Ed Kruszewski

I test drove the '18 SQ5 this weekend and wanted to ask if the engine sound was dynamic sound enhancement.

Wires

Yes, pretty much every manufacturer does now to add back some "car feel" to the quiet cabins.

Switching between comfort/dynamic will toggle it on and off (in the individual settings, you can have comfort and no extra engine sound).

Ed Kruszewski

Thanks for the explanation. Is there any way to permanently defeat the enhanced engine sound?

Wires

You can code it out with OBDEleven (or items like that). If you use the "individual drive" item, you have the ability to turn everything to say "dynamic", but keep the sound at "comfort" which is basically off. Other users mentioned they just pulled the fuse for it as well.

If you drive it in fully automatic transmission mode, it really has no purpose. If you like to manually shift with the paddles, it's helpful since you typically cannot hear the engine for shift points.

I like it around town (feels/sounds sporty). As soon as I hit the highway, I turn if off since I find it fatiguing over time.

Ed Kruszewski

Thank you, Wires !

Wires

No worries. The flexibility works really well.

spindlewood

Are there two different kinds of sounds - engine and exhaust?

My understanding is that the Soundaktor involves a speaker mounted on the firewall. Others on the forum have mentioned the SQ5 opening a valve in the exhaust to add sound. Is this accurate and does the SQ5 use both?

To disable the Soundaktor, I see the manual has a fuse labeled "Sound actuator/exhaust sound tuning" (Fuse D3). Has anyone removed this fuse yet on their SQ5? I've also read that for prior models, there is a setting in VAGCOM where you can set "structure-borne sound volume" to zero accomplishing the same thing. Has anyone run across this setting for the SQ5? It seems a better way than pulling the fuse.

And if the SQ5 uses both kinds of sounds, does the Comfort setting in the MMI just kill the Soundaktor or does it also impact the exhaust burbles and farts?

**UPDATE** If the settings of the SQ5 are the same as previous versions, the coding to mute the Soundaktor is as follows (not confirmed):
A9 Structure Borne Sound --> Adaptation 10 --> At Channel drop down choose "Volume of structure borne noise actuator" (only choice)
Enter a value in the proper box (0% = mute)

Wires

To get the burble and farts, the ECU throws more fuel into the exhaust to make that happen (for dynamic mode). Basically it's the engine running less efficient (but sounds nice!)

So to answer your question, comfort will suppress the real and fake exhaust notes. If you want the real and suppress the fake, you would need to code it out.

Ed Kruszewski

It was my understanding that the Soundaktor amplifies engine sound by vibrating the windshield. Is this accomplished by a speaker or merely by the vibrating Soundaktor?
Thanks!

spindlewood

I think the answer is really one and the same - the sound is made by "the vibrating Soundaktor" but this is in effect a "speaker" with the "diaphram" of the speaker being the firewall.

Here is a post with a video which I think answers the question best. The soundaktor looks to be bolted to the firewall under the windshield. It's an old post so perhaps the technology has evolved.