2016 Q70 3.7 AWD

I'm noticing a groaning like sound when I make sharp turns going down the parking garage. It only happens the first couple of times when the cars cold and it won't do unless I hit the gas while making the turn.
Naturally you'd think PS pump but since it doesn't do it unless gas is applied I'm wondering if it's something related to the AWD. Any thoughts? Thanks

try post a video

How's your PS fluid? Might just be low.

You might need to test it a little more intensely. Does it come with a binding/hopping/holding-me-back feel?

If the answer is yes, then it is probably the AWD system. The front and rear drive shafts have been coupled and locked in AWD.
It could carry all the symptoms of a bad rear differential - grinding, howling when taking turns. When it happened to my M56x, my fuel economy took a dump as well. It started when we had some snow on the ground and the AWD seems to have coupled and refused to let go. Great for WOT launches and gradual corners, but crappy for tight turns in parking lots & driveways.

I pulled my AWD fuse and the car felt like a totally different car. Yes, the AWD light was on in the cluster, but the car handled much lighter.


Oh...and when I reinstalled the fuse after a short trip around town, the car went back to behaving as normal.
YMMV

Bazooka Joe, I had the same issue twice and it turned out to be the transfer case both times. It took the dealer a while to find the issue. This was a few years back. First time fixed it for about a year, then the issue came back and they replaced the part again and it stayed away for good. Hope this helps.

R

No binding, hopping, or hold-me-back feel. When I first heard it I thought the tire was rubbing on something when I turned sharply. Pretty sure it's not PS related.

Reggiebrown40, when you brought yours in for it was it easy for them to diagnose? Mine is still pretty subtle with it only being a couple of times when the car is cold. I would suspect it to be something like the transfer case. If so it should be under warranty for a while longer.

Bazooka Joe, it was hard to get them to figure out the problem because it wasn't easy to duplicate. It only happened on cold mornings on the first start up. After that, the car was fine. If the car sat over night it would happen on first start up, so that's what I asked the dealer to do. They kept my car overnight and sure enough, the groaning happened when they started the car cold and turned out of the parking lot. Ask your service advisor to do the same and include that they should roll all the windows down or have a second tech walk around the car while turning so that they can isolate the issue. It occurs at all speeds so that shouldn't be a problem.

The transfer case, if I recall correctly, was around 1800 dollars part only. Not a cheap repair.

FWIW the service tech I had said that there wasn't anything physically wrong with the transfer case and that the groan was more of a nuisance than anything else. I am inclined to believe him because there was no performance loss but I insisted that the part be replaced (under warranty at the time) so that there were no issues further down the road.

R

Thanks RB40 for all the info. Your situation describes mine exactly so I'm assuming it's the same problem. It's going in in a couple of weeks.

You're welcome Bazooka Joe. Don't let them give you a "issue not found" answer. Stay on them like I did.

Since it's so subtle I'm afraid this will be a long and arduous battle but we'll see..... Thanks again