It started a couple of weeks ago and I figured I had a wheel out of balance. I had been told before when this happened (10K miles ago) after an allignment and rotation that I had a bent rim in the front so they swapped that rim with the spare and the car was fine. Last week I brought it in and asked them to check the balance on the wheels, they said they did and a few weights had dropped off. Drove home and the car was still shaking. Brought it back and after their review they told me I had 2 bent rims, which was causing the problem. I had 4 new rims put on today and as soon as I hit the highway the vibration/shaking was back. What do you all think might be the real issue?

 

well depends on the tires . Are the tires new? Could be a loose or worn suspension component. Whats the tire pressure set at? Do you feel the vibration at braking ,acceleration or coast?

 

Tires are new (10K), I brought it to the place I bought the tires, they have done a re-allignment, went thru the report with me and it looks fine, claim they did not see anything wrong with the suspension, they are a tire shop not an Audi dealer so I think they are limited in knowledge base (not a knock on them, just specifying what they do) I've read posts about bearings and motor mounts as possible issues, I'm looking to get as much intel as I can because I want to return the rims for a full refind tomorrow and I'm sure it's not going to be an easy fight.

 

oh, and I figure the tire pressure is right as they swapped the tires onto the new rims today

 

well in the case that it might be aftermarket rims, that could be your problem. Motor mounts you would typically feel at idle or stationary when you rev the car or in drive. A vibration at highway speeds could mean bad tie rods or links, worn wheel bearings, or bent axles,or bent drive shaft (quattro only)If you duplicate the vibration speed, put the car in neutral and see if the shimmy goes away, if it does the trans can also be the fault. Its best to get an expert diag or else you may just be changing parts without fixing the problem. good luck

 

andits so easy to manipulate those alignment readings to read green when they really aren't...