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Thread: DRC Failures?

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    DRC Failures?

    For those of you that have been members for a long time would you throw out a legitimate guess on the percentage of DRC failures on all RS 6's produced.So far I have been lucky(knock on wood) but wondering if it is luck of the draw or is my time comming?Possible to have the car for a long time without DRC failure?

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    Registered User noushy's Avatar
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    I have had mine for a total of 38 months, and have not had any DRC failures. But I keep my car very clean, many many underbody washes. And I try to avoid winter salt and snow. It was driven mostly in dry weather, in the spring and summer. I think that has a lot to do with the failures.

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    Registered User bbigman2000's Avatar
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    I think you'd be looking at 50-70% failure rate, in the UK anyway !!

    Mine was replaced in its entirety at 30k miles.

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    Moderator Benman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Las Palmas View Post
    For those of you that have been members for a long time would you throw out a legitimate guess on the percentage of DRC failures on all RS 6's produced....
    Just a guess, but I'd say far less than 10%, perhaps as low as 4-5%. This is just going by all the owners I've met in person and through this forum that I do know that have had the problem vs those that have not.

    I do know however that when it happens to you, it sucks!

    Ben
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    Registered User JAXRS6's Avatar
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    At 62K mine has been fixed twice. The Sarasota, FL dealer that did both repairs told me on the second visit that they had fixed DRC on two other RS6s. And there have been numerous threads here, one of them in the form of a poll that might be helpful to you. All that suggests a pervasive problem.

    On the other hand, my dealer in suburban Detroit, which serves a much larger market and presumably sold & services more RS6s, had yet to make a DRC repair when I inquired last summer. Ditto for the dealer in Fort Myers, FL: No DRC repairs there as of last week, when I called to ask.

    All of which suggests that trying to estimate the extent of this problem really is difficult. My own gut feeling is that it's more than the 10% suggested in the post above, but probably less than 40% overall.
    Current: 09 G8 GT

    Previously owned includes: 03 RS 6, 00 Audi S4, 98 Audi A4, 05 Chrysler Crossfire SRT6, 86 Buick Regal turbo, 75 BMW 530i, 7? Lotus Elite, 72 Jaguar XJ6, 71 Audi 100LS, 69 Pontiac Firebird 400, 68 Dodge Charger, 52 Triumph TR2

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    Registered User noushy's Avatar
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    Jack, you are right as far as detroit. Rochester has yet to fix one last time I checked. I just turned mine in, and will miss it. I am glad I did not have problems with the DRC (at least to my knowledge). Looking forward to another Audi down the road.

    Noushy
    Speed, Speed, and more Spe... oops the minivan?
    2003 RS6 Mugello Blue (gone/turned in)
    2003 911tt Cobalt Blue (gone/traded in)
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    2005 Toyota Sienna (until Q7 in May 07)
    2007 M6 Saphire Black (loving it)

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    Moderator Benman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JAXRS6 View Post
    My own gut feeling is that it's more than the 10% suggested in the post above, but probably less than 40% overall.
    That is actually a good possibility. 10% is not unrealistic. The dealer here in Riverside has had one reported repair by the master tech. Compare that to the 15 or so RS 6s that he services. Others report more, others less.

    I'd agree that 40% though sounds way too high...

    In the end, we will probably never know for sure as AOA will never disclose the true #s.

    Ben
    Einstein once said, "I want to know God's thoughts, the rest are details."
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    Registered User vec110's Avatar
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    Hey what are the most common clues that your drc is going? I have a "clunk" sound coming from rear on both sides. And i also was merging on the highway around a nice turn under some load and hit a bump. the back end stepped in a violent way about 6 inches (my guess, always not as bad as you think when you are driving.) I have only owed the car for about three weeks now. i have it at the dealership now for replacement of the right cam cover gasket due to an oil leak. and 35k service. which is more intense than i thought (replace timing belt!!!). I told them to check out the suspension and explained the previously stated problems to the service manager there and he said that they would check it out for safety reasons! any help would be great! thanks guys.

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    Registered User JAXRS6's Avatar
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    [QUOTE=vec110;86484] I have a "clunk" sound coming from rear on both sides. QUOTE]

    That was the only symptom in my case; I never noticed a difference in handling, although many others did. You call it a clunk; at the time I called it a banging rattle under the floor.
    Current: 09 G8 GT

    Previously owned includes: 03 RS 6, 00 Audi S4, 98 Audi A4, 05 Chrysler Crossfire SRT6, 86 Buick Regal turbo, 75 BMW 530i, 7? Lotus Elite, 72 Jaguar XJ6, 71 Audi 100LS, 69 Pontiac Firebird 400, 68 Dodge Charger, 52 Triumph TR2

  10. #10
    Registered User vec110's Avatar
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    [quote=JAXRS6;86494]
    Quote Originally Posted by vec110 View Post
    I have a "clunk" sound coming from rear on both sides. QUOTE]

    That was the only symptom in my case; I never noticed a difference in handling, although many others did. You call it a clunk; at the time I called it a banging rattle under the floor.
    that too describes it. How did you get the dealership to fix it? they said they would check it over for safety. I said yeah that sounds like a good plan but i hope you just check if its broke! and i need them to fix it now because factory warrenty is up on it this august...thanks for the help though that assured me it is broken. They have already had my car for three days and plan on keeping it till tuesday i guess i can wait another 5 more lol.

  11. #11
    Registered User JAXRS6's Avatar
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    I took it in with a complaint about banging undercarriage rattles. This was two years ago, when the DRC problem was first emerging. The dealer tech spent ten hours looking for the rattles' source; no luck. Then the AOA rep stopped by, ordered replacement of the "DRC central valve gas accumulator," which arrived a couple of days later. Then the labor to install it ... all in all my beast was at the dealership for two or three weeks. I posted this in detail previously but I'm too lazy to search for it right now. Also found out, later, that the dealership had to eat those ten hours.

    I'm not sure how this might help you now, tho. Some dealers are familiar with DRC issues; some are not. Some owners have been a lot more pissed than me, and some have had no DRC problems whatsoever. But as more RS6s pass 30K mi and new cases continue to come up, I wonder if AOA may be resisting replacement of the valve under warranty due to its ridiculous cost ($1K USD).

    You know to look for stains around the shocks, right? The DRC fluid seldom leaks enough to reach the garage floor, so it's not obvious when parked. Take a look when it's on a hoist, though; if the DRC is failing, there should be signs of leaking. At least that's what others have said, and they've posted pix showing the stains.
    Current: 09 G8 GT

    Previously owned includes: 03 RS 6, 00 Audi S4, 98 Audi A4, 05 Chrysler Crossfire SRT6, 86 Buick Regal turbo, 75 BMW 530i, 7? Lotus Elite, 72 Jaguar XJ6, 71 Audi 100LS, 69 Pontiac Firebird 400, 68 Dodge Charger, 52 Triumph TR2

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    uh oh...JAXRS6, you describe the sound under the left rear of my car to a T...

  13. #13
    Registered User LIRS6's Avatar
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    vec110, sounds like you have DRC failure - the "violent" movement sideways was one of the tell-tale signs that I experienced, although my shocks showed signs of leakage as well. Replacement of the shocks is only half the cure - the central accumulators MUST be replaced or else there will not be enough pressure in the system and you will continue to experience the same symptoms.
    GBNF: Mugello, silver, carbon, RNS-E, H&R coilovers, Hotchkiss
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  14. #14
    Registered User vec110's Avatar
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    my car should be done tomorrow. i ended up calling the dealership on sat morn to tell them to check the drc system. i heard a big sigh on the other end of the phone and the service manager said that wasnt the problem. hahaha when i first brought the car in i was no too concerned about the clunk sound in the rear end being a big problem but i told them while it was in there for the 35k service to check it out. i told them my two symptoms and the service manager said yeah ill check it out for safety sake. i said no just make sure its not broke. thats when i thought something was up so decided to do some more research on this forumn. well i am pretty sure now that the drc system has failed. the service manager told me that the master tech was going to take a look at it for me today. he also informed me that he personally already looked at it up on the lift and saw no signs of leakage.... All i know is that i have only owned this car for two weeks now and it has been at the dealer for one now...lol. so i have never really driven the car without the problem and i still love it, i cant wait to get it fixed. If it still "clunks" when i get it back tomorrow i will be calling aoa and bringing it to another dealership. i just felt the dealer just blew me off when i told them it was the drc failure. he said that only happened on a few cars. when i asked him what was a few cars his response was ummmmm i dont know a couple. i said well thereare only a "few " cars here in the usa so it has to be a significant problem. he again assured me that it was alright and his master mechanic would take a look at it. i dont have too much confidence that it will be fixed right when i get it back. as you can see im a little mad right now...

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    I picked my RS6 up yesterday. It seems to be fixed, although I'd need to find an 80 mph curve with mild road imperfections to satisfy myself. The dealer had it for 6 weeks. Lots of time used up as dealer tried to get AoA to authorize the repair. Now I will be writing to express my unhappiness at their approach to this issue.

    Mr. Johan DeNysschen
    Executive Vice President - Audi of America
    3499 W. Hamlin Road
    Rochester Hills, Michigan 48309

    Good luck VEC110. Keep on them, be polite but insistent. The mechanics probably haven't seen this, and Audi isn't telling them how to fix it unless the customer apples pressure.

  16. #16
    Registered User vec110's Avatar
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    thanks for the advice. i will be pushing because i believe i bought the car for the performance hahaha. i havent even gotten to drive mine hard yet because of this. the audi i took out for my first test drive i beat the snot out of because i knew it wasnt the car i was going to buy. and it handled great. the only time i really got on mine like i said was on that on ramp and i was like ut oh i dont like that. so i am pissed i want this thing to handle good. my last car was an 04 s4 that i traded in on the beast. before that it was an 03 evo which was an amazing handling car. i liked the s4 but it was too tame for me. the evo i loved but picking up customers or anyone really didnt really sit too well with the big wing and the lack of luxuries. so when i got in the rs6 it reminded me of all the reasons i missed my evo and with everything i liked about the s4 ...so i had to get one!
    I didnt realize that the dealerships had to get authorized from aoa to do this repair!!!! i will be pushing more now...thanks for the heads up. i have been as polite as i can possibly be towards my dealer now with them trying to play it off but now im certain this needs to be fixed. i dont think i will like not having my car for another week or more but....i too will be writing to aoa for something back if this takes more time!
    about how much time did it take for these repairs to take place after the dealership agreed that there was a problem that had to be fixed?

  17. #17
    Registered User LIRS6's Avatar
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    George - Send the letter, but don't expect much. I did the same (by fax) when I had concerns about my dealer performing DRC repair as they admitted to no experience with it. DeNysschen passed it to his assistant, James Cruse, who promptly tore my dealer a new arsehole for having told me. Took dealer/AoA 3 months to get it close to right (still not like factory settings).
    GBNF: Mugello, silver, carbon, RNS-E, H&R coilovers, Hotchkiss
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  18. #18
    Registered User Aronis's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LIRS6 View Post
    George - Send the letter, but don't expect much. I did the same (by fax) when I had concerns about my dealer performing DRC repair as they admitted to no experience with it. DeNysschen passed it to his assistant, James Cruse, who promptly tore my dealer a new arsehole for having told me. Took dealer/AoA 3 months to get it close to right (still not like factory settings).
    James Cruze, there's a name I did not want to read again...his phone number is in my speed dial on my cell.

    It's funny how people post that AOA said this is an uncommon problem....when a brand new RS4 has a DRC failure I call that more than uncommon.....it's just interesting that the RS4's are showing the failure SOONER than the RS6's with the Second Generation System.

    Oh well....Ohlin's or PSS9's are the easy way out.

    Mike

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