Nostromo

Sorry for another noise thread, but this Audi is such a different car than I've ever owned and am getting used to it.

2011 FWD and CVT, at highway speeds I'm noticing a very faint whir sound. It changes with wheel speed (not engine/tranny speed). It sounds a LOT like a miniature fan going bad on a piece of electronic equipment (fans in an old DVR or hard drive enclosure). I need to confirm tonight on my commute, but I don't seem to notice it until I'm about 20 miles down the road... like something needed to reach a certain state before it activated.

My alignment is slightly off (new off the lot! need to go back this weekend and have them fix) so it COULD be tire noise, but it sounds awfully mechanical.

jdong

Could you be describing turbo spool? On these A4's it's pretty faint and only audible around 2000-2500RPM for me under a slight load.

snagitseven

If it changes with car speed only, you might be right about hearing tire noise. Some tires get noisier as they wear. Check to make sure nothing is stuck in a tread like a small stone or some such.

Nostromo

I realized this noise is there all the time. My first 20 miles on the freeway are exceptionally noisy stretches of concrete that drown the noise out. When I get closer to home the road is much quieter.

It's most likely not the turbo - it changes with wheel speed. Plus it doesn't have that higher pitched sucking sound I normally hear when under boost.

Hopefully it's tire noise. But I only have 1700 miles on these tires. I took a quick look last night in the parking garage but didn't see anything obvious. Will look for something stuck in there. Pressure is good.