Hi. I have a 1997 A4 1.8 Turbo Quatro with about 72,250 original miles and has been a great car till the end of last summer. I had the car serviced at the end of August because when the car turned left or right, there would be a terrible squeaking noise coming from the front suspension area. The dealership replaced both right (passenger side) upper control arms. After that service, there were no problems till the end of October where the squeaking noise, when turning, reoccurred again, which progressively got worse. Again the car was service again at the dealership where the lower control arm was replaced along with the wishbone. Come January, the car was serviced again because a squeaking noise when turning. This time, the lower control arm and the wishbone on the driver side of the car was replaced. After that replacement, there hasn’t been problems till now, when each time I turn the steering wheel left of right when I drive, I can hear the squeaking noise again and it is progressively getting worse each time I drive the car. Also, when the car goes over some minor and major bumps, sometimes, you can hear the same squeaking noise as well. Has anyone experienced this problem before and can anyone please tell me what the solution to my problems without forking over several more thousands of dollars in repairs and parts. Thanks.

 

wheel bearings?

 

Hrm... that would be interesting... thanks... I'll mention it to the tech when I the car into service in a week... After looking at my service records for the control arms, I have lost track which ones were replaced... Hopefully, the new arms that were replaced are still under warranty.

 

if any control arms haven't been replaced yet than i would say they are causing the noise, but if they've all been replaced, it's probably your wheel bearings.

 

think that half of the control arms were replaced and let me tell you... they're not cheap... thanks bentframe

 

no problem...two more things...first, if you're paying for these control arms yourself, you may be able to save some doh buying the parts from ecstuning...but i've never seen a dealer that will install parts that you supply, you'd have to get it done at an independent mechanic.
second, the requirements for replacing the control arms under recall is somewhat open for interpretation (by the mechanic of course)..if you talk to the mechanic and explain to him all the noises you hear while driving, and how your steering feels sloppy , and how the car feels dangerous on the freeway when you go over bumps.. basically just complain and assure him that you've replaced everything else and that you're sure it's the control arms...be nice, but be persistent. you should be able to get it done for free.

 

control arms?

 

99a4audi, are you asking what control arms are?

 

Really don't know what the person was asking, but there are are 8 control arms in the 97 A4. I just have to remember that if the new control arms needs to be replaced, they're still under warranty (12 months or 12,000 miles)