Audi TT Electric Steering Column Failure Fix Guide

I had a similar electric steering issue with my 2012 Audi A5, sounds exactly like what you experienced. As someone with some experience working on cars, I first tried the basics like you did with the fuses. The electric adjustment system completely failed on mine, and after taking it to a workshop, they found a loose cable connection in the steering column. The wire harness had worked itself loose over time, causing intermittent failures before stopping completely. The mechanical steering components were perfectly fine, just like in your case. The repair involved accessing the steering column to reconnect and secure the wiring properly. Total cost was 95 Euro for diagnostics and repair. Much better than replacing the entire electric adjustment unit. Before suggesting more specific solutions, could you share: Any warning lights on the dashboard? Did the failure happen suddenly or gradually? Can you hear any noise when trying to adjust the steering position? Have you had any recent work done on the steering system? This would help identify if youre dealing with the same electrical fault I experienced.

Thanks for sharing the details about the wiring harness. My issues started gradually over a few weeks, with the electronic steering adjustment becoming inconsistent before failing completely. No warning lights showed up initially, but now theres a steady yellow steering warning. When pressing the adjustment controls, theres a faint clicking sound but no movement. Last service was at 98020 KM and included general maintenance but no steering-related work. The workshop did some electrical work on the headlights around that time though. Your repair cost sounds reasonable compared to what I feared. The column adjustment problem is annoying but knowing it might just be a connection issue gives me hope. Will book it in and have them check the wiring first before looking at more expensive component replacements.

Good to hear back about the symptoms. The clicking sound with your electric steering adjustment actually matches exactly what I experienced before finding the loose connection. Since you mentioned electrical work was done on the headlights during the last service, its possible something got disturbed in the wiring loom, these systems often share routing paths through the steering column area. From my repair experience, the gradual failure pattern strongly points to a wiring issue rather than a complete electric steering component failure. My clicking noise also turned out to be the relay attempting to activate but not getting proper contact through the loose connection. The steering warning light in your case is actually helpful, in my situation it only appeared after the system completely failed, which matches your timeline. If its the same mechanical fault I dealt with, the total repair should stay around the 100 Euro mark, much better than the 500-800 Euro some shops quote for full electric adjustment unit replacement. Quick tip: when you take it in, mention specifically about checking the wiring harness connections first. The gradual failure and clicking sound are key indicators that helped diagnose mine correctly the first time. Would appreciate an update after your repair to know if it was indeed the same wiring issue.

Thanks for all this information about the loose wiring possibility. The clicking behavior really does sound identical to what youre describing. The gradual steering adjustment failure combined with the timing of that electrical work on the headlights makes me think youre right about a possible disturbed connection. Going to schedule the repair for next week and will specifically ask them to inspect the wiring harness and connections in the steering column first. The electric adjustment system probably just needs a proper reconnection like in your case. Really relieved it might not need a complete unit replacement. Makes total sense about the shared wiring paths potentially being affected by the headlight work. Will definitely update the forum once I get it fixed, could help others who run into similar electric steering adjustment problems with the same symptoms. Even if it ends up being something different, starting with the wiring check is a smart troubleshooting step. Much better than jumping straight to replacing expensive components. 100 Euro range for the repair would be perfect compared to the 500 Euro+ I was worried about.