Console Knee bolster creaks

[markn1689]

has anyone solved this? I was thinking about opening them up.. but don't want to break anything.
the creaking is very annoying- it occurs if your knee slightly presses against them- or when taking corners..

[Vermilion]

Mine does as well, pretty annoying.

[ahfunaki]

I don't want to see this. One of the reasons I was looking to upgrade to Audi over my VW was hopefully for the huge interior quality upgrade...

[markn1689]

i wonder if s3's with the extended leather package have this problem too...

[fhwang]

I don't want to see this. One of the reasons I was looking to upgrade to Audi over my VW was hopefully for the huge interior quality upgrade...

Audi is great imo when it comes to the quality of the interior. HOWEVER, that console thing is the ONLY issue I have as well because of the creaky sound. I know if you make a big deal about at the dealer they'll add foam or something in there to buffer the sound but I'm too lazy lol.

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[fhwang]

Oh btw I think the 2016 models don't have this issue...

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[n8vs3]

no creaking in my 2016 S3, but i wished mine had the extended leather package. It gets a bit uncomfortable on long trips with my leg rubbing against the hard plastic surface.
Any aftermarket option?

[markn1689]

no creaking in my 2016 S3, but i wished mine had the extended leather package. It gets a bit uncomfortable on long trips with my leg rubbing against the hard plastic surface.
Any aftermarket option?

https://www.bks-tuning.com/oem-audi-...r-console.html -leather

https://www.bks-tuning.com/oem-audi-...r-console.html -alcantara


the images show the entire console as 1 piece. i sent them an email asking about that. also curious what the install entails.

[n8vs3]

I was looking for something like the ones for previous gen S3

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[Baggio]

Did you try spraying dry silicone on it to see if it goes away?

[markn1689]

Did you try spraying dry silicone on it to see if it goes away?

i have not tried anything yet. but il look into that. i have never used dry silicon spray before. and i'd be slightly worried about chemicals eating away at the plastic or wd40 smell (if it does smell like that, or any other smell)


i'm interested in knowing what they did in the 2016's to make them not creak..

[ahfunaki]

Audi is great imo when it comes to the quality of the interior. HOWEVER, that console thing is the ONLY issue I have as well because of the creaky sound. I know if you make a big deal about at the dealer they'll add foam or something in there to buffer the sound but I'm too lazy lol.

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Oh btw I think the 2016 models don't have this issue...

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Ok, I hope this is the case!

And I kinda want to upgrade to the leather on mine now that I see you can buy it separate.

Also it almost looks like it just pops off. I don't have my car yet but from what I can tell in the pictures...

[Baggio]

i have not tried anything yet. but il look into that. i have never used dry silicon spray before. and i'd be slightly worried about chemicals eating away at the plastic or wd40 smell (if it does smell like that, or any other smell)


i'm interested in knowing what they did in the 2016's to make them not creak..

Dry silicone will not harm the plastic. It is actually made for that purpose.

[Moha]

I have the leather knee bolsters and it does not make that sound.

Maybe that would help changing to the different material.

[markn1689]

I have the leather knee bolsters and it does not make that sound.

Maybe that would help changing to the different material.

interesting- you also have a 2016 though.

[bakedcorn]

Good lord!

The vid made the hairs on my back of my neck stand up!

Thankfully our vehicles do not have that issue......thus far!

[forbiddenbeat]

Weird, mine are leather, but I don't recall seeing any extended leather option on the sticker.

[MkUrMark]

I have a 16... its pretty solid no creaks

[forbiddenbeat]

Weird, mine are leather, but I don't recall seeing any extended leather option on the sticker.

Actually, upon closer inspection, mine are vinyl (assuming the 2016 changed to deviating stitching there). Not plastic, but the material on the center console bolsters and door rests isn't high-quality leather. And my center bolster is rock solid.

I would take it to the dealer and insist they fix it.

[markn1689]

Weird, mine are leather, but I don't recall seeing any extended leather option on the sticker.

so you have the s sport seats? pretty sure the extended leather comes along with that package only

[forbiddenbeat]

so you have the s sport seats? pretty sure the extended leather comes along with that package only

I do - so maybe I have extended leather? The material on the door and center bolsters is definitely not nappa leather though. If it is indeed leather, it's very cheap - feels more like vinyl to me (but not plastic).

[markn1689]

Does anyone know how to remove the knee bolsters on the center console?

[VWVW]

My 2015 has the same problem.

A 2015 loaner with 10k km that I had also showed the same problem.

A 2016 that I previous tried in the showroom did NOT have this problem.

All of the above did not have the extended leather package so they were all hard plastic.

[markn1689]

what can be done about it though- i would hate to take the car to dealership.. the dealer i got the car from has a terrible service department- everytime i drop thew car off with the it comes back with a new scratch, or scuff.

[VWVW]

what can be done about it though- i would hate to take the car to dealership.. the dealer i got the car from has a terrible service department- everytime i drop thew car off with the it comes back with a new scratch, or scuff.

I bought the 3-in-One Professional Silicone Spray and I applied it to that area. It is now completely noiseless!

It leaves a shiny black residue but excess can be quite easily rubbed off by Lysol wipe (at least that's what I used). The gap will of course still have the black residue to dampen the noise.

The plastic seems intact and not damaged by the chemicals in the spray. However, I don't know its long term effect though.

Becareful though, it seems poisonous..at least the can says so.

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.3...000457763.html

[larbel]

I just broke down and ordered the center console from BKS... The kneepads are actually glued on, still debating if I want to just glue them or take the whole center console apart to replace it. I think I read somewhere that the 12V port is a b*tch to tackle. http://www.audi4ever.com/v2/blog/det...-8V/index.html

[markn1689]

I just broke down and ordered the center console from BKS... The kneepads are actually glued on, still debating if I want to just glue them or take the whole center console apart to replace it. I think I read somewhere that the 12V port is a b*tch to tackle. http://www.audi4ever.com/v2/blog/det...-8V/index.html

wow-nice find. thank you

[larbel]

I got the center console yesterday and installed the Mono.pur kneepads today.. Solved all the problem!! No more squeaking and feels great!! The kneepads are actually sonic welded to the console, it didn't took much effort to carefully break them apart and Loctite epoxy to the old console. Took me like two hours? The hardest part was to get the old kneepads off coz there isn't much space to work with, but once that, you're pretty much done.

[markn1689]

awesome work! where did you start prying them off? how did you ensure they wouldn't squeak?

[larbel]

I started from the lower pointy corner on both sides, you have to pop the center console up a little since there's a little tab on the knee pad that goes underneath the center console. Stick a long flathead screwdriver in from there and pry outward slowly but firmly, you will hear some popping sound as the bonding breaks, keep going and move the screwdriver around to different directions and eventually the whole pad will just fell out. You will see what I meant when you have the new console at hand and when removing the padded kneepads from there.

And the reason for the squeaking was mainly due to bad design.. as per the pictures, the bonding is only at the "checker" stems leaving the plastic edges rubbing against the center console freely. On the "leather" pads, they're wrapped around the corner edges, so even if it's rubbing, it will be "leather" to plastic hence no squeaking at all no matter how you try to push or twist against it.

And for an easy fix without buying a new console, you could just pop the kneepads out and just add some fleece/felt tape all around the edges and then glueing them back, should take care of the problem!

[Gberg888]

Very interested in doing this!!!

Anyone have a DIY for removing the whole center console?