2003 audi a4 quattro - turbo question
 

hey guys,

i suspect that my turbo is failing on me? i have 180k on the car right now. there is this faint whistling sound whenever i gas a little TOO hard. i went on youtube and searched for failing/dead turbo sounds but it sounds NOTHING like them. it's just a very very faint whistling sound as i'm driving. now i haven't opened the hood and test out how loud that sound would be like. is this an early sign of my turbo failing? can anything faulty also cause that sound? i'm not very technical with this car stuff, if anybody knows of a good shop to have the car looked at, i would really appreciate it. i'm in the mississauga area. i was driving on hwy 427 yesterday and i was playing around with the car. as soon as i get to 120km/h, i try to push the car a little harder, it seems like it doesn't have power like before. it doesnt' always happen but one time, when i stepped on the gas pedal really hard, i can hear the turbo whistling sound, and it goes on and off. like it's struggling to boost or something. it has this high pitch noise then the pitch comes back down and goes back up again, you know what i mean. i really hope it's not the turbo, maybe it's something else? i've also noticed white smoke and it smells when i just start my ignition and idling. it's never happened before. i called my car guy, explained about the white smoke, and he asks me did you have your heat on? yes i did have the heat on at that time and he told me that's perfectly normal. please help guys, i don't know what to do!

i found a video and that's EXACTLY how mine sounds like!!!

Re: 2003 audi a4 quattro - turbo question
 

Try posting the youtube vid following these directions.

https://www.audiforum.ca/audiforum-c...ube-video.html

Re: 2003 audi a4 quattro - turbo question
 

thanks mikeh! it's been fixed.

Re: 2003 audi a4 quattro - turbo question
 

I have never had a turbo fail, but I understand it sounds like a dentist drill when it happens, and also that it results in white smoke, so I think you may have a good excuse to upgrade your turbo now (always a bright side to everything)

Re: 2003 audi a4 quattro - turbo question
 

Thanks for the reply. Is replacement the turbo require taking the engine out for my 1.8t? Is it considered a big job?

Re: 2003 audi a4 quattro - turbo question
 

Not a huge job, no need to remove engine. If you are fairly mechanically inclined, you may want to DIY, if not, a shop shouldn't charge too much.

Re: 2003 audi a4 quattro - turbo question
 

Guys,

I wonder if I am experiencing the same issue now. My 2002 Audi A4 1.8T quattro has been lack of power these days. It used to be very responsive when I hit the pedal to accelerate the car. But now it's not that responsive anymore. Once in a while I could hear the turbo sound and it worked great like before. However, for the past few days, I barely can hear the turbo sound when accelerating the car.

I replaced all ignition coils two months ago and the air filter last week.

Does anyone know what the problem could be? any help would be appreciated.

Thanks