DRC Update..

[Hy Octane]

Ok folks..

Having contacted James Cruise about my improperly repaired DRC, he sent a rep to my dealer to diagnose and rectify the problem..

Now according to the factory specs for the DRC system, it should be pressurized to approx 12 bar for normal ops with a maximum of 16 bar for the system.. Anything under 12 bar is listed as being not properly functioning..
This is how we got them from GMBH..



DRC – Systemdruckwerte, Interpretation

Druckwerte beziehen sich auf eine Referenztemperatur von 20° C.

ß 16 bar Maximaldruck
ß 15 – 16 bar Zentralventil neu oder neuwertig
ß 12 – 15 bar Normaler Arbeitsbereich, System in Ordnung
ß < 12 bar System undicht oder unvollständig befüllt, Lufteinschlüsse im System, Zentralventil defekt


Now, I am told that Audi is telling their techs to only pressurize the replacement systems to 5 bar, or less than half of the design specs..
The result is what we have see, A bouncy pitchy rolling diving and squating suspension..
It is NOT what we bought guys..Its the old bait n switch..
In addition, this suspension was designed and tuned to be at factory specs with the springs as one.. You cant just replace the shocks with softer ones and not change the springs as the entire package is not not matched together to perform at its best..
yet this is what AoA has done..
They have essentially detuned our racing suspension in favor of a comfort package without telling or asking us.
I think this might be grounds for a lawsuit but we'll see.. For those of you who have had the replacement done, I suggest you get on the phone to James Cruise and give him a bellyfull..
In my case, the tech from AoA watched as I demonstrated my bouncy nose and he then turned and quietly instructed the machanic to increase the pressure to 7 bar from 5.. still way under spec.. he did not at any time even look me in the eye and say he knew why this was happening, just whispered to my mechanic to up the pressure a few and acted like he was baffled by the whole mess.. Chicken shits all of em.. they knew all along and lied about it..
Shame on you Audi..

[JavierNuvolari]

Sad to hear that AoA still does't solve your problem...even worse, the fact that are not fixing the sistem with pressure It should actually have. As you said on your post, those might be grounds for a nasty lawsuit, however I really hope that you can come to an agreement with them.


Best of luck,


Javier

[Benman]

So Paul,

My question would be: Why in the world would AOA do that? What could they possibly gain from screwing you over? Believe me, I completely believe you and what you're saying, but I can't for the life of me, fathom why they do it!?! I mean, pissing off a slug off customers doesn't mesh with their agenda (which is selling more cars).

You've been far more patient than any Audi owner should be, that's for sure. I just can't believe that AOA would deliberately lie to the dealer mechanics, its just a huge pill to swallow! Why not just tell them all that they know???

Dang, this is some crazy stuff... I sure hope the needed people remove heads from the hind ends and get your car back on the road working RIGHT without anymore excuses!



Ben

[Aronis]

Before I even finish reading your post....


Who Said the Pressure too Low???/


WHO????

http://www.rs6.com/forum/showthread....&threadid=8798


I DID.....

When do I get my call from James Cruse?

When????


Only when I call him.....


Now ,back to finish reading your GREAT POST............

Mike

[Aronis]

I am MORE THAN PISSED now.

I'm going to call him first thing in the morning.

Mike

[Aronis]

The Central Valves are Factory Set on the Bench top to 16 Bar.

So if the valves are replaced and the pressure of the rest of the system is set to less than 16 bar, what happens to the BRAND SPANKING NEW CONTROL VALVES? Um....

I hope nothing...

I'm contacting my regional rep.....

Mike

[Aronis]

[Paldi]

DRC – system pressure value, interpretation

Pressure values have references to a reference temperature of 20° C.

maximal pressure ß 16 cash ß 15 – 16 cash headquarters valve newly or mint

ß 12 – 15 cash normal field of work, system in order

ß <12 cash system befüllt leaky or incomplete, air inclusions in the system, headquarters valve defective.

So it sorta looks like a system fault(?) if pressure is under 12 bar and a new system should read 15 to 16.

Could this all be a simple translation problem?

Good luck on the fix. It's great that there's an answer. Finally.

[SpinEcho]

The saga continues...

But I have to echo Benman - what is AoA's motivation for under-pressurizing the system? Am I not understanding the story completely? Your DRC system has been replaced with the same DRC system, no? So then it must simply be a matter of pressurizing it properly! Where's the "bait and switch" you referred to?

Get them to pressurize it properly (easier said than done, it would seem), and the problem should be gone?!?!

[Rally]

This is AoA's way of trying to keep the repeat failures to a minimum.
Low pressure means less failures. Stupid americans won't know the difference.

What a crock. I'd go looking for blood.

[Hy Octane]

Rally is correct I believe..

For whatever reasons, there have been alotta failures by leakage here and rather than admit it and be responsible for constant replacements, or rather than re-design the DRC, they just decided to reduce the pressure thus reduce the chance of leakage due to higher pressurisation..

maybe our roads are bumpier here or something.. The Bait and Switch is that they sell you a car that has a firm ride and as a result handles a certain way only to then change the characteristics of said car to a lesser performing mode without notice to the customer who is xpecting the same car to be returned to him. He now is stuck with a completely different feeling car which is not what he bought and has been used to for the last two years and when he inquires about why there is a change the reply is not truthful or factual. I was not notified or warned or asked about this. They just slid it in and pretended its normal.

I'm just really disappointed in this company...all the rah rah ree and Audi club for me stuff gets chucked right out the window when they pull this crap on us..

[SoCal]

Originally posted by Hy Octane
Ok folks..

Having contacted James Cruise about my improperly repaired DRC, he sent a rep to my dealer to diagnose and rectify the problem..

Now according to the factory specs for the DRC system, it should be pressurized to approx 12 bar for normal ops with a maximum of 16 bar for the system.. Anything under 12 bar is listed as being not properly functioning..

I read all the posts and I still don't get it. Who is your dealer? What are they thinking? Why treat you like this, especially since you know the score and have been through all your troubles? If anyone should be getting exemplary care, it's you and Mike.

Is it just DRC system pressure, or have they also swapped out the components? Because otherwise low pressure wouldn't make any sense. And raising it in right front of you but then not high enough seems really insane.

Glad not to have your problems, but in sympathy anyway...

what are answers?

[Aronis]

Keep this in mind.

Engineering (world wide correct me if I am wrong, I am an Engineer)...works as follows.

Design Engineers Design it.
Prototype Engineers Make the Prototype.
Production Engineers Make the production specs.

Manufacturing makes the product.

Quality Control Engineers Check it out.

And....

Hate me if you will....

Non-Engineers (or poor Engineers) write the manual!

The biggist issue most find with any technical product (computers, cameras, toys, etc) is the QUALITY of the Manual.

If the true Spec was simply misswritten in the 'service bible' then the mechanics and the US dealerships are vindicated and are not to be 100% blamed.

The only blame one could put on them would then be for NOT LISTENING TO THE CUSTOMER who MIGHT, JUST MIGHT, know more about the car then they do. Thus when I pushed on my fender and made the car bounce and then did the same with the S4, a light bulb should have lit up over the service department 'something is not right.'

The solution is close at hand, just another 4 hours of driving...and a few days with a shitty loaner...I want a TT for my loaner this time....like I'll get that.

Mike

[Aronis]

Cruse is on vacation...

I spoke with my regional rep...

He said they pressurized my system to 8 bar, and with the central valve initially at 16, he suspects the system would end up at 10......I'd say it ended up at the 8 figure as I assume the entire system is connected including the central valves at the time the pressure gage is read!

Anyway here is the Kicker...

Ready...

The device that is used to pressurize the system, that special Vag Tool.....may not, not sure, may not tolerate more than 10 or 12 bar and they are very worried about using that tool without upgrading it...

Again....CALL GERMANY, talk to the Factory Technicians...what do they use?

Now what could have been a week, may turn into a month or more....and he believes the central valves may need to be replaced again!

Mike

[Qisha]

CALL GERMANY, talk to the Factory Technicians...what do they use?

This is what you need:




The Oil Pressure Gauge and the special Adapter for the RS6.

Order No´s:

Oil Pressure Gauge: V.A.G. 1342
Adapter: V.A.G. 1342/18

Kindly Regards,

qisha

[Paldi]

Sounds like all the RS6 techs in the Country lack the proper tool to charge the DRC. That could be an expensive issue to rectify an take a while. I wonder if any other manufacturer (BMW or Benz) has a similar DRC system on one of their cars and have the proper tools state-side to make the repair for you? (Long shot, I know.) Good luck. It will be interesting to see how the big mahoffs handle this one for you.

[Benman]

Originally posted by Rally
This is AoA's way of trying to keep the repeat failures to a minimum.
Low pressure means less failures. Stupid americans won't know the difference.

What a crock. I'd go looking for blood.

Rally, nice to hear from you!

Originally posted by SoCal
I read all the posts and I still don't get it. Who is your dealer? What are they thinking? Why treat you like this, especially since you know the score and have been through all your troubles?

SoCal,
I think (think), the problem we're reading about is not the dealers, the instructions are coming from higher up. Paul and Mike have been having serious issues for so long now that AOA has to be, and is involved. That being the case, the dealer is no longer calling the shots. AOA is.

A mechanic that was posting here (who had strong opinoins) was more than likely telling the truth. They're getting just as screwed as teh customers since they're not recieving the correct training to take care of the Paul and Mike's (and others) issues. It would appear that AOA really needs to step it up, call who they need to, fly out who they need to and be done with this. It is ridiculous! They have the answers (somewhere), so get them!

Ben

[Hy Octane]

It appears now that each shock is supposed to be filled and charged to 5 bar.. This is correct.. The problem my tech has is that they have no way to measure the pressure of the central accumulator valves.. So, if the center valve accumulator is not properly pressurized,(15-16 bar) and they have no way to check this (they dont have the gauges Quisha has illustrated above here in the USA) you will get what you get.. So, it may not be an Audi directive here but just a lack of training and proper parts being supplied to the techs here to comple the job properly. And, a lack of a qualified tech to know that its not right and why,..Either way, the result is an improperly function suspension that we have been complaining about and still AoA will not correct this internally..

The fact that we as consumers have to become involved to this extent in the basic upkeep of these cars is ridiculous!

More later..