I have a 2004 A6 2.7T SLINE with 57,000 miles on it. This is my first Audi (loving it!!). I am the second owner and have had it for about 4 months and put about 10,000 miles on it (I drive a lot for work - 70+ miles per day 7 days a week). Right at 50,000 miles I started hearing a faint "honking" noise in the right rear, behind the tire. It almost sounded like it was coming from the trunk, but listening to it from the trunk, it sounds like its under the car. From under the car it sounds like its in the car, so its coming form somewhere in the middle. When I was at the dealer (Audi of Charlotte) for the 55k service, I let them listen to the recording and they were stumped. Of course, this only happens after about 45 minutes or more when the car is hot. My office is about 10 minutes from the dealer so it was not hot enough to do it. As the car cools down the noise gets lower and lower until it goes away. You can barely hear it from inside and you have to really listen for it outside the car unless your in the garage. The service techs at the dealer said it sounded like some kind of "venting" and was probably not harmful, but they admit they really don't know. That was about 3 weeks ago and then I get the recall notice for the faulty nipple. When I called the dealer today to schedule the recall service I asked about the noise and this defective part. They said it is possible that I would cause it, but the guy I talked to was not a tech. The "popping" noise in the recording is the catalytic converter/exhaust cooling down and contracting, mixed with some background movement noise.
Listen to the noise here:
http://www.waterfrontservices.com/audi_noise.mp3
So, my question to all of you is, have you ever heard such a noise? Is it possible it is coming from the "cracked nipple" recall?
Any ideas?
Thanks!!
Strange "honking" sound from right rear when hot
