Name and shame'em!

 

wtf................

 

What did the worksheet actually say ? Did it even mention what they inspected?

Did they go out in the car with you to give you a chance to demo the apparent noise?

In fairness, sometimes only the regular owner/driver will notice subtle changes to a cars behaviour so you can't hit them for that but you would expect some basic inspection to at least give you peace of mind that nothing major is wrong.

Would it be a wheel bearing or gearbox type issue?

 

this will probibly sound stupid but you sure that it isnt the turbo spooling up? have you had the car long?

 

QUOTE (Mike @ Nov 1 2008, 03:27 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>What did the worksheet actually say ? Did it even mention what they inspected?

Did they go out in the car with you to give you a chance to demo the apparent noise?

In fairness, sometimes only the regular owner/driver will notice subtle changes to a cars behaviour so you can't hit them for that but you would expect some basic inspection to at least give you peace of mind that nothing major is wrong.

Would it be a wheel bearing or gearbox type issue?

worksheet, reg 03 lk ....
make audi
model s4
cc 2000
variant s4 2.0 litre
" carried out check for noise when car running at 2000 to 3000 rpm. could not detect any noise"

its def engine cos noise is present when you rev it stationary, its either water pump or chain tensioners i reckon , just wanted a pro opinion and am none the wiser. 2 mechanics came out for me to demonstrate noise and both said they all sound like that. i know for a fact they dont and this noise has gotten worse since i bought the car last year

 

QUOTE (TGi666 @ Nov 1 2008, 05:32 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>this will probibly sound stupid but you sure that it isnt the turbo spooling up? have you had the car long?

hi the car is an 03 b6 s4 , no turbos, have the car almost a year

 

sorry fella i tought it was a b5.5 not a b6

 

Carmo, I think you're being very hard on the dealer there fella. The description of the vehicle on the worksheet is irrelevant really, maybe a data input error, maybe their system doesn't allow them to select the correct engine size, it doesn't really matter. By your own description of the problem it's developed a very slight whine over a 12 month period which appears between 2-3k rpm, and it's probably only noticeable because you drive it every day yourself and you are able to compare it after a year of driving it. Your own investigations didn't turn up anything either and you're obviously competent enough to be able to change the tensioner and roller bearing. I would imagine the mechanic's comments were said jokingly and not as a genuine solution to your problem, he's an ordinary every day bloke like you or me, being an "Audi dealer" doesn't make him any different. Getting to speak to the actual mechanic who worked on your car would be quite unusual, never mind 2 of them. I would imagine the mileage was the same on your car when you picked it up because you mention that the noise is present when you rev it stationary, so there was no need for a road test at all. Personally, I would be delighted to see that nobody had been driving my car unnecessarily. What you paid your €102 for is an inspection by a mechanic, which is what you got. You knew there would be a charge before you dropped it in. The mechanic carried out an inspection on your car and reported that there was nothing obviously wrong with it and therefore you have nothing to be worried about. From what I can read they didn't spend any more time on it than was necessary thus keeping your cost to a minimum. There's no reason to name and shame in my opinion as I can't see they did anything wrong at all, or am I missing something?

I would suggest you just go through a process of elimination. Replace one bit at a time until you find what's causing the whine. Look at everything that has a bearing like the water pump, tensioners, alternator etc. I'm not familiar with your particular car or what sort of access or space you have to work with but sometimes you can pinpoint a noise or vibration by placing one end of a long screwdriver on the part you want to check and put the other end close to your ear and have a listen. Random sounds and noises can be very difficult to find, especially when they're very slight. You just have to weigh up the cost / benefit to replacing parts. I would wait until it got worse so that I could identify it easier.

 

I wouldn't be inclined to start replacing parts on the car just yet. Granted, if the belt and tensioner iwas already done I think that was a good idea IMO as if these went serious problems would follow.

While it may drive you mad in the meantime (I know how even small noises annoy me!) I would let the noise progress and in time it will present enough clues to identify exactly what is the source of the problem.

Else, I would take it to an independent specialist or consider one of the maindealers up North who may deal with this type of car more frequently. Have you also posted this thread on any UK sites?

I also wouldn't name and shame, I see no reason for it as to be fair the clues seem scant enough at this stage.

 

hi , not trying to be harsh or anything or was i knocking the mechanic , i have no intention of naming and shaming i just was surprised to find the response i got but i think when i took my car to a main dealer i should have gotten some kind of solution, or possible idea of what was wrong. the noise is fairly noticable if you have driven or listened to another .
i had no prob paying the money to get a diagnosis , thats why i left it there for the day. i would have paid what it cost to diagnose
i was rang during the day and i instructed them to drive the car as the noise is easier to hear inside the cabin

being honest its not a car you could just replace parts on , the altenator for example , is huge and is water cooled . as far as i know the water pump is driven off the chain and i aint going messing with this myself
the prob is the car only does 30 miles a week at weekends , i reckon if she was on the road every day this noise would get much worse
but this noise is bugging me and i am slighty concerned about it
again not trying to cut the shit out of anyone , just no better off now and 100 euro lighter

 

I can understand where you're coming from, that kind of stuff drives me insane too. Often where you think the sound is coming from it's not, especially in a tight engine bay where the sound gets reflected off everything like the ground for example or hidden by covers etc. Personally I would keep on driving and listening, or maybe try get your hands on a stethoscope and listen to different components. It doesn't sound like a problem that will get solved by paying an hours labour to a dealer anyway. If you recorded it and posted it here then maybe we could all have a listen to it.

 

I know a real good Audi technician at a good rate he might help !!! a real genius under the bonnet

 

Send a little email to Audi Ireland they would help you quite quickly I'd say. VW Ireland have rung me two or three times about customer satisfaction from main dealer services etc, they're really interested in having good customer satisfaction.

The fact that they said they test drove it and they didn't is what is really wrong. Don't back down, E102 down the drain,

I know we expect to get ripped my main dealers, but it's bullsh1t! OK its more expensive, but it should be a good service and if its not, we should find out why and get it sorted.
Also that mechanic would of pissed me off, it was just rude, there is no way I would of stayed as calm as you mate....

<END OF RANT>

Anyway I'm not saying sue them or anything, but just alert Audi of it, ya never know could happen!!!

 

did you drive another car like yours to see it had the same noise....??

 

Belts not chains me tinks...

 

QUOTE (alfa @ Nov 5 2008, 10:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>did you drive another car like yours to see it had the same noise....??

yea def does not sound normal, these engines just tick over with a nice hum , have driven others.

 

Has it been VagCom'ed out of interest? Maybe something logged thats not serious enough to throw a CEL.