clicking sound when turning steering wheel with turn signal on
 

ONLY when turn signal is switched on, I heard one click when turning steering wheel slightly and another two clicks when the steering wheel is almost turned to maximum angle. If the turn signal is off, everything looks smooth and quite.

not sure this is expected. If yes, is there a purpose - related to adaptive headlight or corner light (btw, i am not sure new q7 has those features)?

thanks

Mine has this "symptom" as well, and someone did mention this in an old thread.

The click sometimes gives me a feeling that something is overwound and could break anytime.

Every car I've ever driven does this. It clicks once when you go past the point that will automatically cancel the signal and then again when you pass the point again by making more than one full rotation of the steering wheel.

so this is to remind the driver or technically a noticeable click can not be avoided to have auto-cancel (which i highly doubt). This is my first Audi car, but didn't notice the sound for other brands. thx

thanks. Could you still find the old thread, or what was the conclusion there?

Here is one of the threads:
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q7-...sound-2905556/

Yes, if you turn past the point then that's normal with every car I have driven as well, however it is weird that I simply turn maybe just 5-10 degrees in my Q7 and the click happens.

Audis don't require as much of a turn to cancel the signal as other cars in my experience. In my family we've had Toyotas, Subarus, a Honda, a Kia, and a VW (really a Chrysler, the Routan) and they've all clicked.

thanks, at least this seems to be normal, while I still don't quite get why it is necessary...

I have to respectfully disagree...well sort of :-). I have dug heavily into this and yes, the sound we are hearing is indeed the clock spring that cancels the turn signal. True, all cars turn signals have this same type of mechanism. However, its the loud audible level of the click in the Audi clock spring thats not at all normal. Since I noticed this in my Q7, I have made a point to check in every friend, relatives car etc. I have yet to find any other manufactures vehicle to have a click anywhere close to as loud as what I have in my Q7. My wife has a brand new loaded Mazda 6. The click in here steering column is nearly silent. You can barely hear it with dead silence in the car and you need to put your ear right up to the steering column. Audi is sourcing a badly designed clock spring mechanism for these cars and given the vehicle price point, should be ashamed of it.

It's really just an annoyance at this point (not a true problem) that frankly I have gotten used to living with, so I have let it go. But I am always given a good reminder of just how bad it is every morning when I drop my daughter off at her preschool. U turn, then immediate right into parking lot, then another immediate turn into parking space. NINE loud clicks all within 20 seconds or so...good times! All that said...if this is the biggest issue I have, I will take it. I love my Q7 like no other car ever owned :-)

They gave me a Q3 loaner while my Q7 is being serviced for the 3rd row seat recall.

It turned out Q3 has the same steering clicking "feature". It is comforting to know this is normal with Audi cars, and my Q7 does not have a defect in this area.

However, I have to say that the clicking in Q3 is very faint and has a much pleasant sound than Q7's. The clicking from Q7 sounds like something is going to break. ;)

Q7 steering wheel clicking sound
 

I found those q7 clicking or cracking sound totally annoying and unacceptable. They destroy all good sense of the drive and feel very cheap. It doesnt happen to all the cars which i have driven. This is my first audi. Thats not luxury and not well built at all. Audi saying that they build car in high quality, but absolutely not the case. So cheap.
Its not rocket science to take away the annoying cracking sound. All japanese car has no such cracking noise while turning and they are much cheaper than audi. What a shame to audi to call itself luxury brand. Cheap machenic.
i raised the issue while i dropped the car for service, the technician told me thats normal, the clicking is to do with the abs system . What a lie...
Poor design and cheap machenic is the answer!!
I have submitted a complaint to audi regarding the noise, they replied saying that they will look at it and get back to me.

its not normal at all. All not happen to all japanese car which i have driven before. Poor design and mechanic.

All japanese car has no such cracking noise.
pls be reminded that we are not talking about the auto cancel sound of the turning signal. We are talking about the cracking sound while turning withe the signal on. The auto cacelling click happens to ecery car, but not the crack crack crack sound while turning. Poor design. I hate it, it make the driving sense so cheap. I am going to sell the q7 if issue cant not resolve. Audi should do a recall for the issue in order to save its brand.

I believe the cracking sound is a design fault and defect. Its not luxury at all.
The car magazines on the market will be very interested to look at this cheap design of a so call Luxury Brand

no way. I have driven almost all japanese brand car. They all turn smooth with no noise no matter what. We are not talking about the auto cancelling clicking sound.

Yeah, every car clicks as they always have, however its now 2017. I've owned cars where the click is just a click (BMW), and where the click sounds like its breaking plastic (Merc), but my 2012 BMW has got this down to a failry quiet and unobtrusive sound where I started to think that they've all gone electronic now. Versus the old mechanical cancellation method (maybe?)

Anyway, for a 2017 Audi to sound this bad is unacceptable!

Add it to the list of annoying and intrusive noises this vehicle makes. It's gotten to the point, I just keep the stereo on all the time to drown out all these distractions.

yeah..I love my Q7 more then any other car I have owned, but this is the one lingering thing that annoys me. Mine is particularly loud and depending on the turning sequences it can be 6 or more loud clicks within just a few seconds. Just today I made a right turn into parking lot and the first click right away and not even into the lot yet and I got the second set of double clicks (not even full rotation of the steering wheel).

Like someone else mentioned, it does sound like plastic cracking / breaking within the steering column. One would think there would be something a dealer could do to at least quite it down. Perhaps grease the plastic gear or the like in the signal mechanism.

One thing I do not understand.... I have been told like others this is normal and the sound we are hearing is the clock spring that cancels the turn signal. BUT, If you are sitting still, turn your steering wheel past where normally would hear the first click, THEN turn on the signal, make the turn, allow the steering wheel to straighten out as usual, the signal still cancels (turns itself off) as it should and no loud click ever took place. So the clock spring gear that cancels the signal does not in reality "have" too make a sound to operate. Yet if you do the above in the normal order of turning the signal on first, then make your turn, the loud click always happens.

I am going too try again with my dealer at my 10k service (I am only at 8k now). If anyone else ever gets any results with their dealer, please let us know. Thanks!!

Update: My Q is currently at my AD for its 10k service and and I brought up this issue again. We did some testing on other Q7s and A4s etc. The turn signal cancel click in my Q is SOOO much louder then others on the lot. It's no wonder I do not see others on this forum complaining about the issue. I can guarantee if others had the loud click sound that I have, we would see a 10 page thread on the subject. The A4 loaner I have has the most pleasant soft little sound when the signal cancels.

Anyway, dealer completely agreed something is wrong with my signal assembly and are replacing it. Trying to be positive, but I have funny feeling this will be one of those replacements that ends with the same result where it started. Please please, I hope I am wrong.

Glad to hear it's not normal and hopefully they will get it fixed. I did wonder when this issue was raised just how bad it was. Coming from BMW, I don't think the Audi indicator mechanism is anywhere near as good.

Had this issue as well. Was clicking loudly up to six times per turn. On Monday the assembly was replaced no questions asked. So far so good after one day's live testing. Sounds is now normal.

That's really great to hear! Mine currently at dealer having it replaced as I type this. May I ask who your dealer is? Could be helpful in case I encounter any hiccups. Perhaps if needed my dealer could then talk to your dealers shop forman. Thanks!!

Well, I know most will not care around here as it is clear now that this was a much more isolated issue, but I got my Q back today and very very very happy to report my turn signal click issue was completely fixed! They installed a whole new turn signal assembly and now its nice and feather soft quiet when the signal cancels. I could not be more thrilled.

I never understood how there could not be a ton of complaints on the board about this, but I see that few and far between have the problem. If you do however, do not let your dealer tell you its normal. Yes, the mechanics of it are indeed normal, but to have a loud cracking click at every turn is not. Perhaps Audi has changed its suppliers of the assemblies as the A4 loaner I had was feather soft quite as well.

I hope this is a good riddance to this issue one and for all :D

Its amazing to me that this is still a mechanical setup in the Q while most have switched to an electrical system. There really should be no clicking while turning the wheel, and when cancelling. But i guess Audi still using an older setup

Hi Jay,

It's loud enough to be annoying given that virtually every other non VAG branded vehicle does not use such a loud cancel mechanism. However, it seems very few on the forums complain about it. After my last repair, the sound of course came back. I would say its slightly less of a "crack" sounding and a touch more smooth of a click, but it's the one thing that I despise about the car. I have given up and just have accepted this is how it is. The thing is in theory nothing is wrong as the mechanics were actually designed this way (to me thats more annoying even still as it is sooo not necessary). What I still do not understand is how the signal assembly can be replaced and the sound is virtually silent for a short time, only to return. My best guess is the part is heavily greased at the contact points during mfg and a short time that lube gives way to more friction within the mechanics and thus the the click. If you do some looking around the web and view pretty much any VAG driving videos they are all doing it (Cayenne, All Audi's, Bentley etc). So there ya go. Hope its of some help.

I love my Audi but recently started to experience this in my Q5 and it is VERY annoying. I took it to my dealership and we checked out a bunch of cars on the lot, none of them were so loud. The service guy however insisted this is normal, and showed me a 'new' steering assembly that made a similar click noise. He said since there is no functional issues, Audi will not reimburse for a new part even under warranty. He said all Audi cars experience this after they have been 'broken in', whatever that means.

I am happy that you were able to get this fixed. Is it fine now or did you start hearing it again after some time ? If you don't mind, can you share your service record or something for this ? Anything that would help me make my dealership cave for a replacement..

I love my Audi but recently started to experience this in my Q5 and it is VERY annoying. I took it to my dealership and we checked out a bunch of cars on the lot, none of them were so loud. The service guy however insisted this is normal, and showed me a 'new' steering assembly that made a similar click noise. He said since there is no functional issues, Audi will not reimburse for a new part even under warranty. He said all Audi cars experience this after they have been 'broken in', whatever that means.

I am happy that you were able to get this fixed. Is it fine now or did you start hearing it again after some time ? If you don't mind, can you share your service record or something for this ? Anything that would help me make my dealership cave for a replacement..

Hey all... I was one of (if not the first) here to complain about this back in 2017 on my Q7 and have discussed it within numerous threads here.

After many go arounds with my dealer and replacing it twice, it may seem fixed at first but from my experience, it's not going away. It is a poor assembly design (or I should say a poor parts choice) that is used in a number of VAG vehicles.

Ronnie25....I believe many do not notice it at first (like when tested on your dealer lot) because when a vehicle is new the assembly mechanics are also new and internally greased from the supplier that provides it to VAG. In time (usually a very short time) of use of the signal return click, it will gradually get louder. For some it may be louder than others and this is due to the variable tolerances of the mechanisms within the assemblies when the signal cancels (luck of the parts bin draw I guess). My brand new Porsche Cayenne signal was silent when I drove it off the lot and now it too a couple months later makes the sound (albeit not has harsh as my Q was). Another thing that can make a difference as to whether the sound is annoying or not for some and not for others is in some vehicles the click has a smooth softer "rounded off" audible note to it while others have a sharp crack type click. My Q7 had the crack and it was loud and super annoying.

I would say for anyone that is bothered by this issue...you gotta to try and forget about it and enjoy the vehicle. I know its hard not hear it and be annoyed once you start being bugged, but if you accept that this is just how it is, you should get used to it. I was less annoyed with my Q7 after I just accepted it.

I have the same problem in my 2018 A4; started noticing very loud clicking noise when turning left or right with the signal on, approx 1.5 years after I bought the car. I took it to two different dealerships and both told me that it's "normal" and refused to do anything about it. How common is this issue and was anyone able to get their dealer to repair it successfully?

at least I've found solace
 

I'm not even an AUDI owner but I'm appreciative this thread exists because I just purchased a used 2018 Jeep Wrangler and have this issue. Numerous searches on google returned no one experiencing or reporting this issue until I found this thread once I stopped searching for Jeep specific problems. It is annoying, but I appreciate one of the posts hear that stresses accepting it and enjoying the ride. Thank you. :)