S4 startup rattle
02-22-2015, 05:16 PM
#11
AudiWorld Senior Member
There is an issues with this similar rattle on the 4.2 S4. It's the tension on the cam the pin rounds the hole and that is what causes the rattle with no oil pressure upon cold start. First I heard of it on these cars
02-23-2015, 06:59 PM
#12
Its the timing chain tensioner, as I previously stated. You will find this same situation with pretty much EVERY 3,0T. If you got to the dealer and start the S4 or A6 or A7 in the showroom you will hear the same noise. The longer the car sits the worse the noise will be. In your video the noise lasts about 1 sec or at most 2 sec. Its nothing to worry about.
On a side note, what oil are you running? Are you running the recommended oil or something else?
JustDriveIt!
On a side note, what oil are you running? Are you running the recommended oil or something else?
JustDriveIt!
02-24-2015, 11:24 AM
#13
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Its the timing chain tensioner, as I previously stated. You will find this same situation with pretty much EVERY 3,0T. If you got to the dealer and start the S4 or A6 or A7 in the showroom you will hear the same noise. The longer the car sits the worse the noise will be. In your video the noise lasts about 1 sec or at most 2 sec. Its nothing to worry about.
On a side note, what oil are you running? Are you running the recommended oil or something else?
JustDriveIt!
On a side note, what oil are you running? Are you running the recommended oil or something else?
JustDriveIt!
08-17-2017, 08:07 PM
#14
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2014 Audi S4
Hi Everyone
my 2014 S4 does the same brief rattle at start up. To my knowledge this is due to hydrolic tensioners getting pressurized and it is nothing to be alarmed about if it only does it briefly after a cold start up. Does anyone agree?
my 2014 S4 does the same brief rattle at start up. To my knowledge this is due to hydrolic tensioners getting pressurized and it is nothing to be alarmed about if it only does it briefly after a cold start up. Does anyone agree?
10-02-2017, 10:23 AM
#15
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Hello, I have a 2013 S4 that started having a rattle at start up after sitting overnight. The rattle started after about 35,000 miles on the car. The dealer was unable to determine from 35,000 to just below 50,000 what was causing the rattle. Now after finding a recording of the noise the dealer says it is normal and due to lack of oil until the engine is started. I requested any technical support for the issue and was given a service bulletin for a 2004 A6 3.0 V6. Anyone else have this issue or no of why the 2004 V6 would be compared to the 3.0T. From what I can see the two engines have different bore and stroke, cylinder heads and displacement.
apparently they diagnose in this order.
this is for Chain rattle on cold or warm start up and a rattle up to 1500 rpm until warm.
1. Software update- Audi have an update to increase oil pressure during start up and can solve the problem very easily.
2. Some sort of clip they remove ( don't ask where ) can also solve problem.
3. Change tensioner- Audi claim it's not an engine out fix but will need to disconnect gearbox.
hope this helps
10-05-2018, 11:17 AM
#16
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How common is this rattle? Does it happen to all of these engines eventually or is it only affecting some? 10%? 50%?
I'm in the market looking at a 2011 S4 6speed MT right now and am concerned of the probability of ending up having this problem.
I'm in the market looking at a 2011 S4 6speed MT right now and am concerned of the probability of ending up having this problem.
10-05-2018, 12:36 PM
#17
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I too had the same start up rattle on my 3.0tdi 2012 A7. Same issue with the tensioner and everything is true what is said in the thread.
even though it won’t damage the engine too much you can’t expect an expensive car to sound like a bag of nails when it starts.
had mine repaired but since everything is out it’s better to change the chains and chain rails and tensioner.
software update can increase the pressure of the tensioner but didn’t work in my case.
even though it won’t damage the engine too much you can’t expect an expensive car to sound like a bag of nails when it starts.
had mine repaired but since everything is out it’s better to change the chains and chain rails and tensioner.
software update can increase the pressure of the tensioner but didn’t work in my case.
11-02-2018, 01:02 PM
#18
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2012 S4 rattles a LONG time
I've had this issue develop on my car over the past year or so. I have a video here. You can hear that this racket goes on for a very long time. I had my dealer in Seattle look at it. They referred me to a TSB (don't have the # offhand) that says it's the timing chain tensioner (as others have pointed out). The TSB only notes that the noises lasts 1-2 seconds. The dealer assured me that it's just racket and will only happen during time when the car is choked. I observe that last point to be true: The noise only happens at high idle during cold starts. Thereafter it goes away.
However, I'm not so sure about the "it's just noise" claim. My car doesn't have to sit long to display the behavior - it happens on maybe 70% of my cold starts and I drive this car daily. They said they could replace the tensioner for a cool $4K-ish. My S4 has 116K miles and I've always had Audi perform all oil changes.
My question: Do you think the potential for real damage is greater than the dealer indicates?
However, I'm not so sure about the "it's just noise" claim. My car doesn't have to sit long to display the behavior - it happens on maybe 70% of my cold starts and I drive this car daily. They said they could replace the tensioner for a cool $4K-ish. My S4 has 116K miles and I've always had Audi perform all oil changes.
My question: Do you think the potential for real damage is greater than the dealer indicates?
04-04-2019, 01:15 AM
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I've had this issue develop on my car over the past year or so. I have a video here. You can hear that this racket goes on for a very long time. I had my dealer in Seattle look at it. They referred me to a TSB (don't have the # offhand) that says it's the timing chain tensioner (as others have pointed out). The TSB only notes that the noises lasts 1-2 seconds. The dealer assured me that it's just racket and will only happen during time when the car is choked. I observe that last point to be true: The noise only happens at high idle during cold starts. Thereafter it goes away.
However, I'm not so sure about the "it's just noise" claim. My car doesn't have to sit long to display the behavior - it happens on maybe 70% of my cold starts and I drive this car daily. They said they could replace the tensioner for a cool $4K-ish. My S4 has 116K miles and I've always had Audi perform all oil changes.
My question: Do you think the potential for real damage is greater than the dealer indicates?
However, I'm not so sure about the "it's just noise" claim. My car doesn't have to sit long to display the behavior - it happens on maybe 70% of my cold starts and I drive this car daily. They said they could replace the tensioner for a cool $4K-ish. My S4 has 116K miles and I've always had Audi perform all oil changes.
My question: Do you think the potential for real damage is greater than the dealer indicates?
06-15-2019, 05:51 PM
#20
2015 S5 timing chain tensioner replacement
My 2015 S5 had developed a cold start timing chain rattle over the last few thousand miles. It was pretty noticeable if the engine had been shut down more than 24 hours before restarting. My warranty was about to end this month so I went ahead and addressed it with the dealer. They agreed that the service bulletin applied and this work needed to be done. It was pretty trouble free. I dropped it off on a Friday. It sat over the weekend. They listened to it on Monday and heard the rattle. They ordered the parts and by Friday it was finished. The coldstart rattle is totally gone. I have driven it two thousand miles since the work was done and have allowed it to sit for over 36 hours a couple of times before restarting. Quiet and solid. I did ask my service advisor whom I have dealt with for years if I could have the most senior tech do the job. She was happy to accommodate me on that and everything went great. Kudos to Audi of Birmingham for taking care of it.
Here is a before and after sound clip.
Before repair
After repair
Here is a before and after sound clip.
Before repair
After repair