wlaudi

I'm experiencing a really annoying noise in the front end of my 2011 a4 and the dealer is stumped. It's a 2011 Audi A4 with the sports suspension. The car has 15,000 miles on it and the noise started without incident about 2-3 months ago. The noise appears to be coming from the driver's side of the car. It's hard to know for sure because the driver is sitting on that side of the car which may explain why it sounds like that's where it's coming from . The noise occurs when moving slowly over uneven pavement such as moving about 5-10 mph in a parking lot at the supermarket or backing out of a driveway. Sometimes it seems more prominent when the car has to dip, such as moving backwards going up a slope or downward into a driveway, however it sometimes happens on the street if the road isn't smooth. On smooth roads it never makes the noise even at low speeds. Once the car is moving more than 20 miles per hour or so it's gone or at least I never hear it.

I brought it in to my dealer twice in the past two weeks. Both times, their technician went for a ride with me and heard the noise. On the second time, they had their shop foreman drive the car with me for a good 20 minutes or so he confirmed the noise and said that is definitely not normal. They kept the car for a week. Initially, they replaced the wheel bearings and ball joints on both sides of the front end, but the noise continued. When I brought it back for the second time they called in a regional service manager who said he thought it was the struts. They special ordered the struts (I have the sports package), however, after replacing the struts the noise continued. Finally, they told me they went over virtually everything in the front end, lubed it, tightened everything and said they can't figure it out. They told me I could leave it with them for a few more days, but the service manager said they've done everything they could think of and (of course) their computers say that everything checks out normal.

They completely acknowledge that the noise is still there, but they say they have no idea what it could be and don't know what to do. I decided to take my car back from them and the service manager said I could bring it back again if it persists or gets worse, but he said he's not sure what they can do because they replaced everything they think it could be. If anybody has some thoughts I'd be very happy to hear them.

stan211

I have the exact same issue on my car, also a 2011 A4 sport pack quattro.
This is the list of things I have done so far:

- checked all joints and bolts, retorqued to factory specs by hand to
- checked all mounts and struts, retorqued as needed
- checked and lubed the sway bar mounts and end links

That covers everything the techs did on your car and much the same, no difference.
From talking to others it seems it could be a much more simple and cheap fix. I shall
be performing it soon and can report back.

- The OEM brake pads tend to move around in the caliper, if you take them out
and apply a rubberized anti squeal treatment and let them sit over night, that
should in theory fix the noise. I am going 1 step further and ordering new
NON oem pads which should sit more tightly in the caliper. Technically, this
would explain the reason why the noise is getting more annoying as the miles
pile up. Again, I will perform the fix as soon as I can and will report back.

- One other item that may be causing the noise on Sport pack cars is the
front CV axle. There was some talk of them having play in the joints and
that they tend to more around a bit. Personally, I doubt this is the cause
but might be worth running it by the techs.

If you do come back to the service bay, please ask if the techs did any of
the services mentioned above, it would be nice to know if they work.

All the best, and I hope something works out, not the first case of noisy
front ends in B8s.

gunsmoker

I have had this clang from the brake pads on other cars. I haven't taken the brakes apart on my A4 yet, but there are usually brackets (brass or some other yellowish metal) that apply some pressure to not let the pads move freely. The brackets can be bent slightly as needed to take care of that problem.

Apply a light pressure on the brake pedal when going over bumps to see if the clang disappears. If it does, then it's that issue.

uberwgn

(WL, you're not supposed to x-post threads.)

Damn it! My car is doing the exact same thing, rough surfaces, low speeds only. Super-annoying and getting worse.

Two weeks ago I took the shop foreman for a ride and he could hear it but it wasn't bad on the surfaces where we drove. He said he wanted to replace the "two lower ball joints" with the admission that there has been a problem and he wanted to fit the updated part. When I first departed the dealership I was convinced the problem had been corrected, but that was wishful thinking.

The noise originally was coming from just the passenger side of my car. Now it appears to be coming from both sides and is growing worse. I'm not at the point where I'm going to permit them to randomly start replacing parts when they don't know where the noise originates. To me, it seems like a strut noise or top strut mount. Don't know about the design on these Audi so I can't comment beyond that.

I think the noise started at about 5k miles...it definitely didn't do it when the car was new. Now the car sounds like an old Buick with a creaky suspension and 150k miles. Somewhat discouraging since I've got just 13k miles in a year of ownership.

My car is a 2011 A4 with sport pkg, 18" wheels. Ohhh, and welcome aboard, WL !!

uberwgn

I don't think it's the brake pads shifting around. It doesn't sound like that (I've had another car that did it) and our driveway is very steep requiring firm braking at the bottom and this is often when the noise is at its worst. It doesn't sound like pads moving about. My noise is like that of a car with a tired, worn-out suspension in every sense, it's not the knocking noise when pads don't fit right.

I can easily duplicate the noise/condition over any speed bump, big or small.

I'm anxious for a fix


Can you guys say when your cars were produced? Mine was 3/11.

thx.

stan211

My car was made on 5/15/2011. From talking to others, it seems that this is super common on Sport Package cars from 2011. I was at the stealership 2 hours ago and they verified it was not the brakes causing the noise (fitted new pads, shims, and retaining springs) and the noise is still there. Now I am super frustrated beyond words. I think it might be either the Strut mount as you pointed out (they tightened but did not replace it), could be the twin tube shocks themselves, or the cv shaft. At any rate, what gives with a New German car sounding rattier than a 15 year old buick (hell, I had a buick and it made less noise).

uberwgn

Man, that does suck. I haven't seen anyone else mention this problem until this thread today. I got very excited thinking there might finally be a resolution.

Didn't OP say they installed new struts in his car to no avail

gunsmoker

Mine was made in October of 2011. Don't have this... yet. 17.5k miles on the clock.

stan211

Wonder if it is an issue with the first 1/2 year batch of 2011 cars

gunsmoker

I believe uber's car was made after mine.