Wind noise (whistling) from passenger side, side-view mirror?
 

Hello everyone,

I've had my q5 for about 1 month and noticed (two days ago), a significant whistling coming from what sounds like the passenger side, side-view mirror,at speeds above 60mph. The wife says it was always there (I usually drive alone with the stereo up way too loud).

I'll attach a recording of the sound later today for those that are interested.

Has anyone experience this before?

Are you sure it IS the mirror?
There are plenty of other posts saying the roof rack/cross-beams makes whistling noises too ... do you have your roof rails on your Q?
If not the rails are you sure the mirror folds down completely? Yes i'm assuming you have the Q programmed to have the side mirrors fold up & then down during locking/unlocking.

Thanks for the response.

The roof rack rails are not on and i don't have the side-view mirrors programmed to fold up. I did experiment a bit bit manually folding the mirrors, but it did not have an effect.

While I'm not sure it's the side-view mirror, it sure sounds like it. It's certainly possible that it could be from the passenger front door (perhaps a problem with the rubber insulation).

On a side note, I washed the car yesterday and haven't noticed the sound since then... I only hit about 60 MPH for a short stretch this morning (stupid Northern California traffic), but there was no whistling during that time. I'll check it again on the way home tonight.

Years ago, on one of my A4s, there was an annoying wind noise -- not quite a whistle but not just swooshing -- that turned out to be the driver's side mirror. It seems that its design combined with just how I had it set created a small crevasse that was the culprit. I got some (dark-colored) felt insulation (I think it was weather stripping) and stuffed it in the crevasse, and the noise stopped completely.

I don't know how these new Q5 mirrors are designed, but look for differences between the exposed surfaces of the two and see if there might be something of this nature going on. If the driver's side doesn't make the noise and the passenger's does, perhaps you can spot something. HPH

Had the same issue on mine, and it drove me insane. Never could figure out where it was coming from.

Thanks for the tip. My wife's '07 A4 also has a driver's side whistle and it sounds like it's coming from the mirror. I'll have to try covering that (which would be a bummer since the mirrors have power fold-in).

I had the same issue on the drivers side of my Q5. It started after about two months. High pitch whistle was there from 26-60 mph. It drove me absolutely insane. I took it to the dealer and let them fool with it. They figured it out that it was the mirror. Audi authorized a complete replacement of the side mirror. My driving is peaceful again.

So...
Audi is aware of this issue... demand that they fix it. No excuse for this to happen.

I am the dealer right now and have the same complaint, I wonder what they are going to do? I will let you know.

Quick followup as I finally had a chance to drop the Q5 off at the dealer today.

The service rep grabbed the shop foreman and listened to the sound file I recorded on my phone. The shop foreman thanked me for the file and said 1) that it was unusual that a customer provided this kind of info 2) it was unusually loud compared to issues he's seen in the past and that should make it less difficult to diagnose.

I left the car and some time later the foreman validated the sound and contacted Audi central since it was such a new car (it has around 1200 miles on it and is just over a month old). Audi told them to order a complete replacement side-view mirror and to send mine to their lab to test for manufacturing errors. The part is on order and should be here next week.

This was my first experience with the service department at this dealer (Carlson Audi in Palo Alto, CA) and I think they did a great job, end-to-end.

Hopefully this is the last update on this topic from me. The Q5 went in today to have the passenger, side-view mirror replaced. Part had to be painted (which worried me) and they had the car most of the day.

When I arrived to pick it up I asked who had tested it and what the finding were... and no one tested it. I guess I'm the guinea pig. I closely looked at the new part and paint job... couldn't tell the different so good job there.

On way home there was a bunch of traffic so I wasn't able to test for long periods, but I did get up to 70 MPH a couple of time. Seems like the sound is now gone. I thought I heard some new rattles form that area, but I'm not sure... will need to keep checking.

so far, so good and I hope it's fixed.

-PEF