2015 Audi Q5

I was driving down the road when the steering stop working and I could not control the direction that the tires moved. The direction of steering would not respond to my movements and I was unable to control the car. I was able to break and bring the car to a stop, however, if I were moving at a much faster speed this would have been extremely dangerous. I brought the car to our mechanic and we were informed that the tie rods were broken, the threading on the attachment pieces was completely rusted out and the threads were bare. The piece simply came apart and was malfunctioning. No warning signs or service lights came on in the vehicle before this happened and we had no indication that there would be an issue with the steering when operating the vehicle. Our mechanic told us this was one of the most dangerous things he's ever seen happen in a car and that our life was at risk. We regularly have our car inspected and serviced and there was no indication that this would happen. Our car had a major engine problem in August 2023 and was at the Valenti Audi Dealership in Waterbury, CT, during that time the car was inspected and we were not told the tie-rods had any problems.

We have never had an issue with the vehicle until we recently faced very cold Temps (-10 to -20). Was driving the vehicle, with no issues, and stopped to get gas. Upon restarting the vehicle it displayed a power steering error with a do not drive. The steerling lost all power steering function and was extremely hard to turn. We let the vehicle sit and restarted it 3-4 times and on the fourth try, the error went away and there was no further issues with the power steering on this (first) occasion. This has now happened intermittently since the first occurrence (even with very cold Temps) but with no regularity. Not sure if this is a malfunction or if there is something in need of replacement. It is extremely concerning.

Car worked fine with no signs of any issues or concerns. I stopped at a light and the car turned off as the start-stop system normally does. However when the light went green, the car would refuse to start flashing "Steering Malfunction, Do not drive"... I'm at a light on a highway, what do you mean "do not drive"! The power steering was completely lost and it seems because of it, the entire system would refuse to allow the car to even start. The car had to eventually be pushed off the highway after causing an incredible amount of traffic and then towed. I contacted Audi and they appear to know about this issue, however will only warranty a very specific fault code, and will not honor any other faults in the system or any car that doesn't have a perfect history. Estimated cost to repair this absurd faulty steering rack according to online sources is almost $4000. Audi even recalled this system on they're higher package cars like the SQ5 but still wont recall this system in the Q5 line up.

The contact owns a 2015 Audi Q5. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed in cold weather, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the power steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN and that the warranty had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 126,000.

I WAS DRIVING ON CITY STREETS AND STEERING BECAME VERY DIFFICULT. TURNING CORNERS AT SLOW SPEED WAS VERY TOUGH AND JERKY. CONTROL OF THE CAR WAS VERY DIFFICULT THE SLOWER THE SPEED. HIGHWAY WASN'T TOO BAD BUT YOU IT STILL TOOK MORE EFFORT THAN WAS NORMALLY EXPECTED/EXPERIENCED. FIRESTONE SERVICE NOTED A OPENING IN THE UPPER STEERING SHAFT. THEY SPRAY LUBRICATED THE SHAFT AND IT APPEARS TO BE BACK TO NORMAL, BUT SINCE THERE THE SHAFT IS OPEN TO WEATHERING THIS IS NOT A PERMANENT FIX.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 AUDI Q5. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE, A WARNING MESSAGE REGARDING THE POWER STEERING WAS DISPLAYED THAT ALSO INSTRUCTED NOT TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE. THE STEERING WHEEL WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO TURN IN EITHER DIRECTION. DURING THE FAILURE, THE OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE WAS VERY COLD. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE LOCAL DEALER AUDI OF BOISE LOCATED AT 8400 W. FRANKLIN RD #1, BOISE, ID 83709 WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE STEERING RACK WAS FAULTY AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT YET REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 36,000.

UPDATE ON NHTSA TRACKING NUMBER 11184036 I RECEIVED A CALL FROM THE AUDI SERVICE AREA WHERE MY CAR WAS TOWED YESTERDAY FOR A FIX TO THE STEERING PROBLEM (ALARM TELLING ME NOT TO DRIVE DUE TO UNSAFE STEERING AND A LOCKED STEERING WHEEL) AUDI REFUSES TO REPLACE ANY STEERING RELATED PARTS UNLESS THE PROBLEM HAPPENS A SECOND TIME. SINCE THIS SEEMS TO BE A VERY COLD WEATHER PROBLEM, I WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT WINTER SINCE THE EXTREME COLD IS PROBABLY OVER FOR THIS YEAR AS WE ENTER SPRING. JUST HOPE IT DOESN'T HAPPEN WHILE DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY.