My A4 3.0 6 cylinder is on it's 3rd steering pump. The first was replaced in February 2008, and it now needs another one. My local dealer (Sewickley Audi) did the first repair. As this repair is being done at an independent shop, they refuse to cover the part in their 12 months parts warranty. This car also has a leak in the steering rack which they (the dealer) never found.
I'm fixing everything on this car and then selling it.
I have nothing good to say about Audi quality, as I've not experienced anything that remotely resembles a quality car.
Any ideas who in Detroit I can adress my complaint letter to?

 

I have seen the same thing on my sisters A4 3.0L - has gone through 3 power steering pumps in 80,000 miles. What could be casuing this? should the lines be flushed before installing a new one?

I have some good things to say about Audi quality and never judge a company based on one bad experience/car.

 

Could be the same problem my car has--a leak in the steering rack. Fluid leaks onto the steering pump and it ruins the part.
Audi had many opportunities to find the leak in the steering rack, and didn't. The car was in quite a few times to get the steering fluid filled. You would think they would have looked to see if there was a leak.

 

Are you the only owner of the car? If not, it's very possible someone filled the power steering with the wrong fluid at one point which can damage the components the the steering system.

 

Agreed, if the mineral type power steering fluid (Pentosin CHF11S) it could very well damage the components.

 

Yes, I'm the only owner. Bought the car new in 2003. The only people to refill the steering fluid were the techs at Sewickley Audi.

 

Update on the my sisters A4. She took it to Procare and they suggested replacing the power steering reservoir and asked $1200! for the job. My dad got the reservoir for like $40 and I helped him install it last weekend. PITA if you dont pull the headlight, which my dad didnt want to do, he said that the lights cannot be removed without taking them to the dealer to be recalibrated - any truth to this? Anyway, we cahnged the resevoir and topped it off with fluid then started her up. The power steering pump made the same terrible whining noise. The fluid was obviously filled with air and little bubbles were noticable in the reservoir. We checked online and found the procedure for bleeding out the air in the lines by jacking up the front of the car, and turning the wheel all the way left and all the way right while running the pump. Took us about 40 reps before the bubbles dissapeared completely. When we were done, the whining was completely gone! A simple procedure that may want to be considered before investing in new parts. Just check the reservoir for bubbles as an indicator.

 

$1200 sounds more like a rack than a resovior. Was yours leaking or cracked?? Either way, glad to hear you got it fixed

 

The resevoir wasnt leaking or cracked but the dude at Procare must have thought the filter in the reservoir was clogged or something.

 

Interesting post. I bought a 2003 A4 3.0 MT6 used this past summer with 70k miles. PS is fine. I have the full service history and it was never replaced. Just a counterpoint to all the bad experiences.