2010 S3 DSG/S-Tronic Whine ??

[Grant Hay]

Hi Guys , been lurking here for a few weeks now and just collected my S3 today.

When I test drove the car it had a whine/high pitched noise from it on road test , I advised the salesman to have this checked where they had diagnosed it to tyre noise and funnily enough , the car has budget tyres which are new all round.

I accepted this and collected the car which is when I noticed a whining noise coming from the car on the motorway.

at around 70mph the car starts to make a whining noise which gets a lot worse or can be provoked by coming off the throttle on the overrun like there's backtorque on the engine and it gets a lot louder and will stay there until the car coasts below 60 mph.

When this noise is happening and you knock the car into Neutral then the noise instantly goes away which would lead to believe its the gearbox or a haldex ?

Other than this , the car drives faultless and gear changes are lightening and quiet.

Long story short , I need to know if this is characteristic of the dsg boxes and do they all make some noises and just live with it or is there something internal that's wrong and I could end up having to put a new gearbox or diff in the car ? which is why I need to act fast with this to return it to the dealer if its something major, just weird why its noisy at certain speeds or revs and faultless everywhere else.

I will try and get the car booked into Edinburgh Audi to see if a technician can come a roadtest with me so I can present any findings to the non Audi dealership I bought the car from.

Any help or advice on this would be very much appreciated

Cheers

Grant

 

[Krony]

Could be the rear diff maybe ?

 

[Grant Hay]

Could possibly we'll be the rear diff

Is hard to isolate what end the noise is coming from but it does sound more like the front

When I put it into neutral and say traveling at 60 then the diffs would still be turning albeit with no drive to them so you would think the noise would stay apparent whilst in neural also

 

[SootySport]

Call me a numpty if you will but is DSG the same as S Tronic?

 

[Grant Hay]

As far as I know , think s tronic is just audis version of a dual clutch gearbox

 

[TorqueTerrorist]

Take it back now! Accepting a car that is faulting will end in tears. The garage won't get a DSG fixed. The used car market is fierce at the moment. I have a friend with over 100 cars in stock and he said he loses on half the cars he sells and makes profit on the other half balancing things out. All I'm getting at is that a DSG box is expensive to repair or replace. They won't want to lose money on the car.

 

[Grant Hay]

I know what you are saying but I do really like the car and I know that by taking it back to the dealer then there's no way they have the facilities to fix it and doubt they would take it to Audi to have it sorted , plus this dealer is about 100 miles away.

I don't know if I'm being too ocd with it and there might actually be nothing wrong with it but with the whining noise then I think there may be.

I don't mind taking it to Audi to get a second opinion before getting in touch with the garage

What is funny is that if the car is driving at 70 with the noise then it's put into neutral then surely the internals and diffs are still turning at re same speed , albeit with no load through them so you would still think that it would have a noise if it was dsg bearings etc so could even be something in engine that's whining at that speed or revs , it doesent do it when the car is stationary and revving it

Either way I know I'm not going to diagnose it over the Internet but would like a second opinion just to make sure and to decide on next steps

 

[sheridan94]

I had a very similar issue on my manual and at the same speeds etc.
I even had a AA inspection who diagnosed it as a transmission noise on over run. When taking it to my garage they were concerned the solenoid on the diff had gone.

All it was in the end was a misshaped tyre.

Honestly try the tyres first before jumping onto bigger things and seems a good idea to change from budget tyres.

 

[BillTheButcher]

As far as I know , think s tronic is just audis version of a dual clutch gearbox

Yes, S tronic is what Audi decided to call their DSG.

I don't know what (if any) the differences are between an S3 and an RS3 in terms of diff/gearbox but I can confirm that my RS3 doesn't make any whining noises at any speed.

 

[Grant Hay]

Thanks for the replies guys , I had presumed it was the cheap tyres and accepted there diagnosis saying this is what made the noise , but you would think that when its making the noise and its put into neutral then the noise would still be there if it was a tyre or diff etc but the noise instantly goes away.

Waiting on the garage phoning me back to try and get this sorted , car has done 32000 miles so not even had its dsg oil and filter change yet.

Cheers

 

[DeckedS3]

Sorry, but I'd be taking it back... It sounds expensive!

 

[Bazzle]

Both my previous R32 and my current S3 (DSG's) make a whining noise at about 100kph (62mph).
It is only soft but with the radio off you tend to listen for it. The R32 got over 100,000ks with the noise not changeing.

 

[Grant Hay]

Quick update , The garage has collected the car and is taking it away to investigate.

Will see what they come back with.

 

[Grant Hay]

The car has now been sent to a VAG specialist which is near the dealer I bought the car from and not a Audi main dealer.

They have identified that there is a noise and that it is barely present when the car is knocked into neutral so doesn't rule out diffs

Really starting to get cold feet on this car and not sure whether to give them time to fix it or to wash my hands of it.

Seems to have taken nearly a week for them to get it looked at and confirm that there is a fault/noise so I'm not holding out much hope , If it Is a faulty diff or gearbox etc. then I would imagine they will do whatever possible to get out of paying these costs and hence the worry about keeping the car.

 

[SootySport]

I would ask the dealer for a full refund of the cost of the car now but legally they are entitled to have the gearbox repaired and hand the car back to you, within a reasonable time frame, how long I don't know.

I just bought an A3 with Stronic and had this thread in mind when test driving, made damn sure there no noises or maladies before I drove home, thanks for that and hope you resolve your issue.

 

[Grant Hay]

Glad it could be of some help to somebody lol

I'm really not sure what the legal aspect of buying the car with a fault then what the circumstances are if you wish to return the car due to it not being fit for use.

Its actually written on the order form that I wanted the noise looked at and sorted as part of the conditions of me purchasing the car which they have not done and blamed it on tyre noise.

I'm starting to lose a bit of faith in the car and dealership due to their poor communications etc and even though they are taking steps to fix the car then am I within my rights to tell them I don't want the car and want my money back ? the car isent fit for use and had to be returned less than 24 hours after it was collected.

Ive got two options basically , either give them a chance to sort it and potentially be left with issues further down the line or do I try and return the car and wash my hands of it.

 

[SootySport]

By all means go to the dealer and ask for your money back. If they are reputable it shouldn't be a problem.
If they insist on repairing the car for you, properly of course, write a letter giving them 2 weeks to repair it and return the car to you, don't rely on verbal agreements. If neither scenario happens have a word with your local Trading Standards office, they'll advise what to do.

 

[Grant Hay]

Final update on this ,

The dealer has confirmed that there is an internal defect in the gearbox on the S3 so they have offered to pay me my money back.

Thanks for all the great advice

Not sure whether to go for another dsg one or just get a manual this time

 

[pburv]

Final update on this ,

The dealer has confirmed that there is an internal defect in the gearbox on the S3 so they have offered to pay me my money back.

Thanks for all the great advice

Not sure whether to go for another dsg one or just get a manual this time

Stick with a dsg they are worth the money (I think so)
At least you know now what to lookout for when taking another for a test drive.
Take your time there are plenty out there.
Good luck and let us all know what you get...

 

[SootySport]

Phew, that's a relief! As for DSG or manual, only you can decide. Hope you find what you want.

 

[Sayam]

Don't let this bad experience but you off DSG, it's an awesome box.

Tbh depending on what it is I'd be inclined to keep the car and get a specialist to upgrade & refurb it, at least you know it won't fail again for the time you have the car...