I am wondering what can cause the steering to become noticeable looser and weaker? this almost happened over night within a few days? what should i look for and/or check?

barrett

 

You need new Tie rod ends.
An easy DIY, get the meyle heavy duty TRE's for about 50 apiece, replace, then take it to have an alignment done.

 

How many miles on that 03?

 

just over 40K, 401xx. is there a DIY forum somewhere so i can see how its done? I think i will be able to do i just need some guidence, and i just droped $1400 on the rear end in my truck so i cannot afford to take it to the dealership. BTW how much stuff is there between me and the tie rods? how much stuff has to come off before i can get to em? in an acura i used to own there was about an hours worth of stuff to come off before any suspension work could be done, is this the case?

barrett

 

All you need to take of to get to them is your tire.

Its not hard, sometimes the pinch bolt is hrad to get off. I am surprised they have worn so quickly, usually they last till about 80-90k.

Here's a writeup.....not sure how closely related it is to your particular model, but should be real close.

http://www.audiworld.com/tech/wheel29.shtml

 

Check the tie rods as a first start. It could also be that the steering rack is worn, but that would be rare at 40K.

 

alright guys thanks for the help. couple of questions, one, how do i judge wear on the tie rods, and two, are tie rods covered by a certified preowned warrenty? the stealership is already closed or i would have called. i mean hell if i dont have to pay for it then im not going to.

barrett

 

Should be, especially at 40k, thats premature for sure.
Ask them to look over all the suspension.

 

TIE ROD CHECK
Jack the front up under the body, letting the wheels hang low off the ground.
With your hand at 9 and 3 on the tire, shake it. There shouldn't be any play.
Do both sides.

 

Have a beautiful 2010 A5 with <40k miles. Hardly driven given its early 2017 now. How about burning 1 quart of oil every 1k Miles..!
This is no joke. Major class action lawsuit against Audi. Gotta say, our new dealership here in Ft. Lauderdale have been most helpful (not to mention years of dealing with Louisvilles' best, Bluegrass Motor Sport) but gotta say, this A5 is a clunker of unfortunate enbrain fart of germanistick engineering. Where's the DIPstick ?? Oh , there is not a manual way to check that sir. This Audi has no oil dipstick. Even a Harrier aircraft, Formula One Race car, NASA and SpaceX Interplanetary Spacecraft and the enormously huge diesels that power the Mega Yachts have a freakin' oil dipstick. But the 2010 A5 . No. And the sleeve liners are failing. And it's burning an uneconomical, environmental insane and quasi illegal amount of oil, questioning any "emissions" standards in this country and arounf the globe. And obviously ...there's massive "blow by" in the whole combustible inefficiency. Surprised the radiator cap hasn't gone through the hood. And not to mention. I WONDER ABOUT OTHER THINGS, especially THE STEERING, because I just wrecked this A5 QUATTRO vehicle, due largely, if not entirely, to what I'd say would be mechanical failure of a steering component; the vehicle literally "let loose" going around a turn at 34mph. Tires are new, just serviced by Audi who I am totally umpteen with in genare