Excessive Front Wheel Spin

[TXGecko]

I purchased my 2015 S3 with 50K miles earlier this year. It’s a pretty clean car with only one previous owner. The first thing I did after buying it was having all the fluids changed at my local Audi dealership. They did oil, DSG, Haldex, Coolant and Brake fluid. It gave me peace of mind knowing that I was at least starting my ownership with new fluids. After owning the car for a few months, I noticed the front wheels spinning (tires are new) and the traction control light coming on under spirited acceleration. I did some reading on the internet and found quite a few write ups about Haldex pump failures. I purchased a new pump and fluid from ECS Tuning and did the install. With the new pump installed I still had excessive front wheel spin and the traction light flickering.

I had read that in some cases the pump needed to be primed via a software (VCDS) tool. I took my car to a reputable Audi repair shop and they plugged her in to see if any codes were stored. No codes were found and everything appeared to be functioning properly via the VCDS tool. Pump and Haldex controller were working fine. They put the car on a lift, put it in drive and brought the car up to 45mph on the speedo. All four wheels engaged and spun. We took the car for a ride and still had a lot of front wheel spin. The head mechanic said that the clutches in the rear end could be bad and aren’t engaging (slipping) under load. I should note that from a stop, traction control off, mash the gas and the car will spin for a few seconds then hook up and go.

Is there a way to find out if this is indeed the case without having to drop the rear end? Is this a common failure? First time owning an Audi and I want to enjoy that quattro awd. I appreciate any info or pointers the experts on Audizine can provide!

[larbel]

You mentioned new tires, are front and back the same size and model? It sounded kinda like tires more than Haldex since all 4 wheels spun without load?

[TXGecko]

You mentioned new tires, are front and back the same size and model? It sounded kinda like tires more than Haldex since all 4 wheels spun without load?

Yes, all tires are the same size, brand and amount of wear.

[larbel]

What tires?

[TXGecko]

What tires?

Sumitomo HTR Z III / Max Performance Summer.

[TXGecko]

Here are a couple quick videos of me using launch control. I know I should have recorded them in slo motion, but I had a friend doing the recording.

[rex_racer]

How many times did you prime the pump? Some users have noted that the pump had to be primed a number of times before it could build up the pressure it needed to function.

[TXGecko]

How many times did you prime the pump? Some users have noted that the pump had to be primed a number of times before it could build up the pressure it needed to function.

Thanks for the insight. I believe they only primed it once. Is this something that can be done with an OBD Eleven device? If so, I may just have to by a cheap android phone for use with it.

[firemanjust1]

It is not engaging the rear wheels from what you show in the video. The front tires on stock tune would be maybe one rotation before the rear engages not tires going up in smoke never haapen if the haldex was working. It's either another bad pump "rare" or two other possibilities either the controller is bad or you need a new differential. The controller is 535.00 from ecs and you can source a used diff for about 700.00. When you do get it sorted it will feel like a totally different car. There are several past threads dedicated to the same problem you should be able to find good info there.

[rex_racer]

Thanks for the insight. I believe they only primed it once. Is this something that can be done with an OBD Eleven device? If so, I may just have to by a cheap android phone for use with it.

Yes, it can be done with OBD Eleven, or with VCDS. There are a number of threads and fb message posts regarding how to use the two tools to prime the pump. A number of users have indicated that it took multiple primes before it engaged. You could also inquire locally if anyone has a tool locally that would be willing to help you.

[eurojunkjon]

My clutches were bad on my a3 I posted the work order With part numbers in the haldex Failure thread

[TXGecko]

Thanks for all the feedback! My first and cheapest possible fix will be to have the pump primed a few more times. I'll probably go the OBD Eleven route since it will be a great tool to have for diagnosing other issues that may come up. I'll follow up once the OBD Eleven arrives.

[sj9ninety]

This definitely looks like Haldex failure. I highly recommend reading the Haldex failure thread on here (linked below). Several users have posted videos that look exactly like yours. I can confirm that my 16 S3 has ZERO wheel spin while using launch control. There’s a small chirp but then the rear wheels engage right away.


From what I’ve read other users have had the dealer replace the entire faulty Haldex, which solved the problem immediately. However, I do believe those cars were under warranty. I would at least try taking this up with the dealership as it is a known problem with the S3. Good luck!

https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...failure-thread


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

[eurojunkjon]

Post #378

I posted a picture of my work order which includes the TSB number that was used for the repair.