Clunking sound

[SteveF1]

Hi all.

Over the last month or two my car has started to clunk over large potholes but mainly over speed humps. Never appeared to do it before but left it until it was serviced a couple of weeks ago.

The service was done and during the test drive the mechanic confirmed he could hear the clunk so jacked it up thinking it might be loose trim, heat shields or maybe a busted shock absorber. They couldn't find anything so sent me away and booked it back in again for this Monday to spend more time with it.

Just had an update today saying they've tried it with new shock absorbers, trim and unscrewed a variety of things and screwed them back on again but the car still makes the noise. They think it could be the driveshaft but will test that tomorrow with a new tool they've borrowed from a bigger Audi dealership nearby.

Anyone else had something similar and got it identified/fixed as I have a funny feeling they'll send my car back end of week with the same fault and say 'we tried'.

A3 35tfsi S-Line manual if that helps.

Cheers

 

[Vic20]

It'll be the Anti-roll bar droplinks. First to be wrecked by our awful roads.

Cheap and relatively easy to replace!

 

[SteveF1]

Ah right, thanks for that. That definitely wasn't one of the things the service guy mentioned they'd checked but I know the service reps aren't always clued up about cars, a lot are just administrators so I'd hope the mechanic has already thought about it.

Will definitely mention this when they call back tomorrow.

Thanks

 

[SteveF1]

The dealer has contacted me this morning with an update. After borrowing the tool from another dealer they've narrowed down the issue to the front subframe but weren't any more specific than that. They said they'd replaced most parts around the suspension that they thought could be the culprit but they're stumped at the minute.

They want to keep the car well into next week to continue to get a fix....

 

[monkeyhanger]

The dealer has contacted me this morning with an update. After borrowing the tool from another dealer they've narrowed down the issue to the front subframe but weren't any more specific than that. They said they'd replaced most parts around the suspension that they thought could be the culprit but they're stumped at the minute.

They want to keep the car well into next week to continue to get a fix....

Techs just can't properly diagnose faults themselves - happy to blow VAGs money when its under warranty, guessing at what needs replacing. Imagine that approach out of warranty, what it would cost you.

 

[SteveF1]

My car is still at the dealer and I've had no feedback since last Friday so I assume they still haven't rectified the issue. The car was sat idle Monday and Tuesday but today has been driven over 20 miles.

In total the cars had over 50 miles put on the clock since it went in but importantly how it's potentially been driven has reduced my range from 225 miles when I dropped it off to 50 miles as it stands today when I checked the app earlier.

Right now nearly half a tank (£35-40) has been used. When you use their loan car they oblige you to return it with the same amount of fuel that you found it with but does a dealer have an obligation to replace that amount of fuel it uses in your car as I've never had them do so many miles in my car before?

 

[monkeyhanger]

My car is still at the dealer and I've had no feedback since last Friday so I assume they still haven't rectified the issue. The car was sat idle Monday and Tuesday but today has been driven over 20 miles.

In total the cars had over 50 miles put on the clock since it went in but importantly how it's potentially been driven has reduced my range from 225 miles when I dropped it off to 50 miles as it stands today when I checked the app earlier.

Right now nearly half a tank (£35-40) has been used. When you use their loan car they oblige you to return it with the same amount of fuel that you found it with but does a dealer have an obligation to replace that amount of fuel it uses in your car as I've never had them do so many miles in my car before?

With an extra 20 miles put on it yesterday, you'd hope there's been progress, a fix made and a test drive to confirm. If there's been no such progress, I'd say they're using your car as a runaround. The drastic drop in range suggests a lot of short, cold start journeys, been stuck in heavy traffic, or it's been driven hard.

 

[SteveF1]

I've had an update this morning and they've told me they thought it could be the chassis mounts. They've replaced those and it's been out on test but the car still thuds over speed humps.

They tell me they've changed the shock absorbers, swing arm, subframe, engine mounts and checked other items they think it could be but haven't yet resolved it. They want to keep it until it's resolved but can't put a time on when.

They've used something called chassis ears to detect where the problem is but it hasn't worked so far. Meanwhile my cars now virtually running on fumes!

 

[monkeyhanger]

I've had an update this morning and they've told me they thought it could be the chassis mounts. They've replaced those and it's been out on test but the car still thuds over speed humps.

They tell me they've changed the shock absorbers, swing arm, subframe, engine mounts and checked other items they think it could be but haven't yet resolved it. They want to keep it until it's resolved but can't put a time on when.

They've used something called chassis ears to detect where the problem is but it hasn't worked so far. Meanwhile my cars now virtually running on fumes!

As long as they don't fill it for more road tests and then bill you!

 

[SteveF1]

Can you believe that the technician working on the car won't get paid for the job until he diagnoses and fixes the problem???

That's what the service guy told me...

 

[Sparks43]

Can you believe that the technician working on the car won't get paid for the job until he diagnoses and fixes the problem???

That's what the service guy told me...

Well the technician will get paid as he's salaried, what he means warranty won't pay them until it's fixed and warranty are also very picky about keep trying other stuff - My friend is an Audi Mastertech and they can be a nightmare sometimes