B9 A4 - Rear speaker deck lid vibration

[markynels]

Hey guys, long time since my last post.. TL;DR, I returned my 2013 S4 one year early in exchange for a new A4 Progressiv (Canadian, not sure how this translates to US?) S-Line in Florett silver, LED light package and a few other doodads. Managed to get a very good deal (granted my car was returned in immaculate condition and I suspect there may have been equity in it for them) considering the model release was just shy of a month ago here.

Anyways to the point; I took delivery of the car today, and I have to say, the sound system compared to my S4 (non B&O) is absolutely gutless. The low end lacks tremendously, both in terms of adjustability and in overall quality.

To make matters worse, my entire rear deck lid vibrates so much, it overpowers the music - and this with the bass setting at factory (middle). Has anyone else experienced this?? I'm going to call Audi tomorrow to book an appointment because I've had to resort to leaving my music off entirely - it's that bad.. At the moment there's a shirt stuffed in from under the deck which seems to help, but it still has a notable rattle in the areas I can't access.

Apart from that, the car is fantastic. Major interior improvements, and the tech blows away the S4. Power wise i'm not really missing anything per se - the lighter car coupled with a peppier 2.0 make it very enjoyable to drive.

[streetspeed]

Does this new A4 have the B&O? Mine does and I think it sounds amazing. If your car has it and it sounds like crap maybe your problems are twofold. Anyway no rattling in my car at all - I'm sure the dealer can find that and fix it for you.

[tekmo]

Yes, i have non-B&O sound system and vibration the rear where the subwoofer is is pretty bad on songs with lots of bass.

[markynels]

Non B&O.

I love the new B&O - and had i know the difference would be this drastic i would have opted for it.

I stuffed a shirt under the decklid from the trunk and it seems perfect IMO, even with the bass full tilt.

I'm going to report the issue to Audi, as i suspect a whole slew of people will in the coming months.

[tekmo]

Non B&O.

I love the new B&O - and had i know the difference would be this drastic i would have opted for it.

I stuffed a shirt under the decklid from the trunk and it seems perfect IMO, even with the bass full tilt.

I'm going to report the issue to Audi, as i suspect a whole slew of people will in the coming months.

Would you mind taking a picture of where you have it stuffed?

[b6onboost]

I see this becoming a problem industry wide. Many OEM systems now have a built in 8-10in sub with decent power, but there's no sound deadening on the panels, so if you turn it up there are a lot of rattles and resonant vibrations.

[dtb24]

I was definitely annoyed and borderline embarrassed because of the vibration. Might have to try the the shirt stuffing method for now

[DinB]

This is Audi idiot designers not correcting issues from last gen. My RS5 had issues with vibration from the bass and o am not surprised since the location of the sub sucks. They should have put two smaller subs under the driver and passenger seats or built the sub into the trunk. I ended up installing sound dampening material all around the rear shelf and it helps.

[tekmo]

I reported to Audi, waiting to hear back. Anyone has contacted them yet and got any response/resolution?

[markynels]

Apologies for the disappearing act - i'll snap a photo of the 't-shirt' trick, though after some 200km, the rattle is back with a vengeance. I can only assume that where the T-shirt is, is slowly deforming and thus allowing the deck clips to settle back down to the bare metal.

If you want to try this out (sans photo), open the trunk and you will see a circular hole cut into the underside of the deck in the immediate centre of the trunk. With the volume up, and bass at a respectable 'rattle', apply pressure upwards on the cover from this circular cutout. You'll notice the reverb drop considerably. Again as i mentioned, either the t-shirt or the deck itself are deforming and thus the rattle returns, forcing me to have to adjust it every so often. Granted mtl roads are like Baghdad so i'm also not surprised..

I've tried virtually everything, and as much as i would love to dismantle it myself and add some form of sound deadening, i can't help but feel ripped off - this is a HUGE QA oversight for such a massive company, especially with a new model release. Bad news.

I'll be sending my car in to have it checked shortly (they gave me valet service for free, might as well use it ;) ). Will keep you posted!

[yb28]

Apologies for the disappearing act - i'll snap a photo of the 't-shirt' trick, though after some 200km, the rattle is back with a vengeance. I can only assume that where the T-shirt is, is slowly deforming and thus allowing the deck clips to settle back down to the bare metal.

If you want to try this out (sans photo), open the trunk and you will see a circular hole cut into the underside of the deck in the immediate centre of the trunk. With the volume up, and bass at a respectable 'rattle', apply pressure upwards on the cover from this circular cutout. You'll notice the reverb drop considerably. Again as i mentioned, either the t-shirt or the deck itself are deforming and thus the rattle returns, forcing me to have to adjust it every so often. Granted mtl roads are like Baghdad so i'm also not surprised..

I've tried virtually everything, and as much as i would love to dismantle it myself and add some form of sound deadening, i can't help but feel ripped off - this is a HUGE QA oversight for such a massive company, especially with a new model release. Bad news.

I'll be sending my car in to have it checked shortly (they gave me valet service for free, might as well use it ;) ). Will keep you posted!

keep us posted please, on certain songs with the bass not even cranked all the way up, it rattles...... :| (canadian car as well)

[Spinmaster7]

I brought mine to the dealer and had them fix it at no cost. Have them look up this "speaker rattle Tech Bulletin 2044503/1". Basicly they add some foam between the speaker and grill. Mine is fixed now and is WAY better, like 4x-10x better.

[CimonB]

Same issue here, thought I was alone. Good to know

[yb28]

sweet, will contact my dealer then...thing is i hate bringing my car to them because im so anal about the car lol

[Spinmaster7]

while your there (dealer) ask them to do you front center as well.

[yb28]

while your there (dealer) ask them to do you front center as well.

oh? that was an issue too? i kinda dont want them to pry any other things off if they dont have to haha

[savi01]

oh? that was an issue too? i kinda dont want them to pry any other things off if they dont have to haha

Front was an issue for me. Dealer applied felt tape but did a poor job, I popped off cover and applied more myself to fix the issue. It comes off very easily w/ the proper trim removal tool.

[VipinLJ]

If there are any DIY experts here, you could try popping off the rear deck and apply damping material to reduce vibrations. I've damped my previous car and it eliminated all vibrations. I'd damped the door pads too and it made the doors heavier and feel solid too.

[Spinmaster7]

If there are any DIY experts here, you could try popping off the rear deck and apply damping material to reduce vibrations. I've damped my previous car and it eliminated all vibrations. I'd damped the door pads too and it made the doors heavier and feel solid too.

If you have less than 12,000 miles on your Audi (warranty) take it to the dealership, tell them you hear annoying rattle in the rear deck & the front middle speaker. They'll take the grilles off and put a felt tape underneath it. It worked like a charm. Mine rattled during phone calls/Bluetooth or really any talking voice tones. I didnt hear it in any of three loaner A4's.

[yb28]

If you have less than 12,000 miles on your Audi (warranty) take it to the dealership, tell them you hear annoying rattle in the rear deck & the front middle speaker. They'll take the grilles off and put a felt tape underneath it. It worked like a charm. Mine rattled during phone calls/Bluetooth or really any talking voice tones. I didnt hear it in any of three loaner A4's.

Thanks man! will do :D

[VipinLJ]

If you have less than 12,000 miles on your Audi (warranty) take it to the dealership, tell them you hear annoying rattle in the rear deck & the front middle speaker. They'll take the grilles off and put a felt tape underneath it. It worked like a charm. Mine rattled during phone calls/Bluetooth or really any talking voice tones. I didnt hear it in any of three loaner A4's.

Yup. I know. But I thought someone said the dealership did a shoddy job. And that's why I mentioned diy experts. Damping will solve rattles and resonance but it has to be done by someone knowledgeable.

[savi01]

Yup. I know. But I thought someone said the dealership did a shoddy job. And that's why I mentioned diy experts. Damping will solve rattles and resonance but it has to be done by someone knowledgeable.

Mine did, but it really depends on the dealer. Mine claimed they couldn't notice the buzzing sound at first, I had to be firm and request that they re-check, it was impossible to not notice it.

It was still buzzing when I got home so I just popped the cover off and had a look; the tech had put felt tape on most contact points but seems to have not re-checked, just called it good. I noticed there was a contact point on the bottom right corner which was the culprit the whole time, and no felt tape had been applied there.

The front grill is super easy to take off, it might be worth just doing it yourself than dealing with the service department.