Whining Noise from back of car

[bezza]

Hi,

I've noticed a weird whining noise on my 2007 S3. It only happens when travelling along between 55-60mph and is coming from the back of the car.

I recently swapped the wheels round from front to back, that had no effect.

Just wondering if anybody has any idea what this might be?

Thanks Bezza

 

[Boydie]

Are you still getting it with the front wheels now on the back?

Have you hit any big pot holes recently?

Could be a wheel bearing but I had something similar in my TDI and had priced up 2 new wheel bearings for the rear of the car - turned out it was the tyres!! They were warpped and caused the car to whine under acceleration and constant speeds.

 

[bezza]

Are you still getting it with the front wheels now on the back?

Yes

Have you hit any big pot holes recently?

Who hasn't! The roads are like swiss cheese at the moment! Saying that, I'm always very careful, as far as I'm aware I've not done any damage.

Could be a wheel bearing but I had something similar in my TDI and had priced up 2 new wheel bearings for the rear of the car - turned out it was the tyres!! They were warpped and caused the car to whine under acceleration and constant speeds.

I also thought it might be tyre related, I've had that before on a previous car. However moving the tyres round on the car made no difference. So I'm thinking it's something not related to the alloy or tyre.

I also only get it when at a steady speed between 55-60mph. Never hear it when accelerating.

 

[Boydie]

Take the wheel off and jack up the back of the car. Turn the hub round to see if you can hear any scratching or what would sound like a dud bearing. If the rotation is smooth, then your bearings should be ok.

Other than that, if the car is still under warrenty, get audi to look at it asap!

 

[Phil_T]

Wheel Bearing, Trust Me

 

[alistairm1]

You haven't got my mother-in-law in there, have you?

 

[gordongecko]

Do you get the noise in all gears or in a specific gear only?

 

[bezza]

Do you get the noise in all gears or in a specific gear only?

Hadn't thought to check that! Checked on my way into work this morning... still get the same noise irrespective of what gear I'm in.

I've booked the car into my local dealer as it's still under warranty, so I'll wait to see what they come up with....

 

[alfiejts]

Aww - you just beat me to the mother-in-law joke.....

 

[gordongecko]

I was asking because my '08 S3 makes a whining noise in 5th gear only (shift up or down and it stops).. has been in the dealers for a total of over a month last 6 months.. first they changed the driveshaft (made no difference) then they stripped the gearbox and changed the 5th gear, made it slightly better. The whine is still there though and they can't diagnose it and I have given up to be honest as it doesn't seem to be affecting performance or anything. Interestingly the dealer told me that since I highlighted it the dealer has seen 2 other S3s with the same problem (1 customer brought in, 1 dealer heard noise when taking for test drive on unrelated problem).... so seems to be an issue with S3s somewhere, but fifth gear only.

Your problem sounds like something else, perhaps wheel bearing as already suggested

 

[bezza]

For anyone who might be interested... it turned out to be the rear diff that was faulty. The dealer replaced this part and the noise went away. The dealer did mention that they had done a number of these on the S3's.

However... the rear diff was replaced two months ago... it's just failed again!!!!

A similar noise started about a week ago, and within a week it's now drowning out the radio! It's booked to go back in tomorrow for another rear diff!