weird irritating noise

[bigyin]

This is gonna sound like a daft one, but its driving me up the wall.

Everytime I get onto a motorway / Dual Carriage way and get the speed up to 70/80 I get this weird (I hate trying to describe sounds lol) low pitched 'Hoooing' sound (similar to feedback on an amp when you put the guitar too close, but not as high pitched nor as loud).

If i come off the throttle it goes, as soon as I put the throttle back on, it comes back. Drop below 65/70 and its no longer audible. Anyone got any clues to help me out? Just for my sanity more than anything else....... noises and cars...... nothing worse

 

[TM]

wheel bearing?

 

[a3tdi2001]

Sounds like my wife.

 

[Gavin0478]

wind noise...... split door seal window rubber

 

[paddy]

Whats the car ? if its quattro it sounds like a problem SarahA3 had with a drive shaft bearing on the back.

 

[Gavin0478]

its like the knocking from the rear.................
when you buy a used car always check their aint someone tied up in the boot!!

 

[sting3r]

Does it sound like its coming from somewhere on the passenger side, perhaps high up somewhere? I believe i had the same noise when i drove my car for the first time, going over a big bridge in the wind. Only happened as i approached 80mph. Heard it for one tiny bit the next day, but havent heard it since. My guess was wind coming through the vents. I've had the climate control on "auto" since then and it hasnt happened, but im not sure if thats just coincidence! It was pretty loud and a very weird noise.

 

[bigyin]

Doesnt sound like a wheel bearing, aside from that the noise shouldnt disappear when coming off the throttle.

I first thought it to be wind noise, but again wouldnt disappear when coming off the throttle.

The car is the S3. You've got me thinking about the drive shaft bearing, as I could swear the noise is coming from the rear of the car, again only above 70ish mph. I bought the car from audi, so still have warranty till next august. If its broke.....they're fixing it!

 

[paddy]

Fire a PM of to Sarah
http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/members/44979/sarah-s-a3.html
I think she will be able to help.

 

[bigyin]

Fire a PM of to Sarah
http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/members/44979/sarah-s-a3.html
I think she will be able to help.

Cheers for that mate, will send her a PM.

I know fine well if it was the drive shaft bearing, that I'll have a battle getting the dealership to:

1. Find the fault - no fault code = no problems
2. Admit it needs done = "Sir, its nothing serious, just tyre noise" (or something to that effect)
3. Fix it under the warranty.

The trials and tribulations of dealing with the audi dealership huh

Regards

 

[Sarah's A3]

Ive replied to your PM. Mine was the inner cv joints but was a pig to diagnose. The noise for me came more from the front but was hard to distinguish exactly. I also had juddering at 70mph but both went if I came off the throttle. May be worth checking your inner joints, mine had alot of play up and down and when taken apart there was no grease to be seen and the wear inside was increadable. Must admit I got my drive shafts checked out when the repairs were being done and all seemed ok then.
Get onto Audi, worth a shot.

Hiya P, hows it going??

 

[MFC9]

I had a similar problem with my S3 a few months back. Audi were convinced it was a wheel bearing, I on the other hand was not. After leaving it with them for 3 days they diagnosed a fault with the rear differential. Fortunately it was still under warranty at the time and was replaces F.O.C. get them go check it out as mine did it at the same speed only under load. Hope you get it sorted soon!

 

[bigyin]

I investigated the symptoms of Rear Diff noise, found a few Youtube Clips, one in particular which showed the throttle on and off and the noise for each. It sounds exactly like my car does.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CK8zAAw4AA - for anyone thats interested

I've booked my car into Audi next week to get them to have a look. Bit disappointed that they intend to charge me for the diagnostic work @£90 per hour, but if it means that they find the fault then I suppose its worth it. The Lass I spoke to said that if it was the Diff, they would have to see if it was covered under the warranty. I said that I'd be amazed if the 'approved audi' warranty scheme didnt cover such items, she agreed but said that it wouldnt be the first time.......oh joy.

Watch this space I suppose. I've gone from having an irritating noise in the car to major concerns regarding my Rear Diff in 1 day.....

 

[paddy]

Good luck

and set a time limit on diagnosis while you are at it. at £90 an hour thats £700 a day. My 3.2 went in for a misfire and it ran up a £2500 bill for diagnosing the problem...beware.

 

[RedDejavu]

Sounds like my wife.

Didnt know we share wifes LOL!

 

[bigyin]

Well update to this thread for future generations

Took the car to the dealership, and asked them to investigate the issue. The 'Master Tech' firstly took it out for a drive, then put it on the rollers. He came back to me telling me he couldnt hear anything on the road test nor could he replicate it on the rollers. I suggested that we go out a road test together so I could point out the noise. On our second road test, I pointed out the noise (which was more than obvious might i add). He agreed that there was a noise, but wouldnt commit to what it could be. When I suggested Rear Diff as per the posts above, he was again non committal saying it could be that, but there was no way to be sure as they couldnt replicate it on the rollers.

Upshot of all this is they intend to do ..... nothing. The service manager came out and explained that my 'Mechanical Warranty' simply meant that unless they could prove that there was something wrong with the car using photographic evidence the warranty will not pay out. As they would have to strip the diff down / apart to see if there was any wear, they werent willing to take the risk incase there wasnt. They basically told me to continue driving it in the hope it gets worse so they can more easily diagnose the issue.... effectively "drive it till it breaks".

Part of me is understanding of this, they do have a business to run and profit margins etc to maintain. If they stripped it all down, and it wasnt worn, they would have to incur the costs of stripping / rebuilding. As a company, they would be in ruin very quickly if they did this for all thier clients.

The other part of me however is not so understanding. 5 Months ago I bought an approved audi, which has developed a fault. Not only can they not tell me what the problem is, they're not willing to do anything about it until it gets worse. By which time my warranty could be out, and I end up footing the bill myself. Certainly not doing much for having confidence in the brand that is audi.

To be fair, they didnt charge me for the diagnostic work, given they didnt actually diagnose anything, but as it stands right now I have a potential fault with the car and theres nothing I can do about it expect wait and see..... oh the joys.

 

[sportback A3]

I'd call audi uk, express your mixed opinions and see if they can log this for you and help out in the future, should it get worse or break!