S4 Exhaust / Heat shield noise

[Nickster2000]

Hello All,

Thought I'd share with you an experience I had at an Audi main dealer the other week (and maybe get some real advice from someone who knows).

Its about the Miltec exhaust and its connection to my S4. I took the car back the dealer the other week under warranty as I had noticed that the exchaust seemed to be rattling. It was obviously some kid of vibration as it only made the (quite audable) noise in 3/4/5/6 passing slowly through the revs at 950rpm. I know thats a low gear to be in but I'll try anything to get more than 17mpg out of it :-)

Anyway, I took it in to be fixed and the 'master technician' (as he was constantly referred to) diagnosed the fault as the exhaust heat shield (which is the bit on the car and not part of the exhaust). After they fixed it I had to take it back again the next week for the same fault and at the end of the day was told the following:

"We have taken 3 other S4's out and they all do that sir"

and my personal fave:

"What you have got to understand sir is that this is a sports car and what you have here is 'muscle clatter' "

MUSCLE CLATTER?? Surely not. Was I supposed to feel impressed that I had a car which was powerfull enough to make peoples head turn as the heat shield clattered away down the hight street? I said that I refused to believe that this noise would pass German QA but was told that it was standard and it was suggested that I drove in a style so as not to create the noise in the first place.

Anyone else got this problem - not the being patronised by the dealer problem but the muscle clatter problem :-)

Nickster

[GSCollie]

What?

Absolute load of tripe. I have a custom stainless steel exhaust as well and it doesn't rattle and the heat shield certainly insn't affected.

Mind I was told that my exhaust system was the reaosn for a potential MAF failure because the sensors were not designed to handle higher exhaust gas flo. Funny how an ECU reflash with updated software managed to solve the problem eventually though.

I'm sorry but master tech's appear to try and blame anything, particularly non OEM stuff if they cannot simply diagnose the problem in.

[dumbfunk]

I envy your "muscle clatter".
The best my Griff could ever manage was "speed rattle" when my old shock absorbers became "power knackered"

Master technician my arse etc.



df

[nail_it]

Nickster2000 said:

"What you have got to understand sir is that this is a sports car and what you have here is 'muscle clatter' "

"MUSCLE CLATTER"

That's a first with me!
Where do they make it up?

Must remember that one for the chav racers next time they try & compare their 1.2 pimped up cars with mine

[oastbloke]

My S4 (totally standard) has always suffered from this "muscle clatter". Never bothered the dealer with it as I think I knock at least a year off my life expectancy on every visit due to general arrogance and irritation.
Had a chum with an A4 1.8T which had the same "muscles". I have heard it can be fixed by bending the heat shield away from the exhaust pipe slightly. I suspect a master technician has no need to know how to use a pair of mole grips...

[JohnP68]

My (standard) S4 seems to do it as well

[drybeer]

Mine too with standard exhaust.

[Nickster2000]

It would seem that, apart from the patronising, the clatter (I can't bring myselft to say Muscle Clatter in a serious post) is pretty standard. I might get a friendly non-master technician to have a look at bending something then!

Thanks for all your help on this

PS: Does anyone know of an 'approved' place in the west midlands/midlands where I can get a service that doesn't invalidate my warranty and doesn't cost the earth?

Nickster