Rattle from speaker grill

[whitemike711]

I have an 09' 3.2 premium plus model. i don't have the upgraded sound system. I have only 8,000 miles on the car and i am the only owner. I have a rattle coming from the speaker grill on the rear deck of the car. It is on the passenger side. I know this grill is just for looks as there is no speaker under it. It does not rattle all the time but only when i listen to music with bass. it is becoming more and more louder as time goes by. i have brought the car to the dealer and they said "the car is performing as spec". I have had trouble with my dealer before and I gues i am on there "bad" side. They don't want to help me at all. I have the bass on mark past the midway mark on the dash. I feel that the car should be able to handle it.

Has anyone else had this issue? Did you fix it yourself or did you go to the dealer? Your thoughts are appreciated.

[UmIsThisThingOn]

I'd get in there to see where the rattle is coming from an epoxy it if it's a loose part.

[Aud!]

The car should still come with all ten speakers as standard equipment it does have a small woofer under the decklid behind the back seats on the riverside. If you look under there you will notice a small speaker about 6". If that speaker had come loose or it is blown or going then u might experience that issue. To test if it is the woofer you can try unplugging it temporarily. The plug for it is just to the right of the woofer hidden by the piece of metal separating the two openings from underneath the decklid. You can just reach in there and pull it out. Let me know if that helps or if I'm off base here.

[dracolnyte]

i do have the same rattling issue, but my bass is set higher than standard and only for some songs

[Highlander1010]

At 8K miles I assume you're still under warranty. Just make the dealer fix it.

[whitemike711]

I have taken off the grill and the ratteling stops. there is no speaker under the grill just the back deck (at least from the inside view of the car). the grill is ratteling from the bass in the music. The dealer says it is performing the way it is suppose too. Which is just pure BS. The guy at the desk had the nerve to even say " i should listen to other music". I flipped out. I have had it with this car, and this dealership.

[Scorpio]

Im have the same issue, rattle from the rear pass and i have the b&o. I need to take a closer look into it, but again its also from only certain songs, so it may not be anything at all.

[NPuter]

Same rattle here too... Rear passenger side...

[whitemike711]

this is sad to see. we spend so much for our cars and we can't even get a car that can handle a sound system. My wife has a vw rabbit and i play the same cd in her car, she has an amp and 12'' sub and no rattle. just don't get it. For the people saying they are having the same issue, if you are under warranty can you please amuse me and see what your dealer says.

[NPuter]

this is sad to see. we spend so much for our cars and we can't even get a car that can handle a sound system. My wife has a vw rabbit and i play the same cd in her car, she has an amp and 12'' sub and no rattle. just don't get it. For the people saying they are having the same issue, if you are under warranty can you please amuse me and see what your dealer says.

lol - my dealer wouldn't do anything. I literally own the cheapest car they sell.
While I'm sitting in the service department, I see Ferraris and Maseratis pull up lol. You think the service guys care about the A4?
I'll just fix it myself with some felt...

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

May want to look in to using a sound deadening material.

Ive used DEI's boom mat behind and around the interior speakers and it helps with little annoying vibrations and rattles.

We have it available below.

Click HERE to order or for more information.

Let me know if you have any questions

[Ledznvrdead]

I took my MY11' with B&O in for the 5K service with a similar complaint of rattle on the passenger door last week. The techs tested it and concluded it was present on both front doors and the rear deck. Two days later and after having both front door panels removed it was much improved. Not sure exactly what was done but adhesive tape, felt strip, and d sound abs were listed on the work order. It seemed like they were aware the B8s were suffering from this issue. I'd say mine is 90% fixed now and only rattles under a few frequencies where as before it was almost anything in the low range.

[Aud!]

This stuff (boom mat) works great along with other brands like dynomat but this stuff is exactly the same at a lessor price...go ecstuning

[whitemike711]

I know i can easlily put dynomat or anything to stop it from happening, but i feel Audi should take care of it. I am going to stand my ground and see what happens. I will keep everyone posted but i feel if enough people bring it to the dealer witht he same issue it may turn into a recall or a "known issue".

[hiwords1]

i have the same problem. i haven't talked to a dealership about it yet but i fixed mine by sticking a piece of folded paper under the rear most passenger corner of the grill. paper is visible when you look at it from outside but it's "fixed" temporarily lol. you should call up AoA. the treatment you're getting is pretty typical from dealerships but AoA can set them straight

[NPuter]

It is interesting how we all have the same rattle in the same place...

[whitemike711]

So AOA never got back to me, they said by yesterday they would have called me, so i called them today at 5pm, they said they spoke to the dealership and they won't fix it, no surprise. It's not even what i was mainly upset with, so i had to explain my entire story again and said they will get back to me by Tuesday night. We will see. I am fed up. I told them that other owners have expressed the same issue but it is the first time they are hearing of it. So this is why i am asking if you have this issue and ur under warranty to bring it to the dealer so it can get logged.

[Hankoman]

There is a whole TSB on the rattling issue. Not sure about the US number, but in ROW is goes under TPI 2019005/7. This TPI describes a pretty extensive repair procedure to get rid of the rattling. Go to erwin.audi.com to print a copy.

[whitemike711]

Maybe im an idiot but i went to erwin and i cant just put the TPI # in to search for the issue any way to post a straight link to the pdf? Thanks for your help.

[haroulli]

I was in the dealer today for my oil consumption test and a rattle in the drivers door. Turns out there is a TSB for that too 2025055/1. It states that Krytox Lub is required on the B Pillar seals to prent the door from rubbing, which is causing the rattling.

I hope this helps!

[whitemike711]

Still going back and forth with the dealer and aoa. i am suppose to meet someone above the dealership so i can express my concerns with him.

[whitemike711]

So out of "goodwill" Audi had a speaker installer install dynamat under the grill to stop it from ratteling. They said there is no guarantee and they are not admitting it is a problem. I drove the car for about 30 miles today and no rattle. As happy as i am that it is fixed, i am still so pissed about what i had to go through to get something fixed that was so noticable.

[Wah]

I experience similar rattle but only on a couple of heavy bass songs....

[liberty603]

dynamat!

[quality_sound]

It's not a big deal, really. Go to JoAnn's, buy $2 worth of open cell foam, and pad the grill. Problem soved. You don't need Dynamat (note the correct spelling) or Hush Mat, or Road Kill or any other brand of deadener. You're not deadening anything, you're fixing a rattle. Use the appropriate tool for the job. Deadeners aren't designed to stop rattles and unless you're using it like overpriced duct tape it won't stop rattles until you've added SEVERAL HUNDRED POUNDS of it. The car is already plenty quiet. Use foam and tape to stop rattles and you'll not only be happy with the results, you'll save a shitload of money in the process.

Could Audi have designed the grill so it doesn't rattle? Absolutely. But I guarantee you everyone would be bitching about having to take the entire rear deck off to replace a bad speaker or to upgrade the speakers. I'd call this the lesser of two evils.

[liberty603]

It's not a big deal, really. Go to JoAnn's, buy $2 worth of open cell foam, and pad the grill. Problem soved. You don't need Dynamat (note the correct spelling) or Hush Mat, or Road Kill or any other brand of deadener. You're not deadening anything, you're fixing a rattle. Use the appropriate tool for the job. Deadeners aren't designed to stop rattles and unless you're using it like overpriced duct tape it won't stop rattles until you've added SEVERAL HUNDRED POUNDS of it. The car is already plenty quiet. Use foam and tape to stop rattles and you'll not only be happy with the results, you'll save a shitload of money in the process.

Could Audi have designed the grill so it doesn't rattle? Absolutely. But I guarantee you everyone would be bitching about having to take the entire rear deck off to replace a bad speaker or to upgrade the speakers. I'd call this the lesser of two evils.

i just might try that. thnx for the tip. all along i thought dynamat was used to give you that solid thump from your sub? rattle free? at-least the videos on youtube seem to illustrate it that way ...

[lmcpaulm]

I am having this issue!

whitemike or can anyone else tell me how to get the speaker grills off the back deck? I can't figure it out and don't want to snap it. It appears on my 2010 A4 B8 (standard) to be coming from the same area and I want to simply take the grills off to see if they are causing the vibration/rattling.

Appreciate your help!

[jbradle7]

See if this helps... not sure how cold it gets where you're at, but make sure the speaker grill is warm before you try to remove it.
http://forums.audiworld.com/showthread.php?t=2790664

[lmcpaulm]

See if this helps... not sure how cold it gets where you're at, but make sure the speaker grill is warm before you try to remove it.
http://forums.audiworld.com/showthread.php?t=2790664

Nah it is 28 degrees where I am. Much appreciated, I got the grill out from above the speaker. Now for the test!

[lmcpaulm]

Ok so it wasn't the grills rattling.

I put some bass music on and found the whole back deck appears to vibrate significantly and when I push down hard on the deck the rattling mostly ceases. So, my thought is that the whole deck is vibrating against the metal that supports the speakers etc. Suppose all I can do is buy some Dynamat, take the back deck out, line it all and put it back in and see if it stops it.

Unfortunately I think after I do that work I may still be disappointed...