jakematic

Jetinder has them https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a8-...6-rs7-2873007/

RedfishMan

I seem to have the noise. Coming from the front as best as I can tell. I have been following this thread and doing a lot of listening. I have a 2013 A8L, 20 in tires with Pirellis. I have double pane glass and the sound is quite loud. Some road surfaces seem to amplify it. Changing from Dynamic/Auto/Comfort makes no difference. I am going in for my 25K service and will definitely ask about it.

Andoiwebb

Just thought I'd update the thread with... My Audi dealership identified the fitted Pirellis as 'feathered' and this would be causing the noise. £384 and 2 new Goodyear F1s later, guess what? Noise still present. Next step is to wrap dynamat around all the suspension parts and bulkhead, next step after that is to buy a 7 series.

Free4134

I have had significant noise issues with OEM Pirellis in 19". You can see little ribs appearing on the surface of each tire. At any rate, the best tire for this vehicle is the Michelin PSS. Goodyears I would not consider a quiet tire. Exchanging just 2 tires is useless, too, I found, because it is quite hard to locate a sound.

I also noted that road noise seems so dominant because all other sounds are absent.

Andoiwebb

Fair point, but the sound was / is coming from the front. I will definitely replace all 4 next time with Michelin super sports as they are awesome. Only reason I didn't is because they're not great for winter and useless in snow.

Kkirkg

I have 45K on my 2011 CPO with the dreaded 20" wheels. About two months ago it started making a god-awful noise in front end. I had my dealer check it out, using the 'ears', and they concluded that the front suspension bushings were defective and they were replaced.

(BTW . . . I did buy the extended 7/100K warranty and I will most certainly have a positive ROI).

The problem is the front suspension still makes the same #@!&@# noise! So, it seems to be the front shock/damper problem mentioned earlier. I have a 'comeback' appointment to see what they have to say. At least they offered me a gratis detailing for my troubles.

As far as tire noise, I have Pirelli P-Zeros and do not have an 'harmonics' problem.

Oh, and one more thing. I had a defective night vision camera replaced. They did the usual alignment. I also paid to have the suspension aligned based on a coupon the dealer sent in a service promo. Was I just royally screwed?

RedfishMan

Here is an update. Dropped off my 2013 A8L this morning for the 25K service. I asked the service advisor if they had been getting any complaints about harmonic noise from the front end. He said yes, they have. I saw him write TSB on the intake paper and asked: So there is a TSB on the issue? and he said yes, there was. My free loaner is a 2014 A8L with Pirellis and 20" rims. Basically the identical car, even with double pane glass, same as mine, just one year newer than mine. It has no harmonic noise like my car does and is much quieter. I'll update everyone when the car is returned and provide details. I think the TSB is good news. Let's see what happens. Sorry if any of this has already been discussed.

jakematic

Thank you for the update RedfishMan, this is great news.
Look forward to finding out the TSB number...

motegi

Wow. It doesn't bode well for me... I've had my car to the dealer 3 times for suspension "noise" and only at the last visit did they finally decide that the problem was the bushings. Now, the problem is that the bushings are currently out of stock in the US according to my service advisor. Apparently they've been changing a lot of them...

They gave me my car back on 12/24 and said that the bushings have been ordered and that they will let me know when they arrive.

But, after reading your findings I'm afraid that the bushings aren't the solution to the problem...

RedfishMan

Wish it was better news. The service advisor was apparently mistaken. No TSBs indicated on paperwork. They said all was fine with my front end, and the service mechanic focused on bushings (perhaps because they can make noise when cold). There was one of those canned responses from the mechanic. He was not there when I picked up my car (it was late and I had no time to track him down). I will have to pursue it further when I have some time. Interesting observation, perhaps I need my ears calibrated, but I believe the noise is reduced a bit now, especially at low speeds. I had quite a "wub-wub-wub" like sound that was very obvious at low speeds and can't hear it. Maybe I'm losing my mind.
Question: has anyone sent a link to this forum to Audi or their service manager? Is there any harm in doing so?
Thanks. I wish it was better news. Sorry to get hopes up. That will teach me.