B9 3.0 TFSI ticking/knocking sound driver side

[Vladok]

Just purchased b9 s5 couple weeks ago, started to notice pretty loud ticking sound when accelerating, mostly audible on low RPMs around 1000-1500 with opened window when passing a wall on the left side of the car or in tunnel. I can still hear it to around 2500 RPM, then exhaust becomes louder. Sound is very similar to injectors ticking or hpfp, but very loud, more like diesel cars.

I tried revving car with opened hood to the same RPMs - I can hear nothing when car is not moving, engine works quietly. Engine was inspected, everything is fine, no fault codes etc. Sound appears both on cold or hot car, just every time accelerating on low rpms. Running RON98 fuel.

I found a lot of threads on this topic, looks like this is a common issue, but no one actually posted a video with his exact sound, so I decided to start a new thread. Just trying to find out is my ticking the same as a lot of owners mentioned in previous threads or mine is another.

[TheLizards]

Though it’s not really that audible in your video, yeah it’s the same.
Dealer claimed it’s the fuel pump/injectors and is normal on my 2018 S4. Sounds like engine tapping to me though.

Ive got a long Audi extended warranty though so I’m just gonna drive the car and not worry about it.

[CELison]

Sounds like top end noise and the dealer blames the HPFP as an excuse to not do anything about it. It seams a lot of these motors have a tick 1500-2500 ish. Mine is dead quiet for what it’s worth.

[Zenarcher]

I have the same noise and pretty sure its the HPFP after checking with stethoscope. The volume of the tick is definitely is correlated to oil level, bc when i notice its really loud, i check the oil and every single time its lower than max. Either that or i'm losing it... I plan on trying thicker oil or some Ceratec.

[CELison]

I use Motul 5W40. I'm not running piss water in my car bc Audi specified it for emissions.

[RoverJoe]

Heavier oil will always help with strange engine noises, and these modern systems have so much load on the oil system and run such thin oil, I also end up stepping up to a better oil in most of my cars. Hot climate just makes it worse for me too.

Years ago, in my '08 350z, I ran some 15-50 that I had around for one oil change, and it was amazing how quiet the engine was compared to the 5-30 ester oil Nissan calls for, but I did notice, on first cold starts (south FL cold, so 80 degrees, not cold), the oil pressure was so high the VVT system would overshoot on adjustments, I could hear the cams moving around under light load via intake noise changing, until the engine got up to temperature. Didn't hurt anything, but when I went to a 5-40 at the next oil change it stopped doing that. So there is a happy medium for most engines, and it's often thicker than factory fill, because as mentioned above, they do that for emissions/fuel economy, not engine longevity.

[Vladok]

I'm running 5W40 motul, video is filmed less then 1000 miles after oil change and sound is exactly same from day one of my ownership (bought the car it had 3000 miles on oil, don't know exactly which oil it was running), oil level remains max as for now. I think sound is coming from fuel injectors, since it is very audible from the side where they are located and hpfp in on the top on the passenger side. I always use motul fuel additive for injectors cleaning once in around 5000 miles on all cars, will try it here, interesting if it makes any difference

[CELison]

If it were my car I would pull the valve covers and take a gander in there. Look for any damage to a rocker arm since that has happened to some. That noise sounds like top end noise, not injector tick, even with DI injectors. You could also put a breaker bar to your ear and try to pinpoint the noise a little more closely.

[WtA4WtQ5]

Anyone proposing thicker oil is in a time machine (used to be a good idea, not anymore). Bad plan. While it may make your motor quieter short term you will witness accelerated wear (grooves) especially on cams and cam bearings correlating exactly with what bearings and cam lobes that see oil last at start up (made even worse from start/stop). It can also cause fault codes with the variable valve timing.
If you are in a hot climate and only change slightly you will probably be OK but I won't be doing that potentially expensive experiment myself.
Thicker oil made more sense before variable valve timing/ start stop and oil passageways specifically designed for the thinner oils that will dangerously restrict oil flow with thicker oils.

[Vladok]

I will inspect everything on next service, will try to find issue. The only strange thing for me is that there in absolutely no noise in Neutral when I rev the car to exact RPMs when noise in mostly audible when car in moving. I just can't get this. But noise frequency becomes faster when I accelerate to higher rpms and goes away when I lift the gas, so my logic tells it's engine related, however I can't get the noise on neutral

[CELison]

Anyone proposing thicker oil is in a time machine (used to be a good idea, not anymore). Bad plan. While it may make your motor quieter short term you will witness accelerated wear (grooves) especially on cams and cam bearings correlating exactly with what bearings and cam lobes that see oil last at start up (made even worse from start/stop). It can also cause fault codes with the variable valve timing.
If you are in a hot climate and only change slightly you will probably be OK but I won't be doing that potentially expensive experiment myself.
Thicker oil made more sense before variable valve timing/ start stop and oil passageways specifically designed for the thinner oils that will dangerously restrict oil flow with thicker oils.

Do you know the difference in bearing clearance between the 2.9 and 3.0? Difference in VVT passages? I've yet to see this theory play itself out in the real world with 5w40. There is a member on here that did an oil analysis on 0W20 vs 5W40, both motul. If you were getting accelerated wear between the cams and journals that would have absolutely shown itself in the analysis.

[WtA4WtQ5]

Do you know the difference in bearing clearance between the 2.9 and 3.0? Difference in VVT passages? I've yet to see this theory play itself out in the real world with 5w40. There is a member on here that did an oil analysis on 0W20 vs 5W40, both motul. If you were getting accelerated wear between the cams and journals that would have absolutely shown itself in the analysis.

Do you know the difference in bearing clearance between the 2.9 and 3.0? No.
Difference in VVT passages? No.

One oil analysis by itself does not prove to me that it is a good plan to deviate from manufacturer specified oil viscosity and spec in a modern, complex and very expensive engine. Visual appearance differences (less shiny to start) on wear surfaces will begin to appear well before any metals are actually are seen in a conventional motor oil analysis.

If you change your oil outside of a dealer and have an engine warranty issue and are asked to provide receipts, not having the correct spec oil on your receipts to show most probably won't end well.

[crhh95]

Do you know the difference in bearing clearance between the 2.9 and 3.0? No.
Difference in VVT passages? No.

One oil analysis by itself does not prove to me that it is a good plan to deviate from manufacturer specified oil viscosity and spec in a modern, complex and very expensive engine. Visual appearance differences (less shiny to start) on wear surfaces will begin to appear well before any metals are actually are seen in a conventional motor oil analysis.

If you change your oil outside of a dealer and have an engine warranty issue and are asked to provide receipts, not having the correct spec oil on your receipts to show most probably won't end well.

You know it wouldn't have cost you any money from starting this pointless and irrelevant argument. Take this buffoonery to the oil discussion threads.


Moving forward, I've had this sound both on the 0w20 508 and the RS5 spec oil. 37k miles, not really sure what to do about it since the dealer will just say HPFP. Not really wanting to pull valve covers off as im a nooby in the wrench world

[CELison]

Do you know the difference in bearing clearance between the 2.9 and 3.0? No.
Difference in VVT passages? No.

One oil analysis by itself does not prove to me that it is a good plan to deviate from manufacturer specified oil viscosity and spec in a modern, complex and very expensive engine. Visual appearance differences (less shiny to start) on wear surfaces will begin to appear well before any metals are actually are seen in a conventional motor oil analysis.

If you change your oil outside of a dealer and have an engine warranty issue and are asked to provide receipts, not having the correct spec oil on your receipts to show most probably won't end well.

Well that is false, it would absolutely show in an oil analysis. And it wouldn't be "less shiny", you would see score marks like bands just like any JB that is starved from oil. And if you can see those marks, that removed metal will show up in an OA. The 2.9 (5w40) and 3.0 (0w20) have the same oil pump part number. If the clearances and veins on the 3.0 are tighter, that would mean they would need to do a gear reduction to spin the 3.0 pump slower in order to maintain similar oil pressure. Did Audi do that? What exact hardware changes did they make if any for 0w20? I don't know either, and unless you know these things for sure, what you're saying is just your theory/what you've read on the internet. And hey, it may be correct. But what I'm willing to bet is, the switch to 0w20 was mainly emissions based and that running something like 5w40 will not cause any harm to the motor. So you keep using 0W20, I'll keep using 5w40 and more than likely neither of us will see any side effect from either.

Cheers

[WtA4WtQ5]

It is your car, absolutely do what you want. Wrong viscosity and wrong spec. Good Luck to both of us! Is there even a VW 508/509 spec 5W-40 oil available?
I do use 5w-40 of the correct spec in the car that it is specified to be used in. And every Audi we have had. My SQ5 is the first one that called for something different.

[CELison]

The manual for this motor says you can run VW50400. Which again, points to 0W20 being for emissions. Page 26-> https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/vi...5/ssp655-wg-en. So the whole you won't get proper lubrication on startup thing due to viscosity isn't really holding up since many 504 400 oils are 5w30.

[will13k7]

when reports of this ticking first came up, I thought it could be a telltale sign that your motor was about to blow since that actually happened to one person on here, but years after, no one else whom had ticking reported their motor blew. My guess, Audi deemed it low risk and just a noise annoyance and is calling it "normal".

[WtA4WtQ5]

The manual for this motor says you can run VW50400. Which again, points to 0W20 being for emissions. Page 26-> https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/vi...5/ssp655-wg-en

I have that (4) year old document, learned a lot. My 2020 calls for 508.00 0w-20

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=h...-Year-2020.pdf

Been running this since 4600 miles:

https://www.amsoil.com/p/sae-0w-20-l...motor-oil-ezt/

Engine is always quiet (exhaust not so much) and haven't used any oil on the MMI gauge currently @ 7K miles

[CELison]

I have that (4) year old document, learned a lot. My 2020 calls for 508.00 0w-20

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=h...-Year-2020.pdf

Been running this since 4600 miles:

https://www.amsoil.com/p/sae-0w-20-l...motor-oil-ezt/

Engine is always quiet (exhaust not so much) and haven't used any oil on the MMI gauge currently @ 7K miles

There hasn't been any internal engine changes in those 4 years, which again points to it being for emissions. Why else would they take away the higher viscosity oil from the manual? Development on this motor started maybe 2014/2015? Since then EPA regs become a bigger and bigger hurtle, Audi in response specifies the oil that achieves better MPG should be used and gets rid of the other choice as it is not as emissions friendly. But I think we've derailed this thread enough. Sorry OP. Like others have said, many members experience this ticking with zero side effects besides the annoyance.

[Vladok]

CURRENT UPDATE

Sound occurs only under load, even without car moving, if I hold both brake and accelerator to around 1100 RPM (mostly audible) as If you launch, ticking occurs. Absolutely no noise in neutral or park. Ticking becomes faster if you increase RPM and It goes away at around 1800 RPM. Sound is coming somewhere from back end of the engine or at the place where engine connects to gearbox. So this is surely not fuel related (hpfp or injectors) as it seems for now.

Still searching for the reason, trying to call other local dealers if someone found solution. Possibly engine removal will be needed. However no side effects besides awful noise as for now.

[Vladok]

If it were my car I would pull the valve covers and take a gander in there. Look for any damage to a rocker arm since that has happened to some. That noise sounds like top end noise, not injector tick, even with DI injectors. You could also put a breaker bar to your ear and try to pinpoint the noise a little more closely.

Can you please tell anything further about rocker issue? Can’t find anything

It turns out, my car was at the dealer about a year ago when it was discovered one rocker was out of its place, but any further damage was found

[RoverJoe]

Valvetrain noise shouldn't change under load, just rpm. Check around the exhaust for any leaks, spray soapy water on it when completely cold, and see if it bubbles when it starts.

[CELison]

After hearing all these ticking at low rpm stories, I have a feeling it my be lspi. An actual rod knock would show itself sooner than later with engine failure and lifter noise would be through all rpms and idle. What fuel are you using? These motors have all the ingredients for lspi. Small turbo, DI, shit IC, low rpm shift points. I’m not sure when the converter locks up but that would be interesting to know too. I remember the one blown motor thread that had ticking before hand and had destroyed a piston. To me, that says detonation. Didn’t spin a bearing, destroy a lifter, or toss a rod. The piston got the hell beaten out of it. Just my opinion from fiddle fucking with Audis the past 15 or so years as a hobby. Not a professional mechanic so take that with a grain of salt.

[dasistspark]

Anyone proposing thicker oil is in a time machine (used to be a good idea, not anymore). Bad plan. While it may make your motor quieter short term you will witness accelerated wear (grooves) especially on cams and cam bearings correlating exactly with what bearings and cam lobes that see oil last at start up (made even worse from start/stop). It can also cause fault codes with the variable valve timing.
If you are in a hot climate and only change slightly you will probably be OK but I won't be doing that potentially expensive experiment myself.
Thicker oil made more sense before variable valve timing/ start stop and oil passageways specifically designed for the thinner oils that will dangerously restrict oil flow with thicker oils.

Tricky part of oil viscosity, there’s some countries that Audi recommended use vw504 instead of vw508 due to the gas quality. (Ex. Australia, their gas does not comply to EN288. anybody wonder, just look up owners manual for Australian version or try Mobil1 Australia and use oil finder). The other proof is on Porsche's document, there are group 1 and group 2 countries, group 2 means hot climate and group 1 is rest of world, if you are in group 2, Porsche recommends to use VW502(Porsche A40) spec for EA839 equipped vehicle. All in all, EA839 is capable to handle multiple specs other than what Audi USA "Requires". However, if you are in the US, and you are not using oil specs that Audi USA requires, there is high chance they would not honor the warranty.

[STLWIDOWMAKER]

Tricky part of oil viscosity, there’s some countries that Audi recommended use vw504 instead of vw508 due to the gas quality. (Ex. Australia, their gas does not comply to EN288. anybody wonder, just look up owners manual for Australian version or try Mobil1 Australia and use oil finder). The other proof is on Porsche's document, there are group 1 and group 2 countries, group 2 means hot climate and group 1 is rest of world, if you are in group 2, Porsche recommends to use VW502(Porsche A40) spec for EA839 equipped vehicle. All in all, EA839 is capable to handle multiple specs other than what Audi USA "Requires". However, if you are in the US, and you are not using oil specs that Audi USA requires, there is high chance they would not honor the warranty.

To add to this, always make sure you keep receipts for your oil if you do it yourself. Had an issue on my B8 A4 where I was loosing almost a quart a week (car was out of warranty with about 55k miles on it). My Audi dealer went to battle with Audi USA about it and they tried blaming it on the kind of oil I was using. They ended up replacing about $8,000 worth of parts for free after I submitted 3 years worth of my oil purchases receipts


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[Kerbouchard]

Took 2018 S5 (11/2017 in service date) to dealer for subtle clicking noise as described above (1500-2000 rpm, only under load).

Dealer determined something is “wrong” in passenger side cylinder bank. Recommending 20hr $5,000 tear down to determine what the issue is.

Car is out of factory warranty.

Car is at dealer now, so I can’t take video of sound.

Thoughts?

[Sebastian Tu]

My first s4 2018 did that, my second s4 2019 does that, the loaner 2022 A5 Sportback does that, and so I don't think it's anything to worry about

[AndreiMTM]

Just bought a B9 S5 with 75k miles and noticed this exact noise. Only under load, doesn’t do it in neutral, same RPM range. Anybody find a solution or more insight on this? OP?


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[Dsobczak]

Just purchased b9 s5 couple weeks ago, started to notice pretty loud ticking sound when accelerating, mostly audible on low RPMs around 1000-1500 with opened window when passing a wall on the left side of the car or in tunnel. I can still hear it to around 2500 RPM, then exhaust becomes louder. Sound is very similar to injectors ticking or hpfp, but very loud, more like diesel cars.

I tried revving car with opened hood to the same RPMs - I can hear nothing when car is not moving, engine works quietly. Engine was inspected, everything is fine, no fault codes etc. Sound appears both on cold or hot car, just every time accelerating on low rpms. Running RON98 fuel.

I found a lot of threads on this topic, looks like this is a common issue, but no one actually posted a video with his exact sound, so I decided to start a new thread. Just trying to find out is my ticking the same as a lot of owners mentioned in previous threads or mine is another.

This is completely normal.... It a combination of a lot of thing on the car but what you are hearing is injector pulse and top end rotating assembly operations. Direct injection cars make a lot of feedback noise and this is 50% of the reason engine covers were designed! Yes they help with heat and look better to most consumers, but most of it is for sound dampening so people wouldn't think their car was trying to take itself apart LOL. You are also hearing it a lot more in this video b/c you are right next to the wall there.

Here's the rule on engine noises, If it DOESN'T get louder with increased RPM, you haven't broken it yet! Broken top or bottom end part will sounds like hell the harder you push the motor. A great example of this is a blown STI motor from 15-19, sounds normal up to 3K, then the demons start to sing when you try and run all the boost!

My EVO X did the same thing from the day I bought the with 25miles on it.... They ran plastic valve covers on my year and it was like a mining company set up shop in there!

you can different oil if it bothers you but its fine!

[DavidZ]

Hi,

Any Update?

My 2018 SQ5 does have the noise. It doesn't have the ticking when the engine under 1100 rpm. The engine will make the ticking when it is above 1100 rpm, however the ticking will disappear when I lift the gas pedal even when the engine is above 1100 rpm. I'm not sure if it will still happen when it is greater than 2000rpm because the other engine noise is louder at that time.

[AndreiMTM]

Also waiting for an update but doesn’t seem like OP is still active on here


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[E.Anderson]

pretty sure you're all fine. If you want less tick run 5w-30

[DavidZ]

pretty sure you're all fine. If you want less tick run 5w-30

Yeah, I have the same feeling. I booked an appointment with the dealer to see if I can use thicker oil at the next service.


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[crhh95]

Yeah, I have the same feeling. I booked an appointment with the dealer to see if I can use thicker oil at the next service.


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You can, just buy some motul sport Esther 5w-30. Plenty of people are running it on this platform


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[YoYo]

Audi S4 B9 3.0T, rocker arm service. What to expect from S4 with 55.000 miles on clock ?
https://youtu.be/otfln0yBGwM

[DavidZ]

Audi S4 B9 3.0T, rocker arm service. What to expect from S4 with 55.000 miles on clock ?
https://youtu.be/otfln0yBGwM

I read a lot related threads here and “Audi world”, and watched the YouTube. According to 034, they said they haven’t seen this failure, but did hear of it. For me, it is doubtful that a rocker arm failure won’t light the engine-light. Maybe you can ask the technician to check your engine banks with a stethoscope when there is any abnormal ticking.
Most of the ticking comes from either di or hpfp, which you can easier tell the difference among them and timing chain, rocker arm, etc.


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[CELison]

How would a failed rocker trigger a CEL? It would have to cause a misfire on that hole, which I don't see it doing most of the time. I've had collapsed lifters and no misfires.

[DavidZ]

You can, just buy some motul sport Esther 5w-30. Plenty of people are running it on this platform


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You know what. The noise can hardly be noticed when the temperature goes below 15 degree in Canada. I have to drive my car on highway a while to reproduce it.

[Esmin23]

You can, just buy some motul sport Esther 5w-30. Plenty of people are running it on this platform


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Care to share a link? I can only seem to find Sport ester 5W40 everywhere but not 5W30

[crhh95]

Care to share a link? I can only seem to find Sport ester 5W40 everywhere but not 5W30

Sorry it’s 5w-40, I mistyped. FCP euro has it, or you might be able to save money with a bulk order on eBay. I got 8 bottles off there for a heavy discount


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