A4B8TDI

Howdy all,

On the passenger side of my RHD B8 A4, there is an odd rattle when going over 130kph.

I can best describe it as an uncooked rice sprinkle on plastic/metal sound, as if driving over grit on a dirty road when it impacts the underside of the car. It's not consistent so it could be likened to driving over varying amounts of grit.

I had thought it was wind noise, but I'm not hearing any whistles and the sound seems to be an impact type of sound. It's as if there is small plastic rattling at speed.

Then again, so much dirt and water gets underneath the door to the sills that it could be wind related.

I don't have a sunroof but I checked that fuse box lid and all is fine there.

Are there any documented similar noises that people have experienced? I'm not finding much.

When I get the opportunity I'll use a good microphone to pinpoint it's location but that's a while off. I can also try tapeing the sills and hearing what that does.

When I do drive over grit on the drivers side, it sounds like it's an external noise compared to the noise I'm on about. The problem rattle has just enough high frequencies that I'm tending towards an interior issue.

Thanks!

Nostromo

No idea. But I had a weird "paper flapping in the wind" sound when the sunroof was in the middle position (last dot but not fully open) above 40mph. I took the glass off and there was a part number sticker on the topside of the sunroof cover that had dried out, pulled away a little and was, in fact, flapping when the airflow was right.

So I HAVE has speed dependant noises.