2003 AUDI RS6 Complaints

PURCHASED CAR USED AT 48K MILES (2003 AUDI RS6). BY A 52K MILES CHECK UP THE AUDI DYNAMIC RIDE CONTROL (DRC) SUSPENSION SYSTEM WAS DEEMED DEFECTIVE REQUIRING COMPLETE REPLACEMENT. IT WAS REPLACED WITH AN AFTERMARKET COIL OVER SUSPENSION BECAUSE OF FACTORY COST TO REPLACE THE DRC. *TR

A "BANGING" RATTLE FROM UNDER THE CAR WAS MY FIRST AND ONLY SYMPTOM. FAILED TWICE AFTER THAT BUT WITHOUT SYMPTOMS; IT WAS DISCOVERED BY DEALER INSPECTION. MY COMPLAINT IS ABOUT FREQUENCY AND COST OF THIS FAILURE & SUBSEQUENT REPAIR(S). *TR

DANGEROUS NATURE OF THE HANDLING WHILE DRIVING AS THE SUSPENSION SYSTEM HAS FAILED. IT IS OF HIGH CONCERN THE TWITCHY HANDLING AND SIDESTEPPING OVER BUMPS ON THE INTERSTATE. ROUNDING CURVES AT SPEED OVER EXPANSION JOINTS IS PLAIN DANGEROUS WHEN THE SUSPENSION SYSTEM (DYNAMIC RIDE CONTROL - DRC) FAILS. THE CAR BOUNCES, WHEELS LOSE CONTACT AND CAR SIDESTEPS. *TR

I OWN AN AUDI RS6 AND RECENTLY MY CAR'S SUSPENSION IN PARTICULAR THE SHOCKS FAILED. THE SYSTEM IS CALLED DRC AND USES HYDRAULIC SHOCKS THAT ARE CROSS CONNECTED THROUGH CENTRAL VALVES. WHEN ANY OF THEM LEAK OR FAIL THE OPPOSITE SHOCK WILL HAVE NO OR REDUCED PRESSURE AND FAIL TOO. WHEN THE SHOCKS STARTED TO GO THE CAR WOULD JUMP WHEN TAKING CURVES FOR INSTANCE THAT HAVE EXPANSION JOINTS ON THE INTERSTATE...THE REAR OF THE CAR WOULD HOP SIDEWAYS. THERE IS A VERY UNSTEADY CONDITION WHEN IT STARTS TO FAIL. THERE IS NO REAL WARNING AND NO WAY TO TELL WHEN THE SYSTEM IS FAILING. ONLY ONCE FULL PRESSURE IS LOST AND THE CAR BECOMES VERY TWITCHY IS IT OBVIOUS SOMETHING IS WRONG. THE DESIGN OF THE SHOCKS SEEMS TO BE INADEQUATE TO LAST A NORMAL LIFE AND ANY OF THEM FAILING CAUSES FULL LOSS OF THE SYSTEM ALL FOUR OF MY SHOCKS WERE LEAKING AT ONCE AND THE ENTIRE SYSTEM WAS REPLACED (ALL FOUR SHOCKS AND THE TWO CENTRAL VALVES). NO INDIVIDUAL SHOCK CAN BE REPLACED WITHOUT DOING THEM IN PAIRS AND REPLACING THE CENTRAL VALVES EACH TIME OR THE CORRECT PRESSURE CANNOT BE MAINTAINED. AUDI OF AMERICA REFUSES TO COVER THE SHOCKS UNDER WARRANTY ALTHOUGH THEY FAIL CONSTANTLY AND NOT FOR WEAR OR AGE REASONS. MINE WERE COVERED BY MY DEALER AS AN ACK OF GOODWILL BUT OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE COST ME $2400. NEXT TIME, WHICH THERE WILL BE A NEXT TIME THEY WILL NOT BE COVERED. THERE IS NO REAL ASSURANCE THAT THE NEW SHOCKS WILL LAST. *TR

AUTOMOBILE IS A TOP OF THE LINE 2003 AUDI RS6. THE SUSPENSION IS KNOWN AS DYNAMIC RIDE CONTROL (DRC) WHICH HAS LOUD CLUNKING UPON CORNERING AND FEELS QUITE LOOSE. I AM A AUTO ENTHUSIAST AND AMATEUR MECHANIC AND AUDI CLUB MEMBER. THIS IS A COMMON FAILURE ON THESE CARS AND MOST OF THE TIME AUDI MECHANICS ONLY SEEM TO BE ABLE TO TEMPORARILY REPAIR THE CARS, IF OUT OF WARRANTY, IT COSTS THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR A REPAIR WHICH ONLY SEEMS TO BE TEMPORARY. *TR

THE DRC FAILS. ORIGINALLY THE CAR FELT SLIPPERY ON OCCASIONS. NOT ALWAYS. DEALER NEVER FOUND ANYTHING. ONCE THE WARRANTY EXPIRED THEN THEY SAID THE SHOCKS WERE LEAKING AND THE DRC IS OUT IN THE FRONT AND THE REST OF THEM WILL GO BAD TOO. COST IS AT LEAST $2,900 AND COULD GO UP TO OVER $6,000 IF THEY FIX EVERYTHING, INCLUDING LABOR. *TR

MY 2003 AUDI RS6 HAS SUFFERED ITS 5TH DRC FAILURE IN 4 YEARS AS FRONT SHOCK ABSORBERS ONCE AGAIN LEAKED FLUID OUT RESULTING IN DANGEROUSLY IMPROPER HANDLING. IF I HADN'T KNOWN WHAT WAS HAPPENING IT COULD CAUSE ONE TO THINK THAT THE RACE TUNED SUSPENSION WAS WORKING AND THAT AGGRESSIVE DRIVING IN THIS 450 HORSEPOWER CAR COULD HAVE RESULTED IN A FATAL ACCIDENT. AUDI CONTINUES TO CHARGE ITS CUSTOMERS THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO REPLACE THIS FAULTY SYSTEM WITH MORE FAULTY PARTS AS THEY REFUSE TO REDESIGN THE SYSTEM AND OPT FOR INSTEAD PUTTING MORE FAULTY PARTS ON THE CAR WHICH THEY FULL WELL KNOW WILL FAIL AGAIN. PLEASE HELP US FORCE AUDI TO MAKE THIS RIGHT BEFORE SOMEONE LOSES THEIR LIFE AS A RESULT. IT MAY HAVE ALREADY HAPPENED BUT NOBODY HAS CONNECTED IT YET. THERE IS A WEBSITE FOR RS6 OWNERS THAT HAS TAKEN A POLL, AND OVER 75% OF THE 1200 CARS SENT TO THE USA HAVE SUFFERED AT LEAST ONE FAILURE, SOME AFTER ONLY A FEW THOUSAND MILES. THIS IS CRIMINALLY NEGLIGENT BEHAVIOR AND WE OWNERS ARE APPEALING TO YOU TO STEP IN AND START AN INVESTIGATION. REMEMBER, THIS IS THE SAME COMPANY THAT SUFFERED THE 'UNINTENDED ACCELERATION" FISACO IN THE LATE 80'S, AND IT WASN'T UNTIL 60 MINUTES DID A STORY ON IT THAT SOMETHING WAS DONE. WE NEED THIS KIND OF INTERVENTION TO FORCE THEM TO FIX THIS DANGEROUS FAULT. HOW MANY HAVE TO COMPLAIN UNTIL YOU DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS? *TR

I PURCHASED A BRAND NEW 2003 AUDI RS6 IN JAN/04, AND HAVE KEPT IT METICULOUS MAINTAINED BY THE DEALERSHIP ACCORDING TO THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS. I HAD A MAJOR SUSPENSION ISSUE WITH ALL SHOCKS GOING OUT AND RELATED PUMPS AT APPROXIMATELY 70,000 MILES. I HAVE RESEARCHED AND DETERMINED THAT MANY OTHER AUDI OWNERS (SEEMS LIKE MOST) WITH THIS SAME CAR HAVE ALSO REPORTED THIS SAME PROBLEM WITH RELATIVELY LOW MILES 40,000 TO 80,000. AFTER A VERY VOCAL COMPLAINT, AUDI DID SHARE IN THE REPAIR COSTS. HOWEVER; THIS HAS NOW LED AUDI TO OFFER NO OTHER ASSISTANCE WITH OTHER RECENT DEFECTS (SIGNIFICANT OIL LEAKS) THAT POPPED UP SHORTLY AFTER THIS ISSUE. THE SUSPENSION ISSUE IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND COULD RESULT IN A CATASTROPHIC EVENT. FORTUNATELY, I DID NOT EXPERIENCE ANY PERSONAL INJURY DUE TO THIS MAJOR ISSUE. HOWEVER; AUDI SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS EXPENSIVE REPAIR ISSUE THAT SEEMS TO BE A DEFECTIVE ENGINEERING FLAW AND IS PLACING THE TRAVELING PUBLIC AT GREAT RISK. *TR

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

MY 2003 AUDI RS6 HAS A DRC ISSUE, WHICH INVOLVES MY SHOCK ABSORBERS LEAKING FLUID AND IS CREATING A BOUNCING EFFECT THAT IS GETTING WORSE AND WORSE. THE VEHICLE HAS AN UNEASY AND UNSAFE FEEL AT LOW AND HIGH SPEEDS, ALMOST LIKE THE CAR IS ON ICE SKATES AND MEANDERING ALL OVER THE ROAD. AFTER READING MANY FORUMS, IT CAN BE CONCLUDED THAT 77% OR MORE OF THE 2003 RS6 OWNERS HAVE AND ARE EXPERIENCING DRC FAILURES THAT ARE RESULTING IN HUGE REPAIR COSTS ( FOR VEHICLES OUT OF WARRANTY). I CALLED THE AUDI EXCHANGE IN HIGHLAND PARK ILLINOIS, AND THE COST TO REPAIR THESE INHERENT LEAKING SYSTEMS IS $2200 PER AXLE. *TR