pbrown

I haven't owned a German car before purchasing a 2017 B9 Allroad Premium Plus in August.

In the past month or so I've observed what I can only describe as an intermittent whistle that comes from the engine at low speed (which the first half of my commute is).

I've attempted to capture the sound with my phone in the video attached. I'm hoping you all tell me that's a totally normal sound, but if not, maybe you can help me figure out what it is?


No change whether the HVAC is on or off. It happens whether the engine is at temp or not, but eventually will go away. It seems to happen more in the morning then in the afternoon (related to cold temps?). Any other assistance would be appreciated!

Shawn St. Denis

I have this exact same noise - there is another thread on here as well with people experiencing similar. It appears to be to driveline related as its reported on A4/allroad/ and Q5. It drives me absolutely bonkers. I have brought my car to the dealer and they agreed they could hear it. They seemed to know what it was, but didnt want to say, and also said its just "the nature of the car"

My guess its not actually the engine - either its the mechatronics unit on the S-tronic gear box, something to do with Quattro ultra system.

For me the noise is most common after slowing down and using the brakes, but it could be the result of downshifting..

any other insights from others would be great!

TIIVIO

mine also has the same noise, but I'm pretty sure it only appears when I'm walking towards the car to unlock it or after I'm parked and locking up. Each time the sound lasts around 5~10secs.

Like Shawn suggested I'm pretty sure it's not the engine...may be something electric?

Shawn St. Denis

Mine does that too but I think thats the fuel pump priming - when you unlock, or in some cases open the door which I guess could coincide with unlocking if you didnt click the remote first.

now that you point it out they do sort of sound similar.
I meant to elaborate - the noise captured in the video, mine is more prominent when it is cold. I used to think it only happened when it was cold but I have become so in tune with it now and listen for it that I realized it does still do it when its warm, just less noticeable..

pbrown

I do get the fuel pump priming sound when I unlock the car and I'm used to it.

This one does seem to be impacted by cold weather. If anyone thinks it's something "broken" I'll talk to service about it... but I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one hearing this.

One last point, the length of time the noise goes can vary greatly, sometimes up to :15 seconds at a time, usually just about a second like in the example.

bob m

Same noise here. At first I was concerned, but not any longer; I'm guessing if it were indicating a problem, something bad would have happened. But I would be nice to hear something official from Audi.

Fantasiamon

You guys all don't listen to your music enough. Solves any noise issues instantly.

soonerfan

I hear it too. Almost like a wooden flute sound and it is very faint. I don't think it is fuel pump related but can't venture an educated guess as to what it is. Unconcerned! On the bright side, my hearing is stellar!

VipinLJ

LMAO my thoughts exactly!

On a serious note, I'm going to turn off my music completely and keep my ears open for that noise. Damn. Never heard it in the 95xx miles I've had the car for!

breadbooze

It's the DSG oil pump priming the accumulator. You can verify this by monitoring the oil reservoir charging status under live data in the transmission module using a vag-com tool.