I’ve been having an issue lately where I randomly get some hard spots in the steering when driving. I have been able to be parked and go lock to lock no issue, but when driving, it is totally random and intermittent, but stressful since it’s like I’m losing power steering and the wheel is very difficult to turn. I believe I have hydraulic steering with servotronic. I’ve recently done a flush with CHF11s oil to try and rhemedy with no change. What would possible cause be?
What year and model? Could be as simple as a belt slipping or something more serious, intermittent electrical issue or the pump going bad.
Kpayne111, if you are using CHF11s then you definitely have hydraulic servotronic (BTW CHF202 is the newest and completely compatible and may be mixed with CHF11s). I’m not sure how the power steering pump is run on the B8, if it is by belt then I would check the power steering belt but if it works while parking (heavy load) then the belt is probably ok. Of course check for any binding. How many miles on the car (Tie rods inner & outer)?
P.S.
After looking at some schematics it looks like the pump is expensive and gear driven so no belt to slip. Leave you with the rack and/or associated joints/tie rods and the pump.
So I’ve been able to diag my problem better. It seems like the steering assist is not coming back on as soon as I feel it should be. It’s most noticeable if I’m bombing down a road at 50mph, rhen have have make a turn on to a street at 25-30.It doesn’t come back on at a high enough speed so it makes the steering difficult. But I can turn the wheel lock to lock while parked easily. I don’t have drive mode select so I’m wondering if I can try changing steering mode in vcds?
I haven’t messed around wtih mine but there are some threads out there from B8/B8.5 guys going into the Steering module and changing one of the Long Coding selections, I think it was Byte 4 and it was “Steering Recommendation” or “Driver Steering Recommendation”. See if you have it and if your box is checked or un-checked as well as the other settings. Scan the module first of course for any faults.
I must be getting a bigger problem, like pump going out. I road tripped my car and have next to no power steering at speed, ill check vcds to make sure I don’t have any codes
If it’s a ZF pump like most any older Audi, even if it’s gear drive I’m sure you can find a rebuilder for it rather than new.
I thought I had remedied my issue by topping up the fluid. This seemed to be ok for a bit then the problem came back. It looks like I have a normal power steering pump and they’re pretty affordable, so ill try replacing that soon
Have you replaced the fluid? Power steering fluid gets old just like engine oil and brake fluid. Drain the whole system and replace the fluid, if it’s dark and dirty and not a nice clean red then it’s past it’s best.
I did a flush with the correct cfh11s fluid when the problem first started occurring. It went from random hard spots to weak power steering all the time. I did a servotronic solenoid basic setting and it is working correctly. I don’t have dynamic steering, so there’s no way to change drive mode.
I wonder if the pressure relief valve is stuck open or partially open. When you take the steering to full lock and try to turn it further, do you hear a change in sound from the pump? When the pressure relief valve operates, you usually hear a whining or whistling sound, do you still hear this?
With the engine off but ignition on, turn the wheel from lock to lock a few times, it will be hard work but do it slowly and see if it makes a difference. It will help if you park the front wheels on some plastic bags to reduce friction from the tires.
Yes, it appears the relief valve is working. It feels like the assist turns off at too low of a speed. It could possibly be because i bought a set of wheels/tires that are 225/45/18, the speedo reads 10kmh too high, so it’s possible that it’s messing with the assistance level by speed
I found the issue. My summer tires were smaller causing my speedo to read 10kmh too fast, and not giving me enough steering assist due to the car thinking it was going faster than what it was. I installed my winter tires this week which corrected the speedo, and now my steering is working fine! I’ll have to invest in the proper size summer tires next spring
No offense intended but why would you put such a narrow tire on your car? Even the S4/S5’s use a 255 tire. It’s almost dangerous if you drive ever drive it aggressively.
The car came with some aftermarket rims that caused a horrible vibration when I got it which I eventually sold. I bought the rims I got (oem 5 spoke 18s from an 14) which came with the 225’s installed and were cheap, otherwise I would have had the proper size tires installed