# TTRS issues



## Barmybob (Nov 4, 2015)

I've been enjoying my RS for a few weeks now but the car is approaching it's first Birthday there are a number of small issues. I am taking the car back into Audi next week and was wondering if anyone had suffered any of these issues. If so did you, or your dealer find solutions?

First is a creaking dashboard, from the front left. It is possible, sometimes, to take hold of the dashboard and gently pull / push to re-create the noise that usually occurs when driving. The car doesn't always make the noise but when it does it's really annoying.

A second noise is coming from the rear of the drivers door. This seems to disappear if the window is dropped slightly. I have tried lubricating the door seals but it has made no difference.

I have some little plastic fragments inside both of the Matrix OLED rear lamps. These were sitting at the bottom edge of the lens but I have removed the lamps and managed to get all the rattily little pieces out of sight. Sadly as these lamps don't open there is no way to get all these little bits out 

Soft paint. This one sounds a little odd but I am shocked at how easy it is to scratch the paint on this car  At first I thought I had some grit in the microfibre cloth I was using on the shuts, but there wasn't. Then when I had the lamps out I decided to clean behind there too. Using a soft bristle brush I scratched the paint there too, same when I cleaned behind the number plate. Everything has been recovered with a light polish but the paint seems very soft / sensitive, and yes it is all original. I'm booked it to have the car fully detailed and ceramic coated at the end of the month, so that should better protect it.

There is a cold start rattle for the first few seconds after starting but this appears to be normal - I have heard other RS's making the same noise.





The other noise is a loud turbo whistle. It does not seem normal and is really pronounced when driving between buildings. I guess some people would love the noise but it sounds, to me, like something is wrong. I had a hybrid turbo on my previous garage toy and that turbo was significantly quieter.

And finally flaking / chipping of the RS Sports exhaust black chrome tips  Really not happy about this so will be seeking to get them replaced.


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## phazer (Apr 2, 2018)

The dash sounds like someone might have been using a naff dash dressing. If it gets down the sides of the dash some types can cause it to squeak as it moves against the pillar. You might be able to clean it or use something to ease the squeaking - I'd try something like SailKote or another PTFE based spray being careful not to get it on any of the trim.

The rattle on cold start is normal. It's the exhaust flaps. They fully open for a short period on a proper cold start and they rattle. I've heard my wife's S1 do it and my TTS a few times. I think people have had the exhaust/mechanism replaced but it'll do it again. There is however a video on youtube showing someone tweaking the mechanism on a BMW to cure the exact same noise.


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## phazer (Apr 2, 2018)

Here's the exhaust video I mentioned:


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## powerplay (Feb 8, 2008)

Sounds a bit unlucky in the rattle and light dept, I'd personally be looking at Audi to replace the lights if they have loose bits inside :?

I can agree with the paint, in the right light I can see shedloads of swirls and scratches and the stone chips the front suffers is worse than any car I've had - but that's just the quality of the product nowadays, gotta live with it I guess.

Exhaust rattle - yes it's fixable under warranty, early on Audi replaced the entire exhaust from midpipes back with the same part which sometimes fixed it or it would come back over time; they modified the exhaust flap pivot and a revised exhaust supposedly resolved the flap rattle, so if you haven't got the revised part it's worth pursuing under warranty; you would also get a rattle while driving at around 2k rpm - usually only audible with windows down.

That vid above is completely irrelevant and not even an Audi :lol: , the part that rattles on the RS3/TTRS exhaust is the flap spindle, you can touch the exposed end with your finger when it's rattling on cold start and the rattle disappears.

Also don't confuse a rattle for the fast tapping/ticking noise on cold start that comes from the front of the car, this is made by the cat pre-heat process.

best thing you can do would be to get over to MRC for a stage1 map, aside from the performance increase it removes this cold-start annoyance completely and is the best thing about it


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## phazer (Apr 2, 2018)

powerplay said:


> Sounds a bit unlucky in the rattle and light dept, I'd personally be looking at Audi to replace the lights if they have loose bits inside :?
> 
> That vid above is completely irrelevant and not even an Audi :lol: , the part that rattles on the RS3/TTRS exhaust is the flap spindle, you can touch the exposed end with your finger when it's rattling on cold start and the rattle disappears.


No flies on you is there? There's not a huge amount of difference in the exhaust flaps out there. You know the motor industry uses the same suppliers right? Besides, the flap rattle because there's not enough tension provided when fully open, exactly like the video :lol:

It was to illustrate the problem, you know I even said the video was about a BMW. Jeez.


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## powerplay (Feb 8, 2008)

Lol yes I'm aware the industry shares cars, let alone parts.

I'm sure the process in that vid is useful for many, but I don't think it's the problem with the TTRS.

I've got an RS and have investigated the rattle myself, it seems to be the shaft/spindle not the spring attached to the actuator. You can stop the rattle by touching your finger to the opposite end of the shaft from the actuator.

I've personally had my exhaust replaced by Audi and know of several others who also have. The revised exhaust that was fitted has a different cap where the shaft emerges from the pipe on the opposite side. On the RS this is on the side facing down, where the actuator sits on top.

I would think (but hell maybe not this is Audi after all ) they wouldn't ship a whole new rear section at a cost of almost £1600 quid plus labour to fit, and box up and return the old exhaust (three times for one car apparently) if it could be resolved with just 30 minutes of tinkering at the dealer?


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## phazer (Apr 2, 2018)

powerplay said:


> I would think (but hell maybe not this is Audi after all ) they wouldn't ship a whole new rear section at a cost of almost £1600 quid plus labour to fit, and box up and return the old exhaust (three times for one car apparently) if it could be resolved with just 30 minutes of tinkering at the dealer?


Surprisingly for large businesses it is often cheaper to bang a part on (it doesn't cost anywhere near the retail price for them) than to try various things and have you in and out of the dealership multiple times - see "failure demand".

What costs money and it's counter intuitive for a lot of people is seeing you with a problem and then seeing you again is far more expensive than resolving your issue first time, hence throw a new part at it as in most cases this will do the trick even if to a lay person it seems crazy. Where it falls down of course is if the part has an inherent design flaw :lol:


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## powerplay (Feb 8, 2008)

phazer said:


> powerplay said:
> 
> 
> > I would think (but hell maybe not this is Audi after all ) they wouldn't ship a whole new rear section at a cost of almost £1600 quid plus labour to fit, and box up and return the old exhaust (three times for one car apparently) if it could be resolved with just 30 minutes of tinkering at the dealer?
> ...


Yep that's the case for lots of things especially ad-hoc issues, but this particular problem is widespread. I never had a problem with my mk2 RS but we know plenty of the latest RS3 and TTRS have it. We know it was likely a design issue since in later builds it's a revised part. So in this case it's truly crazy they would replace the whole system multiple times under warranty. Who knows how many vehicles worldwide were affected but if only 10% of owners were bothered by it and only 10% of those pursued it, probably still hundreds if not thousands...!


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## phazer (Apr 2, 2018)

powerplay said:


> phazer said:
> 
> 
> > powerplay said:
> ...


Audi don't pay when a supplier provides a defective part....


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## Barmybob (Nov 4, 2015)

> creaking dashboard


Has been observed and is booked in to be looked at. Didn't mention the drivers door this time but the other elements are being looked into too.



> Plastic fragments inside both of the Matrix OLED rear lamps / cold start exhaust rattle / flaking / chipping of the RS Sports exhaust black chrome tips


I went out with a master tech today and he suggested that the turbo noise was normal! Still not too sure on that one so I'll be keeping an eye on it.


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## Pugliese (Aug 4, 2010)

Bob - Be interested to know what Audi said about the exhaust rattle


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## PJ. (Dec 12, 2018)

Totally agree about the soft paintwork. I always snow foam with Bilt hamber and use two bucket method with grit guards. Yet my Ara blue RS still has swirl marks after 2k. When I removed the previous number plate Velcro glue with tar remover it scratched the rear. Looks like I will have to get it corrected and ceramic coated.


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## phazer (Apr 2, 2018)

Deffo get it ceramic coated. I did mine when it was delivered (had the dealer do nothing to the car). Zero swirls on mine nearly a year on.

Have to say I didn't think the paint was soft when prepping it for the coating (I machine polished it beforehand). It seems as hard as Audi paint traditionally is. Strange.


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