Benzie

Did the humming noise issue get resolved? It's a shame you had so many annoying noises. Did you get the acoustic glass option in the front? My car has that....and it is a quiet interior for sure. Funny how that works two ways though. The more quiet you make an interior, the lower your threshold is for noises that you'll notice. At some point you just need to say screw it, roll down the windows and blast the music at 65mph. No more hum.....

secondkife

it is fuel pump noise

Drexel

So quick update on this...

In December, I left my car with Audi for about 2 weeks while they diagnosed and addressed the humming and a couple of other cabin noise issues (i.e. loose trim). They gave me a new A4 loaner, so I was fine with having them keep my car for so long.

Right before Christmas Audi called me to tell me my car was ready for pickup, and that they had replaced the fuel pump as part of the remediation of the humming noise. Unfortunately, on my drive home from the dealership I thought I noticed the noise again, although it was relatively faint. I gave it a couple of days and drove the car a little bit more, and the noise was definitely still happening, despite the replacement of the pump.

We've been in a lockdown here in Toronto/Ontario due to the pandemic getting a lot worse, and I have been avoiding taking the car back again just so that I don't have to be stuck in a dealership and have to take a cab/Uber ride home... but I'll be setting up some time again in the coming days/weeks to bring the car back for them to look at again. I don't know the odds of this being another bad fuel pump, or if this is how it's supposed to sound and there's a problem with the shielding or sound dampening that's allowing this to be heard in the cabin. Either way, it needs to be fixed.... it's incredibly annoying, and once year hear it it's impossible to ignore it.

I'm now having issues with the keyless entry, where my fob isn't being recognized by the car when opening the door and I'm required to press the unlock button to get in (or open the trunk); so there's yet another problem I need to address. My warranty expires in August, and I'm definitely going to be looking at getting an extended warranty due to the amount of issues I've had with this car since I bought it in August 2019.

Drexel

So another quick update... had the car in to Audi again in March with the same humming noise, as whatever they did to it last time did not fix the problem... it's still there and pretty consistently.

I took it to the same dealership, and explained the history. Took the car out again for a test-drive with the shop foreman and we confirmed the noise during the drive, so I was confident they'd deal with the issue this time.

They called me the next day to say the car was ready for pickup, and upon arriving they told me that they were "not able to consistently reproduce the problem" and that they were returning the car to me without any repairs. I explained to them that this isn't acceptable, and that I'd just have to keep coming back until the problem is fixed. The Audi guy basically told me that if they can't hear the issue, then there's no issue for them to fix, and I explained... again... that the fact that they can't hear it 100% of the time does not mean that there is no issue, and that this was very very disappointment to me. Basically, I'm going to have to keep taking my car back to them, and they're going to continue to do nothing about it, until my warranty runs out and then I'll be stuck with the problem.

So... I'm making an appointment at another dealership, and at the same time I'm going to be calling Audi Canada Corporate to find out what they can do. Suffice it to say, I'm at my wits end with this, and I'm so frustrated and disappointed with Audi, my Q5, and the way these dealerships have deal with this situation, that I'm questioning if this is a manufacturer I'm willing to do business with again. I don't know what else to say.

toomanymc

My car makes the exact same sound!
I thought I was imagining it. I first noticed it after my 40K service but I am not sure if that is just coincidence. Purchased the car with 38K miles so I have not had it long. In addition to the 40K service the dealer also did a fuel injection cleaning service, updated my MMI to version 1316(originally 0918) and flashed control module 09 to make my static cornering lights work.

My best guess is that the sound is coming from the transmission. To me it sounds like a pump of some sort. I also only hear it at low speeds and it seems to happen pretty consistently when I lift off the throttle. It is hard to feel gear changes but it seems to happen with shifts. No noise if I rev the engine in neutral. I don't think there is anything broken but it is really annoying once you hear it.

I have an early build 2018 Q5(my build date is in 2017), not sure if that has anything to do with it.

Drexel

It's really easy to think you're imagining it at first, but at a certain point I realized this is for real... it can get especially loud, which seems to be dependent on the weather and how long it's been since I drove the car.

I can also confirm the same with my experiences with the throttle... it's hard to tell though because the noise of the engine can actually drown out the sound, but I mostly hear it when decelerating, without breaking. Then again, I could swear I've heard it when accelerating as well. It's very hard to say. What is for certain is that it's happening, and I'm concerned that it's a sign of something more serious.

I also have a late 2017 build 2018 Q5; I wonder if it's an early manufacturing defect.

toomanymc

I could be reaching here but my transmission is shifting a lot smoother since the 40K service and I know these transmissions are very sensitive to the DSG fluid. It makes me wonder if the fresh fluid has a lower viscosity and that what we are hearing is a hydraulic pump in the transmission. I could very much see later builds have either a slightly different pump design that makes less noise or its better insulated. I am going to keep trying to figure it out but I have not asked the dealer to look into it because that car drives fine, in fact better that before the service so its hard to pinpoint where its coming from.

Drexel

I'm very sensitive to any noises that I don't expect to hear coming from my vehicles. I've driven other Q5's, and have owned several different cars from a variety of manufacturers, and I've never heard this noise before. It's not normal, and it shouldn't be happening, and I am worried that it's a sign of something that's just going to get worse. If other Q5's don't make this noise, why are ours? It should get fixed.

I have an appointment next week at a different dealership; if they don't address this, my next call with be to corporate.

BradleyChambers

Hello! I have a 2018 Audi A5 Coupe with the same humming issue that you describe, Drexel. My dealer replaced an oil pump—which did not resolve the problem. Were you able to come to any resolution with your vehicle yet? I thought it could be the HVAC system, but disabling that was a quick way to see that the problem exists regardless of HVAC status.

Bradley

Drexel

Not resolved yet. I've had the car back to the dealer about 3 or 4 times now in the past 2 months, and they're still trying to figure it out. I've now switched dealerships, and have opened a case with Audi Canada concerning the problem. It's been escalated, and they are tracking it. Frankly, it's completely ridiculous for me to have to bring the car back to the dealer multiple times a month only for them to hand it back to me because the problem they heard in the morning is no longer happening in the afternoon. The fact that it's not consistent is part of the problem, and I expect a luxury car brand to be a little more persistent with the diagnosis and problem determination processes.

The new dealership where I've taken the car is handing the issue with more diligence than previously... at least, this time they're not dismissing the problem because they're not able to duplicate it 100% of the time.

I met with the Service Manager who took the car out for a couple of days, and has some ideas regarding what the problem might be - he said he suspects it might be related to an actuator that's used as part of the quattro system, or potentially some bearings used to connect the front drive shaft to the rear.

Last I spoke with them, they are going to call me to bring the car in again when they have some parts and documentation from Audi for what they want to check/replace. When I have more info, I'll provide it.