A3 2.0TDi 140 Siren noise from turbo??

Not this chestnut again

DO NOT listen to everyone who says its the turbo. As per the link to the last thread its a costly mistake as i found out to listen to all the experts.

some make the noise and some dont

i even rang CR turbos and he thought it was quite amusing as he gets loads of income from this. He said usually there is nothing wrong with most of the turbos sent in for refurb
 
Not this chestnut again

DO NOT listen to everyone who says its the turbo. As per the link to the last thread its a costly mistake as i found out to listen to all the experts.

some make the noise and some dont

i even rang CR turbos and he thought it was quite amusing as he gets loads of income from this. He said usually there is nothing wrong with most of the turbos sent in for refurb

Agree with this, my car made the siren noise from 50k-119k. I only replaced the turbo when the noise vastly increased overnight as i suspected failure wasn't too far off. Still wasn't actually leaking any oil internally though and the VNT was still moving albeit a little notchy.
 
Start worrying when the car decides to go into limp mode and you get overboost codes from VCDS scan.
 
Not this chestnut again

DO NOT listen to everyone who says its the turbo. As per the link to the last thread its a costly mistake as i found out to listen to all the experts.

some make the noise and some dont

i even rang CR turbos and he thought it was quite amusing as he gets loads of income from this. He said usually there is nothing wrong with most of the turbos sent in for refurb

I agree mine did it for ages before overboost set in but my turbo stopped making the noise when I had it reconed So it must be the turbo making the noise but I'm interested in what part .....

Is it the chipped vanes like in my post above?
 
Mine does it between 1000 & 2000rpm. Actually quite like it! And won't be changing the turbo till I start getting overboost codes & even then I'll strip it down first

Most things that spin at figures approaching 1000 revolutions a second will make a bit of noise
 
Just thought i'd update this.....

18 months on and its still making the noise but working perfectly fine :)

So for anyone who stumbles on this with the same noisy turbo problem..... don't jump to the conclusion that your turbo is on its way out!
 
Just thought i'd update this.....

18 months on and its still making the noise but working perfectly fine :)

So for anyone who stumbles on this with the same noisy turbo problem..... don't jump to the conclusion that your turbo is on its way out!

But don't just ignore it because if you do, you may be sorry !!
 
The last two posts some up this topic completely, damned if you do and damned if you don't. Has anyone recorded the noise? Does anyone get a noise when you come of accelerating and just drive at a steady 1400-1750 revs which goes as soon as you accelerate again?
 
Does anyone get a noise when you come of accelerating and just drive at a steady 1400-1750 revs which goes as soon as you accelerate again?

With mine (still the same turbo noise as when i got it), I start getting the 'siren' sound at around 1500rpm. If I hold the rev's there the sound and pitch of the turbo remain the same, pitch and volume increase as the rev's go up.

I can record mine and bang it on youtube for you if you want?

In summary from what I've read, some of the seals on the turbo aren't the best and are prone to causing the siren noise. My mates 2.0tdi has a similar sound but much quieter. If you car goes into limp mode, and the noise is getting worse, then its time to get it checked out. I believe you can get a turbo refurb for around the £500-600 mark including labour?
 
Update from mine:

Started making a siren noise that you could hear from a few streets away, which made people turn around in the street thinking it was a police car.

Recon turbo was put on under warranty, has had a quiet siren noise like everyone describes and like my old one before it became really really loud, makes good power, still drives perfect.

Nothing to worry about, drive on till it gets ridiculously loud!
 
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same as me... get a hybrid and remap = 200+ bhp and cheaper than an OEM :)

I'd watch out with stock components mate!

A mate of mine has just had a Leon 2.0tdi 170 mapped to something around the 210-220 mark apparently without doing any research whatsoever beforehand! The map was done by some random guy..... Judging by the way my mate drives, I think he'll be in the garage with a goosed car before long!
 
I'd watch out with stock components mate!

A mate of mine has just had a Leon 2.0tdi 170 mapped to something around the 210-220 mark apparently without doing any research whatsoever beforehand! The map was done by some random guy..... Judging by the way my mate drives, I think he'll be in the garage with a goosed car before long!

I've done my research, getting a full turbo back miltek, uprated hoses, + a custom map by amd with the torque capped so the clutch won't melt untill I can afford a better one. Ill be happy with 200-210bhp :)
 
Fair play man :) are you 140 or 170? I only thought the 140 could handle up to 190 safely on stock internals??
 
Mine just started doing this. I noticed it yesterday. It does it immediately when I fire it up, then does it even at low revs even below 1000 (not idle) and even in neutral. When I come off the accelerator it does it for an extended period of time.

Before I noticed it yesterday it whistled, but only an ordinary turbo sound at about 1500 revs and up and it didn't sound loud, it used to make a little whistle between gears, which to me all sounded normal. It was only yesterday I noticed it. Mines been remapped to 178 bhp and after that it was still OK for a month. Now a mo th later it started for the first time to this extent.

I don't know whether to take it off and strip it down and replace any parts myself, or to have the garage buy and fit a reconditioned one or to just buy an uprated one that can manage up to 250 bhp, to make sure it has plenty of headroom.
 
Mines got the siren noise, quite prominent too.. Turbo was replaced, 18 months ago, 42k miles, has made the noise since I remember. I've got no dpf so figured that might emphasise the noise. Pulls great though so I'm not worried by it.
 
Mines got the siren noise, quite prominent too.. Turbo was replaced, 18 months ago, 42k miles, has made the noise since I remember. I've got no dpf so figured that might emphasise the noise. Pulls great though so I'm not worried by it.

Does yours do it even when you're not in gear when you rev it and leave go and the revs drop down?
Mine is? Mines only just started though, which is strange.

Why did you get your turbo changed? Was it because of the same noise or for a different reason and when did yours start doing it (how long after the turbo change)?

Cheers mate.

Just trying to get a gauge of whether I should do anything about it.
 
I'm in it now, just driven 20miles and it does it in neutral. Like you say, rev it, hold it, let revs drip and siren noise comes in. It
was replaced about 2 months before I bought the car, unknown reason?.
 
I'm in it now, just driven 20miles and it does it in neutral. Like you say, rev it, hold it, let revs drip and siren noise comes in. It
was replaced about 2 months before I bought the car, unknown reason?.

I'll make a video of mine mate and if you would, could you let me know if yours is exactly the same? It's always hard to explain these things.

I'll upload it to youtube then post a link later.

Cheers.

Rob.
 


There's a vid of mine. It doesn't sound as loud in the vid as it does in reality, but you get the picture.
 


There's a vid of mine. It doesn't sound as loud in the vid as it does in reality, but you get the picture.


That's how mine sounded before I got mine reconditioned. Just moving the car out of parking space was getting siren sound. It's the lower deeper sound under 2000 rpm that I was worried about! (Must admit never heard turbos making a seagull noise before!)

My original turbo was on the 19k / car tells you it needs a service rubbish. 19k oil changes with diesel no wonder the turbo packed up. VW GROUP screwed up with this!

Now gets serviced once a year or 6000 miles for oil service.

My garage used Midland turbo & replaced oil feed pipe & oil / filter. Only get higher pitched whistle boost after 2000 rpm now. Much quieter & let car idle for a minute after driving to cool turbo bearing down.
 
That's how mine sounded before I got mine reconditioned. Just moving the car out of parking space was getting siren sound. It's the lower deeper sound under 2000 rpm that I was worried about! (Must admit never heard turbos making a seagull noise before!)

My original turbo was on the 19k / car tells you it needs a service rubbish. 19k oil changes with diesel no wonder the turbo packed up. VW GROUP screwed up with this!

Now gets serviced once a year or 6000 miles for oil service.

My garage used Midland turbo & replaced oil feed pipe & oil / filter. Only get higher pitched whistle boost after 2000 rpm now. Much quieter & let car idle for a minute after driving to cool turbo bearing down.
Haha. I did wonder if anyone would mention the guls. Is yours standard or did you have a remap mate? I'm wondering whether to upgrade the turbo since mines on 178 bhp now.
 
Haha. I did wonder if anyone would mention the guls. Is yours standard or did you have a remap mate? I'm wondering whether to upgrade the turbo since mines on 178 bhp now.

Mines the 170 bhp tdi PD in standard tune. Used to be remapped (probably around 200 bhp) but think original software was reinstalled with injector replacement recall at Audi. I'm only assuming but think they might have had to do diagnostic checks when they replaced injectors. Came back feeling slower & this was on the original turbo before it started giving problems.

Turbo on mine had a worn shaft bearing. Play in bearing eventually allows impeller to catch side of internal casing either chipping impeller or unbalancing it. Noise can increase due to this wear or unbalance.

If yours is remapped it could be why you are getting more turbo noise? You need to increase boost & fuelling I would think to make more power?

If you can put up with the noise... stick with it but nurse it along. Keep revs low until engine fully warmed up & idle for a minute after driving.

For info.....Main symptom that my turbo was shot was oil the car used. Smoked badly on start up & I had to put about a litre a month in engine. Since turbo swap don't use hardly any.....probably about 1/2 litre between yearly services.

What's your oil usage like?
 
Mines the 170 bhp tdi PD in standard tune. Used to be remapped (probably around 200 bhp) but think original software was reinstalled with injector replacement recall at Audi. I'm only assuming but think they might have had to do diagnostic checks when they replaced injectors. Came back feeling slower & this was on the original turbo before it started giving problems.

Turbo on mine had a worn shaft bearing. Play in bearing eventually allows impeller to catch side of internal casing either chipping impeller or unbalancing it. Noise can increase due to this wear or unbalance.

If yours is remapped it could be why you are getting more turbo noise? You need to increase boost & fuelling I would think to make more power?

If you can put up with the noise... stick with it but nurse it along. Keep revs low until engine fully warmed up & idle for a minute after driving.

For info.....Main symptom that my turbo was shot was oil the car used. Smoked badly on start up & I had to put about a litre a month in engine. Since turbo swap don't use hardly any.....probably about 1/2 litre between yearly services.

What's your oil usage like?

That doesn't sound healthy. Sounds like bits of fan blades could end up in the engine.

Just been to the garage. I've put it in for a service, arranged that last week. They said it needs to go on the ramp to have a proper look, but he thinks it could just be a boost pipe on mine.

Funny thing is, recently I noticed the dump valve on occasion has a little whistle. Now that the siren noise is here I never hear the dump valve anymore at all. Not sure if the power has dropped a little too. It's hard to tell, it still has plenty of power but not sure it ramps up suddenly like it used to with the boost.

I meant to check the oil this morning before I went out but I forgot. I think I'll go check it now.

I heard that if the bearings are going it causes oil to get dumped out the exhaust in the form of white smoke or something? I've not checked for that yet either.

Spoke to the guys who chipped it and they said I'd need a lot more doing if I used a hybrid turbo if I did come to change it.

I don't think they're keen on me taking it back there.
 
Yep that's what I was fearful of.....small bits of titanium impeller or turbo casing in my engine. Got it swapped asap.

One thing to bear in mind if upping performance is the anchors (brakes)! 140 bhp only have 288mm discs on front whereas 170 bhp have 312mm front discs.

Another is the clutch & dual mass flywheel. They are evenly matched to performance & can start to slip if you get too silly!
If you've already got it at 178bhp it's something to bear in mind if going any further. To be honest mine ate tyres when it was mapped! You could still wheel spin it in 3rd accelerating up hills.
 
Yep that's what I was fearful of.....small bits of titanium impeller or turbo casing in my engine. Got it swapped asap.

One thing to bear in mind if upping performance is the anchors (brakes)! 140 bhp only have 288mm discs on front whereas 170 bhp have 312mm front discs.

Another is the clutch & dual mass flywheel. They are evenly matched to performance & can start to slip if you get too silly!
If you've already got it at 178bhp it's something to bear in mind if going any further. To be honest mine ate tyres when it was mapped! You could still wheel spin it in 3rd accelerating up hills.


Haha, that's madness.

To be honest, I'm happy with the 178 bhp I have already.
I just want to be able to swap out the turbo with something similar but more reliable/stronger, as I've read too much about the original turbo being unreliable and it's really put me off the idea of swapping it out for the same model.

My Turbo won't be the same as the one in the 170hp version I guess, so it's probably not as strong and I don't think they're interchangeable from what I've read.
 
Half of problem with modern diesels of most brands seem to be the soot & crap getting all over internal components that can cause problems! I bang in injector cleaner once a month to keep it down but don't think you can stop it. Not sure if other turbo types will be more reliable?
 
Well I appreciate your advice anyway mate. With a bit of luck a hose will have just come loose, but otherwise after all this advice and research I'll probably just swap the turbo for a new or reconditioned one of the same type if it has failed.