I have a 01 A6 that I bought 6-7 months ago. 206K on it.
Driving in the snow today, i felt a sudden loss of power. This happened a couple of times as I tried to steer and turn and the power would come back again. I took it to the dealership and they told me it was normal and the car was trying to avoid skidding and hence managing the power to the tires. Is it so?

Also for a month or so I am getting a weird rumbling sound as if a 2nd engine was running on the thing. The sound comes from the front passenger side and is present when Im driving straight or turning right. When I turn left, there is no sound!

I dont think its the engine as there is no sound (additional) when I rev up while parked. what do you guys think it might be? All help is appreciated.

Cheers
Sam

 

I think the first issue can be addressed by turning off the stability control while driving in the snow. The behavior is otherwise normal as the system is keeping you from spinning.
The second issue sounds like a CV joint going bad on the right side. Check the boot to see if it is torn.

 

If indeed is your ESP was trying to avoid skidding then the yellow triangle with a ! in the middle and a circle around it should be flashing telling you it's working at that moment~
zippy gg~ will simply a torn cv boot be causing those problem? or it must be the actual joint going bad?

 

A simple torn boot will not cause CV joint problems, but if left unaddressed, it will cause the CV joint to go bad pretty quick.

 

And make one hell of a mess, lol.

 

Thanks for the replies guys - I have an appointment with the dealership bright and early tomorrow...

 

If your car is not under warranty (which I doubt it is) I highly recommend you find a local audi/vw/porsche euro shop instead.

 

I think your "2nd engine " noise is more likely a wheel bearing that is going bad, from the turn right or going straight, but going away when turning left.

I think I have replaced 4 of my own over the last 20 some years, and had another replaced.

Price of bearing on my 5000 and 100, ran from 55 to 155 bucks, depending of who I got the price from. 55 buck bearing came in the same box, same brand, as at the higher priced vendor.

Going to a shop, never mind, you ain't gonna take your own parts in unless they are not Audi specs. Local mech could do the job, and might be happy to have you buy the parts to avoid having to try to source them. Might be cheaper, too, but I know lots on here prefer to have "specialists" do their work.

Did I not trust my local mech to work on my car, I would probably have to quit driving altogether. Hard to pay dealer service prices for work that is relatively easy to do, if you have any smarts and physically able to do.

Domestic vehicle from a "stealership" will leave the owner a lot poorer, too, compared to a lot, but not all, smaller shops, private owners.

Disclaimer: I realize that that Dealership has a million or more of physical plant to amortize through his rates and charges. So I won't deal with them if I can help it. Some parts I have to get from them. Those that I don't have to, I buy elsewhere.

Cheers,

George