ScottAW

Ugh. Can't get rid of this rattle. Trip #7 to the dealer as soon as I get an appointment setup to resolve this noise. Anyone else have any noises being generated from their exhaust system? My dealer has narrowed it down, but has been unable to successfully fix this rattle. From what I understand, it's on one of the exhaust brackets above the muffler where apparently there is a rubber gromet that keeps slipping out of position or stretching out. Going over bumps and such the exhaust then taps the undercarriage of the car and it resonates throughout the car.

A tech. case has been made with AoA as of my last visit, but this is getting extremely annoying. It's taking a lot of my time up making two round trips from home for each appointment, plus time off from work. Love the car, but really need to get rid of this problem. I started hinting at just replacing the entire exhaust system, since I think it's a poorly controlled bend in one of the exhaust tubes. They first replaced an exhaust bracket, saying the bracket wasn't positioning the exhaust system correctly. Said bracket was replaced, and a few days later the noise worked it's way back gradually. Go back again, Oh, loose bolt. Well, that didn't make it any better, only worst, when they tighteneed it. This last time they replaced the rubber hanger or whatever, and cobbed up additional support to prevent this slipping or stretching from occuring again. Worked, for a few days, and is now gradually coming back again!

Insane. It's sucking all the joy out of owning the A3 entirely.

vlm7

While I understand the dealer / AoA should resolve this issue, if its driving you nuts, why don't you do a temp fix by affixing some insulation where the muffler is apparently making contact with the undercarriage? I've done that on a prior car using some foam pipe insulation to alleviate a rattle from an aftermarket true dual exhaust hitting a cross brace and sway bar.

ScottAW

if I wanted that i would have purchased a cheap base model civic. of course, the Honda wouldn't rattle.

vlm7

If you really wanted a luxury car experience w/ customer service, you should have bought a lexus... In any event, I hope your dealer restores your faith in Audi.

Jonbooi

Just got my A3 Sportback back from Audi today for a rattling exhaust at low speed. They replaced the section of the exhaust pipe from after the manifold to just past the front silencer. Problem solved. They say this is a known fault with the A3. The technician showed me the faulty pipe section taken off my car and he indicated that the flexible section of the pipe (there are 2 silver flexible pipes) was to blame.