# This on-going annoyance with squeaking steering wheel **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [September 22, 2008, 11:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/this-on-going-annoyance-with-squeaking-steering-wheel/19877 "2008-09-22T11:53:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![shejjang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@shejjang](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shejjang)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 11:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/this-on-going-annoyance-with-squeaking-steering-wheel/19877/1 "2008-09-22T11:53:25Z")
Hi, all. I posted a question about having a squeaky steering wheel on my '01 A6 some time ago. Since then, I’ve changed the fluid, but the problem just won’t go away. I can feel the tiny vibration when it squeaks. So I’ve decided to put the wheel in different positions, just to see if it would make a difference, and it did! When the steering wheel was placed at the lowest position, it stopped making squeaky noise. I can’t drive with the steering wheel all the way down… Any idea here? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![common-sense-answer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/common-sense-answer/32/716_2.png) [@common-sense-answer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/common-sense-answer)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 12:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/this-on-going-annoyance-with-squeaking-steering-wheel/19877/2 "2008-09-22T12:22:04Z")
Don’t Be Hood-winked! Are you sure it’s coming from under the hood? I had a car, not an Audi, that had a steering squeak. You couldn’t tell exactly where the sound was coming from. It sounded scary. I had well meaning people telling me it sounded serious and possibly dangerous, but I figured out it only involved plastic covers surrounding the column (dashboard area). the fact that your wheel position changes the sound makes me think it’s trim. Otherwise, it is possibly steering shaft/shaft joints, hopefully not more expensive hydraulic things. ---
**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 1:00pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/this-on-going-annoyance-with-squeaking-steering-wheel/19877/3 "2008-09-22T13:00:23Z")
I think the noise is coming from the column, or the steering mechanism, under the dashboard, and not from the power steering under the hood. It could be as simple as two plastic trim pieces rubbing together. Keep searching. ---
**Author:** ![art1966](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/77aa72/32.png) [@art1966](https://community.cartalk.com/u/art1966)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 1:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/this-on-going-annoyance-with-squeaking-steering-wheel/19877/4 "2008-09-22T13:18:03Z")
If the squeaking happens when you are turning the wheel, it might be the “clock spring” electrical cable inside the steering column. I suffered with that on two cars ('00 Camry and '99 Escort); it seemed to be worse in the Summer (or was it the Winter??). I decided not to fix it because: 1) It’s pretty expensive; 2) There was too good a chance that the new parts would start squeking, too. This seems to be a common problem. ---
**Author:** ![common-sense-answer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/common-sense-answer/32/716_2.png) [@common-sense-answer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/common-sense-answer)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/this-on-going-annoyance-with-squeaking-steering-wheel/19877/5 "2008-09-22T14:26:21Z")
Have You Turned In This Direction, Yet? I noticed one TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) for this car, mentioning steering and noise. Maybe a nice dealer could shed some light on it for you. Click this link: [http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/tsbs/results.cfm](http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/tsbs/results.cfm) then click: Get Summary Sorry, they’ve got problems with their website today. I couldn’t link. Here’s a copy: Service Bulletins Summary Make / Models : Model/Build Years: AUDI / A4 2002-2005 AUDI / A6 1998-2004 AUDI / ALLROAD QUATTRO 2001-2004 AUDI / S4 2004-2005 AUDI / S6 2001-2004 Service Bulletin Number : 480501 NHTSA Item Number : 10012767 Summary Description : POWER STEERING, NOISY. TO INCLUDE 2006 MODELS. \*TT