A7_TDI

In an another example of first world problems… during a road trip I noticed that at highway speeds (but only on some sections of interstate) I could hear an annoying buzz/rattle sound coming from somewhere near the instrument cluster. I also found that the noise stopped if I applied light fingertip pressure on the chromed plastic surrounding the instruments. The sound persisted with stereo off so I was pretty certain the source wasn’t a bad speaker.

I ignored the issue for a while hoping it would go away as the car picked up some mileage but the sound was back on the next interstate road trip. Plus I was a bit worried about potentially doing more harm than good if the dealer damaged/scratched something else on the trim.

But I finally took the car in to have the noise investigated. And, after being in the shop for three days (due to two different trim parts needing to be shipped in) as they tracked down the source of the sound I picked up my car.*

According to the service notes the issue was described as “trim resonation rattle from upper center dash” and is covered by technical solution (TSB?) 2029280/4. The dealer replaced three parts (401-857-115-B-6PS cover, 408-819-635-F-6PS bracket, and 408-819-636-F-6PS trim) and added some of the special fleece tape. And the technician applied tape “to the sections directed in solution”. The service advisor said the trim pieces had broken tabs so they were probably just loose enough that noise only occurred at certain resonant frequencies. Otherwise everything looks great – nothing else was scratched or damaged that I could see.

So far so good… maybe my imagination but interior sounds quieter now. I haven’t done a road trip yet to see if the issue is truly resolved but it "sounds" promising. :-)

*And my service loaner for those three A7-less days? Brand new A8L TDI with less than 1K on clock!!! Overall quite nice to drive but I had mixed emotions about the air suspension… it really smoothed out speed bumps but even in dynamic mode the ride felt too “floaty” for my tastes. B&O sounded great but the silver/black pop-up speakers were distracting because of their reflection in the windshield. And it was way too long to fit in my garage (my A7 barely fits). Massage seats were nice up front but the smug looks from my kids sitting (luxuriating?) in the back seats were a bit too much. ;-)

Glacier6

Dammit! I've had this going on recently and told my SA there was some rattling in the dash when I took it in for 25k service, but said it wasn't too big of a deal (facepalm) so they didn't check it.

Looks like it's going back now before the warranty expires!

Thank you for posting this!

A7_TDI

You bet. Hope they can sort it out. It looks like Audi has some issues with (I'm assuming) whoever supplies the dash modules.

Glacier6

I think they have rattling issues in general haha....so far have had a B&O speaker cover replaced, center speaker cover replaced, and all four door panels with felt belt applied just below the armrest.

I know some others have complained about rattle in the HUD screen as well.