet avail and not needed for this first repair. That tells me....its business as usual and the dealers will just install all the new parts.

NOTHING is going to add any pressure or check to see that adequate pressure is attained.

So, in your cars current state of repair. Can you push down each rear quarter panel and get the car to move 1-1.5 inches of vertical travel?

Dave..
This is the grayest of gray areas as far as DRC goes..
When new, my DRC was extremely firm.. I loved it. You could push down on the front fender and it wouldnt budge at all. I weigh 220 or so.. Around turns it was perfectly flat.. very bumpy ride but thats what I expected from an RS..Cant have a bouncy car on the Nurburgring ya know.. It even surprised me when some started getting Hotchkiss sway bars fitted as mine didnt need them cause it didnt sway or dive or squat at all.. It was like a go kart.. I loved it. My brother followed me in his BMW and commented that there was absolutely 'zero rebound' when I went over bumps.
When it failed and came back from its repair, it was like a cadillac.. I tried several times to redo it but the problem seemed to be that none of the techs (I even had the US top tech, the guy who teaches others, Steve Shoup flown out here by AoA to redo it, but it still bounced) really knew how this car was supposed to ride when in proper order.. So, to this day, I am still unable to find anyone here in the USA who actually knows how firm the ride should be on thees cars when fixed properly..
As we see from Qishas posts, the improper repair techniques employed here by untrained USA techs with makeshift repair kits resulted in the systems being underpressurized and this excess travel in the struts is what seems to have exascerbated the failures.. In other words, the struts are not supposed to have very much vertical travel over bumps which is the way mine was new.. Improper repairs caused too much vertical travel (ride way too soft) which in turn leads to early failure again.which explains why most failures occur in the front first...so...wash, rinse and repeat..
I have to believe that the suspension is meant to be rock solid as mine was new. Several reviews fro 2003 mention the extremely stiff ride and how the DRC keeps the car flat around corners (and these were corners at race speed, not 35mph around town stuff). After all, if Audi had wanted to get this mediocre performance we have now, they didnt need to put this expensive unique system on this car to achieve this result. They could have had the same bouncy ride with $25 monroe shocks. So, we have to assume that the DRC was intended to perform at a much higher level than our repairs have yielded...
So, no. Your car shouldnt move at all when leaned on and it surely shouldnt bounce up and down when driven over rough surfaces..Compare it to an RS4 that hasnt failed. Extremely firm.
Trying to get someone to fix them who knows this has been fruitless.
From what I understand, the new repair kit will address this problem so its a pass/fail thing with no inbetween.. All this could have been sorted sooner had Gmbh just sent one of their techs here to show the rest the proper way these cars should perform.
One of the risks we take when purchasing a one year specialty exotic car with low production numbers..

[Hy Octane]

Yes. Moreso in the front due to the extra weight there..

I will not submit my unit for any final repair until all updated and necessary equipment is in house. Thats why i'll wait until my guy has done a few first so I can see the results first and decide if they have indeed been able to return the car to as new state.. If the new repair system yields similar ride results to what we have now, I will demand Audi pay for an aftermarket system.

[Copper]

Well, it's about f'in time AoA.


I bet they mailed my letter to my house in FL. I'll have to wait and pick it up the week of March 17th.