Engine Noise ideas please

[DavidS4]

Hi all,

I bought my S4 before lockdown and noticed a irregular clonking noise coming from the engine. So while the garage is closed for lockdown I thought I’d turn to you good people to see if you could recognise it from the video. Not the high pitched ticking but lower pitched random sound which hopefully you can hear. 
 

Thanks

David

P.S new member today 

[Steve Q]

Welcome to the forum David, you'll find the members on here are a friendly and helpful bunch 🙂 

I'm going to assume the engine was warm when video taken? 

What miles is on it?

Is it running normally? 

Bizarrely exhaust leaks can occasionally make similar noises which would increase with speed. 

It could also be the timing chain issue mainly the guide. This is certainly not unheard of on these engines. And obviously the chain could have stretched. 

Worse case it could be a broken lifter and I'd advise taking of the valve cover to inspect. Or it could be a failing bottom end.

Either way I'd be getting that to a garage. 

Cheers

Steve

[DavidS4]

25 minutes ago, Steve Q said:

Welcome to the forum David, you'll find the members on here are a friendly and helpful bunch 🙂 

I'm going to assume the engine was warm when video taken? 

What miles is on it?

Is it running normally? 

Bizarrely exhaust leaks can occasionally make similar noises which would increase with speed. 

It could also be the timing chain issue mainly the guide. This is certainly not unheard of on these engines. And obviously the chain could have stretched. 

Worse case it could be a broken lifter and I'd advise taking of the valve cover to inspect. Or it could be a failing bottom end.

Either way I'd be getting that to a garage. 

Cheers

Steve

Cheers Steve for the quick response and for the welcome!

Car wasn't fully warmed up, the noise can be heard as soon as the revs drop to idle. I've not noticed it increasing with speed and it can't be heard when driving only when stationary.

Car has done 28k miles and drives fine.

 

[Steve Q]

2 minutes ago, DavidS4 said:

Cheers Steve for the quick response and for the welcome!

Car wasn't fully warmed up, the noise can be heard as soon as the revs drop to idle. I've not noticed it increasing with speed and it can't be heard when driving only when stationary.

Car has done 28k miles and drives fine.

 

You're welcome 🙂 

I'd consider the timing chain or exhaust leak as a starting point. 

Cheers

Steve

[DavidS4]

18 minutes ago, Steve Q said:

You're welcome 🙂 

I'd consider the timing chain or exhaust leak as a starting point. 

Cheers

Steve

Thanks Steve, 

I'll start looking for open garages. Feeling thankful for buying a car with a warranty now, although didn't think i'd have to use it so soon. 

[Steve Q]

3 minutes ago, DavidS4 said:

Thanks Steve, 

I'll start looking for open garages. Feeling thankful for buying a car with a warranty now, although didn't think i'd have to use it so soon. 

Good job you got the warranty. Might be worth ringing them first and seeing if hey have their official approved repairers. 

Forgot Audi as I don't think they're garages are open. Might be worth see what local Audi or Vag Independent specialists are open. 

Cheers

Steve

[Magnet]

Hello David,

Personally, I would not be doing anything with this car, or allowing anyone else to look at it until you have the agreement of the seller, otherwise it may be argued that someone else has contributed to the problem.

If it were mine, I would be e-mailing the seller ( it is likely they will have access to incoming e-mails) and recording the issue, and most importantly, asking them for guidance on which course of action you can undertake. 

Do you have access to another vehicle? If so, I would not continue to use this car. 

We take it that you bought the car from a secondhand car dealer and not an Audi dealership. 

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[DavidS4]

30 minutes ago, Magnet said:

Hello David,

Personally, I would not be doing anything with this car, or allowing anyone else to look at it until you have the agreement of the seller, otherwise it may be argued that someone else has contributed to the problem.

If it were mine, I would be e-mailing the seller ( it is likely they will have access to incoming e-mails) and recording the issue, and most importantly, asking them for guidance on which course of action you can undertake. 

Do you have access to another vehicle? If so, I would not continue to use this car. 

We take it that you bought the car from a secondhand car dealer and not an Audi dealership. 

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

Hi Gareth,

thanks for the advice.

I bought the car from Lookers Honda dealership in feb and car has done less than 2k miles since I bought it. The dealership is closed but I’ll try and log it with their customer service department and ask about next steps.

Annoying thing is I noticed the noise very early on but just put it down to something like a minor misfire. Only recently I listened under the bonnet. I don’t need to drive it at the moment which is good.

The warranty is Autoprotect gold and having read about them online I’m pretty worried now it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.

regards

David 

 

 

[Magnet]

Hello David,

Many thanks for the additional information. 

Pleased you think it’s wise to notify them in writing and ideally not to use the car.

Re. the warranty:- For the first 3 months ( maybe 6) Lookers are responsible for ensuring the car remains fit for purpose, so it should not be a question of dismissing their responsibilities to Autoprotect. It would be worth you spending some search time to investigate the consumer law in relation to used car sales, and contacting the CAB (if open), so that you are fully clued up before any work is carried out on the car.

Personally, I would be very wary of following any suggestion that you get the work done, pay for it, and reclaim the funds from Autoprotect. This should not be the way this is dealt with. Lookers should arrange, and pay for, any work necessary, and it would be up to them to decide if they want to claim off Autoprotect or not. 

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

 

[DavidS4]

Update: car is booked in with Audi on the 5th June. I had to wait for lookers Honda to reopen to manage the booking but felt it was worth it for peace of mind. I have noticed that the car only makes the noise when in park or neutral, does that mean the issue is likely to be gearbox/ DMF related? 
 

Thanks 

[Steve Q]

Glad you've got it booked in. 

It could be but better wait to see what the garage says 👍

Cheers

Steve