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heard noise from passenger side when i drive 30~50Km/h, esp on rough road, on the high speed (on freeway), the noise is gone. I tired air suspension from "lift" to "dynamic" and then "dynamic" to "lift". car move up and down without problem and the noise can not be heard. I also tried to press down on the front-left wheel side, did not hear the noise neither,
anyone know where is the noise coming from? any suggestion to fix it?
This is a question for the D3 forum, D4 guys may not have specific knowledge for the D3 you have. Also, describe the noise itself. There are a number of different kinds of noises it could be making, all with different potential causes.
I have no knowledge of D3 or D4, and its difference, sorry,
about noise, it is hard to describe the sound, not like squeeze sound. when I drive in city road about 30~50Km/hr, especially making a right turn on the uneven/rough road, I can easily hear the noise coming from passenger side areas (close to right front wheel), my original thought the noise must be coming from suspension, I've also checked w/ local garage, they said it is suspension problem and need to be replaced with a new set (two in front), but after I tried air suspension "lift" and "dynamic", and pressed down front wheel one side at a time, I did not hear the noise at all. it makes me wonder is it really the suspension problem? can it be something else? you know replacing AUDI A8 air suspension set is very costly, I am better to make sure before replace it.
thanks for taking time to respond.
It sounds like your front control arm bushings may be the culprit, those and the sway bar links are the most commonly failed suspension parts. I wouldn't be surprised if both sides needed replacement, some people have needed them much sooner than yours. For the record, of the below photos the first is a D3(2002-2009) A8 and the second is a D4(2010-present.)
To be clear, unless you notice that the front of your car is losing height overnight, your front struts are fine. The shop you saw sounds either incompetent or like they want to take advantage of you, go someplace else for your work.
Need more specific diagnostics and it does belong in D3 forum.
1. Yes it could actually be from struts, but in only in rare cases from what has been reported. From the rare reports, that one comes up with already rebuilt struts where something went wrong. A sign of rebuilts can be no factory parts labels left on them as part of parts stripping and repainting. Unusual corner case.
2. Upper control arm bushings as mentioned. Typical D3 (and likely D4 to come) weak spot. It will virtually 100% need attention on most any D3 by 60-100K miles/100-160K kilometers. Also, sway bar links or sway bar mount bushings where it bolts to engine subframe. All extensively covered in 100's of posts on D3 board. Search there before posting for that.
3. Steering rack adjustment. Obscure and hardly understood or remembered by mechanics any more. I documented it in various D3 board posts. Can show up as kind of a rattle over rough roads (or lane markers) at suburban speeds, like 20-40mph; may be felt some in steering wheel.
4. Bad steering rack. Extreme version of #3. Most think of bad racks as leak related or the pressure assist is no good on just one side or something like that, but IIRC a few have shown up as noise related. Again, I would call it very rare from cumulative posts over many years.
01-19-2017, 09:24 PM
A8L 2006 3.2FSI passenger side noise
