Vibrating steering wheel.

bm_sthlm

bm_sthlm

A2OC Donor
During the weekend I went for a ride and noticed a vibration in the steering wheel. It comes when I break at speeds above 40mils/h. It's not very discreet, it's a proper vibration. But I can not feel it when I drive around in the city. What could it be?

I also recently changed to summer tires and did a wheel alignment at the same time. Related?
 
One of your wheels is probably unbalanced, one of the small weights on the wheel is gone. Probably on the front. Either you take them all to the tire shop and have them checked, or you test which one it is by changing it for a winter wheel and see if it goes away. It's probably cheaper to just get one wheel balanced.
 
possibly also warped brake discs. try braking *hard* several times, preferably from 100km/h or so. Just gentle braking will warp them more.

- Bret
 
bretti_kivi said:
possibly also warped brake discs. try braking *hard* several times, preferably from 100km/h or so. Just gentle braking will warp them more.

- Bret
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I agree, this is more likely to be warped discs than balancing.
The vibrations from a balancing problem occur at around 40 mph and 80 mph but without braking.

It is also worth checking you wheel nuts to make sure they are tight.

Steve B
 
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I'd vote for discs too. Had exactly the same on my old smart. New discs sorted the problem. I also noticed that braking to a stop, slowly, the brakes would feel more 'grabby' at points.

Chris
 
If the wheels are correctly mounted and tightened then its almost certainly warped discs.
Any good service centre should test for run-out before changing the discs.
New discs should also get a new set of pads.

blue skies
tony
 
KekseKaempfer said:
I also noticed that braking to a stop, slowly, the brakes would feel more 'grabby' at points.

Chris
Click to expand...

I have this exact symptom also.

Thnx guys. Will try the hard brake method, if that doesnt sort it out I guess I just have take it to the mech during the weekend.


Btw, what is the fix? New discs? How much would that cost, for parts and labor?
 
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As an indicator I just bought ATE discs and pads from Onlinecarparts.co.uk. for my 1.4 TDI 75. A few folks here had recommended them so I decided to give them a try. Im sure there are cheaper options though.

1. 13.0460-7117.2 Brake Pad Set, disc brake 1 30.95 30.95
2. 24.0322-0151.1 Brake Disc 2 33.95 67.9
Subtotal: £98.85
Delivery: £13.06
incl. 19% VAT £17.87

Total amount: £111.91
 
I was at Audi on Monday and they said they were completly booked up until Thursday when they can take a look at it. And then if it is the discs, as I suspect it is, they will probably have to order it which probably gone take a day or two. And then another day to fix it. So I dont think it will be ready until the middle/end of next week.

So the question is, is it safe to drive? Can I do more damage to the car? Can I go on the highway with it?
 
If you are confident that it is the brake discs ask the dealer to order them in now.
This should be possible.
 
bm_sthlm said:
I was at Audi on Monday and they said they were completly booked up until Thursday when they can take a look at it. And then if it is the discs, as I suspect it is, they will probably have to order it which probably gone take a day or two. And then another day to fix it. So I dont think it will be ready until the middle/end of next week.

So the question is, is it safe to drive? Can I do more damage to the car? Can I go on the highway with it?
Click to expand...

Hi
It would be wrong for anyone on here to say that it would be safe. Mainly because until it is investigated nobody knows for certain what the cause is. Yes it is highly likely that it is just a warped disc, in which case if the vibrations are not severe you could, with care use the car for a shirt time.

BUT, it still could be something else and not a warped disc (what if it was a lose brake calliper or similar??)

So the reason it is NOT safe is because you have an Un-diagnosed brake problem.
So nobody on here should be saying it is safe to drive.

So please use extreme caution until someone has investigated.

Sorry to sound a bit "health and safety" but a wait of a couple of days instead of risking life and limb (and not just yours) is a bit of a no brainer to me.

Steve B
 
John L said:
If you are confident that it is the brake discs ask the dealer to order them in now.
This should be possible.
Click to expand...

Almost every main dealer I have used over the last 44years will not order parts until they have the car there and inspected.
It is a small inconvenience for them if they order them and they are then not needed, so they SHOULD do as you suggest, but they simply don't unfortunately.

Steve B
 
So they guy called me today.

He said he couldnt see any problem with the disc directly. But he also said he couldnt rule it out either. He thought it was either the disc or it could be something with the front axis. Not sure exactly what. He said he could fitt new discs for around £270 or have the currrent ones sent away and repaired for £60-£80.

Since the discs are not that old and he wasent sure it would fix the problem I went with the cheaper alternative.

Any thoughts? What could be wrong with the front axis? Should I have went with new ones directly?
 
bm_sthlm said:
So they guy called me today.

He said he couldnt see any problem with the disc directly. But he also said he couldnt rule it out either. He thought it was either the disc or it could be something with the front axis. Not sure exactly what. He said he could fitt new discs for around £270 or have the currrent ones sent away and repaired for £60-£80.

Since the discs are not that old and he wasent sure it would fix the problem I went with the cheaper alternative.

Any thoughts? What could be wrong with the front axis? Should I have went with new ones directly?
Click to expand...

Hi,

The amount of warping needsed might not be visible, he would have to use a micrometer and rotate the disc and check for "run-out" to determine of the disc is the cause.

Is this a trusted garage? If they just tried a visual check then that is worrying, and if they really don't think it is the discs then surely they must have been able to check for the actual cause 9if it isn't the discs!!!)

Can you not get a second opinion? Even QuickFit would be able to check the discs I would imagine?

There is NO front Axle on these A2s, they have independent suspension. So either you misunderstood his comment or they really DON'T seem to know what they are talking about.

There is an outside chance that it could be a worn driveshaft, but that would probably have other symptoms, such as bad vibration / noise when moving the car on full sterring locks.

Steve B
 
Birchall said:
Hi,

The amount of warping needsed might not be visible, he would have to use a micrometer and rotate the disc and check for "run-out" to determine of the disc is the cause.

Is this a trusted garage? If they just tried a visual check then that is worrying, and if they really don't think it is the discs then surely they must have been able to check for the actual cause 9if it isn't the discs!!!)

Can you not get a second opinion? Even QuickFit would be able to check the discs I would imagine?

There is NO front Axle on these A2s, they have independent suspension. So either you misunderstood his comment or they really DON'T seem to know what they are talking about.

There is an outside chance that it could be a worn driveshaft, but that would probably have other symptoms, such as bad vibration / noise when moving the car on full sterring locks.

Steve B
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I have no idea how they checked it, since I was not there. But I assume, naively, they know what they are doing. This is at AUDIs garage.

There is a huge chance of missunderstanding here. Since I dont speak hungarian and they guy translating doesnt speak any good English (and he is a seller, so im not sure he understands all the technical terms). And this was over the phone...so...

I did think about getting a second opinion, but the language barrier kinda makes it really time/energy consuming.

I guess I just have to wait and see on Monday. Thnx
 
Sorry to hijack this thread but I had a similar vibration coming through my steering wheel. New discs and pads fitted last year so I ruled this out. Took it to an independant garage and they diagnosed driver side inner tie rod + ARB bushes (7 years since last ARB bushes were replaced). All changed now and car drives well

The vibration which I was getting was coming through when turning left or right and was more prominent when the car was cold. it could be worth checking. I know the garage put it on their ramp and tested it on the "shaker" which identified the problem.
 
So... today I got my car back. They had the discs sent away and fixed. Now the car doesnt vibrate anymore. :)

They charged me £60.

Now, I was wondering how the discs could have been warped. And how can I prevent them getting warped again?
 
bm_sthlm said:
So... today I got my car back. They had the discs sent away and fixed. Now the car doesnt vibrate anymore. :)

They charged me £60.

Now, I was wondering how the discs could have been warped. And how can I prevent them getting warped again?
Click to expand...

That is good news.

As for the warping there is not much that you can do and you don't normally have to go anything.

If you have just come off the motorway after hard braking, the discs will be hot.
If you them sit at traffic lights etc with your foot on the brake you gave the pass contacting one part of the disc this causes the disc to cool down unevenly and CAN cause a little warping.
But under normal use discs shouldn't badly warp.
A more common reason for it is using cheaper discs. The poorer quality metal used is less resistant to warping
So a previous owner may have saved a few pennies when the discs were last replaced?

Steve B
 
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Thnx Steve.

I just noticed that they did not change the brake pads when they fixed the disc. I took some photos of them and they seem very uneven. Should they really be looking like this?

DSC_0494.jpg

DSC_0493.jpg
 
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