My 2001 Audi A6 1.8T suffered a front wheel impact, which caused me to suspect the tracking may need to be checked. My local tyre dealer confirmed on his rig that the alignment was indeed out of specification, but said that the latest Audi software update prevented him from resetting it, and referred me to an Audi dealer.

I had the car serviced at my local dealer and asked for the front wheels to be tracked, but was told that as the car was a Quattro it would need a complete four-wheel alignment check. I pointed out that the car was not a Quattro - as I understood a Quattro to be, with four wheel drive -- but was told that “Quattro” was a term used to describe cars with a particular wheel alignment configuration, and not necessarily 4WD. I have had the steering alignment checked and adjusted before by tyre dealers. Had I been misinformed about the work done previously, or is there a retrospective change in technology at Audi?