sbtrue

New owner of a 2016 Q5 TDI wondering just how many vibes should be making it into the cabin from the TDI V6. I've owned it for a few months now, 27k miles, stellar maintenance history. Dealer told me engine mounts are fine, nothing leaking, vibrations normal for diesel. What I'm noticing is that when the engine is cold, the vibes actually aren't that bad, but when it's warm and I am stopped in Drive, sometimes it feels like I've got massaging seats. If no one's in the front passenger seat under those circumstances, the seatbelt receptacle might start buzzing. This doesn't seem like factory-spec behavior. I would expect the engine mounts to filter out most if not all of this. Can any original or longtime TDI owners comment -- when you bought the car, were the vibrations kept to a minimum? Have you noticed anything over time like what I'm describing? I'm slightly tempted to replace the engine mounts just to see what happens, but it'd be great to get some context from folks with years of TDI ownership experience. Thanks.

Dudealicious

I'm in Hollywood near the bowl if you want to have a seat in my '14 TDI for comparison. ~ 40,000 miles

nordicb

I get the same, but I'm not sure it is normal or not. If I either engage autohold or stay on brakes while in D, there is a bit of vibration coming into cabin. It disappears as soon as I start moving or engage N. I was advised not to engage Neutral, as the load on clutch is minimal and does not create wear, however switching to N does induce unnecessary switching in the gearbox. What puzzles me is that the vibration is not always consistent - sometimes less sometimes more. At times I think both noise and vibration is actually created by the exhaust itself - if you get under the car with engine running, the whole downpipe vibrates quite violently.

If you replace engine mounts, would be interesting to hear if that helps. It may be not an easy job though.

sbtrue

Interesting theory on the exhaust. In my case I can feel vibration in the pedals through my feet, so it seems like it's coming straight from the engine. Hard to believe that Audi sold these new in this condition, unless anyone remembers such behavior right off the dealer lot? Presumably the engine mounts don't remain perfect until they start leaking; there must be some degradation in performance before that point.

Avant4Adam

*something* is loose and resonating. Mine has always been smooth.

nordicb

I think when I meant the vibration I really mean low rumble kinda noise. It can be felt through the chassis at times. I think it is normal for diesels.

nordicb

Just to mention, I changed MAF sensor few days ago and have to say, the car starts easier, smoother on idle and this low rumble has smoothened a good bit. There was no problem with the old sensor, I just tend to change some important sensors at 120k mark as they age and while respond, their performance is reduced.