We seem to have this 'lovely' noise that is coming from the car. It is like a whirring noise that gets louder and higher pitched the faster we go. 140km/hr = real loud and high freq. If you let off the gas and car slows down, so does the pitch of the noise.

It is not engine / RPM related. At highway speed I shut the engine off...noise still there.

Could that be the wheel bearings? As we pretty much only have straight roads here...I have not noticed any change when going around a curve...I can't find a curve

It is a manual transmission...any chance it is coming from something there?

Any thoughts appreciated.

 

Might be a change in tires or if you have winter tires driving on a dry surface. I put on Yokohama IG20 winter tires and I noticed an increase in road noise, the faster I went, the louder it got. I had all my tires re-balanced, aligned, and that area checked and nothing out of the ordinary. So the diagnosis was just the aggressive tires. When I put my summers back, I guess we'll see.

 

Sounds like the bearings...does it sound like its coming from the left or right side of the car?

 

All I can tell is that it is coming from the front. I found a couple places where I could try "turning" but it does not alleviate the sound whether turning left or right.

Seems like 50km/hr is the magic number on when you really start hearing it...


I have an appt on Monday... will post what they find.

 

Its easy to find bearing noise for licence mechanic. This is specific nose.

 

sounds like a wheel bearing

 

Well that's what the shop said....front driver side.... $460 to replace... OUCH

 

Well I brought the car to the local Audi dealer to get the bearing replaced.

When I went to pick up the car they said they replaced the bearing but the noise is still there. I was steamed.

They said the bearing still needed replacing...I asked to see it and although it was not 100%...it was nowhere near as bad as the wheel bearings I had to get replaced on another vehicle a year ago. No doubt this could have gone a long time yet.

I was not a happy camper...but the dealer was understanding. He did not charge me for the bearing replacement pending further examination on what is causing the noise. We have to schedule a time and they offered to provide a courtesy car.

What got me mad is that many of the self diagnostics you can do to determine whether it is a bearing did not pan out. I had a co-worker who knows a bit about mechanics come for a ride and he said it wasn't the bearings...noise was coming from all around instead of the wheels.

So when I brought the car in and the dealer said it was the front left bearing I asked if they were sure because the noise is not just coming from the left. They said "Yup we are positive" They said they put some muffler thing on it and know that is where it is coming from.

So although annoyed, the dealership is (so far) showing they want to make right.

 

Dealer changed the oil to see if that had an affect...it didn't.

So they gave me two options... take apart the transmission to see what is causing the trouble... $1900 in labour...and then parts/labour to FIX the problem. Or get a new transmission for $7,000.


I feel sick.

Car runs and shifts fine...there is just the noise... might be cheaper to buy a louder stereo

 

Update?