The notorious annyoing sound coming from my suspension.

[Gails Woofel]

Does everyone have this squeaky kinda noise that comes from I think the suspension every time you hit an imperfection in the road? I have taken my car into Audi 3 different times for this and they thought it was sway bars and replace those but its still there. So today they finally asked me to so a sit in with one of the techs and go for a ride where I could point out the noise. We go for a quick ride hit a few bumps on the road and they hear noise. Get a call from them right before they close the shop saying nothing is wrong with my car and that every b6 a4/s4 has this problem and that there is nothing that they can do for me and the car is perfectly fine. Has anyone found out the cause of this mysterious noise. Both my friends have this problem in their b6's. Thanks for your help.

[JJDubya]

I definitely have this in my 2005 1.8T USP... and have wanted to ask the forum what this noise was for some time. I'm very curious to see what everyone has to say about this.

[A4SoftWalker]

What a useless dealer and what a useless excuse to give a customer.

Is he saying these cars squeak like a WW2 German tank without ball bearings? I wouldn't go there anymore.

My squeaking quit when I changed my control arms. Not sure whether it was the top or bottom set because I changed all of them at once using the Meyle kit @ 104k miles. I did suffer listening to the noise for a while when saving up for the kit though.

Here is an example of the kit I got ECSTuning Suspension B6 Ctrl Arms

Where ever u go to purchase DON'T GO HERE: blauparts.com. They opened my box and replaced the sway bar links and track arms with cheaper parts.

[Monkey77]

might be the bushings in the in the suspension, replaced mine and most of the noise went away

[gregoriousd]

Another USP owner chiming in- hmmm...maybe its just us??
I've asked a bit about this as I have the same problem. 90% of the time its the control arms/bushings that are shot, mayyyybe tie-rod ends. Then again it could also be a wheel bearing problem. I'd stick to troubleshooting the bushings first, history has shown our cars have problems in that dept.
I've done nothing about it yet so unfortunately I don't have the perfect fix.

[mullardel34]

Does everyone have this squeaky kinda noise that comes from I think the suspension every time you hit an imperfection in the road? I have taken my car into Audi 3 different times for this and they thought it was sway bars and replace those but its still there. So today they finally asked me to so a sit in with one of the techs and go for a ride where I could point out the noise. We go for a quick ride hit a few bumps on the road and they hear noise. Get a call from them right before they close the shop saying nothing is wrong with my car and that every b6 a4/s4 has this problem and that there is nothing that they can do for me and the car is perfectly fine. Has anyone found out the cause of this mysterious noise. Both my friends have this problem in their b6's. Thanks for your help.

There's no intrinsic reason for your A4 to be emitting a creaking/squeaking noise when rolling over nominal road imperfections, even with 100K+ miles on the odometer. Both of our A4 3.0L Quattro's (a 2002 and a 2003, both equipped with sport suspensions) have around 100K miles on the odometer and are completely silent, even when rolling-over railroad tracks, pot-holes, etc. My wife and I have our A4's serviced by an outstanding independent service facility, which specializes in Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Porsche and Volvo marques; these guys would never stoop to the old "they all do that" BS. I would suggest that you locate a competent independent Audi shop and have them work with you on this issue.

[mr_esmit]

Got the same problem also. Gonna change my control arms this weekend (or maybe the next). That should do the trick.

[Greek Yayo]

mine sqeaks too. 03 1.8t... let me know if its upper CA or lower CA

[NvrFllw]

Soooo many threads on this, so little answers. Its a mystery and will always be one...

[oildrpr]

mine makes noises too. not sure if i'ts the suspension or what. but i think one of these days it's gonna fall apart and leave me stranded..

i usually notice mine most when going up an inverted slope (driveway/roundabout at my gyms parking structure)

it makes a loud POP like something is spring loaded and then releases.. took it to audi when it was still under warranty and they didnt' do anything about it. ugh. useless..

[FourGermanRings]

my 03 1.8T is doing this too and some days it seems to be not as much as others... i do remember spraying everything down with wd40 and it went away for a week or so then came back after i had my tires rotated... so idk.. id like a solution too before i spend a ton of money on things that dont fix it..

[old guy]

Pick up a quality Rubber Lubricant and liberally coat your inner upper and inner lower control arm bushings. I do this about once a year when they start squeaking. Also a good idea to grease the sway bar bushings every once and a while.

[pOrKcHoP07]

Mine squeaks it to. Brought it to an independent shop and he said the control arms were bolted on too tight causing the squeaks. Who knows? I ignore it.

I like Old Guy's method.

[FourGermanRings]

Pick up a quality Rubber Lubricant and liberally coat your inner upper and inner lower control arm bushings. I do this about once a year when they start squeaking. Also a good idea to grease the sway bar bushings every once and a while.

where do you get this stuff and how is it applied? is it just a liquid or what?

[old guy]

Mine squeaks it to. Brought it to an independent shop and he said the control arms were bolted on too tight causing the squeaks. Who knows? I ignore it.

I like Old Guy's method.

When you tighten the control arms the bolt bottoms out on the metal core embedded in the bushings. I don't think it is really possible to over tighten the bushings enough to cause squeaking.

[GreyGhost]

Note sure if this is your problem but:

I had a squeek that was coming from the bumpstops rubbing against the metal rod of the shock. It's a simple solution. No need to remove the wheels. Just jack up the car, reach inbetween the spring and lower the bumpstop (may require a little rotation and twisting), silicon spray to the exposed metal, slide the bumpstop back up. Viola, no more squeek.

[old guy]

where do you get this stuff and how is it applied? is it just a liquid or what?

We use it at work. We order it directly from McLube. Clicky click It is a liquid that can be brushed on or sprayed on with a standard hand pump sprayer. You can probably pick up something similar from Lowes, Home Depot etc. I have also used RuGlyde in the past with good results. It just doesn't last any where near as long as the McLube. You can probably get RuGlyde from any car parts store.

[audinaut]

It's a high probability that your control arm bushings are shot. My buddy and I recently trouble shooted his suspension noise to the inner bushings on all four of his upper control arms on his B6S4. His symptoms were a clearly audible clunk heard when he would run his wheels over the small turtles/bumps you find on top of yellow road lines -- each upward/downward cycle of the suspension created a definite audible clunk heard with windows down and sound reflection bouncing off of houses/walls/etc next to the road driven on. We pulled his front wheels off and visually verified that all his upper inner control arm bushings were bad -- they all looked like someone had taken a knife to them and cut them in half on the outer rubber part of the bushings. We were prepared to replace all his CA's ourselves, but he was fortunate to find out that his factory warranty expired today, so he had his car into the dealer this last Saturday to get the CA's taken care of. I was with him when he picked his car up from the dealer. Dealer noted on his service order that they replaced all the upper CA bushings (4 bushings total) citing repair work being done per a technical service bulletin. I wrote that TSB number down....and found it here.....

TSB 2016453/2 Suspension issue

That TSB has pictures that show you what bad CA bushings look like.

If you have a wheel gap between your wheel and the front fender, you may be able to visual see the bushings using a flashlight without removing the wheels. The bushings are on the inner part of each control arm on either side of the triangular bracket that the top of the suspension spring presses against. (see pic below, compliments of A4mods.com)

FWIW, B6A4s and B6S4s use the same upper control arms part numbers.

When I was at the dealer, I had the parts guy pull and show me a new control arm. The rubber around the bushings when new is completely solid -- no cracks, no holes, no nothing.

The McLube rubber lubricant that Old Guy posted about looks interesting. After seeing what pristine bushings look like in a new CA, I can easily see how that type of product may prolong the bushings life.

The following image is linked from A4mods.com write up for "STaSIS Street Sport/Koni Coilover Suspension Install - B6 Audi A4" -- CLICK ME HERE! to go to that write up . Upper CA bushings are located at referenced number 3 and 6.

[Gails Woofel]

Has anyone ever actually had an Audi dealship fix this problem? I am thinking is it worth going to a different location.

I also only have 26k on the car.

[bmags88]

Got the same problem. I'll try Oldguy's method

[A4 Moda]

Good info.

Another thing to consider (hasn't been mentioned yet) is your brakes.

I have b5s4 brakes. When my rotors were worn down past the rotor barrel frame, i would get this constant rat squeak (loud) when I was cruising, without pressing the brakes.

Once I press the brakes, the squeak went away. When i go over bumps, it squeaks too.

FWIW, everybody else is probably right, but it cant hurt to check.


Does anybody make solid mount control arms? (without the rubber bushings)

[zz2h33]

^i have these same exact symptoms. high pitched squeak/chirping when cruising and going over bumps, press the brakes and it goes away. started after i put on sport suspension and is only coming from front passenger wheel. my rotors and pads are new and didnt have the noise before putting on the suspension. i have been ignoring it but now with the warm weather and driving with the windows down its really getting to me. i'll be putting B5S4 brakes on soon and was gonna have a good look at everything at that point. let me know if you find the source on yours.

[A4 Moda]

Chances are you didn't properly bed in the pads buddy.

You have to take out all the pads, (put anti-squeal compound behind the pads), then grind it down.
once you grounded them down flat, you want to properly bed them in.

Although beddin-in producedure is similar from compay to company, i would refer to the pad manufacturer's website to find the exact specifications/conditions for bedding in your pads.

GL

^i have these same exact symptoms. high pitched squeak/chirping when cruising and going over bumps, press the brakes and it goes away. started after i put on sport suspension and is only coming from front passenger wheel. my rotors and pads are new and didnt have the noise before putting on the suspension. i have been ignoring it but now with the warm weather and driving with the windows down its really getting to me. i'll be putting B5S4 brakes on soon and was gonna have a good look at everything at that point. let me know if you find the source on yours.

[FourGermanRings]

i think it has something to do with brake pads too.. i keep doing this every day. when i go over bumps i hear the squeek and thats the only time i hear it if its like uneven pavement or deep sewer covers..ect.. but even when i just tap and hold the brakes very lightly and go over something it does not make any noise at all.. im gunna look at my pads on the pass. side and see whats going on .

[black19]

I've had this same noise for some time now. I just ignore it.

[zz2h33]

Chances are you didn't properly bed in the pads buddy.

You have to take out all the pads, (put anti-squeal compound behind the pads), then grind it down.
once you grounded them down flat, you want to properly bed them in.

Although beddin-in producedure is similar from compay to company, i would refer to the pad manufacturer's website to find the exact specifications/conditions for bedding in your pads.

GL

i know how to bed the pads, when i bought the car new pads and rotors were already on and drivin a few thou. i had the car for about 6 months and never had a squeak. then i put the new suspension on and now i gots the squeeks. dunno

[GreyGhost]

i know how to bed the pads, when i bought the car new pads and rotors were already on and drivin a few thou. i had the car for about 6 months and never had a squeak. then i put the new suspension on and now i gots the squeeks. dunno

again, not sure if this is your exact issue but I had this squeek too, a little chirp going over bumps and resolving by pressing the pedal lightly. solved it by lubing up the metal pin holding the brake pads to the caliper. just spray some WD40 in the hole connecting the metal pin to the caliper or remove them and grease them -> no more noise here.

[PRVWing]

I have the same squeaky sound, but only when I turn my wheels at low speeds. Mine started on monday and I have been listening to music a bit louder so I cant really hear it. But strange thing is that I changed all my control arms, shocks (bilstein), springs (H&R), and rack and pinion less than a year ago. Could it be my sway bar bushings? Its the only thing I have not changed... But no clunk feel with the squeaky sound.

[black19]

So is there a definitive diagnosis for what causes the noise here or is it more of a 'choose your own adventure' kinda thing?

[EBG 18T]

So is there a definitive diagnosis for what causes the noise here or is it more of a 'choose your own adventure' kinda thing?

there never will be a definitive diagnosis cause it is hard to diagnose a squeeking over the internet. the only squeeking i have is my rear seat attachment point needs to be lubed or shimed. it rubs on the plastic and makes a weird metal squeek when i hit certain bumps.

[ProgMetalHead]

My car does the same thing. Sounds like it's coming from the rear, right wheel. I really only notice it on small bumps/imperfections. When I go over speed bumps, I don't notice it. I've been ignoring it, but it is definitely annoying. Audi said there was nothing wrong, but they always say that for some reason. You think they'd do a little work and make some money.
My torque converter is clearly messed up, and they don't seem to agree. I guess a wavoring RPM reading is normal (Thanks to Diagnosticator for diagnosing my problem)

[wickedrick]

mine makes noises too. not sure if i'ts the suspension or what. but i think one of these days it's gonna fall apart and leave me stranded..

i usually notice mine most when going up an inverted slope (driveway/roundabout at my gyms parking structure)

it makes a loud POP like something is spring loaded and then releases.. took it to audi when it was still under warranty and they didnt' do anything about it. ugh. useless..

your front subframe is shot !! it took three visit to the dealer before they finally relaced mine !!

[schmally]

It's a high probability that your control arm bushings are shot. My buddy and I recently trouble shooted his suspension noise to the inner bushings on all four of his upper control arms on his B6S4. His symptoms were a clearly audible clunk heard when he would run his wheels over the small turtles/bumps you find on top of yellow road lines -- each upward/downward cycle of the suspension created a definite audible clunk heard with windows down and sound reflection bouncing off of houses/walls/etc next to the road driven on. We pulled his front wheels off and visually verified that all his upper inner control arm bushings were bad -- they all looked like someone had taken a knife to them and cut them in half on the outer rubber part of the bushings. We were prepared to replace all his CA's ourselves, but he was fortunate to find out that his factory warranty expired today, so he had his car into the dealer this last Saturday to get the CA's taken care of. I was with him when he picked his car up from the dealer. Dealer noted on his service order that they replaced all the upper CA bushings (4 bushings total) citing repair work being done per a technical service bulletin. I wrote that TSB number down....and found it here.....

TSB 2016453/2 Suspension issue

That TSB has pictures that show you what bad CA bushings look like.

If you have a wheel gap between your wheel and the front fender, you may be able to visual see the bushings using a flashlight without removing the wheels. The bushings are on the inner part of each control arm on either side of the triangular bracket that the top of the suspension spring presses against. (see pic below, compliments of A4mods.com)

FWIW, B6A4s and B6S4s use the same upper control arms part numbers.

When I was at the dealer, I had the parts guy pull and show me a new control arm. The rubber around the bushings when new is completely solid -- no cracks, no holes, no nothing.

The McLube rubber lubricant that Old Guy posted about looks interesting. After seeing what pristine bushings look like in a new CA, I can easily see how that type of product may prolong the bushings life.

The following image is linked from A4mods.com write up for "STaSIS Street Sport/Koni Coilover Suspension Install - B6 Audi A4" -- CLICK ME HERE! to go to that write up . Upper CA bushings are located at referenced number 3 and 6.

i lubed mine last night and while i had the wheels off i went ahead and sanded down my breaks pads just incase there was glazing .. so far its good..

[spooks]

Thanks GreyGhost. I had this same noise for a few months. WD-40 on the caliper pin did the trick.

[GreyGhost]

Thanks GreyGhost. I had this same noise for a few months. WD-40 on the caliper pin did the trick.

excellent

[KGB]

FWIW, I had stock suspension with speaking, and recently switched to H&R coils and still have squeeking. Tie rods have also been replaced, but not control arms.

Looks like I need some lube.

[*Blue-Angel*]

i get squeaks and chirps just driving down the street-> sound goes away when i tap or hold brakes

i get a different kind of squeaking noise (pitch) when i turn my wheel all the way to lock.

I have something rattling around in my tranny.

wtf is going on here damn car is gonna bottom out and fall on ground

[EBG 18T]

i get squeaks and chirps just driving down the street-> sound goes away when i tap or hold brakes

no idea on the other issues. but for this one you can tweak the brake pad spring retainers and it usually solves this issue.

[onlyaudis]

as people are mentioning in the thread, suspension noises can be real annoying and be generated from many different places. My noises were from my front sway bar links that were not fully tightened (what a racket that made) and from front shock top mount bushings (made a groaning noises over every bump and made me want to sell the car)

This is my second A4, my first being a B5 car. what I learned from that car is that when you got a decent number of miles on the car, replace all the front end with a good kit (like the febi bilstein) while doing the front and rear shocks and, and be done with it. Now I'd add front shock top bushings. Otherwise, you end up chasing down worn parts and weird noises constantly. This way, you do it all at once, get an alignment, and the car is good for a lot of miles.

[MikeyMike206]

again, not sure if this is your exact issue but I had this squeek too, a little chirp going over bumps and resolving by pressing the pedal lightly. solved it by lubing up the metal pin holding the brake pads to the caliper. just spray some WD40 in the hole connecting the metal pin to the caliper or remove them and grease them -> no more noise here.

Tried this, FIXED IT! I was about to drop cash on new control arms too... My car had that exact same "chirping noise going over any bump or small irregularity on the road no matter the speed except when breaking.

You just saved me a considerable amount of money, thank you sir!

Sorry for resurrecting this old thread.