2019 B9 A4 Allroad - Suspension issues

[Guyzer73]

Afternoon All,

So haven't posted here much as I've been "having issues" with the Allroad... or should I say Audi, and apologies for the long monologue....

I bought the car August last year with 47tkm on the clock. On the test drive on country roads I didn't find anything amiss. However, after the car was delivered and I did a couple of Autobahn runs I felt that the suspension, specifically damping was "off". It built up oscillations, felt slow in reacting and in certain instances there was a vibration through the chassis (not steering wheel).

I don't have EDC, I've checked, the Drive Select "individual" settings only show Drive System and Steering, not Suspension or Diff. (This is a separate argument I'm having).

When driving I feel the car has almost zero damping. I complained to Audi and they took the car back to check.... They drove it and did a visual check and said everything is ok. Which I've disputed.

A separate Audi dealer has said something is wrong but won't put it in writing... so thinking of going to the TÜV for them to do an assessment.

However, would like some pointers here if possible.

I argued with the second Audi garage (not where I bought it), because they said it could be prop shafts or suspension. I said how can it be prop shafts if it only occurs on less than perfect streets? My explained logic being if the prop shaft is damaged and causing the problems this would be felt on any road surface (probably more so) on smooth surfaces as it is rpm dependent of the shaft being damaged (off balance, bent, whatever) and therefore suspension, specifically the dampers as it feels there's no damping, or the damping is lagging behind (slow reaction) and building up a modulation on certain surfaces. On flat surfaces the car rides and drives fine. There is also nothing wrong with the drive except for the suspension.

As it doesn't have EDC they visually inspected everything and said it looks ok....

So question is could the dampers be shot, even though they look fine? As a non auto mechanic, but someone who has had the joys of owning a Range Rover Sport... I feel I have some basic grasp of mechanics.

Question is what do you all think? If you need further details just ask.

Cheers for the help

Guy

[Smac770]

Audi has a test process for the dampers. It's in the workshop manuals. The output is simply "pass/fail", there is no grading of the dampers. They could certainly be shot without any visual evidence of such. A damper damps, to know if it's damping, it has to be tested for that specific function, not "does it look dirty".